Abide: Amos and Obadiah

Joseph Stuart: I remember encountering Amos first on my mission, which I served in Portland, Oregon. In my personal study, I reflected on a scripture that's used frequently in the first lesson taught to investigators, and retaught to recent converts. While I read the King James Version at the time, I prefer the wording of the NIV. This is chapter 8 verses 11 and 12. The days are coming declares the Sovereign Lord, when I will send a famine through the land, not a famine of food or thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord. People will stagger from sea to sea, and wander from north to east searching for the word of the Lord, but they will not find it. At the time I applied this only to those whom I was teaching, those who I was trying to introduce the gospel or to help them find the spark that would help them to find meaning and joy in it. But I came to realize that we are all searching for the word of the Lord, we need revelation, we need contact with the Spirit to be the best that we can be. This includes all of us, perhaps especially people who care for the elderly, or children, who are puzzling over work situations, or agonizing over long term decisions that affect not only them but others. In this episode of Abide, a Maxwell Institute podcast, we explore what it means to search for the word of the Lord, to pray for those who need it, and much, much more. My name is Joseph Stuart, I'm the public communication specialists at the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship at Brigham Young University. Kristian Heal is a research fellow at the Maxwell Institute. And each week we discuss the week's block of reading from a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Come, Follow Me curriculum. We aren't here to present a lesson but rather to hit on a few key themes from the scripture block so as to help build the Maxwell Institute's mission to inspire and fortify Latter Day Saints in their testimonies of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, and engage in the world of religious ideas. Today, we are once again joined by Joanna Olson, one of our research assistants. Joanna is a pre-business major at BYU in Fort Collins, Colorado. After Joana graduates, she plans to attend graduate school and go into medical administration. Joanna has also joyously been recently called to serve in the Peru, Trujillo South Mission. We wish her every joy and success in her missionary service. In fact, if you're hearing this on your mission, we are thinking of you and praying for you, Joanna, welcome back to the podcast.

Joanna Olson: Thank you so much, Joseph.

Stuart: It is our pleasure to have you here. So Joanna, what could we keep at the front of our minds when we encounter the Book of Amos?

Olson: Before the prophecies contained in the Book of Amos were given Amos was a shepherd living in Judah. The people of Israel were ruled by Jeroboam, a successful military leader who gained a lot of territory, thus generating a lot of wealth. The wealth of the people led them to become prideful, which caused the people to treat the poor unjustly and practice idolatry. Amos was prompted by God to preach repentance to the people. So Amos went to the city of Bethel and began doing so. The Book of Amos begins with a series of accusations against other nations neighboring the people of Israel. Then Amos finally accuses Israel itself, referring to all the various sins people committed, including selling people into slavery, ignoring the poor and refusing legal representation to the oppressed. Amos condemned to the people of Israel and called them to repentance. Amos also expose the people for their religious hypocrisy, highlighting the way they would claim to believe the gospel yet would treat the people around them poorly. The book closes with three visions of destruction Amos had regarding the people of Israel, followed by a message of hope, saying that Israel will be gathered into their own land in the last days.

Stuart: Thanks for that. Are there any patterns in the text that you saw that you think are worth special mention?

Olson: In Amos chapter 7, there's a pattern that is repeated twice. The Lord shows Amos a vision of destruction among the children of Israel, first by locust and then by fire. And Amos offers up a prayer of intercession for the people. And then the Lord repents for it, saying that, “It shall not be.” I find it interesting that the words of Amos seem to have an effect on our all knowing and all powerful God. Amos, however, is not the only example we see of intercessory prayers in the scriptures. For instance, when the people of Israel rebelled against God, Moses offered up a prayer on behalf of the people. There are also countless occurrences of such found in the Book of Mormon. For example, after praying for a remission of his sins, Enos prayed for the Lamanites that they too may receive salvation through the Redeemer. Even Christ himself offered up an intercessory prayer in behalf of the soldiers who crucified Him, saying, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.

Kristian Heal: This is such a beautiful doctrine, Joanna, and I've certainly felt in my life, the power of people praying for me at times when I've been able to perform beyond my capacity or felt buoyant when I had no reason to be. And it reminded me of a little Facebook post that Elder Holland made earlier this year, in which he pointed us towards two verses in Alma, chapter 10, which talk about the importance of the prayers of the righteous. The beginning of chapter 10:22, it says, “Yea, and I say unto you that if it were not for the prayers of the righteous, who are now in the land, that ye would even now be visited with utter destruction...” And in 23, “But it is by the prayers of the righteous that ye are spared; now therefore, if ye will cast out the righteous from among you then will not the Lord stay his hand…” So we're in a situation here, in these verses where this pattern is repeated in the Book of Mormon, that this intercessory prayers offered by the righteous among us are preserving us from day to day. It's a really beautiful and powerful teaching I think.

Stuart: It also reminds me of the great need that we have to pray for others, not knowing how those prayers might be answered. And in a sermon that President Eyring delivered called, “God Helps the Faithful Priesthood Holder”, he discusses how he learned to overcome his fear of not knowing what to do or knowing how to serve in this way. And he discusses prayer in the context of not totally knowing what to do or say, but knowing that you want to do something. He said, “Be prepared to lose track of time as you pray, you will feel love for the people you are to serve. You will feel their needs, their hopes, their hurts and those of their families. And as you pray the circle will grow wider than you would imagine, to perhaps people not in your quorum or your family but to those they love across the world. When you forget yourself to pray for the circle of others, your service will be extended in your heart, it will change not only your service, but your heart. That is because the Father and His beloved Son whom you are called to serve, know and love so many people your service will touch, however limited to a few it may seem to you.” And just think of what a blessing it is to be able to pray for others and to follow the Savior's example in doing so.

