The Main Lesson in Obadiah – Chris Hill

it's a it's a book we don't study a whole lot but there's a great message in Obadiah before we get into Obadiah I'd like to set up the background and there's a lot of background to the book of Obadiah and we're gonna start with the question that many of us think about and struggle with and that's a rivalry in the family it's usually a sibling rivalry how many of you fought with your brother or sister growing up I mean I'm sure all of us have it's just something that we do it's a common occurrence and you may recall some of those battles between you and your brother and sister when you're younger still after 30 40 even 50 years despite the occasional conflicts arguments and hurt feelings between you and your siblings deep down you still love each other you're there for each other however this was not the case between two brothers in the Old Testament named Esau and Jacob and their descendants there's much to identify with in the person Esau he was a man of the earth he was an outdoorsman he loved wide open spaces his father surely identified with him he was a skillful hunter the smell of the field was on him his name means the hairy one there's nothing wrong with being rugged Esau his problem wasn't that he was a hunter neither wasn't that he didn't live a softer life like his brother among the tents his problem stems from a foolish choice he made that reflected his inward thoughts towards spiritual things the event he is remembered for probably looked took less than an hour to complete yet it haunted him for the rest of his life and to his descendants after him because they lived just like him to Bible believers the name Esau stands for undervaluing spiritual things why didn't he value spiritual things he had a proud heart God hates a proud heart a proud heart is an attitude of life that declares its ability to live without God now keep this in mind as we study our lesson perhaps not all of us know the details of Esau story so in this message I'd like to share them with you we'll be Genesis chapter 25 and verse 21 Genesis 25 and verse 21 isaac prayed to the lord on behalf of his wife because she was barren the lord answered his prayer and his wife Rebekah became pregnant the Isaac mentioned here is Esau his father Isaac is the son of the patriarch Abraham the time was about nineteen hundred years before Christ like his parents Abraham and Sarah Isaac and his wife Rebekah we're having trouble conceiving children but God intervened and there was the conception of not one but two boys Genesis 25 22 continues but the children wrestled together within her and she said if all is well why am I like this so she went to inquire of the Lord Rebekah was puzzled about something modern believers get puzzled about if this is the Lord's will why am I having difficulty in that how we often think doing God's will ought to smooth things out in my life and doing God's will often does smooth things out in our lives but not always because sometimes other purposes are afoot God gave Rebecca the answer to her question in the next verse Genesis 25 verse 23 the Lord said to her two nations are in your womb and two peoples from within you will be separated one people will be the stronger than the other and the older will serve the younger there was a prophetic reason for her discomfort God told Rebecca something of the future these unborn twins would be the beginning of two nations of people from Jacob would come the Israelites from Esau would come the Leedom ayats would later be the enemies of Israel so this struggle was only the beginning of what would be a fight for many in many years this knowledge will help us as we look at the book of Obadiah but first let's continue with this account in Genesis Genesis 25 verse 24 when the time came for her to give birth there were twin boys in her womb the first to come out was red and his whole body was like a hairy garment so they named him Esau after this his brother came out with his hand grasping Esau's heel so he named jacob isaac was 60 years old when rebecca gave birth to them so these are the boys he saw the hairy one the older of the two and jacob the hill grabber or if supplanter as his name means and just as God prophesied the younger boy would ultimately supplant or usurp the position of the older well what comes next requires the knowledge a few of the customs of these people to fully understand what's happening and it requires the knowledge of the birthright the birthright was a precious possession among these ancient people in nearly all cases it was the possession of the firstborn son upon the death of the father of his father it contained both the financial component and among the descendants of Abraham a spiritual element financially the firstborn though through the birthright received a double portion of his father's assets when his father died spiritually the birthright made the old main head the oldest male of the family upon the death of his father the patriarch or ruler of the entire family he became the spiritual leader it was a high honor to possess the birthright not only for the financial component which in this family's case would have been sizable but also for the spiritual component here and that's the point to understand here especially in the family of Jacob and Esau God made a promise to Abraham the grandfather of these boys many years before this he told Abraham that he would give his descendants the land of Canaan later to be known in it as Israel as that heritance he also told him that through his descendants all the nations of the earth would be