The Lord Our Savior

As the mother of twins, I made a point that my two boys were going to grow up in
their individuality. Society tends to try to lump twins together and make them the
same person, when the truth is, most of the time they are different as day and night. I
mentioned in “The Breath of Life” that when my twins were born, Tristan, who was
born first, was not crying when they delivered him. It was when they pulled Brenden
from the womb and he cried, that Tristan wailed in response. I made sure that while I
wanted them to maintain their closeness growing up, I wanted them to be their own
unique selves. Until they started school, they were inseparable. As infants, they slept
in the same crib touching hands. As toddlers, where one went the other did as well. I
never dressed them alike, I never made them get the same exact toys, and I never
expected them to behave as the other. When they reached about the age of twelve,
their personalities really began to show forth. Brenden is my stoic one. There was one
day we were at Walmart, and he was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed
over his chest, this serious look, almost a scowl on his face. I asked him if he was
okay, and without missing a beat, he slowly turned his head towards me, looked me
dead in the eye and said, “I’m smiling on the inside.” Tristan on the other hand is my
social butterfly, and if you have seen The Chosen, he is like Thomas. Being in the
culinary industry, everything must be in perfect order or it makes him crazy. When he
was as senior in high school, he had too many glass balls that he was trying to juggle.
High School, concurrent college classes, cake decorating classes, he was an officer
with FCCLA and working a job. There was a day those balls came crashing down,
and he realized that there are times in your life, you are not always going to have it
under control. Brenden is my warrior, having served his country in the National
Guard, Tristan is my giver of hospitality, making sure that everyone leaves satisfied.
Although they are different as different can be, they both have a servant’s heart, and
this mama loves them both fiercely, with passion, and unconditionally. I would not
have them change to be like each other for anything in this world.

To understand the book of Obadiah, you have to first understand the story of two
brothers. Not just any two brothers, twins, and not just any twins. We must go back to
the beginning, to Genesis and look at Jacob and Esau.

When the Lord blessed Rebekah, who was barren, she was blessed with twins. I can
by experience tell you that when you are going through the pregnancy, it does not feel
like a blessing, it feels like a war. And when she inquired of God about it, he told her
“There are two nations in your womb. From birth they will be two rival peoples. One
of these peoples will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the
younger.” Genesis 25:23 Thus, Jacob and Esau were born. If you are not familiar with
the story of these brothers, Esau, the firstborn, was by tradition the one to receive the
birthright and blessing from their father. Jacob, whose name means “he supplants”,
ended up stealing both out from underneath Esau. The birthright when Esau valued
food over his inheritance, and the blessing when Jacob at his mother’s instruction,
tricked his father to obtain it. (Genesis 25:29-40) When Esau realized what happened,
verse 41 says: Esav (Esau) hated his brother because of the blessing his father gave
him. ‘Esav said to himself, “The time for mourning my father will come soon, and
then I will kill my brother, Ya’akov. (Jacob)” In fear for his life, Jacob fled from his
brother. By the time Jacob was ready to return home, he had increased in wealth and
family, but was afraid and distressed about seeing his brother, so he sent gifts from his
various flocks ahead of him in hope that in would soften his brother’s anger towards
him. When the two met, Esau ran to meet him, hugged him, kissed his neck and wept.
(If this sounds familiar, think of the parable of the Prodigal Son and the father’s
reaction when his son came home.) Jacob became Israel, Esau became Edom. Two
nations that warred within the womb would soon war with each other. The Edomites
would develop a hatred for Israel over the lost birthright of Esau, thus feeling Jacob
(Israel) cheated them out of their inheritance. Edom helped a foreign nation invade
Jerusalem and rejoiced over its destruction. Obadiah was given a vision concerning
the destruction of Edom, which is what the book foretells.
Starting in chapter 17 however, the tone changes to God’s restoration of Israel and the
final verse reads: 21 And saviors shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of
Esau; and the kingdom shall be the Lord’s. (KJV) The translation from the Jewish
study bible reads a bit differently: 21 Then the victorious will ascend Mount Tziyon to
rule over Mount ‘Esav, but the kingship will belong to Adonai.

Adonai, He is victorious, He is King, He is our Savior. But what does Savior mean? In
the Greek, it means one who delivers from grave danger. However, in the Hebrew it
means divine (heavenly) salvation has its focus on rescue from earthy enemies, as
well as salvation from guilt and sin, avenged, and defend. It means to be well off,
prosperous, to be freed and delivered.

Savior, or yasa in the Hebrew has a numeric value of 380. When I looked at what
other words and phrases equal 380, my mouth literally fell open, and as my pastor
used to say, “I don’t care if this doesn’t bless anyone else, it blesses me”. It is that
huge to me. 380 also equals, “MY MAKER”. He saved me on the cross and made me
not just in flesh but in spirit. He IS the LORD MY SAVIOR! For God did not send
the Son into the world to judge the world, but rather so that through Him, the world
might be saved. John 3:17