“Obadiah (440 words) (Obadiah)” | 2/28/2021
Obadiah | 2/28/21 | Will DuVal
This morning, I’m really excited to jump into a new, 5-week sermon series with you, entitled “Little Book, Big Message: a study through the single-chapter books of the Bible”. I got the idea for this series 2 years ago when I took over as lead pastor here, and the Lord gave me a vision, put a BURDEN on my heart, to preach through the ENTIRE Bible over the course of my ministry, if God allows it.
So I started in 2019 with the Gospel of MARK, with Jesus. Then in 2020 we went ALL the way back to the book of GENESIS, and made it through ch22 before we decided we all needed a little more HOPE in our lives with this pandemic, and we pivoted to a “Psalms of Hope” series.
But I did the math this week, and realized that at my current pace, (62 chs in 100 weeks = 1918 weeks) I’m on track to finish the Bible in just under 37 years. I took over when I was 34 years old. That means I’d have to wait until I was 71 to retire.
BUT… if you count not by chapters preached, but by BOOKS OF THE BIBLE covered, and if I can preach through FIVE entire books in just these next 5 weeks, that means I will have preached through 6.6 books of the Bible in my first 2 years here, and put me on pace to finish all 66 books and get back to the beach with a pina colada in hand by the tender young age of 54. That is the honest but not so spiritual motivation behind this series. :)
All jokes aside, I’m looking forward to studying 5 whole books together these next 5 weeks. I hope you can join us for all 5. But this morning, as introduced by the Bible Project video just a moment ago - an excellent summary of the book; I commend their Bible study resources to you - but we’re starting with the book of OBADIAH. Obadiah is the only single-chapter book of the Old Testament. It is the fourth shortest book of the Bible, just 440 words in its original Hebrew language. According to BibleGateway.com - which is the most commonly used online Bible website - Obadiah is the LEAST popular book in the entire canon of Scripture. It is the book LEAST searched for on their search engine. My hope is that after today, you’ll have a whole new appreciation for this short, but historically and theologically rich book.
One of the reasons Obadiah is so unpopular is that we know so LITTLE about it. We don’t know WHO wrote it - the name Obadiah means “servant of Yahweh”, and the OT mentions at least twelve different individuals called Obadiah, but none of them wrote this book (Boice, 235) - we don’t know for sure WHEN it was written - we know it was sometime shortly after Jerusalem was sacked by foreign invaders, but historically there were FOUR significant invasions of Jerusalem in the OT; most scholars identify Obadiah with the FINAL one, by Nebuchadnezzar, and the Babylonians, in 586 BC, and therefore date it around the time of the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel, early 6th c. BC. In fact, Jeremiah’s oracle “concerning Edom” in his 49th chapter is almost IDENTICAL to Obadiah. But others date Obadiah as early as the 9th c. BC, 4 centuries earlier; we’re just not sure.
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What we DO know, however, is WHY Obadiah was written. TWO reasons, and the book is broken down into two corresponding sections, with 2 bullet points of emphasis under each. Obadiah is writing #1: to WARN the Edomites (that’s vv1-16), and #2: to REASSURE the Israelites (in vv17-21). And as with all Scripture, we need to read and interpret and appreciate Obadiah’s prophecy in its own historical context first, before we then mine the text for its timeless principles that we can also apply to our OWN lives as well; what does God want to reveal to ME, teach ME, how does he want to CHANGE me, through this ancient, obscure, powerful little book of the Bible? We don’t just need historical information; we want heart transformation.
So, would you stand with me... ENTIRE BOOK of Obadiah:
“1 The vision of Obadiah.
Thus says the Lord God concerning Edom:
We have heard a report from the Lord,
and a messenger has been sent among the nations:
“Rise up! Let us rise against her for battle!”
2 Behold, I will make you small among the nations;
you shall be utterly despised.[a]
3 The pride of your heart has deceived you,
you who live in the clefts of the rock,[b]
in your lofty dwelling,
who say in your heart,
“Who will bring me down to the ground?”
4 Though you soar aloft like the eagle,
though your nest is set among the stars,
from there I will bring you down,
declares the Lord.