blessed these same promises were repeated to the boy's father Isaac and it would be repeated the possessor of the birthright and their generation as the story of the Bible develops we learned that this special blessing would include the birth of Jesus who would be the savior of the world to fully understand what comes next keep these things in mind as we come down to the bargain Genesis 25 verse 27 the boys grew up and he saw became a skillful hunter a man of the open country while Jacob was a quiet man staying among the ten Isaac who had a taste for a wild game loved Esau but Rebekah loved Jacob once when Jacob was cooking some stew Esau came in from the open country famished he said to Jacob quick let me have some of that red stew I'm famished that is why he is also called Edom the word Edom means red so we have a bit of a double play on words here the red hairy hunter was dying to eat some of that red stew and that's where we get a name for an entire nation of people called the which is the focus of our study in the book of Obadiah genesis 25 31 Jacob replied first sell me your birthright now you would think Esau would say something like what you want my birthright what are you trying to do to me little brother are you out of your mind no bowl of stew is worth a birthright if there was such a pause or if there was such words there's no indication of it appears that he saw didn't even miss a beat and answering Jacob's audacious question verse 32 look I'm about to die he saw said what good is a birthright to me Esau wasn't going to die he was hungry yes but he was in no danger of losing his life he's not taking a serious subject seriously perhaps he thought his brother was joking if he did though this next verse should have brought him back to reality verse 33 but Jacob said swear to me first so he swore an oath to him selling his birthright to Jacob swearing an oath was a serious serious binding thing it was something you staked your honor and your reputation on again he saw his not taking they're serious thing seriously 25 and verse 34 then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some little lentil stew he ate and drank and then got up and left so Esau despised his birthright I see two things wrong with Esau his act here first he was indifferent to sacred things he loved the outdoors the thrill of the hunt the smell of the campfire all the things attached to it and there's nothing wrong with that the problem was that while he loved all of these things he cared nothing for spiritual things the birthright which should have been a very precious possession didn't mean much to him he was trifling with the sacred he looked upon this high-stakes bargain is no big deal he even joked about it if I'm about to die what good is my birthright he made a deal sworn oath to his younger brother left the tent with his billy full and probably went to bed and slept soundly all night trifling with the sacred indifference to spiritual things toying around with things that we should never toy around with a person who isn't concerned with the spiritual things wonders what all the fuss is all about why are you Christian so serious lighten up have some fun you only go around once he was indifferent to sacred things secondly Esau was indifferent to the future if we read on in Genesis into chapter 27 he learned that the time came for Isaac the boy's father to give the bird birthright as he felt that his death was near whether Isaac know about this little deal Jacob had made with Esau I just don't know but now nearing the end it was time to make preparation for the blessing the custom was that as the father near death he would call on his firstborn and pronounce the blessing upon his firstborn son pronounced the inheritance upon him and accordingly Isaac told Esau that that time had now arrived in order to make the time especially since the older boy out to hunt some fresh game so that they could have a meal together after dinner Isaac would give him the blessing well Rebekah the boy's mother overheard the whole thing and quickly sent for Jacob they couldn't let this happen so they hatched a plan to fool old Isaac who by this time was nearly blind to death so Jacob dressed himself an animal's skin so he'd smell and feel like his hairy brother then he went in and deceived his father into thinking that he was actually Esau Rebekah prepared the meal the two men eighth and Isaac who thought something was strange a couple of times during the meeting went ahead and He blessed Jacob the transition was complete Jacob the heel grabber supplanter now possessed the blessing a little while later Esau came in with his kill for the day I'm ready to cook your meal father he said an old Isaac nearly died at that point let's pick up the story there in Genesis 27 and verse 33 Isaac trembled violently and said who was it then that hunted game and brought it to me I ate it just before you came and I blessed him and indeed he will be blessed when he saw heard his father's words he burst out with a loud and bitter cry and said to his father bless me me to my father but he said your brother came to see flee it took your blessing Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 17 tells us that afterwards when he desired to inherit the blessing he was rejected for he found no place for repentance though he sought for it with tears Herbert Locklear pointed out something very important in his description of Esau and his classic book all men of the Bible and here are his words and the whole of Genesis Esau does not mention the name of God and Esau his repentance been God word