Reading 87 | The Bible in 100 Passages

Wednesday, December 10, 2025  

Today's Scripture
Obadiah 1:15–21

For the day of the Lord is near against all the nations. As you have done, it shall be done to you; your deeds shall return on your own head. For as you have drunk on my holy mountain, all the nations around you shall drink; they shall drink and gulp down, and shall be as though they had never been.

But on Mount Zion there shall be those that escape, and it shall be holy; and the house of Jacob shall take possession of those who dispossessed them. The house of Jacob shall be a fire, the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau stubble; they shall burn them and consume them, and there shall be no survivor of the house of Esau; for the Lord has spoken. Those of the Negeb shall possess Mount Esau, and those of the Shephelah the land of the Philistines; they shall possess the land of Ephraim and the land of Samaria, and Benjamin shall possess Gilead. The exiles of the Israelites who are in Halah shall possess Phoenicia as far as Zarephath; and the exiles of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad shall possess the towns of the Negeb. Those who have been saved shall go up to Mount Zion to rule Mount Esau; and the kingdom shall be the Lord’s. (NRSV)

Reflection

“Vengeance is best served cold.” Typically that phrase triggers within our imaginations the profile of a steely action hero poised to deliver a fatal blow against an egregious and ugly villain. “Cold,” in this instance, conveys unempathetic resolve. Recently I learned that the original meaning behind the phrase was a plea for reflection and self-control, with “cold” signifying a deliberate pause before responding to an infraction. To honor such a pause would, ideally, mitigate the threat of a disastrous response.

Shouldn’t a benevolent God intervene in human affairs without violence? The moral implications of a vengeful God are troubling to ponder. Nevertheless, in response to Edom’s indifference at best, and participation at worst, in Judah’s fall and destruction, God’s intervention in the midst of injustice speaks to the power of God’s expectation of us for how we are to treat our neighbors. Edom’s deception of Judah, leading to Judah’s destruction, provoked the unfolding of an equal fate befalling Edom itself. “Cold vengeance” belonged in God’s hands; accountability for the violation of God’s children was God’s work in the midst of mighty injustices.

It matters to God how we treat our neighbors. The magnitude of divine vengeance reminds us of this, but vengeance is not an end in and of itself. The final section of this passage presents a vision of rescue and restored hope for the dispossessed. Cold vengeance makes way for invigorating renewal. The One who rights all wrongs makes all things new again.

Prayer

Have mercy on us, O Lord. Help us to honor our neighbors and to seek the well-being of all, that we might live as “solutions to,” instead of as “agents of,” destruction. Lead us into a vision of promise filled with loving-kindness. Amen.

Written by Nancy Benson-Nicol, Associate Pastor

Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church

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