Obadiah Sermon

Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
View more →

Do you know what it's like to be too busy?  At times it's overwhelming.  My prayers over the last month have been, "Lord.  Just let me accomplish one thing today.  Let me see a whole project through to completion."  The truth is all those undone jobs is starting to get to me. So when I sat down to work on this morning's message.  My prayer was, "Lord, I need some encouragement.  Show me how to manage my time in such a way that I can complete an entire project in excellence, and in an efficient way.

You know that I'm working on a huge project for school.  I'm reading through the Bible in a version I had never read before.  I've been assigned in 1901 American Standard version.  It's a difficult read, because the language is old, and I am sure the translators were not Pentecostal or charismatic.  It's been a slow go.  Besides reading the Bible,  I'm also taking notes, preparing to write a commentary.  Genesis took me a month, Exodus, a little longer.  I cannot get my mind wrapped around Leviticus. 

About two weeks ago, the Lord had me download the entire Old Testament into smaller documents and told me to look at them one at a time.  I still couldn't get my mind around starting Leviticus.  So I arranged the books in alphabetical order and started reading Amos. Two chapters into Amos I had no idea what I was reading.

On Friday, I asked God for more direction.  He knows I have this huge project to do, and he knows how discouraged I am that it's not going as fast as I would like it to.  He reminded me that he'd given me the plan for how to study each book.  I need to read it in the NIV and research it, before I could succeed in the 1901 ASV. I still can't get my mind wrapped around starting Leviticus, and God knows that.  So he had me arrange the books according to size.  I was to start with the smallest book, and once I completed that I could go on to the next in size. 

I can't tell you how many times I have given that same advice to people.  They tell me they can't pray for an hour, and I tell them start with 10 minutes.  They tell me they can't keep up with the daily Bible reading program –there’s too much there, and I tell them to take it a chapter at a time.

So this morning were going to take a look at the smallest book in the Old Testament, Obadiah (after Amos before Jonah) 21 verses.

OBADIAH means servant of the Lord. we don't know much else about him.

·       A prophet of Judah

Does that make him north or southern kingdom? south

·       The fourth of the “minor” prophets

What does minor mean? Small book

·       Scholars can’t agree exactly when Obadiah served because there are 20 Obadiah's in the Old Testament.  The general consensus is that the book must have been written between 605 and 586 BC because the Prophet refers to the great humiliation of Israel, which they believe is the Babylonian invasion of Jerusalem.  They also believe that the book must have been written, while in Babylonian captivity.

·       Obadiah’s message was directed against Edom – this whole book is a prophecy to a specific group of people.

Who is Edom? Edom is another name for Jacob's brother Esau.  What do we know about the Edomites.

o      In Genesis 27; 36 Jacob and Esau, went their separate ways. Esau’s descendants settled south of the Dead Sea and became known as the Edomites. Jacob’s descendants settled farther north and were known as Israel. 

o      During the time of the Exodus, the Edomites refuse to let the Israelites passed through their land (Num 20:14-21). 

o      David conquered the Edomites (2 Samuel 8:14), but they eventually regained their independence and continue to make war against Israel. 

o      Edomites help the Chaldeans assist Nebuchadnezzar and the siege of Jerusalem and even looted the city after Israel was led off into captivity.

Obadiah

1The vision of Obadiah.

Four other prophets introduce their books this way: Isaiah, Micah, Nahum, and Hosea.  This means they not only hurt what God was saying but they saw what was about to happen.

This is what the Sovereign Lord says about Edom—

What does sovereign mean? Absolute power and right, supreme authority.

1The vision of Obadiah.

We have heard a message from the Lord:

An envoy was sent to the nations to say,

“Rise, and let us go against her for battle”—

2 “See, I will make you small among the nations; you will be utterly despised.

3 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?’ 4 Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down,” declares the Lord.

What was Edom’s #1 sin? Pride

The people of Edom, lived in the mountains.  Their capital city was Petra. Does anyone know anything about Petra? 

·       Petra is about 50 miles south of the Dead Sea.

·       It is surrounded by towering hills (some up to 5700 feet) of rust-colored sandstone. (Picture) which gave the city some natural protection against invaders.

