The Day of the LORD

“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

One day God will judge all the inhabitants of the earth. There will be no opportunity to escape, no reprieve, and we won’t be able to get off on a technicality. Justice will be meted out on everyone. The secrets of the heart will be made evident and all of the acts we have done, good or bad, will be made known. God will judge everyone, without reservation and without partiality. It will be an awful day for many. For those who believed that they could live life on their own terms, there will be the horrible realization that they chose a lie. For those who trusted in gods that were no gods at all, there will be sincere regret. The one God reigns and the entire creation will know it.

Obadiah is known as one of the Minor Prophets, which means that his prophecy is not as lengthy as those such as Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Obadiah prophesied during a time of great disgrace in Israel’s history. As God’s people, the Jews were under stricter judgment because they were to be God’s representatives. They had been entrusted with His law and commandments, commissioned to live as mirrors that reflect God’s worth to the surrounding nations, but they failed and God brought judgment. Today’s passage speaks of the time when every nation will be judged on the “day of the LORD.” In Scripture, the “day of the LORD” has two senses. At times, it can mean a period of judgment in the very near future, where God’s judgment will be shown, for example, by the oppression of an invading army from a foreign nation. But, the more common sense refers to the great and awful day when God will exercise judgment upon all of creation. It will be a time of His wrath, when God will judge all of those who have ever sinned. And in our passage, we can see that the rule of reciprocity is being employed, which means that we will receive a punishment according to how we have treated or failed to treat God and others. And when the judgment comes, it will be completely just and there will be no confusion or questions; our deeds shall be on our own heads.

As believers in Christ, we recognize that judgment will be an awful time for some, but a joyous time for others. Those who have sinned and who also have rejected Christ will receive according to their deeds, while those who have placed their faith in Christ will pass through the judgment because of what Christ has done. The first judgment at the end of time will reflect what one has done with Christ; the second judgment is more of a time of reward, where the righteous deeds done in Christ’s name will be rewarded.

Although we know all too well the evils that we have done and the good we have failed to do, we need not get discouraged because our salvation is not dependent upon what we do, but on what Christ has already done. We are saved by faith through grace because of what Christ did on the cross (cf. Ephesians 2:8-9). And if He saves us from death, then He will surely save us from judgment. And if we are saved, then we can have confidence and need not grow weary in doing good, because we know that we will reap a harvest if we do not give up (Galatians 6:9). May God help us to stand firmly in the righteousness of Christ that enables us to be confident at the day of the Lord, not fearful (1 John 4:17). Amen.