what a different story we would have had he saw repetitive his bargain but not of his sin the brothers eventually married and went their separate ways forming two nations the descendants of Jacob formed the nation of Israel and the descendants of Esau formed the nation of Edom well once you know Esau you know his descendants the the poor choices that Esau made in the way he lived multiplied into a nation of well who is Edom Edom is Esau is Esau Jacob's twin brother multiplied into a nation of people over dial one in verse six reads but how Esau will be ransacked as hidden treasures pillaged well Esau had been dead for many years but the profit Obadiah uses the word Esau to refer to the people of Edom they were his descendants and were a culmination of the way of life that Esau chose to live Genesis 36 and verse 8 reads so I saw that is Edom settled in the hill country of Sierra the conflict that started with these two brothers continued as these two became nations as brothers that grew into nations how should they have treated each other as brothers as family that's what family does they help each other they should should have been there for one another Deuteronomy chapter 23 and verse 7 instructs the Israelites do not a bore an Edomite for he is your brother now fast forward a little over over a thousand years from the birth of Esau and Jacob when we come to the prophecy of Obadiah the shortest book in the Old Testament it's a small book with a great message about how God views pride Obadiah is one of four of the minor prophets in the Old Testament that we know very little about Obadiah was a common name in his time and the name Obadiah appears several times in the Bible but it's hard to determine if this prophet is associated with any of them the book of Obadiah is the only reference that we have of the Prophet himself his name means servant of the Lord the book of Obadiah answers a very important statement by God given in the last book of the Old Testament in Malachi chapter 1 in verses 1 through 3 it reads and Oracle the word of the Lord to Israel through Malachi I have loved you says the Lord but you ask how have you loved us was not Esau Jacob's brother the Lord says yet I have loved Jacob but Esau I have hated God says Esau I have hated God never said this in the book of Genesis but waited until both men became nations long after Jacob and Esau had died God put Esau under a microscope when his descendants became a great nation the character flaws of Esau in the book of Genesis really they may appear to be really no big deal but when his descendants multiply to became a nation it became easy to see the problem if you have a tire tube and it's losing air and you pull that tube out you start looking for a hole it's almost impossible to find that little hole but if you put air in it if you inflate it you can find that hole pretty quickly well Edom is esau inflated the great sin of Edom was pride we may not think the sin of pride is a big deal but to God it's a big deal and it shows in a person's way of life there's no place in the Bible it explains why God hated Esau except in the tiny book of Obadiah at the time the book of Obadiah was written the nation of Edom was connected to the southern border of Judah as a spokesman of God Obadiah waited patiently for God to bring out hay for Israel a glorious victory over the knowing that right would ultimately triumph over wrong let's turn to the book of Obadiah and see what happened to Esau his descendants the nation of Edom because of its pride well first items pride blinded the nation to the need of God Obadiah 1 in verse 1 through 1 and verse 9 the vision of Obadiah this is what the sovereign Lord says about Edom we have heard a message from the Lord an invoice was sent to the nation's to say rise and let us go against her for battle see I will make you small among the nations you will be utterly despised 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 to make your nest among the stars from there I will bring you down declares the Lord if these 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 great Pickers came to you would they not leave a few grapes but how Esau will be ransacked as hidden treasures pillaged 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 and that day declares the Lord aiyah well I not destroy the wise men of Edom men of understanding in the mountains of Esau your warriors ot men will be terrified and everyone in Esau Mountains will be cut down in the slaughter Obadiah said to the I have a message from God and his message is the pride of your heart has deceived you verse 3 the pride the Prophet is talking about here is much more than self-importance its self-sufficiency it's the sense of Independence from God the main point of the book of Obadiah is that God hates a proud heart a proud heart is an attitude of life that declares its ability to live without God the are told the pride of your heart has deceived you proverbs 6 verses 16 through 19 reads these six things the Lord hates yes seven are an abomination to him a proud look a lying tongue hands that shed innocent blood a heart that devises wicked plans feet that are Swift and running to evil a false witness who speaks lies and one who sews discord among brethren in mark chapter 7 and verses 20 to 22 Jesus says what comes out of a man that defiles a man from within out of the heart of men proceed evil thoughts adulteries fornications murders thefts covetousness wickedness deceit lewdness an evil eye blasphemy pride foolishness we're now living in a culture where more and more people feel like they no