Imagery

Obadiah 1:18

"For the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau stubble, and there shall be no survivor for the house of Esau, for the Lord has spoken."

What a powerful statement of doom! The house of Esau will be no more!! Yet here in the midst of this prophecy is poetry. Instead of saying that Jacob and Joseph will destroy Esau in military terms, God describes what they will do in metaphors of nature. Jacob will be fire, and Joseph a flame. Why would God write in these terms? Perhaps because the power of nature is uncontrolled by man and brings unbelievable destruction. Maybe because it is saying that their destruction will be heated and have fire as an element.

Ps. 83 gives clarity to this prophecy and imagery. The psalmist prays, "O my God, make them like whirling dust, like chaff before the wind. As fire consumes the forest, as the flame sets the mountains ablaze, so may you pursue them with Your tempest and terrify them with Your hurricane."  How perfectly these two passages coordinate! God heard the psalmist's prayer and answered in similar imagery. Perhaps the reason for the nature imagery is because nature is often God's chosen instrument of destruction since He alone controls it. Whatever the reason, I find it encouraging that God uses and loves poetry.

Father,
Thank You for writing with such beautiful words and images. I am sure that You put within me a love for words and images. You have blessed my life with Your words.
In Jesus name,
Amen