For the day of the Lord is near upon all the nations. As you have done, it shall be done to you; your deeds shall return on your own head.
– Obadiah 1:15
What a sobering verse, isn’t it? One, just to think about the last part of this verse. The fact that God is saying to all the nations. Which includes all of us, as you have done, it shall be done to you. Your deeds shall return on your own head. I read that and my mind and heart go in two different directions.
Obadiah 1:15 reminds us not to treat sin lightly.
One, every deed I’ve done just makes me want today to be very careful in every single thing I do to bring honor to God, to be holy in all that I do, I exhort you, be holy in all that you do today. Do not treat sin lightly, walk in obedience to God today for your good, to experience life and knowing that your deeds, your actions have consequences before God and in your life, and on others’ lives.
Then that’s the other direction, my mind goes, praise Jesus for dying on the cross for our sins. If we were to stand before God in judgment for our deeds, we would all be done for, we would all be condemned, without question. We need the blood of Jesus to cover over our sins, all our sinful thoughts, desires, and deeds, and praise Jesus, he has done this.
Praise Jesus that for all who trust in him, we are clothed in his righteousness, his righteous deeds credited to us so that when God sees us, he doesn’t see our sinfulness, but Jesus’ righteousness. Oh, praise God for his salvation from sin, his forgiveness of sin, his grace, his mercy, the righteousness of Jesus that we live in today. So all the more reason then to go back to the first direction my mind and heart go in, yes, let’s live in the righteousness Jesus has bought for us today.
Obadiah 1:15 points to the Lord’s coming day of judgement.
And then, the very beginning of verse 15, “The day of the Lord is near upon all the nations.” Everyone in every nation is going to stand before God one day to experience full and final either judgment or salvation, and this should create in us an urgency to share Jesus with everybody around us. Because everyone around us and everyone around the world will stand before God, and the only thing that will matter on that day is whether they have Jesus, whether they have trusted in the righteousness, the blood of Jesus to cover over their sins. And you and I know this, so let’s share this with people around us and people around the world, knowing the day of the Lord is coming, that day is coming for all the nations, including every one of us.
So Jesus, we do praise you, we praise you for taking our sin upon yourself, for paying the price for all of our sinful deeds. We praise you for your righteousness, we praise you for never sinning once and then for becoming our substitute on the cross, paying the price for our sins, for rising from the dead. We praise you for salvation, we praise you that we don’t have to be afraid when we think about a day of judgment because we are hiding in you, because we have trusted in you, and you have become our Savior. All glory be to your name.
This verse encourages us to live in obedience to God’s Word.
So we pray, God help us today to live in the righteousness that Jesus has made possible for us, help us to honor you with all of our deeds. Help us to be careful, to obey your Word, to bring glory to your name with everything we do, to live in the fullness of your life, Jesus in us. Please help us to live in obedience to you.
Even as we look forward to this day when we will stand before you, we want to hear you say, “Well done, good and faithful servant”. By the power of the Spirit of Jesus inside of us, may it be so, help us to live today with that day in mind. And God, we pray you give us boldness to share the good news of Jesus with people around us today, and that you would help us as your church to share, spread the good news of Jesus to the ends of the earth, to all the nations that they might be saved.
Prayer for the Jhinwar People
We know this day is coming, God, for the Jhinwar people of India, the Sikh people group in Eastern Punjab. God, we pray for the Jhinwar people, half a million of them who are not ready for that day to come. Lord, we pray that the gospel would spread through us to them, send out laborers, send out any of us, use our resources, however you desire to use us, including our prayers right now. God, we pray for the Jhinwar people of India to experience your salvation today so that they might be prepared for that day that’s coming, that’s near upon all the nations. Oh God, we pray all this according to your word in Obadiah 1:15. In Jesus’ name we pray, in the name of the only one who can save us and all the nations from our sins, amen.
David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder of Radical, an organization that makes Jesus known among the nations.
David received his B.A. from the University of Georgia and M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Some of his published works include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Don’t Hold Back, and How to Read the Bible.
He lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children.