5 If thieves came to you,
if plunderers came by night—
how you have been destroyed!—
would they not steal only enough for themselves?
If grape gatherers came to you,
would they not leave gleanings?
6 How Esau has been pillaged,
his treasures sought out!
7 All your allies have driven you to your border;
those at peace with you have deceived you;
they have prevailed against you;
those who eat your bread[c] have set a trap beneath you—
you have[d] no understanding.
8 Will I not on that day, declares the Lord,
destroy the wise men out of Edom,
and understanding out of Mount Esau?
9 And your mighty men shall be dismayed, O Teman,
so that every man from Mount Esau will be cut off by slaughter.
10 Because of the violence done to your brother Jacob,
shame shall cover you,
and you shall be cut off forever.
11 On the day that you stood aloof,
on the day that strangers carried off his wealth
and foreigners entered his gates
and cast lots for Jerusalem,
you were like one of them.
12 But do not gloat over the day of your brother
in the day of his misfortune;
do not rejoice over the people of Judah
in the day of their ruin;
do not boast[e]
in the day of distress.
13 Do not enter the gate of my people
in the day of their calamity;
do not gloat over his disaster
in the day of his calamity;
do not loot his wealth
in the day of his calamity.
14 Do not stand at the crossroads
to cut off his fugitives;
do not hand over his survivors
in the day of distress.
15 For the day of the Lord is near upon all the nations.
As you have done, it shall be done to you;
your deeds shall return on your own head.
16 For as you have drunk on my holy mountain,
so all the nations shall drink continually;
they shall drink and swallow,
and shall be as though they had never been.
17 But in Mount Zion there shall be those who escape,
and it shall be holy,
and the house of Jacob shall possess their own possessions.
18 The house of Jacob shall be a fire,
and the house of Joseph a flame,
and the house of Esau stubble;
they shall burn them and consume them,
and there shall be no survivor for the house of Esau,
for the Lord has spoken.
19 Those of the Negeb shall possess Mount Esau,
and those of the Shephelah shall possess the land of the Philistines;
they shall possess the land of Ephraim and the land of Samaria,
and Benjamin shall possess Gilead.
20 The exiles of this host of the people of Israel
shall possess the land of the Canaanites as far as Zarephath,
and the exiles of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad
shall possess the cities of the Negeb.
21 Saviors shall go up to Mount Zion
to rule Mount Esau,
and the kingdom shall be the Lord's.”
This is the word of the Lord… Let’s pray…
God WARNS the Edomites, then REASSURES His people, the Israelites.
First, he warns the Edomites, in 2 ways:
#1 - God will humble the proud. (vv1-9)
Now, before we even get to the Edomites’ pride and eventual humiliation, we need a bit more context; who ARE they? Well, as the video explained, the Edomites are the descendants of Esau, the brother of Jacob - aka “Israel”. Jeffrey Kranz provides a helpful summary; he explains: “The Israel vs. Edom rivalry... begins in the book of Genesis. God blessed Abraham... (Gn 12:1–3). That blessing was passed on to Isaac, Abraham’s son (Gn 21:12; 26:24). Isaac’s wife Rebekah had twins: Esau and Jacob (Gn 25:24–26). [That’s where we’ll pick up the second half of Genesis after Easter, by the way.] God told Rebekah that one nation would prevail, and that Esau would serve Jacob (Gn 25:23). Isaac (accidentally) reiterated this promise, making Jacob the master of Esau (Gn 27:29)... Esau was bent on killing his twin. Jacob and Esau eventually resolved their differences (Gn 33:4), and God gave both of their descendants a land. Esau’s descendants became the nation of Edom, while Jacob fathered the 12 tribes of Israel… As time wore on, the relationship between their descendants became strained. [When the Israelites left Egypt for Canaan, t]he Edomites refused to let them take the highway through their land, and opposed them militantly (Num 20:20–21). Under King David, God’s prediction to Rebekah came true: Edom served Israel as a vassal state (2 Sa 8:14). But after Solomon and Israel turned from God, the kingdom divided and troubles with Edom reignited (1 Ki 11:14, 2 Ki 8:22). When God finally exiled Judah to Babylon, Edom helped the Babylonians loot Judah,and happily returned to their own fortified cities in Mount Seir (Ps 137:7; Ob 10–11).” (Kranz, “Obadiah”, https://overviewbible.com/obadiah/).
