~ FIRE OR STUBBLE? ~
In a prophesy about the coming Savior and His church, Obadiah forsees the future of the households of two brothers. The house of Jacob would be a fire, but the house of Esau would be for stubble. The context that provides the foundation for this prophecy was the continued cruelty throughout time demonstrated by Esau’s descendants, the Edomites, toward Jacob’s descendants, the Israelites. Despite feeling themselves impervious to destruction, they were surely to reap for all their sins against Israel. To that end, Obadiah prophesies of their certain, thorough destruction: “For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever...But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions. And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them, and devour them; and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau; for the LORD hath spoken it” (Obadiah 1:10, 17-18).
Yet, the imagery is remarkable. Stubble is flimsy and without substance. It is vulnerable. It does not act, but rather is acted on by another. On the other hand, though fire is used in scripture with a negative connotation, such is not the case in Obadiah. Here, the fire (Jacob), in contrast to the stubble (Esau), is divinely created. It is active, victorious, consuming, purposeful, and effective.
One thing should certainly be true of every New Testament Christian today. We should be “on fire” for the Lord. “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:15-16). Christian, has your fire gone out? Are you active, spreading the influence of Christ in a cold, dark world? Are you living victoriously -- or as though you have already been defeated? Does Christ consume your life, or are you finding your life empty and aimless? Are you exerting Christian influence on others or is the world acting upon you, using you, and consuming you? “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:1-2). Are you “stubble” or “fire?” It makes an eternal difference! Ask Esau.