Find the Right Mountain

Obadiah 1:15-17

Obadiah says that the “day of the Lord is near upon all the heathen: as thou has done, it shall be done unto thee” (1:15). For those who have not accepted Christ, this is a pretty frightening thought! The prophet proceeds to explain that as Israel had heard from God on his “holy mountain”, so the heathen will drink the same thing at this mountain that Israel did. What mountain is he talking about, and what drink will they drink?

The 17th verse answers our question partially, “But upon Mount Zion shall be deliverance” (1:17). There is a contrast between two mountains. The first is God’s holy mountain where Israel drank at first. This can only be Mount Sinai, where Moses spoke with God and received the Ten Commandments and all of the written ordinances of the law. Israel drank of God’s wrath from this mountain on more than one occasion and all because they were disobedient to the law that came from the mount.

Mount Zion is never mentioned while Israel is wandering in the wilderness. Of course, that makes sense seeing as Mount Zion is in Jerusalem, and Israel has yet to arrive there, but for the time period that Israel was in while in the wilderness, there is only one significant mountain and that is Sinai, the birthplace of the law. All of Israel was judged there, by the pristine, perfect standards of God’s law.

The author of Hebrews describes two mountains: Mt. Sinai and Mt. Zion (Hebrews 12:18-24). The first burned with fire, was black and dark and the voice that spoke from it could not be endured (vss. 18-20). The second is described as the city of the living God, with many angels, where the church lives with Jesus, the mediator of the New Covenant (vss.22-24).

Mt. Sinai represents the law and all of its demands (Galatians 4:24). While telling man how to live, it provides no help in keeping those demands. It came so that sin would explode in man’s heart, showing him his need for a Savior (Romans 5:20; Galatians 3:24).

Mt. Zion represents the New Covenant and the grace of God. There is no fear in approaching it because Jesus lives there, and His blood is speaking great things about our redemption (Hebrews 12:23).

Obadiah’s prophecy shows us that man will ultimately be judged by the Law, because without Jesus, the only other mountain for him is Sinai. When someone rejects Christ, they are rejecting God’s offer of a New Covenant from Mt. Zion. Because of this, they are left only with Sinai and its demands.

As a believer, you should live and dwell and worship at Mt. Zion, where grace flows in abundance. Any attempts at keeping the law to achieve righteousness places you at the base of Sinai, where not even the great Moses could keep from quaking in fear (Hebrews 12:21).

Preachers must move their pulpits from the darkness of Sinai, where the law is preached with trembling and fear; and station themselves in the heaven of Mt. Zion, where the loveliness of Jesus is presented and the New Covenant is free for all by the precious blood of Jesus.
Go to the right mountain today!

If Our Heart Condemn Us

1 John 3:20, 21

Sometimes our head and our heart do not agree. We think one thing, but our heart speaks something else to us. As believers, changing the way that we think about God is crucial to our walking in freedom and liberty, which Paul bore out so many times and in so many scriptures. Right thinking leads to right living; so wrong thinking would lead to wrong living.

While our minds are being renewed to think like Christ, our hearts often speak just as loud, and sometimes louder. We can become confused about who we are in Christ, even though our head knows all of the right answers and the right scriptures. When these moments of confusion arise, some believers tend to feel that they are less of a saint because of the way that they are “feeling”. This connection between how you feel and who you are can lead to restlessness and hopelessness.

The Apostle Peter must have felt this same confusion, when he denied knowing the Lord on the evening before Christ’s death. Following this terrible event, Peter feels so downtrodden and confused that he decides to abandon fishing for men and go back to fishing for a living. Jesus appears, walking by the sea, and blesses Peter with a boat-load of fish, much like He had done when Peter first met the Master. Peter abandons the boat and wades ashore to find that Jesus has prepared a meal and is ready to dine with His disciples.

There is no mention of Peter’s failure in that conversation over breakfast, but Jesus does ask “Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these?” (John 21:15). The question is aimed at Peter’s heart, wondering if Peter loves Jesus more than he loves his old lifestyle. Peter says, “Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee” (21:15). His answer is built around what he knows and what he hopes that Jesus knows. In other words, Peter is not so convinced that he does love Jesus enough, but He hopes that Jesus knows more than He does!