Now, it is interesting to note that DESPITE Edom’s quite modest size and significance, historically - the Edomites never grew to be more than a small, regional player; they never came CLOSE to achieving “global superpower” status - and yet, the sin they are to be judged for according to Obadiah is PRIDE. He declares in v3: “The pride of your heart has deceived you… you say in your heart, “Who will bring me down to the ground?””
And Obadiah gives us CLUES about why the Edomites boast; 4 things:
Their Military prowess (v3, 9) - V3: “you who live in the clefts of the rock,
in your lofty dwelling… (v9) your mighty men”
Their Wealth (v6) - “his treasures”
Their Alliances (v7) - “All your allies… those at peace with you”
Their Wisdom (v8) - “the wise men of Edom… the understanding of Esau”
Of their military, David Murray explains that Edom was “Built on a natural fortress of high rocks, so it was thought to be virtually impregnable” (Murray, “Six Motives”, headhearthand.org). Most famous is the ancient city of PETRA: “Experts say that because of the configuration of the narrow gorge through which Petra [must be] entered, it would be possible for a mere dozen men to hold it against an [entire] army” (Boice, 239)
Of their wealth, J.M. Boice points out that Edom “was situated along the great trade routes between Syria and Egypt and could profit from this trade. Trade brought business, and the inhabitants grew rich on tolls extracted from the many caravans.” (236)
But despite these defensive and economic advantages, Edom remained a pretty minor nation-state, so their survival relied on building strategic ALLIANCES with the bigger regional powers, most notably, the Babylonians.
Finally, Boice notes that “Edom’s wisdom is [characterized in the Bible] as among the highest of the ancient world. Thus, in 1 Kings 4:30, we read, “Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the men of the East,” [that is, all the men of Edom] (Boice, 240).
So they boast in their Strength, money, relationships, & knowledge.
Abilities, assets, associations, acumen.
Physical pride, economic pride, social pride, intellectual pride.
Let me ask you: which do YOU need to be humbled of this morning?
Friends, we ALL struggle with pride. It’s the root of ALL sin. It’s not just the STRONGEST who trust in their strength. Not just the RICHEST who idolize money. Not just the most popular who prioritize human relationships over Christ. Not just the smartest... Edom was NEVER the strongest, the wealthiest, the most influential. But you don’t HAVE to be the greatest to FANCY yourself the greatest, do you? In fact, MUCH of our pride is actually born out of our insecurities. Remember Tim Keller’s definition for pride from 2 weeks ago: Pride isn’t thinking more of yourself; it’s thinking of yourself MORE. The self-confident and the self-conscious have one thing in common: they are both consumed with thought of SELF.
We ALL need to hear God’s warning this morning, and heed Edom’s example: God WILL humble the proud.
V1: God will rally the nations against Edom in battle.
V2: “I will make you small among the nations; [you’re already small; Edom’s got a classic case of little man syndrome; little nation syndrome. But God says, “ I’m gonna bring you even LOWER still.”
you shall be utterly despised”
V4: “Though you soar aloft like the eagle, [in your PRIDE...]
though your nest is set among the stars,
from there I will bring you down,
declares the Lord.” Edom’s attitude is reminiscent of LUCIFER’s, isn’t it? The way Satan himself is depicted in Isaiah ch14, before HIS fall; remember, Satan was an angel in God’s court, before he was cast out of Heaven for his PRIDE:
“You said in your heart,
‘I will set my throne on high…
I will make myself like the Most High.’
But you are brought down to Sheol,
to the far reaches of the pit.” (vv14-15).
And Proverbs 16:18 promises us that what was true for Satan, what was true for Edom, will be true for you and me as well, if we do not repent and humble ourselves: “Pride goes before the fall”. Listen: everyone will be humbled. There is only ONE throne in Heaven, and guess what: you won’t be sitting on it. The question is: will you willingly humble YOURSELF, in obedient surrender to the one TRUE king, or will you have to BE humbled, against your will, on the day of judgment?
