The Pulpit Commentary — Obadiah — Section 24

"E'en now by faith we join our h11nd1 With those that went before, And greet the blood-besprinkled bands On that eternal shore. ,. Oh that we now might grasp our Guide I Oh that the word were given I Oome, Lord of hosta, the waves divide, And IBnd us all in h£Bven." (C. Wesley.) A.C.T. Vera, 8, 9.-False confidenr:u. "Shall I not in that day, saith the Lord, even destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understandiug out of the n.10unt of Esau? And thy mighty men, 0 Teman, shall be dismayed, to the end that every one of th'3 mount of Esau may be cut off by slaughter." The wise, the mighty !-who shall stand when these fall? Edom made great boast of its wise men and its mighty men, but it was a va.in confidence. "Thus sa.ith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory iu his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches : but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understa.ndeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the. ea.rth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord." Edom was long famous for its wisdom. Elipha.z, the principal friend of the patriarch Job, was a. Temanite. This Elipha.z, in some respects, was a. representative of human wisdom. He often.times laid down false principles, or misapplied right ones, but was always ready to boast that he knew more than others. It is great folly to be wise in one's own conceits. God asks, "Shall I not destroy the wise men out of Edom?" In J er. viii. he says, "The stork, the turtle, the crane, and the swallow observe the time of their coming, but my people know not the judgment of the Lord." How do ye say, "We are wise" P The birds, when the chilly wiuds of autumn come, take care to migrate to a warmer clime where winter will not destroy, but ye make no preparation for the future. How do ye say, "Wearewise"f Would it be wise for a merchant never to look into his affairs? Would it be wise for a captain of a ship to see a great storm coming, and make no preparation? Would it be wise to proceed, on a long journey and have no provision? How do ye say, "We are wise" 1 There a.re multitudes to whom this question must be put. The vainly wise men of Edom still exist-men who might truly learn wisdom from the little things spoken of in Prov. XXL: "The ants aro a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer; the conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in rocks [they know where to hide]; the locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands (they know that unity is strength] ; the lizard ta.keth hold with her hands, and is in kings' palaces ; '' it ha.a wisdom of patient, painstaking labour. The proud self-confidence of Edom had nothing of true wisdom about it. It was displeasing to the heart-searching God. " Shall I not even destroy the wise men out of Edom ?" 'l'hen, too, we have the mighty men of Teman denounced. They were of those who gloried in their might. They trusted in nature's strength. With Pharaoh, they were ready to 8.l;k, "Who is Jehovah? ... I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil ... I will draw my sword, my band shall destroy them." "Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them; they sank as lead in the mighty waters." With Saul, they rose, girt with strong armour and sword and spear; but the prophet comes and says, "The kingdom is given to another." With Samson, they shake themselves to put forth strength as at other times, but soon in the prison of the enemy we hear the exceeding bitter cry of the blind captive, "My weakness I my weakness I " With the Assyrian king, they exclaim,\" With the multitude of my cha.riots I am come up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon, and will cut down the tall cedars thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof: and I will enter into the lodgings of his borders, and into the forest of his Carmel." But God says, "I will put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle into thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest." And thus we see the vanity of lhe mighty man glorying in his might. "Thy mighty men, 0 'l'eman, shall be dismayed." Now, it will be I.\Sked, if tho wise must not glory 20 'l'HE BOOB: OJ.I' OBADIAH. [1-111.