Are you into trivia? Does the thought of a quiz night get your heart pumping and competitive juices flowing? Here are some obscure bits of trivia. I’ll be shocked if you know the answer. Yes, I intentionally searched for the obscure, based on this date in history.
What did John Walker sell for the first time on April 7, 1827?
What Canadian politician was assassinated on this day in 1868?
What major technological advance was made in 1927 that revolutionized modern communications?
Are you ready for the answers? John Walker - not the one associated with scotch - was a UK chemist who sold the first friction-strike matches (he included sandpaper with them!). Thomas D’Arcy McGee, a Father of Confederation, was assassinated in Ottawa after returning to his boarding house room after a long debate. His assassin was waiting for him in his home. Finally, the first long-distance TV broadcast happened in 1927, a broadcast of the Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover from Washington, DC to New York City.
Those are rather random facts and seemingly irrelevant to what is happening in the world today. But where would the world be if we still had to use flint and steel to light fires? Or, if the Fathers of Confederation hadn’t finished their work? Or, if technology had stalled at radio and never developed anything further? Like ripples in a pond, these events have echoes that continue to influence us today in ways that never could have been imagined when those events first happened.
Here is another trivia question. What’s the point of the Old Testament book of Obadiah? It is a relatively obscure little sermon of 21 verses. The message contains good quality “doom and gloom,”along with lots of threats, judgement, and destruction. Unlike Lamentations:
But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:
The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (Lam. 3:21-24)
there are no real “grabber” lines of comfort or encouragement in the book - unless you like destruction and vengeance. There is one catchy phrase:
And the kingdom will be the LORD’s (Obadiah 21).
That sounds cool! But how relevant is that for today?
We know very little about the prophet Obadiah. This makes it hard to build a larger context for his message. There is debate about when he preached/wrote this little book. The references to “exiles” in verse 20 suggest this was written late in Israel’s history . . . exactly when, though, is up for debate.
What makes this message even stranger is that Obadiah preached this message TO the Israelites even though it was AGAINST the Edomites (Edom was a long-standing enemy of ancient Israel, going back to the tension between Jacob and Esau in Genesis 25). Did the Edomites ever hear these warning? Who knows - but the ancient Israelites did. Was this intended to be an encouraging message to those ancient peoples by promising divine vindication over a long-time enemy?
To be honest, there is an element of “vengeance is the Lord’s” in Obadiah’s sermon. But I believe there is a another message here. Obadiah reminds a people who are overwhelmed by the social and political currents of their day that God is observing and aware - not just of the “evil Edomites,” but of both “Jacob” (Israel) and Esau (Edom). When it comes to righteousness and justice, God doesn’t play favourites. Because of the reference to “exiles” and the descriptions of Edom’s activities, we can assume that Israel is the object of oppression at the hands of the Edomites . . . oppression because of Israel’s own unfaithfulness to God.
This was an integral part of the terms of the original covenant God made with Israel on Mount Sinai - “if My people worship other gods, they will be oppressed by other nations” (a rough translation of Leviticus 26). That is exactly what happened.
The point of Obadiah to both Israel and Edom - taken in the larger context - is that all of us, someday, will be accountable to God. Obadiah’s message is one of the consistency of God’s nature - central to understanding His holiness, grace, mercy, righteousness, and justice. This is part of what gives us confidence and hope. He is neither fickle, influenced by “favours” we may do, nor moody when He is grieved. It stimulates us to live with integrity and faith.
Obadiah’s obscure sermon continues to send out ripples to this day. Even though he lacks the memorable eloquence of Jeremiah, Obadiah reminds us of this truth:
God reigns; always has, always will.
There is nothing trivial about that!