God WILL humble the proud:
Proverbs 29:23 “One’s pride will bring him low...”
James 4:6 (cf. 1 Peter 5:5) “God opposes the proud...”
Matthew 23:12 “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled...”
And in Edom’s case, the humiliation was absolute.
God prophesies in v5: “If it was just THIEVES coming to plunder you by night… if it was just vineyard poachers… they’d only be able to steal as much as they could carry. But because I, Yahweh, have resolved to destroy you, your destruction shall be complete.” There won’t be a single grape LEFT. He uses the past perfect verb tense in v5 - “ how you have been destroyed!” - because in God’s mind, when he sets his mind to something, it’s as good as DONE already, even though Edom would linger on as a nation for another few centuries after Obadiah’s prophecy.
God warns them in v10: “you shall be cut off forever… ”; v18: “there shall be no survivor for the house of Esau”. Boice notes (237): “The end of Edom is shrouded in mystery. We know only that the nation lost its independence in the 5th c BC... and From the time of the Mohammadan conquests, the region has been virtually unoccupied... It has indeed been brought to nothing, as Obadiah foretold.”
Will we learn from Edom’s example today: God will humble the proud. BUT hear the good news this morning as well, the SECOND half of Proverbs 29:23, James 4:6, Matthew 23:12: “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, but whoever humbles himself will be… [WHAT?] EXALTED.” The only way to be saved of your sin of pride, is to humble yourself, confess your pride, repent and TURN from it, acknowledge your need for a savior FROM it, and then throw yourself on the mercy of Jesus Christ, who died to save you from ALL your sin, and its source, your self-centered pride. He alone “gives grace to the humble” (Ja 4:6).
#2 - God will judge the merciless. (vv10-16)
Boice points out that “At first glance, these two sections (vv1-9 & then 10-16) seem to be talking about different things. Pride in vv1-9; Unbrotherliness, Edom’s mistreatment of Judah, in vv10-16. These are not [however] entirely different matters... Obadiah is saying that the proof of Edom’s pride is in the way they treated Israel. Pride leads to an unjustified sense of personal superiority, and when we feel this way about ourselves, we naturally look down on others and mistreat them.” (Boice, 244)
See, there’s a reason that Jesus said the second most important commandment - that you shall love your neighbor as yourself - is LIKE the first one - that you shall love the Lord your God. They are RELATED. 1 John 4:20 warns “If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar”. Because the way you view and relate to God will necessarily determine how you view and relate to his beloved children, as well.
If, like Edom, you are UTTERLY prideful - “your nest is set among the stars”; “you say in your heart, ‘Who can bring ME down?!” - if you’re flying that high, then how LOW must you think of everyone else? If you genuinely believe you’re better than others, you will treat them as though they’re inferior. And on the other hand, if deep down you are afraid that everyone ELSE is better than YOU, then you’ll constantly be looking for flaws in them so as to feel marginally less bad about your OWN insecurities. That’s how BULLIES are made, right? Pick on, put down others so I’m not the only one who feels like a piece of garbage. I may be garbage, but you’re even worse, you’re dog poop. Whether Edom truly fancied itself better than other nations, or whether this was a classic case of bullying, the end result was the same: they failed to come to the aid of God’s people in their time of need, and instead, opportunistically took advantage of Israel’s destruction by Babylon as a chance to gloat and to get ahead themselves.
V10: they “did violence” to Israel
V11: they “stood aloof,
on the day that strangers carried off [Israel’s] wealth
and foreigners entered his gates
and cast lots for Jerusalem,
you were like one of them.” God says, “To stand idly by, WATCHING Babylon destroy my people, you might as well have been the ones doing it yourselves”. Edmond Burke said: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” God says, “IF you do nothing, you prove you’re not really a good man after all.”
