Obadiah 1:19, 20 And they of the south shall possess the mount of Esau; and they of the plain the Philistines… And they of the south shall possess the mount of Esau; and they of the plain the Philistines: and they shall possess the fields of Ephraim, and the fields of Samaria: and Benjamin shall possess Gilead, etc. By the "south" or southern part of Palestine is here meant those who should occupy it; and by the "plain," those who should occupy the low country along the shore of the Mediterranean. "According to the relative positions of those who should take possession of the different parts of the Holy Land was to be the enlargement of their territory by the annexation of the adjoining regions which had formerly been occupied by allies or hostile powers. As there is no subject specified before the country of Edom and the country of Samaria, it seems to be intimated that the regions of Ephraim and Samaria were to be occupied by the Jews and the Israelites jointly, without any regard to tribal distinctions; and the reason why the tribe of Benjamin is mentioned is merely on account of the proximity of Gilead to the territory which it originally possessed" (Elzas). "The promise here," says an old expositor, "no doubt has a spiritual signification, and had its accomplishment in the setting up of the Christian Church, the gospel Israel, in the world; and shall have its accomplishment more and more in the enlargement of it, and the additions made to it, till the mystical body is completed. When ministers and Christians prevail with their neighbours to come to Christ, to yield themselves to the Lord, they possess them. The converts that Abraham had made are said to be the souls that he had gotten (Genesis 12:5). The possession is gained, not vi et armis - by force and arms; for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but spiritual; it is by the preaching of the gospel, and the power of Divine grace going along with it, that this possession is got and kept." That the true Church is an aggressive power will appear from considering the gospel, which is at once its inspiration, its life, and its instrument. Consider, therefore I. THE ELEMENTS OF WHICH THE GOSPEL IS COMPOSED. It is made up of two great elements, "grace and truth," that is, eternal reality and Divine benevolence. Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." To show the aggressiveness of these two principles, two facts may be stated. 1. That the human soul is made to feel their imperial force. It is true that the soul in its unregenerate state is ruled by directly opposite elements - error and selfishness. But even error has power over it only so long as it regards it as reality, and selfishness influences it under the guise of love. It is the truth when made clear to it that comes with a conquering power; it is love or grace that transports its heart. The human soul is made for these two elements. 2. That the human soul is bound to yearn after these elements as its highest good. Its deep hunger is for truth and for reality, for benevolence, or love. It has no natural hunger for error, no natural hunger for selfishness. 3. That the human soul is everywhere restless without these elements. It is only as the soul gets truth and grace into it that it becomes settled, calm; self-united. These are facts connected with the human soul, and these facts show the aggressiveness of the gospel. II. THE PROSELYTIZING SPIRIT WHICH THE GOSPEL ENGENDERS. As soon as ever the gospel takes real possession of a soul, that soul becomes intensely solicitous to spread it abroad. It becomes what Jeremiah describes as a "fire in the bones." Peter said, "We cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard," Paul said, "The love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge," etc. "Necessity is laid upon us" Every genuine recipient, then, of the gospel becomes a missionary, a propagandist, a moral knight, to battle against the mighty hosts of error and selfishness. Each member of the true Church, or godly community, becomes, by a moral necessity, a soldier of the cross. III. THE TRIUMPHS WHICH THE GOSPEL HAS ALREADY ACHIEVED. Compare the influence of the gospel in the world now to what it was when Christ was on earth. It was then confined to one lonely soul, the soul of Jesus of Nazareth; it is now in the possession of millions. The springlet has become an Amazon; the grain has covered islands and continents; the little stone has grown into a mountain that bids fair to fill the earth. CONCLUSION. Such thoughts as these tend, we think, to demonstrate the essential aggressiveness of the true Church. It will one day take possession of all heathendom, with its "mount of Esau," the "plains of the Philistines," the "fields of Ephraim," and the "fields of Samaria," and what Canaanites there are as far as Zarephath. - D.T. Parallel Verses KJV: And they of the south shall possess the mount of Esau; and they of the plain the Philistines: and they shall possess the fields of Ephraim, and the fields of Samaria: and Benjamin shall possess Gilead. |
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