In some cases, the body language mentioned in the Bible is similar or identical to that found in many modern cultures.  For example, the act of bowing before important individuals or before God mentioned so often in the Bible is perfectly understandable to us today, and even more subtle gesture expressions make sense to us, as when the book of Proverbs tells us that “Whoever winks with their eye is plotting perversity; whoever purses their lips is bent on evil” (Proverbs 16:30).  

The Bible draws attention to many of these non-verbal forms of expression –  especially those involving the hands or feet. For example, the book of Ezekiel records God commanding the prophet Ezekiel to gesture by clapping his hands and stomping his feet regarding sinful Israel (Ezekiel 6:11).  Such gestures were commonly used in both ancient Israel and the nations surrounding it. The book of Job mentions pagan worshipers of the sun and moon gesturing by kissing their hands to bless their gods (Job 31:26-28), and in both the Old and New Testaments we see that in blessing a group of people it was common to lift the hands toward them as the blessing was spoken (Leviticus 9:22; Luke 24:50). 
  
But there are some things we should remember in understanding the body language mentioned in the Bible.  First, we sometimes find different body gestures being used with the same meaning. The book of Genesis gives several examples of oaths being sworn by a person placing his hand under another’s thigh or hip –  as Abraham’s steward is said to have done in promising that he would get a wife for Isaac from among Abraham’s relatives (Genesis 24:2, 9), and as Joseph did in swearing not to bury his father Jacob in Egypt (Genesis 47:29-31).  But later in the Old Testament references to taking an oath usually show individuals doing so by raising a hand toward heaven (Deuteronomy 32:40; Daniel 12:7; etc.), and in the book of Ezekiel God himself is said to take an oath by raising his hand in this way (Ezekiel 20:5, 15, 23).

Another factor to keep in mind is that many societies assign unique meanings to gestures and postures, and we cannot always assume that a body language “signal” meant the same thing to those in other places or times that it does to us.  The gesture of clapping is a good example of this.  We usually understand clapping the hands together positively – to signify applause. But in biblical times we see not only that same meaning of this gesture as applause (2 Kings 11:12) and praise (Psalm 47:1), but also clapping was used to signify negative reactions such as anger (Numbers 24:10), revulsion (Ezekiel 22:13), and even contempt or derision (Job 27:23).  So when we read of people clapping in a Bible verse (compare for example, Ezekiel 6:11 and 25:6),  we should realize that we need to look at the different possible meanings of this gesture to see which best fits the context.

In a similar way, removing one’s shoes was often a gesture of reverence or respect, just as  Moses was commanded to do this at the burning bush (Exodus 3:5) and Joshua in the presence of the angel of the Lord (Joshua 5:15).  But removing shoes could also be a sign of grief (2 Samuel 15:30), of disrespect (Deuteronomy 25:6-10), or even of sealing an agreement (Ruth 4:7-8).
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In fact, most gestures mentioned in the Bible have multiple meanings and need to be understood in context.  The gesture of throwing dust in the air onto oneself or others was used by those who were grieving (Joshua 7:6, etc.), but also as a gesture indicating scorn or anger – as when the man Shimei did this against David along with cursing him (2 Samuel 16:13).  The same gesture is seen in the New Testament when an angry mob responded to Paul’s defense by crying out and tossing dust into the air (Acts 22:22-23).

In the New Testament, bodily gestures and expressions are frequently noted in the Gospels and this is especially true –  as we might perhaps expect –  in the Gospel of Luke the physician.  But body language appears in some form or other in most books of the Bible, and looking out for it and learning to “read” it correctly can often help us to better understand what is happening in the narrative or to notice points that the biblical writers especially wanted to stress.

To do this, many people turn to a printed “topical Bible” that groups all the scriptural instances of a given word such as “faith” together.   This method works reasonably well, but it has serious drawbacks.  The main problem with using a topical Bible for this kind of search is that we can only look up one word at a time. This might get every instance of the specific word we select, but it may miss many scriptures that use other related words.  For example, searching “faith” might not get scriptures with the word “belief” or “trust” that are obviously part of what we are looking for.  The problem is made worse by the fact that many of the same underlying Greek or Hebrew words may be translated differently in different verses. 