V12: “Do not gloat over the day of your brother
in the day of his misfortune;
do not rejoice over the people of Judah
in the day of their ruin;
do not boast[e]
in the day of distress...
do not loot his wealth [Apparently the Edomites were like vultures, circling and waiting to swoop in and poach any leftover grapes of ISRAEL’s vineyard that Babylon couldn’t carry off…]
v14: Do not stand at the crossroads
to cut off his fugitives;
do not hand over his survivors
in the day of distress.” [Apparently Edom went so far as to turn in any stragglers left behind in the Babylonian Exile.]
And this mistreatment of God’s people is made all the more EGREGIOUS by the fact that Israel is Edom’s “brother” - Obadiah uses that word TWICE, vv10 and 12. Jacob and Esau were BROTHERS. It brings to mind the very FIRST instance of “unbrotherliness” in human history: that of Cain towards Abel in Genesis 4. Cain, like Esau, was the older, stronger brother who was nevertheless REJECTED by the Lord. So like Esau, Cain grew jealous and angry. And after he murdered Abel and was confronted by God, Cain replied with that now infamous question: “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
And God’s CLEAR answer, in the cases of Cain, of Esau, of the Edomites, is a consistent and resounding “YES!” We are our brother’s keepers! That’s why DESPITE Edom’s hatred of Israel, Israel was explicitly instructed in God’s Law - Deuteronomy 23:7 - to care for them; “for the Edomite is your BROTHER.”
We have real obligations toward others in this life, and ESPECIALLY toward those in our own family; Consider 1 Timothy 5:8 “if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”
And for Edom’s unbrotherliness, God promises in the Book of Ezekiel: “Behold, I am against you, Mount Seir… and I will make you a desolation and a waste… Because you cherished perpetual enmity and gave over the people of Israel to the power of the sword at the time of their calamity, at the time of their final punishment, 6 therefore, as I live, declares the Lord God, I will prepare you for blood, and blood shall pursue you; because you did not hate bloodshed” (35:1-9)
The biblical principle here is lex talionis, “the law of retaliation”. Summed up most famously in Exodus 21: “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” (v24). Blood for blood, life for life. It lies at the HEART of the OT Law; the Law is all about God’s JUSTICE. Justice means you get what you DESERVE.
And friends, you need to know this morning that our God is a JUST God.
Isaiah 30:18 “the Lord is a God of justice”
Deut 32:4 “all his ways are justice”
Or as God himself puts it here in Obadiah 15: “As you have done, it shall be done to you;
your deeds shall return on your own head.”
And if you and I have even the faintest glimpse of our own sinfulness, God’s justice should make us SHUDDER.
BUT. But!! Praise God that He is ALSO, EQUALLY, a God of MERCY. And MERCY is NOT getting what you deserve!
Luke 6:36 says, “your Father is merciful”
Lamentations 3:22 promises “his mercies never come to an end”
And James 2:13 even declares that “Mercy triumphs over judgment”
Why? Because on the cross, Jesus Christ perfectly satisfied God’s justice by enduring the punishment for every sin that you have and will ever commit in your entire life, and in EXCHANGE, he now offers you nothing but God’s undeserved MERCY and favor forevermore, if you will but trust in Jesus as your Lord and Savior this morning. That’s the good news of the GOSPEL.
But IF Jesus is your Lord and Savior, you WILL love others the way He did, and especially your spiritual brothers and sisters in the faith. If you DON’T, then you are NOT truly saved, Christ has NOT paid the penalty for your sin, and if you do not repent, you will one day bear the full weight of God’s justice personally for yourself: “For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy.” (Ja 2:13)
God has promised ““I will have mercy on whom I have mercy” (Rom 9:15) but he’s already told us who’s gonna get it: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.” (Matthew 5:7 )
By contrast, God will judge the merciless. And returning to Obadiah, there’s a really interesting shift in v15, from God’s justice on the Edomites specifically to “ALL the nations”. Repeated again in v16: “For as you have drunk on my holy mountain,
so all the nations shall drink continually;
they shall drink and swallow,
and shall be as though they had never been.”