·       Its buildings and tombs are cut directly cliffs.

·       In order to reach the city from the west you have to pass through a high walled narrow gorge.

Because this capital was so secluded, it gave them a false sense of security.

We used similar strategies to protect our president. We know that in the case of an attack on our country the president would be secreted away to an undisclosed location so that he could continue to manage our country in safety.  We use encryption codes to protect valuable documents from interception by our enemies.  We install virus software on our home computers to keep our personal documents safe.  We call these firewalls to keep those who might want to steal our personal information out.

5 “If thieves came to you, if robbers in the night— Oh, what a disaster awaits you— would they not steal only as much as they wanted? If grape pickers came to you, would they not leave a few grapes?

Because there was limited access to the city, if someone came in during the day, it would be easy to see them coming. So any successful attack against the city would have to be carried out in the dark. Remember we’re in a dessert area.

6 But how Esau will be ransacked, his hidden treasures pillaged!

We mentioned God’s sovereignty, his absolute authority, here God is issuing judgment against Edom. Nothing would remain, even those treasures they had hidden in the rocks would be found and looted.



7 All your allies will force you to the border; your friends will deceive and overpower you; those who eat your bread will set a trap for you, but you will not detect it.

8 “In that day,” declares the Lord, “will I not destroy the wise men of Edom, men of understanding in the mountains of Esau?

We looked at the capital city of Petra. We need to remember that Petra was just one city inside Edom. (Map) The nation was located on the “King’s Highway” with caravans traveling to India, Europe, and North Africa passing through. Edom had contact man with the rest of the world. Edom was well known for her wise educated men.

9 Your warriors, O Teman, will be terrified, and everyone in Esau’s mountains will be cut down in the slaughter.

This is the northern part of the country. Side note: Job's friend Eliphaz came from Teman.

10 Because of the violence against your brother Jacob, you will be covered with shame; you will be destroyed forever.

Who does Jacob represent? The nation of Israel. The Covenant nation of Israel.

We've already pointed out that God will not tolerate someone abusing his children or treating them with violence. 

I want to emphasize here that it doesn't matter, who treats God's children poorly.  There is a judgment for him mistreating a brother.

We need to take a rabbit trail here and talk about who the children of covenant are.

Who did God first make covenant with? Abraham.

Gen 15:18

18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates— 19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.”

Who were Abraham’s immediate descendants? Ishmael and Isaac. Did the covenant extend to both of them?

Gen 21:13 

13 I will make the son of the maidservant into a nation also, because he is your offspring.

Did both sons continue to follow the leading their fathers God? We know Issac did.

2 The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. 3 Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. 4 I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, 5 because Abraham obeyed me and kept my requirements, my commands, my decrees and my laws.” 6 So Isaac stayed in Gerar.

We don't read any where in Scripture that Ishmael worshipped God.  All we know about him is that

·       he became an archer

·       lived in the wilderness,

·       married an Egyptian woman,

·       and was there to bury his father.

Gen 25: 18 records

18 His descendants settled in the area from Havilah to Shur, near the border of Egypt, as you go toward Asshur. And they lived in hostility toward all their brothers.

Who were Isaac’s immediate descendants? Jacob & Esau. Should the covenant extended to both of them? Yes

Did they both have a relationship with God.

Gen 28:10-15

10 Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. 11 When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. 12 He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 There above it stood the Lord, and he said: “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. 14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. 15 I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear 21 so that I return safely to my father’s house, then the Lord will be my God 22 and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.”

What about Esau? Again we don’t read anywhere that he worshipped God.

·       We know he sold his birthright for a pot of stew,

·       he was tricked out of his father’s blessing by his brother,

·       he was so angry with his brother that their mother sent Jacob away for a time.

·       While his brother was gone, he managed his father’s estate

·       When Jacob returned, the 2 sons reconciled

·       And because they were both so wealthy they had to live apart, the land couldn’t sustain them both (Gen 36:6-8)

We see on this rabbit trail that the covenant extended to all Abraham’s descendants. But we also see that not all of Abraham’s descendants chose walk relationship with God. We know that when you separate yourself from God you open the door to the enemies influence.

