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He Fights for You

“Mommy, will you check under my bed? And in my closet?” I loved this nightly ritual when my daughters went through a scared-of-the-dark stage. I stood tall with hands on hips and said in a stern voice,”Those monsters are scared of me. They wouldn’t dare mess with MY children.” And then, in a more menacing voice, “But I’ll find them if they are here.” I reassured them that I understood their fears since I, too, was once afraid of the dark; but, I also wanted them to know that I would fight for them.

God feels the same way about His children.

How do I know? The history between the people of Israel and the Edomites provides sufficient proof. Here are some examples of their tangled history.

The conflict began between brothers, twins, sons of Isaac and Rebekah. God blessed Jacob, who became the father of the nation of Israel; however, He rejected Esau. Esau started the clan that we call the Edomites in the Bible. The conflict began there, but it didn’t end there. Throughout their contentious history, some notorious Edomites plagued the Israelites.

  1. Esau’s descendants, the Amalekites, attacked the Israelite stragglers as they left Egypt’s slavery (Deuteronomy 25).
  2. Doeg the Edomite relished killing 85 priests who helped King David (1 Samuel 22).
  3. Haman, who plotted to wipe out the Jews in Persia, was an Edomite descendent according to rabbinical tradition (Esther 3:1-6).
  4. The most famous Edomites were the Herod clan who ruled in Israel during the time of Jesus. Remember Herod the Great? That guy had all of the male babies in the area of Bethlehem killed after hearing about Jesus’ birth from the Magi (Matthew 2:16).

This clan was trouble!

So what’s the point of this history lesson? After reading Obadiah, the prophet, I was reminded that God fights for His own. He takes issue with those who take issue with them. When it comes to our battle with Edomite-types, He is keeping score. Globally, we have evidence enough that Christians are being persecuted by those who hate them and want them dead. Our enemy is real, and he kicks us when we’re down. The rescuer on the white horse who saves the princess is real, too. Picture this: “Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True…” (Revelation 19). Hang on–help is on the way!

02 comments

writer

Daily, the power of stories amazes me–moves me, shapes me–an ordinary wife, mom, teacher, writer, Jesus-follower.

2 Comments

Shannon Witt

I Loved your coralasation between being afraid of the “unknown” and how Jesus fights for us…ALWAYS. One of my favorite Bible studies was a Beth Moore Bible study on the book of Ester.. Thanks for sharing.

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jaynewalters

Shannon, thanks for your comments! I am so honored that you are following the blog.

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