The answer to this problem – and others associated with printed topical Bibles – is to conduct a search online using a major Bible website such as BibleGateway.com.  An online search of this type allows us to put all the relevant words into the search at the same time instead of having to laboriously search them all individually.  

But there are a few things we should remember in order to optimize an online search for a biblical term or concept.  The basic method is simple. If you are using BibleGateway.com, just select “keyword search” under the “Bible” tab at the top of the page.  Then, after selecting the Bible version you want to use, you can fill in all the words you want to search and, finally, delimit the search parameters by choosing from:  [book name] to [same book name] for one book, or [first book in sequence] to [last book in sequence] for whatever range of books or section of the Bible you wish to search. 

Notice that when you enter your search word you are given the choice of “Match ALL words,” “Match ANY words,” and “Match EXACT phrase.”  This differentiation is very helpful and one of the ways the BibleGateway search shines.   For example, if you want to search a single word such as “sin,” it helps to choose “Match EXACT phrase” so that you only get scriptures mentioning sin and not scriptures with words like “since” or “sincerely” in your results.  This can save time and avoid frustration.

If you are searching multiple words, selecting “Match ANY word” is usually the best way to get the most complete results regarding a concept found in many scriptures.  “Match ALL words” is best for finding a specific scripture you are trying to locate.  This is much harder to do with a printed topical Bible where you can only search one of the words in the scripture you want and may have to plow through a great many false matches.  With the “Match ALL words” feature you can include any other words that you remember in the verse you want, even if you only have a few of them.

Yet another advantage of online searches is that searching  words in a printed book may mean we don’t get the context of surrounding verses –  something BibleGateway allows us to do by simply clicking  “In Context” or  “Whole Chapter” links beneath the verses returned in the search. 
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So, whether you are searching for an individual scripture you know but want to locate or searching for all the scriptures on a given topic, an online search using BibleGateway.com can save a great deal of time over using a printed topical Bible – and can often produce far more relevant and useful results for your study.  

This fact is particularly intriguing because Obadiah happens to be the shortest book in the Old Testament – a brief single chapter of only twenty-one verses – so it is hard to guess why it seems to be so unpopular, or at least so little read.
Perhaps the reason Obadiah stays perennially at the “bottom of the charts” is because it mainly consists of prophecies against the minor ancient nation of Edom located to the southeast of Judah and said to be the prideful descendants of Jacob’s brother Esau (Genesis 25-33; Obadiah vs. 3).  Yet Obadiah is a unique and fascinating book well worth getting to know.

There are actually numerous (at least ten) Obadiahs mentioned  in the Old Testament, but according to the traditions recorded in the Jewish Talmud and in the Eastern Orthodox Christian Church, the author of the book of that name was the individual who was a servant of the evil king Ahab and who hid a hundred prophets of God in caves to protect them from the wrath of Ahab’s pagan wife Jezebel (1 Kings 18:4). Obadiah is said to have been from the nation of Edom that he would eventually prophecy against and is also said to have been a descendant of Eliphaz, the friend of Job.

While this traditional identification is uncertain, its placement of Obadiah around the time of the major prophet Elisha does fit some of the things written in the book of Obadiah itself.  Verses 10-14 speak of Edom’s callous behavior toward its brother nation of Judah in a time when Jerusalem was attacked, and this could be the situation around 850-840 BC when the Philistines (mentioned in vs. 19) and the Arabians invaded Jerusalem. Edom also rebelled against Jerusalem at that time and may have committed the crimes Obadiah describes against those fleeing Jerusalem. 

The opening verses of the book of Obadiah (1–5) are almost the same as those in a prophecy given against Edom by Jeremiah (Jeremiah 49:9, 14–16).  Both prophets accuse the Edomites of unchecked pride which would eventually be punished.  But Obadiah brings another specific charge against the Edomites, that of great callousness in taking advantage of a brother in need:

“On the day you stood aloof while strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem,  you were like one of them. You should not gloat over your brother in the day of his misfortune, nor rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their destruction, nor boast so much  in the day of their trouble.  You should not march through the gates of my people in the day of their disaster, nor gloat over them in their calamity in the day of their disaster, nor seize their wealth in the day of their disaster. You should not wait at the crossroads to cut down their fugitives, nor hand over their survivors in the day of their trouble” (vss. 11-14).

