Have you ever noticed how the light of the morning pierces the darkness of the night? While that sounds as if I'm waxing poetic, try turning your phone flashlight on in a dark room, or lighting a candle in the middle of the night of a power outage. The significance of that one light's illumination can make the difference between you stumbling in the dark and stubbing your toe or navigating your way safely through your home.
The same can be said of the news and media we consume. It seems every night we are inundated with bad news and negative images that blanket our world in darkness. Covid 19 numbers, Russians invading Ukraine, our President's poor approval ratings, and the local ramifications of people not working tend to obscure our ability to see clearly. These and other headlines pose challenges as the dimness of the world becomes weighty. But if you insert into that murkiness, one positive news story, article, or perhaps a very cool blog that comes out on Tuesdays, the density of the twilight is lightened as hope and goodness permeate an otherwise...
The same can be said of the news and media we consume. It seems every night we are inundated with bad news and negative images that blanket our world in darkness. Covid 19 numbers, Russians invading Ukraine, our President's poor approval ratings, and the local ramifications of people not working tend to obscure our ability to see clearly. These and other headlines pose challenges as the dimness of the world becomes weighty. But if you insert into that murkiness, one positive news story, article, or perhaps a very cool blog that comes out on Tuesdays, the density of the twilight is lightened as hope and goodness permeate an otherwise...
or if you prefer a more modern version...
or perhaps the orchestral version is your thing...
To create a market for the full album release of Green River, the first single from the album, "Bad Moon Rising", was sent to record stores and radio four months prior. This strategy succeeded as "Bad Moon Rising" went as far as #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was one of 5 Creedence tunes to do go to the #2 spot and never make it to #1. The song that kept it out of the #1 spot? "Love Theme From Romeo and Juliet" by Henry Mancini. I know right?
In 2021. "Bad Moon Rising" was placed at #364 on The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time - Rolling Stone Magazine, September 17, 2021. (You won't find Romeo and Juliet anywhere on this list...) The popularity o "Bad Moon Rising" is so ranging that it has been covered over 20 times in a variety of genres and artists and continues to be used in multimedia formats ranging from major motion pictures (An American Werewolf in London, The Big Chill, Sweet Home Alabama, et al), television (Supernatural, Northern Exposure, The Walking Dead et. al), and video games (Mafia 3). Rounding out the song's celebrity, it has become a favorite chant among soccer fans, especially in Argentina.
"Bad Moon Rising" also joins a select group of popular songs whose lyrics have been misheard so much that the artists now hint or outright sing them in concerts. Did you catch "...there's a bathroom on the right..." as John Fogerty sang it in the last video?
Fogerty (Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Centerfield" (John Fogerty)) reportedly wrote the song after watching the movie, The Devil And Daniel Webster (1941). With its hurricanes a-blowin'
and apocalyptic nuances, it is easy to see how such an 81-year-old movie and the song it inspired resonates with a generation 53 years later. What is exasperating is that mankind hasn't learned from the mistakes made since 1941 OR 1969 and we continue to wander around in darkness when we have the candle and match of history in our hands. But before we get overly critical of our generation and its lack of solving 21st Century issues, perhaps we should remember that this Bad Moon Rising has been going on a very long time...say more than 2800 years? Don't go around tonight...
Before we begin with the prophet Obadiah and the book that bears his name, we must take a moment and apologize. As we have explored the incredible stories of the Bible every attempt has been made to be chronologically accurate. However, some characters in the Bible and the writings surrounding them are very difficult to date. Upon further study and research, we find that Obadiah should have been one of the very first prophets we considered at Tuesday's Musical Notes and our journey through the Bible. We apologize for the wrong placement and will make every effort to not replicate it going forward.
Obadiah is a prophet somewhat shrouded in mystery as to his time of writing and his ministry. Obadiah is also a book whose sole focus is not the children of Israel. The first portion of the book is focused on those descended from Esau, the Edomites. (For more on Esau and his brother Joseph check out Tuesday's Musical Notes - "December" (Collective Soul)) The last portion of the book broadens the scope of prophecies to include all nations.
At this point in history, the nation of Edom was in decline. They hated their cousins to the northwest and would do anything to make sure the lives of the Israelites were interrupted. The Edomites rebelled against Israel while the Babylonians invaded Jerusalem. As the people of Israel were fleeing the incoming Babylonian invasion, the Edomites lay in wait to block, rob, and kill the Israelites as they exited. Obadiah's book is an account of how the judgment of God was about to fall on the nation of Edom due to their pride and the rebellion that ensued. Thus incurring God's indignation for persecuting His chosen people.
Obadiah's name means "worshipper of Yahweh". It seems ironic that his writings would focus on the lack of redemption that the Edomites were about to incur. The book of Obadiah is the shortest in the Old Testament. At only 18 verses, we can see that Obadiah used very little time to mince words or overstate the obvious. His book is powerful in that it can very well be read about any nation that exists in our world today...including the United States. There is a difference, however, in that the Edomites had gone so far away from God that their destruction as a nation was inevitable. Go look at a world map or globe and see if you can find a nation called "Edom". It isn't there and hasn't been since about the same time as the Babylonians took the Israelites captive. The difference was that Israel recovered after captivity by the Babylonians, Medes, Persians, and Romans, Edom did not. Obadiah is the account of God holding Edom accountable for their transgressions against His people. "...on the day of their destruction."
If you take the opportunity to study world history for any length of time, you soon see that world powers and superpowers ride the cycles of growth, dominance, and then decline. History is replete with nation after nation that is emblematic of this trend and suffers the same fate as Edom...they don't exist today. Obadiah pronounces judgment on Edom's pride and arrogance. He then segues into the warnings of what that same pride and arrogance can do to any nation as he sees a "Bad Moon Rising" with the coming of the "Day of the Lord". Seems pretty dim around these parts right now.
Just about the time you think the darkness is about to be victorious, Obadiah springboards into the hope that exists for all nations seeing redemption, including the Edomites. The coming Day of the Lord brings a piercing light to the judgment that has been occurring on the nations for those who call on the One True God. And with Obadiah's closing verses you see a future, while darkly apocalyptic, filled with light and hope as God sets His kingdom upon the earth and restores believing humanity to Himself. "...and the kingdom will be the Lord's."
Here's where we come in. As we look around our world today seeing history being made, it is easy to identify those nations that are rising and falling. Will those nations be found full of pride in their wealth and accomplishments and be struggling in the dark, facing hurricanes and lighting? Or will they see the light hanging from a cross on a hillside in Israel that causes shadows to fade in its brilliance as the cross becomes a throne?
More importantly, which side of The Day of the Lord will individuals find themselves on? As we look to our futures, do we see the darkness of a Bad Moon Rising, or have we focused on the darkness abating Light that ushers in the new humanity to His presence? 'Til Tuesday,
Loving HIM by loving you,
randy <><
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