Back to Obadiah

10 Because of the violence against your brother Jacob, you will be covered with shame; you will be destroyed forever.

Here are details of what God describes as violence:

11 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.

12 You should not look down on 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.

13 You should not march through the gates of my people in the day of their disaster, nor look down on them in their calamity in the day of their disaster, nor seize their wealth in the day of their disaster. 14 You should not wait at the crossroads to cut down their fugitives, nor hand over their survivors in the day of their trouble.

Up until this point, this small book of Obadiah has read like a history lesson.  But we know that the Bible is more than a history book.  It's a hand book, a roadmap for victorious Christian living.  We are to take what we read and apply it to our lives. These 4 little or versus are our life application lesson for today.

So what are we supposed to take away from today's message?  God held Edom accountable for two sins: pride and mistreating his brother. I believe Edom’s pride led to the mistreatment of his brother. Want to go back over the last four versus in detail, because I believe Edom's mistreatment of his brother is a sin many people still commit this day.

1.   v. 11 Edom stood by and did nothing while Israel was under attack

There are many injustices in the world - things we read in the newspaper every day and shake her heads at.  We live in a society where murders are everyday events.  People live in poverty.  Our homeless population is growing.  Our public schools are a mess. We as a society have become so desensitized that unless these are injustices come into our homes.  We have no unction to do anything about it.

In much the same way as Edom stood by while Israel was under attack, the church is standing by as the enemy launches attack after attack against our society. 

What should we be doing?  We should be praying.  We should be supporting ministries with our finances that help those in crisis - the homeless, the elderly, those who can't afford medical care. We should be volunteering our time.  We all have talents and abilities.  There is a place for all of us to help.

2.   v. 12 they rejoiced over Judah’s downfall

Our pastor leads us in a confession that says, "and I will be happy when my brother receives a blessing, I will rejoice with him."  In truth, that is a nice way of saying, "I will not be jealous if my brother receives and I don't." But this confession needs to go beyond these walls.  Because rejoicing over another person's downfall is a very human quality.

I spend a lot of time in the car. I am 45 minutes from work.  We live 50 minutes from church. Our favorite grocery store is 25 minutes away.  The mall is about an hour from home… it is at least 20 minutes to the nearest highway. So I spend a lot of time on country roads.  By me the speed limit on country roads is 55.  And I'm married to a policeman.  So I know that I can legally go 4 miles over the speed limit without being pulled over for a speeding ticket.  So it really upsets me when I'm only one on the road.  And I'm doing about 73, and some guy comes screaming up behind me and whips around me and speeds down the road in front of me. for Pete's sake, how fast does he have to drive? Now I must admit somewhere deep inside of me I am hoping that when I get closer to town some cop will have him pulled over. That is rejoicing over another person's downfall.

We all do it and there's pride involved.  When someone's been nasty to us at work.  We are happy if they get in trouble or make a mistake.  Sometimes we even put a Christian twist on it and say they've reaped what they've sown (which they have) and ignore the fact that were rejoicing in their downfall.

So what can we do about the situation?  Again, we can pray.  We can ask the Holy Spirit to help us get our attitudes right.  We can forgive people who offend us and pray God's mercy on their bad seed harvest.  And we can do what our pastor leads us to confess.  We can genuinely rejoice in our brothers are blessed without feeling jealousy.

3.   v. 13 they plundered Jerusalem when Israel was carried off into exile

This I believe is taking advantage of another person.  In some instances, we justified this is having gotten a really good deal.  My husband and I love to go garage sailing. We'll get up early on a Saturday morning with the classifieds and map out our route for the day.  We know that the good stuff is out at 8 a.m. and the best details are available after 2 p.m..  We also have found over the years that the best bargains are to be had at the homes of the elderly.  Oftentimes, what they consider to be old junk are valuable antiques.  I have seen on more than one occasion, antique dealers swoop in and pay next to nothing for an item only to see it in their store with a price tag of five to 10 times more.  To me that's plundering.

Plundering also occurs when you get too much change at the store and don't return it.  Plundering occurs when you know something doesn't have the right price tag on it and purchase it without saying something.  Plundering occurs when you find something of value, and don't seek out its owner or turn it into lost and found.

