Obadiah!

Obadiah 21

Saviors shall go up to Mount Zion
to rule Mount Esau;
and the kingdom shall be the LORD's.

This is a classic example of what happens when the Holy Spirit speaks through a prophet.  Obadiah's short little book is written to chew out the people of Edom for acting traitorously toward Israel and assisting Israel's enemies.  In a word, it promises judgement for Edom, which was descended from Esau.  But when the judgment came it was not what you'd expect.  Edom, the enemy of Israel, was indeed conquered and ruled by a Davidic savior: Jesus.  Edomites were, like so many other nations, gathered into the Church, the Davidic kingdom of Christ.  Obadiah probably didn't expect that, any more than John the Baptist expected Jesus to do what he did.  Prophets merely speak for God, they don't necessarily understand what he tells them to say.

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Mark P. Shea is a popular Catholic writer and speaker. The author of numerous books, his most recent work is The Work of Mercy (Servant) and The Heart of Catholic Prayer (Our Sunday Visitor). Mark contributes numerous articles to many magazines, including his popular column “Connecting the Dots” for the National Catholic Register. Mark is known nationally for his one minute “Words of Encouragement” on Catholic radio. He also maintains the Catholic and Enjoying It blog and regularly blogs for National Catholic Register. He lives in Washington state with his wife, Janet, and their four sons.

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