longer need God they don't need God to direct them toward what is right and to avoid what is wrong the government is now their new moral code they don't need God to point out sin in their life and lead them to repentance because there's no such thing as sin anymore in their minds throughout the Bible God makes it very clear that pride is sinful and it will not be tolerated proverbs 16 19 reads pride goes before destruction Edom did not heed that proverb James reminds us that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble James 4 and verse 6 the main point of the book of Obadiah is that God hates a proud heart the were blinded by pride in five different areas first the were blinded by their pride and that they trusted in their security verses 3 and 4 they live in the clefts of the rocks and boast no one can bring us down the capital city of Edom was Selah sella the Hebrew word for rock in Greek it's Petra if you saw the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade you may recall the scene where Indiana Jones and his father rode horseback through the clefts of the rocks to get to the fortress of Petra the lived in that area and they made their homes among the rocks and up in high places archeologists discovered that ancient city fortress in 1812 the nation of Edom thought itself as being completely secure in its mountainous stronghold they felt that no enemy could penetrate their fortress who can bring me down to the ground they arrogantly asked Adams mighty fortress was no match for God God says though you soar like the Eagle to make your nest among the stars I will bring you down 2nd the were blinded by their pride if they trusted in their wealth verses 5 & 6 arrogantly the would say we are so wealthy let the thieves come and take what they can carry we have plenty more riches hidden away eden was known for their trade there was a road that was used for trade known as the Kings Highway that went right through Edom you may recall that during the exodus when the Israelites were traveling to the promised land that Edom would not allow them passage on this road and even brought a huge army up against the Israelites numbers 20 in verse 21 God says to eat them when I get through with you there'll be nothing left third the were blinded by their pride if they trusted in their allies verse seven because Edom had the only safe and fastest passage through this rugged terrain of the desert and the mountains many nations wanted to ally with Edom so that they could benefit from that trade route yet God says these very allies these so-called friends are going to turn against you they will deceive you they're gonna overpower you and they're gonna force you out of your land and you won't even detect that it's happening instead of the trusting in God they put their trust and people who contributed to their downfall forth the were blinded by their pride and that they trusted in their wisdom verse 8 Vita mites were celebrated for their wise and prudent counsel God spoke of their great wisdom in Jeremiah 49 and verse 7 elif as one of the friends of Job who came to comfort him was from Edom job 2 11 verse 8 reads yet God says I will destroy the wise and knowledgeable men of Edom whatever wisdom and intelligence they rely on and that they take pride in will not be a match when the all-knowing God gets through with them 5th the were blinded by their pride and that they trusted in their military verse 9 Edom had brave and mighty warriors who successfully defeated many armies in battle but this time they weren't at war with man but with God God says your army will be terrified when they come against me everyone in Esau's mountain and your mighty fortress will be cut down God will send someone there to take care of them even though they thought they had it all security wealth wisdom allies and power these were no obstacles a nation today may boast of its great riches it's great men and institutions of knowledge it's great allies and military power but if God chooses to bring a nation to its knees there is no earthly power that can stop him well eadamson pride also blinded the name to the needs of others Obadiah verse 10 chapter 1 verse 10 because of the knowledge against your brother Jacob you'll be covered with shame you'll be destroyed forever on the day you stood aloof while strangers carried off as wealth and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem you were like one of them you should not look down on your brother and the day of his misfortune no 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 look down on them and 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 God is judging Edom for the violence cruelty and betrayal against the nation of Israel that is the descendants of Esau his brother Jacob not only to eat and flex their own military muscle against Israel on occasion they sat idly by while their brother was attacked and pillaged by other nations God said you stood aloof when strangers carried off Israel's wealth and foreign nations entered his gates although Edom did not initiate the attack against Israel they didn't lift a finger to stop others from attacking we must always take a stand for what is right the Lord presents three charges against Edom with these words you should not first you should not look down on your brother and the day of his misfortune verse 12 instead of helping Israel when other nations were attacking they rejoiced in the day of their trouble and destructions the descendants of Jacob and Esau had opportunities throughout their existence to treat each other as good families should treat each