John, who was witness to these events on that day, writes that if our hearts are to condemn us for our actions or for who we are, “God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things” (1 John 3:20). Though our emotions tell us one thing, God knows what we do not know and we are better to appeal to His knowledge of us. Peter may not have an assurance of how he feels about Jesus, so he can only trust what Jesus KNOWS to be true. While I may not always FEEL saved, I trust that God knows more than I do.

If my heart does not condemn me then I can have confidence toward God (1 John 3:21). This confidence leads me to ask whatever I want to of God and be sure that I will receive it. If a believer is not sure about who they are in Christ, they cannot be confident that their Heavenly Father only wishes to do good to them and for them. If you think that He wants less than this for you, then you know that you are condemning yourself, contrary to Christ’s finished work.

Don’t worry about the last part of verse 22, which speaks of keeping “his commandments”; for John is not placing you back under the law. Read on, and learn that “This is his commandment, that we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment” (1 John 3:23).

Find the Right Mountain

Obadiah 1:15-17

Obadiah says that the “day of the Lord is near upon all the heathen: as thou has done, it shall be done unto thee” (1:15). For those who have not accepted Christ, this is a pretty frightening thought! The prophet proceeds to explain that as Israel had heard from God on his “holy mountain”, so the heathen will drink the same thing at this mountain that Israel did. What mountain is he talking about, and what drink will they drink?

The 17th verse answers our question partially, “But upon Mount Zion shall be deliverance” (1:17). There is a contrast between two mountains. The first is God’s holy mountain where Israel drank at first. This can only be Mount Sinai, where Moses spoke with God and received the Ten Commandments and all of the written ordinances of the law. Israel drank of God’s wrath from this mountain on more than one occasion and all because they were disobedient to the law that came from the mount.

Mount Zion is never mentioned while Israel is wandering in the wilderness. Of course, that makes sense seeing as Mount Zion is in Jerusalem, and Israel has yet to arrive there, but for the time period that Israel was in while in the wilderness, there is only one significant mountain and that is Sinai, the birthplace of the law. All of Israel was judged there, by the pristine, perfect standards of God’s law.

The author of Hebrews describes two mountains: Mt. Sinai and Mt. Zion (Hebrews 12:18-24). The first burned with fire, was black and dark and the voice that spoke from it could not be endured (vss. 18-20). The second is described as the city of the living God, with many angels, where the church lives with Jesus, the mediator of the New Covenant (vss.22-24).

Mt. Sinai represents the law and all of its demands (Galatians 4:24). While telling man how to live, it provides no help in keeping those demands. It came so that sin would explode in man’s heart, showing him his need for a Savior (Romans 5:20; Galatians 3:24).

Mt. Zion represents the New Covenant and the grace of God. There is no fear in approaching it because Jesus lives there, and His blood is speaking great things about our redemption (Hebrews 12:23).

Obadiah’s prophecy shows us that man will ultimately be judged by the Law, because without Jesus, the only other mountain for him is Sinai. When someone rejects Christ, they are rejecting God’s offer of a New Covenant from Mt. Zion. Because of this, they are left only with Sinai and its demands.

As a believer, you should live and dwell and worship at Mt. Zion, where grace flows in abundance. Any attempts at keeping the law to achieve righteousness places you at the base of Sinai, where not even the great Moses could keep from quaking in fear (Hebrews 12:21).

Preachers must move their pulpits from the darkness of Sinai, where the law is preached with trembling and fear; and station themselves in the heaven of Mt. Zion, where the loveliness of Jesus is presented and the New Covenant is free for all by the precious blood of Jesus.
Go to the right mountain today!

If Our Heart Condemn Us

1 John 3:20, 21

Sometimes our head and our heart do not agree. We think one thing, but our heart speaks something else to us. As believers, changing the way that we think about God is crucial to our walking in freedom and liberty, which Paul bore out so many times and in so many scriptures. Right thinking leads to right living; so wrong thinking would lead to wrong living.

While our minds are being renewed to think like Christ, our hearts often speak just as loud, and sometimes louder. We can become confused about who we are in Christ, even though our head knows all of the right answers and the right scriptures. When these moments of confusion arise, some believers tend to feel that they are less of a saint because of the way that they are “feeling”. This connection between how you feel and who you are can lead to restlessness and hopelessness.