Because of this great callousness toward others – in this case, the Edomites’ own national relatives – God prophesied the destruction of Edom: “Because of the violence against your brother Jacob, you will be covered with shame; you will be destroyed forever” (vs. 10).  As it is, the nation of Edom did disappear into history, and Obadiah’s message for a nation is a case study for the many biblical passages that command us not to take joy in the downfall of our neighbors – even when they are our enemies (Proverbs 24:17).

Obadiah also stands as a case study of the fact that God judges nations just as he judges individuals; and while “pride goes before destruction” (Proverbs 16:18) for individuals, national pride and rebellion against God also lead to destruction.  As Obadiah writes, poetically but pointedly:

“The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rocks and make your home on the heights, you who say to yourself, ‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’ Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down” (vss. 3-4).
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But Obadiah’s prophecy was not just one of punishment on the nation of Edom.  The book also stresses the restoration of Judah (vss. 15–20) and the time when, eventually, “Deliverers will go up on Mount Zion to govern the mountains of Esau. And the kingdom will be the Lord’s” (vs. 21). There is much more going on in this tiny book than just prophecies against an ancient nation we may never have heard of, so why not read Obadiah today? You may find much more in it than you expected – and you’ll know that you have read the least-read book in the Bible!

The word of God has both those abilities, too.  We can see things “through” it – the stories, lessons, and events it records –  and we can also catch occasional glimpses of ourselves in the way it describes our own human natures and tendencies. 

This dual nature of the Bible –  as both spiritual window and mirror –  is something the Scriptures themselves describe.   The well-known words of the apostle James speak directly about the Bible’s ability to act reflectively as a spiritual mirror, of course: “Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like” (James 1:23-24).

Many other scriptures talk about our ability to see things through the word of God, as well.  Paul’s words regarding his own letter to the Ephesians are an example of this: “In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ” (Ephesians 3:4). Elsewhere Paul speaks even more specifically about the things we are able to see through the Spirit-inspired word of God:  “… these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God” (1 Corinthians 2:10).

So it is clear that the two great purposes of the word of God are to teach us about God and what he has done for humanity, and to teach us what we need to know about ourselves.  And that, of course, is why we study the Bible.   But that is also where we sometimes fall down in not studying as effectively as we could. Often, even devoted Christians fall into the habit of either looking at or through the word, but not both.

For example, if we are not careful it’s easy to just read through the Bible by reading its stories and focusing on them, but not seeing the reflections of ourselves that we frequently need to see.  To do that we have to keep “two hats” on at once, so to speak –  to  be able to read about events, stories and descriptions while constantly watching for aspects that “reflect” on us –  things that are condemned or encouraged that we need to change or to develop.

On the other hand, it is just as possible to focus too much on ourselves in our Bible reading, to mainly think about scriptures that encourage, guide, or even correct us, but at the same time to not focus on the real subject of God’s word – God himself.  God certainly desires to speak to us through his word, but his message is not primarily about us, it’s about him and his plan for his whole creation. 

So if we are mainly looking at our own reflection in our study of the Bible, we are not seeing a major part of its message; though on the other hand, if we are only looking “through the glass” we are missing something very important, too. Effective Bible study consists of a careful balance of these two ways of looking.  If at the end of a session of Bible reading we have only been personally encouraged or corrected but have not learned or been reminded about some aspect of the nature of God, we may have missed seeing something or may need to read a little further.  If we feel we came to better understand some aspect of God’s nature and his dealing with humanity but missed any application in our own lives, we may have missed something, too.

As the apostle Paul wrote: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). Scripture gives us both doctrine – things to know – and instruction – things to do.  In order to get both those intended results we need to continually remind ourselves to look both at the glass and through it.