How can we prevent greed from taking over our lives?  Again the answer is pray for the Holy Spirit's guidance.  Commit to being honest.  Do the right thing because it's the right thing to do.

4.   v. 14 they prevent those who could escape from escaping.

In church we categorize sin two ways: there are sins you commit -we call the sins of commission, and sin when you fail to do something you should have -we call these sins of omission.  This fourth sin combines the two.  We've already talked about standing by in allowing misfortune to happen and not lifting a hand.  This sin is preventing someone else from helping.

I've already said that we should volunteer our time to help those in need.  If you couldn't do that you could donate resources to equip those who did have the time.  I know you can't give to every charity that asks, and you shouldn't.  We've all seen exposés on charitable organizations, where better than 50% of the income goes to pay salaries.  It's not a wise use your resources.  We need to pray about how and where we invest our money.  And then we need to invest our money.  That's why the phrase is tithes and offerings.  Above your 10% you are to give offerings to help those in need.  The Bible says gives alms to the poor.  Take care of widows and orphans.  How can we do that by giving offerings. 

15 “The day of the Lord is near for all nations.

The day of the Lord is judgment day.  Not necessarily final judgment day, but rather that day with the Lord judges the people who rebel against him.

Notice too that it says all nations.  Anyone who mistreats his brother will be judged by God.

15 As you have done, it will be done to you; your deeds will return upon your own head.

The law of sowing and reaping.

16 Just as you drank on my holy hill, so all the nations will drink continually; they will drink and drink and be as if they had never been.

This refers to done partying when Jerusalem fell to Nebuchadnezzar's invaders.  The reference to the other nations drinking is a metaphor for a cup of God's judgment being poured out.  In other words, God will use the other nations to deliver the penalty for his judgment.

17 But on Mount Zion will be deliverance; it will be holy, and the house of Jacob will possess its inheritance.

Why will Israel survive?  Why is there always a remnant?  Because Israel is God's covenant children. God always preserves those who are faithful to him.

18 The house of Jacob will be a fire and the house of Joseph a flame;

these are the two kingdoms, Jacob represents the southern kingdom or Judah and Joseph represents the northern kingdom or Israel.  God's plan was always that they would be reunited - one people, one nation.

the house of Esau will be stubble, and they will set it on fire and consume it. There will be no survivors from the house of Esau.” The Lord has spoken.

No survivors. I am sure that Abraham brought both of his boys Ishmael and Isaac up in the ways of his God, but only Isaac forged a relationship with God.  In the same way I am sure Isaac brought up both of his sons Jacob and Esau in the ways of worshiping the true God, and yet only Jacob pursued a relationship with the Lord. The people of Edom did not worship the true God like their grandfather Isaac did.

It's the same way with us today.  We cannot guarantee our children's entrance into the kingdom of God, salvation is personal.  Can we do more than just pray for our children? Definitely.  We can be living epistles.  We can play praise and worship music in our homes, we can let our children see us reading our Bibles.  We can set up a prayer closet or a prayer chair, someplace in our house.  So that when our children and our grandchildren see us in that location that that place is holy, it's where we go to pray.  We can tell our children and our grandchildren and our brothers and our sisters what God is doing in our lives. We can stop hiding our faith from those around us who do not share our faith.

19 People from the Negev will occupy the mountains of Esau, and people from the foothills will possess the land of the Philistines. They will occupy the fields of Ephraim and Samaria, and Benjamin will possess Gilead. 20 This company of Israelite exiles who are in Canaan will possess the land as far as Zarephath; the exiles from Jerusalem who are in Sepharad will possess the towns of the Negev. 21 Deliverers will go up on  Mount Zion to govern the mountains of Esau. And the kingdom will be the Lord’s.

Everything even gained at the expense of Israel will be returned to Israel.

Proverbs 14:22-23 says it this way:

        The wealth of the wicked is laid up for the just.

Those are not empty words.  This morning, take the warning of Obadiah: if you respond, in obedience to God, you have everything to gain. But at the same time, be warned, if you reject God's grace and move in pride you have everything to lose. 


----

 c Or from

Related Media
See more
Related Sermons
See more