Olson: The Lord loves us and prays on our behalf. Hebrews 7:25 reads, “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing He ever lives to make intercession for them.” Christ is our advocate and pleads our case before our loving and just Heavenly Father.

Heal: I love the doctrine that Christ is our advocate. And I love the way in in the Doctrine and Covenants, Joseph gives us an idea of the kind of prayer that Jesus might offer for us as our advocate. In Doctrine and Covenants 45:3-5 it reads, “Listened to him, who is the advocate with the Father, who is pleading your cause before him, saying, Father, behold the sufferings and death of him who did no sin, in whom there was well pleased, behold the blood of thy son, which was shed, the blood of him, whom thou gave us that thy self might be glorified. Wherefore, Father, spare these, my brethren and sisters that believe on my name, that they may come unto me, and have everlasting life.” This is such a beautiful and powerful message when you start to actually hear the words that Jesus prays on our behalf.

Olson: As is true with other actions of Christ, by praying for others, he sets a perfect example for each of us. David A. Bednar says, “Praying for others with all of the energy of our souls increases our capacity to hear and to heed to the voice of the Lord.” We should all strive to do and improve that. As I have strived to do better at this, I have changed the manner in which I pray for others throughout this past year. Sometimes, rather than asking God to bless a certain person, though there's nothing wrong with that, I will instead ask God how I can best be an instrument in his hands to bless the said person.

Stuart: Thanks. I think that's something that we can all do, Joanna. And Kristian, as we head into Obadiah, what are some things that we can consider before we dive into the text?

Heal: The book of Obadiah is a prophecy of judgment on Israel's neighbor, Edom, for the “Outrage to your brother Jacob” it says in verse 10. The setting is the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BCE. So what is this outrage? “Edom stood aloof…”, it says, “…when aliens carried off his goods, when foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, you are as one of them.” In verse 11 it says, “Edom is the land of Jacob's brother Esau.” And so the Edomites were also Abraham seeds and Israel's cousins. Yet when Israel was attacked, Edom not only stood aloof, but celebrated. So the Prophet asked Edom a series of rhetorical questions, beginning of verse 12. How could you gaze with glee on your brother that day on the day of his calamity? How could you gloat over the people of Judah on the day of ruin? How could you loudly jeer on the day of anguish? What's more Edom made the mistake of relying upon its allies for protection yet these times that to be fair-weather friend's ultimately betraying Edom. Because of his behavior, God promises Edom, “I will make you least among the nation's, and you should be most despised.” Although Edom thinks it is inviolable, asking who can pull me down to earth? It is not. The God of Israel is mightier.

Stuart: What other concerns or themes do we see in the book of Obadiah?

Heal: So, though the book begins with a complaint and judgment against Edom, it concludes with a broader vision of the destruction of Israel's neighbors, and the return of Israel to its former glory. This prophecy opens in familiar fashion, with an announcement that the “day of the Lord is at hand.” The law of the harvest is invoked, such that God promises Israel's neighbors, “As you did, so shall it be done to you, your conduct shall be requited.”

Stuart: So with these things in mind, what do you see as the overall message of the book of Obadiah?

Heal: The last line of the book captures its principal message, for me at least, and “dominion shall be the Lord's” it says in verse 21. It's easy for Israel's nations to confuse Israel's weakness and frailty with their own strength. They do not recognize that the Lord is constantly chastening Israel by her neighbors. They are not strong, nor is Israel weak, but instead, dominion is the Lord's. The Assyrians made this mistake, the Babylonians made this mistake, and Edom made this mistake. Although Israel was frequently unfaithful, the God of Israel is always faithful, and promises to restore Israel to their former glory and lands. This promise was fulfilled through the hand of Cyrus and the Persian Empire. Yet the message of Obadiah remained important to Israel when the Second Temple was destroyed in 70 CE, and they were once again exiled from their land. On a more personal level, Obadiah seems to be a warning against betraying kindred, taking advantage of those who seem abandoned by God, and trusting in the armor of flesh. We're also reminded that God is faithful to his covenants, that the omnipotence and faithfulness of God has immediate and personal implications. We cannot be seduced by an arrogant heart to think that we are above God's law or his judgment, however large or fortune, or exclusive our address.

Olson: I love that we can put full trust in the promises of our Heavenly Father, as you mentioned, as we remember that God is faithful to his covenants. I've been thinking a lot about that lately. When I prayerfully make decisions, there are times when I have a difficult time receiving an answer to a question, especially when I'm choosing between two good things. One thing that has given me peace, however, is the trust that Heavenly Father will stay true to the covenant He has made with me, as long as I stay on the covenant path. In Doctrine and Covenants section 80, Stephen Burnett and Eden Smith, two early saints, are called to serve a mission. Rather than being called to a specific place, however, they are called to go wherever they choose. They're told that they can go north or south, east or west. And in verse 3, “It reads it matter if not, for you cannot go amiss.” Because they were following Christ, he would not allow them to do anything that was not for their good without warning them first. This is true for all of us. As we strive to stay on the covenant path we can have confidence in and comfort from the knowledge that the Lord will guide and protect us as we listen to the Holy Ghost. And we too, cannot go amiss.

Stuart: And that's the perfect place for us to end today. Have a blessed week, y'all. Thank you for listening to Abide, a Maxwell Institute podcast. Could you please rate, review, and subscribe to the podcast wherever you're listening to this podcast? And follow us on social media at @BYUMaxwell on YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and sign up for our newsletter at mi.byu.edu. Thank you and have a great week.