Sermon Tone Analysis

Context of Obadiah

Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC.

But, the book of Obadiah is directed to a people known as the Edomites for their part in helping to capture the Israelites who fled the Babylonians.

Not only did the Edomites help capture Israelites for the Babylonian empire, they also took over some of the home and villages that were abandoned by those taken captive.

The Edomites are the descendants of Esau, the brother of Jacob.

Esau and Jacob were born to Isaac, Isaac was the son that was promised to Abraham.

This means that the Edomites are relatives to the Israelites… Jacob’s name was changed to Israel, and the Edomites are the descendants of the brother of Israel.

Instead of aiding and defending their relatives, the Edomites conspired with the enemy of their brother and invoked the wrath of God.

Look with me at Obadiah verse 1-14

Obadiah 1–14 (ESV)

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.

3 The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rock, 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 have set a trap beneath you— you have 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 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.

These verses establish God’s case against the Edomites, and the following verses declare the Lord’s judgment on the Edomites and all the other kingdoms of the world.

Obadiah 15–18 (ESV)

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.

Obadiah 19–21 (ESV)

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.

Implications of the message of Obadiah

Pride is Deceitful

In verses 3-4 God points out to the Edomites that their pride has led to this moment.

The Edomites have proven the truth of Scripture; Isaiah 5:21 says, “Woe to those who consider themselves to be wise and judge themselves clever.”

The Edomites have considered themselves to be wise and discerning in their actions against Israel… but they did this because Pride blinds us.

Pride blinds us to the truth of our spiritual condition.

Pride leads us to consider ourselves and our actions as better than they really are.

Pride infects the mind and the heart.

“Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the LORD; be assured, he will not go unpunished” (Proverbs 16:5).

Instead of harboring thoughts of love to others, the proud man harbors judgment and bitterness.

Instead of expressing kindness and compassion, he expresses disparagement.

He is convinced of his superiority in achievement, intellect, morality, or spirituality.

He is self-obsessed.Pride is first an attitude of independence from God.

It is synonymous in Scripture with scoffing, arrogance, foolishness, evil, and wickedness.

It is directly opposed to the humble, God-fearing, meek, lowly, trusting, faith-filled disposition that is pleasing to God. “Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate,” he says (Proverbs 8:13).

And no wonder.

How could it be otherwise?

(https://www.challies.com/articles/god-hates-pride/)

God Hates Pride

“There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him.”

So says wise old Solomon.

And heading up the list of these seven deadly sins is “haughty eyes” (Proverbs 6:16-17).

Haughty eyes are an arrogant man’s windows to the world.

From the lofty perch of his own superiority, he uses them to look down upon others.

From his self-made pedestal, he fancies he can see with greater clarity than his Creator.

“According to Christian teachers, the essential vice, the utmost evil, is Pride.

Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness, and all that, are mere fleabites in comparison: it was through Pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind.” - CS Lewis

Ultimately Pride is Practical Atheism

Psalm 10:4 (ESV) says, “4 In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are, “There is no God.”

Pride is the rejection and opposition to who God is… which in turn is a rebellion to what God has said and what God is doing.

Pride is a state of mind or, more essentially, a condition of the heart in which a person has supplanted the rule of God over his life with the rule of his own will.

Instead of depending entirely on God, as was God’s design, a proud heart now looks to itself to decide what is good and evil.

This was exactly the folly of Adam and Eve when they determined to disobey God to become like God.

There is Hope in the Promise of God

The hope for Israel in the days of Obadiah was the Day of the Lord.

Verse 15 says, “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.”

God made a covenant with Israel, and He promises to keep that covenant on what is referred to here as the Day of the Lord.

The Day of the Lord is a day of God’s judgment, and on the day of judgment all those who are against God will be condemned and those who are with God will be spared.

Verse 17-18 says, “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.”

Those who escape the Judgment Day of the Lord are those who have a covenant relationship with God.

And the Covenant implied here in Obadiah is the one God made with Abraham.

Genesis 15:1-6 (CSB), “After these events, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: Do not be afraid, Abram.

I am your shield; your reward will be very great. 2 But Abram said, “Lord God, what can you give me, since I am childless and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 Abram continued, “Look, you have given me no offspring, so a slave born in my house will be my heir.” 4 Now the word of the Lord came to him: “This one will not be your heir; instead, one who comes from your own body will be your heir.” 5 He took him outside and said, “Look at the sky and count the stars, if you are able to count them.”

Then he said to him, “Your offspring will be that numerous.”

6 Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.”

God promised to make Abraham the father of a mighty nation through one son… and that son was Isaac.

Isaac then had 2 sons, twins: Jacob and Esau.

Jacob is Israel… and Esau is the father of the Edomites… and God says through Obadiah that the Edomites would be removed from the earth and that the house of Jacob, and his son Joseph, will escape on the Day of the Lord/ Judgment.

The basis for Israel’s escape is the covenant relationship it has with God.

So this Word from Obadiah brings us to the significance of covenants.

Remember that Covenants are the backbone of the Bible.

The plan of salvation is revealed through the series of covenants between God and his people.

Thom Schreiner writes, “The Bible isn’t a random collection of laws, moral principles, and stories.

It is a story that goes somewhere; it is the story of redemption, the story of God’s kingdom.

And the story unfolds and advances through the covenants God made with his people.”

The covenants that God made in the OT are all fulfilled in the New Covenant through Jesus Christ.

I want to make sure that you understand how Jesus Christ is connected to the Covenant that God made with Abraham

In the covenant God made with Abraham he did something that opens our eyes and clarifies the gospel message:

God promised to take the curse on Himself in Genesis 15

The problem of sin is problematic for the covenants… When a covenant is made, both parties participate to symbolize that the curse will come on them if they fail.

But, when you see what happened in the covenant ceremony with Abraham you see the gospel.

Genesis 15:7-18 (CSB)

7 He also said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.” 8 But he said, “Lord God, how can I know that I will possess it?”