Apparently when Jerusalem fell, the Edomites threw a big kegger on Mt. Zion to celebrate Israel’s demise. But God declares that every nation that sets itself up against Him and HIS people will drink indeed; they’re gonna drink the cup of his WRATH on the coming Day of the Lord. So much so that “it shall be as though they had never EXISTED.” God will eventually wipe out all memory of them. And remember the video: Edom… Adam… the Edomites are symbolic of ALL humanity. Every nation in history. Boice observes the trend: “God exalts a nation. Those in power see it as a cause for personal pride. They boast that they are better than others and can even do without God. Then God brings the nation down. This has been the case with all the great kingdoms of the world. Historians tell us that the world has seen 21 great civilizations. But each has passed away in time to make room for the next.” (Boice, 239)
And friends, if I may be so bold, I would add: if WE do not “humble ourselves, and pray and seek God’s face and turn from our wicked ways”, America may soon become the 22nd great civilization on that list. The things we see happening in our country today are so sadly PREDICTABLE, biblically, of a country that turns its back on and spits in the face of, Almighty God. But Church, do not miss the remedy: God promised, “if my people who are called by my name, will humble themselves...” (2 Chr 7:14). See, America will not pray and seek God’s face because America isn’t God’s people. Never has been and CERTAINLY isn’t today. God’s Kingdom is SO much bigger than that. Your atheist neighbor across the street cannot help you one BIT with the problems facing THIS country today. But you better hope your true brothers and sisters across the pond in England, and Ethiopia, and China, and Iran - you better hope Christians all across the GLOBE are on their faces praying for God’s forgiveness and healing of our land. Because God WILL judge the merciless and the proud.
But here comes the good news, and it’s gotta be REALLY quick, because I’m running out of time (in fairness, Obadiah’s penned 16 verses of warnings against Edom and only 5 verses of reassurance for Israel.) But we CAN be assured this morning...
#3 - God will deliver His people. (vv17-20)
That “even when He’s punishing them, God has Judah’s back” (Kranz).
Proverbs 3 assures us that “the Lord reproves him whom he loves,
as a father the son in whom he delights.” (Pr 3:12)
Hebrews 12:10 says “he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. ”
And God promises Israel here in Obadiah 17 that WHEN they have learned their lesson in Babylon, repented, and returned to him in faith, that “in Mount Zion there shall be those who escape, and it shall be holy, and the house of Jacob shall possess their own possessions.”
Moreover, vv19-20, God’s actually going to ENLARGE their territory, EXPAND their borders: Israel “shall possess Mount Esau… and the land of the Philistines… and the land of Samaria… and Gilead...the land of the Canaanites….the cities of the Negeb.”
And in the same way, if you are a true follower of Jesus Christ, you can rest assured this morning that when you go through trials in this life, even when they are the result of God’s discipline toward you for some real SIN in your life, God’s promise to you is: that He disciplines you for your good, so that you might share in his holiness, and in time, in His OWN, perfect timing, God will DELIVER you.
And He invites you today, Psalm 50:15 “Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.””
Lastly #4 - God will establish His Kingdom. (v21)
“Saviors” is a bad translation of the Hebrew participle in v21. Many commentators render the verse “Those who have been saved will go up to Mount Zion to rule...” (so Stuart, Word Biblical Commentary, p412). That’s what Obadiah is saying here.
And friends, the only thing more incredible than the reality of God’s saving love for us, in His Son Jesus, is that he not only rescues us from darkness into His kingdom of Light; but God will also one day EMPOWER us to rule that Kingdom right alongside him in Glory, for the rest of eternity. That sounds almost blasphemous to say, so let me just show it to you, so you don’t stone me on the way out of here today:
Revelation 3:20-21 (our text from just last week!) “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. 21 The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. ”
So I actually need to redact my earlier comment, when I said, “There’s only ONE throne in Heaven, and you won’t be sitting on it”, because according to Revelation 3, and Obadiah 21, you WILL. Jesus is gonna scoot over and make room for you, or maybe he’ll just let you sit in his lap. IF you are “one who CONQUERS”. How do you conquer? The great enemies of sin, and Hell, and Death itself? Revelation 12:11 “They have conquered by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony”.
Do you know the Lamb this morning? Do you have a testimony of faith in Him?
On the Day of the Lord, “Those who have been saved will go up Mount Zion to rule...
And the Kingdom SHALL be the Lord’s”. The question is: will you be sitting on the throne with Him?