other but the godless descendants of Esau treated their brothers as enemies psalm 137 of her seven reads remember O Lord what the did on the day Jerusalem fell terror they cried tear it down to its foundations Esau's descendants became the cheerleaders for the enemy of their brother they should have came to their aid the nation of esau betrayed when they should have befriended in israel's dark hour when the nation was being invaded second you should not march through the gates of my people in the day of their disaster verse 13 leader mites might not have been at once who breached the gates of Jerusalem but they certainly took advantage of it they entered the city to share in the spoils of gods plundered people instead of coming to help their brother in their day of trouble that just came to help themselves third you should not wait at the crossroads to cut down their fugitives during the attacks against Jerusalem any of the Israelites would flee for their lives only to be robbed or killed or captured by the who stationed themselves at the crossroads of the escape route they would say to Israel's enemy oh you love you forgot one he's hiding over there in the rocks you know he's right over there for their pride against God and their cruelty against their brother the other the utter destruction of the was drawing near and this brings us to God's judgment and fruits your future promise Obadiah 1 verse 15 the day of the Lord is near for all nations as you have done it will be done to you your deeds will return upon your own head 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 the day of the Lord is a metaphor used to describe God's judgment upon a particular nation or nation's the phrase the day of the Lord also refers to the coming of Christ to judge the world the 1st Thessalonians chapter 5 and verses 1 and 2 the Apostle Paul writes of this now brothers about times and dates we do not need to write to you for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night the day of the Lord always results in two actions destruction of the wicked and salvation of the righteous along with Eden's destruction Israel will be delivered if you look at a current map of Palestine you will no longer see the nation of Edom listed Edom has long been destroyed there are no today let's continue Obadiah chapter 1 verse 17 but on Mount Zion will be deliverance it will be holy in the house of Jacob will possess this inheritance the house of Jacob will be a fire in the house of Joseph a flame 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 people from the Negev will occupy the mountains of Esau and people from the foothills possess the land of the Philistines they will occupy the fields of Ephraim and Samaria and Benjamin will possess Gillian this company of Israelite exile who are in Canaan will possess the land as far as Zarephath the exercise from Jerusalem who are in separate will possess the towns than again deliverers will go up on Mount Zion to govern the mountains of East song and the kingdom will be the lords Obadiah said the house of Jacob will possess its inheritance despite the way things looked when Edom betrayed Jerusalem on the coming day of the Lord even the mountains of East saw will be ruled by the Lord this message offered hope to those who are displaced and exiled that one day they could return and their borders will be expanded this I believe could also have a future fulfillment for at that point in time to refer to the church so the angel Gabriel told Mary that the child she was carrying would reign over the house of Jacob forever his kingdom will never end it that house of Jacob is the Church of Jesus Christ that encompasses Jews and Gentiles alike Amos chapter 9 verses 11 and 12 reads and that day I'll restore David's fallen tent I will repair its broken places restore its ruins and build it as it used to be so that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations that bear my name declares the Lord who will do these things and the New Testament James pointed out that Amos is prophecy found its fulfillment and the church with the conversion of the Gentiles Acts chapter 15 verses 13 through 18 the glorious exaltation of Israel had a physical fulfillment in their day and later in the church and it spiritually possessed Edom in the nation's when the Gentiles were brought into the church by the gospel of Jesus Christ although Obadiah was written almost 3,000 years ago the hope and restoration that he speaks of is being fulfilled today in the life of the church in conclusion the main point of the book of Obadiah is that God hates a proud heart a proud heart is an attitude of life that declares its ability to live without God the prideful heart of the was seen that instead of trusting God the trusted in their security and their wealth and their allies in their wisdom and in their power the nation of Edom failed to live up to the two greatest commands of the Bible that is to love the Lord your God with all of your heart and with all of your soul and with all of your mind this is the first and greatest commandment and the second is like it love your neighbor as yourself Jesus taught all the law and the prophets hang on these two commands Matthew 22 verses 36 through 40 I'd like to close the day with the proverb it's found in proverbs chapter 4 verse 23 above all else guard your heart for everything you do flows from it may the Lord bless us is that we have a heart the trusts in God

Channel: Choctaw Church of Christ

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Length: 33min 4sec (1984 seconds)

Published: Wed Jul 05 2017