The Day Of Recompense

THE DAY OF RECOMPENSE

Read Obadiah 1:1-21

Read Obadiah 1:1-21

For the day of the Lord is near upon all nations. As you have done it shall be done to you; your deeds shall return on your own head. Obadiah 1:15

Obadiah is another prophet difficult to date. Most commentators place his prophecy at the time of the Babylonian invasion, though good arguments have been made that Obadiah is the earliest of the Minor Prophets. In either case, Obadiah speaks forthrightly of the day of the Lord. For him, it is a day of recompense.

“The day of the Lord” is a term that describes “events that especially vindicate God’s character and purposes” (ESV Study Bible; notes; p. 1681). One of the character traits or attributes of God is His justice. He pays back evil for evil and good for good, and gives to men what they deserve. This may well be the most basic principle of life: When men do good, they are blessed; if they do evil, they are punished. Our postmodern pessimism will cause many of us to say, “That’s not so! I know lots of people who’ve done good and were persecuted or left unrewarded, while evil men seem to thrive.” Agreed. Psalm 74 seems to answer this dilemma for us. But as a rule, God rewards good and punishes evil, and He certainly does so ultimately (in the end). This is always the case. Hence, the existence of heaven and hell.

One way the wicked are punished is that their evil returns on their own heads––they reap what they sow. The good also accrue for themselves grace and favor from others. Jesus codifies this rule in His Sermon on the Mount: “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 7:12). This is the summary of the Old Testament: The Golden Rule. Life has a way of paying us back for what we’ve done.

This truth applies to individuals, families, churches, communities and even nations. We reap what we sow. Obadiah put it this way: “As you have done, it shall be done to you; your deeds shall return on your own head” (v. 15). This truth is both comforting and disquieting. I am comforted by the fact that others get justice. I am disquieted by the fact that so do I! And this is precisely God’s point.

God’s grace comes to us in a number of ways. At times (most of the time?), God’s grace forbears our sin and counts it not against us for Christ’s sake (Romans 8:1). At other times, God’s grace gives us ample and repeated warnings to turn from our sin (especially that which harms others) before judgment falls. But can we deny that part of God’s favor (grace) is to teach us painful lessons by means of the recompense we receive from Him due to our blindness about our own sinful ways? We might call such a day of the Lord a severe mercy.

I have often been hurt by the sins of others only to finally realize that I had been hurting others in the same manner for months or even years. It’s a painful lesson. It is humiliating at times. But I count it as the harsher side of God’s grace.

The Edomites felt justified in helping to punish Israel for her sins. After all, they were instruments in God’s hands in doing just that. What they were blind to was their own spiteful, vengeful and angry hearts. They took delight in Israel’s fall; God did not. So, in time, the same would befall them: The ravages of Jerusalem would be visited upon them. What they did to Israel, Babylon would do to them. Fair is fair.

The Gospel should bring out in each one of us a broken and contrite heart, and an honesty to see how our sins impact others. Repentance includes remorse over the unintended harm we have done to others. It calls for both a vertical reconciliation toward God and a horizontal restitution toward others. At the very least the day of the Lord, whenever it appears in our lives, calls us to pray with the utmost earnestness: “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who have sinned against us.” You see, that too is part of God’s law of reciprocity: We are forgiven as much as we forgive. Sometimes it takes the day of the Lord to call us to the recognition of how strangely grace works in our lives so that we can extend that grace to other’s lives.

PRAYING FOR THE PCA

AC: Pray that the Holy Spirit will guide each member of the committees of commissioners as they work for the Assembly, reviewing the work of the General Assembly Committees and Agencies and making recommendations to the Assembly.

CTS: Praise God for the continued success of Covenant Seminary’s Worldwide Classroom online ministry and ask Him to use these free downloadable educational resources to bless untold numbers of church leaders and self-learners around the world who are not able to come to seminary.

MTW: College students are vitally important to the future of cross-cultural missions. Please pray for MTW’s outreach to these students, especially at Covenant College.

RUM: Please pray for those campus accounts with deficit balances to be built up to allow them to continue their work with RUF. Pray that Campus Ministers will be encouraged as they are reminded to rely on the Lord for provision.

RBI: Oversight of the PCA Relief Ministry, Insurance Plans and Retirement Plan is the responsibility of the RBI Board of Directors. Please pray for them that these men might have wisdom to direct these ministries.