The Apostle Peter must have felt this same confusion, when he denied knowing the Lord on the evening before Christ’s death. Following this terrible event, Peter feels so downtrodden and confused that he decides to abandon fishing for men and go back to fishing for a living. Jesus appears, walking by the sea, and blesses Peter with a boat-load of fish, much like He had done when Peter first met the Master. Peter abandons the boat and wades ashore to find that Jesus has prepared a meal and is ready to dine with His disciples.

There is no mention of Peter’s failure in that conversation over breakfast, but Jesus does ask “Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these?” (John 21:15). The question is aimed at Peter’s heart, wondering if Peter loves Jesus more than he loves his old lifestyle. Peter says, “Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee” (21:15). His answer is built around what he knows and what he hopes that Jesus knows. In other words, Peter is not so convinced that he does love Jesus enough, but He hopes that Jesus knows more than He does!

John, who was witness to these events on that day, writes that if our hearts are to condemn us for our actions or for who we are, “God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things” (1 John 3:20). Though our emotions tell us one thing, God knows what we do not know and we are better to appeal to His knowledge of us. Peter may not have an assurance of how he feels about Jesus, so he can only trust what Jesus KNOWS to be true. While I may not always FEEL saved, I trust that God knows more than I do.

If my heart does not condemn me then I can have confidence toward God (1 John 3:21). This confidence leads me to ask whatever I want to of God and be sure that I will receive it. If a believer is not sure about who they are in Christ, they cannot be confident that their Heavenly Father only wishes to do good to them and for them. If you think that He wants less than this for you, then you know that you are condemning yourself, contrary to Christ’s finished work.

Don’t worry about the last part of verse 22, which speaks of keeping “his commandments”; for John is not placing you back under the law. Read on, and learn that “This is his commandment, that we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment” (1 John 3:23).

Find the Right Mountain

Obadiah 1:15-17

Obadiah says that the “day of the Lord is near upon all the heathen: as thou has done, it shall be done unto thee” (1:15). For those who have not accepted Christ, this is a pretty frightening thought! The prophet proceeds to explain that as Israel had heard from God on his “holy mountain”, so the heathen will drink the same thing at this mountain that Israel did. What mountain is he talking about, and what drink will they drink?

The 17th verse answers our question partially, “But upon Mount Zion shall be deliverance” (1:17). There is a contrast between two mountains. The first is God’s holy mountain where Israel drank at first. This can only be Mount Sinai, where Moses spoke with God and received the Ten Commandments and all of the written ordinances of the law. Israel drank of God’s wrath from this mountain on more than one occasion and all because they were disobedient to the law that came from the mount.

Mount Zion is never mentioned while Israel is wandering in the wilderness. Of course, that makes sense seeing as Mount Zion is in Jerusalem, and Israel has yet to arrive there, but for the time period that Israel was in while in the wilderness, there is only one significant mountain and that is Sinai, the birthplace of the law. All of Israel was judged there, by the pristine, perfect standards of God’s law.

The author of Hebrews describes two mountains: Mt. Sinai and Mt. Zion (Hebrews 12:18-24). The first burned with fire, was black and dark and the voice that spoke from it could not be endured (vss. 18-20). The second is described as the city of the living God, with many angels, where the church lives with Jesus, the mediator of the New Covenant (vss.22-24).

Mt. Sinai represents the law and all of its demands (Galatians 4:24). While telling man how to live, it provides no help in keeping those demands. It came so that sin would explode in man’s heart, showing him his need for a Savior (Romans 5:20; Galatians 3:24).

Mt. Zion represents the New Covenant and the grace of God. There is no fear in approaching it because Jesus lives there, and His blood is speaking great things about our redemption (Hebrews 12:23).

Obadiah’s prophecy shows us that man will ultimately be judged by the Law, because without Jesus, the only other mountain for him is Sinai. When someone rejects Christ, they are rejecting God’s offer of a New Covenant from Mt. Zion. Because of this, they are left only with Sinai and its demands.

As a believer, you should live and dwell and worship at Mt. Zion, where grace flows in abundance. Any attempts at keeping the law to achieve righteousness places you at the base of Sinai, where not even the great Moses could keep from quaking in fear (Hebrews 12:21).

Preachers must move their pulpits from the darkness of Sinai, where the law is preached with trembling and fear; and station themselves in the heaven of Mt. Zion, where the loveliness of Jesus is presented and the New Covenant is free for all by the precious blood of Jesus.
Go to the right mountain today!