OBADIAH | SERVANT OF THE LORD

We don’t know if she was just getting a little bigger a little faster… or maybe she could just feel that there was more movement than she thought would be normal.

But one day she asks the Lord, what is going on?

Genesis 25:23 KJV 1900

23 And the Lord said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, And two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; And the one people shall be stronger than the other people; And the elder shall serve the younger.

You’re having twins!

But your kids are going to grow into anything but a normal family.

In fact, they they had the same mother and father, there would be very little else they would have in common.

Genesis 25:25–28 KJV 1900

25 And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau. 26 And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau’s heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them. 27 And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents. 28 And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob.

The day came when Isaac was old that it was time to pass along his blessing to his son… and that would naturally go to Esau the oldest.

But while Esau was out hunting for a deer, Jacob and his mom were busy making a plan to steal that blessing from Esau.

After Jacob had accomplished his plan, Esau returned home and found out what had happened.

He was furious and planned to kill his brother, but before he could get to him, Rebekah helped her son Jacob escape.

With the rage and fury in his heart, Esau looked for some way to rebel against his parents.

Genesis 28:6–9 KJV 1900

6 When Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob, and sent him away to Padan-aram, to take him a wife from thence; and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan; 7 And that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone to Padan-aram; 8 And Esau seeing that the daughters of Canaan pleased not Isaac his father; 9 Then went Esau unto Ishmael, and took unto the wives which he had Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife.

From that lineage of Esau we find who Obadiah was writing to:

Obadiah 1 KJV 1900

1 The vision of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord God concerning Edom; We have heard a rumour from the Lord, And an ambassador is sent among the heathen, Arise ye, and let us rise up against her in battle.

There are numerous Obadiah’s that we find in the Scriptures, but the writer of this book seems to be different than the rest.

Many believe he wrote sometime around 587 BC and was possibly a contemporary of Elijah and Elisha of 1 and 2 Kings

It is the shortest book in the OT, lasting only 21 verses.

While there is question as to when exactly he did the writing and who he was, there is no question as to who he was writing to: Edom.

The Edomites were descendants of Esau, and had gone on to become the enemies of God’s people.

Throughout the centuries they had sought to destroy the 12 tribes of Israel and stood against them at nearly every opportunity.

In fact, Herod the Great was a descendant of the Edomites

And it was him that tried to kill Jesus Christ, after the wise men paid him a visit.

And more than any other nation mentioned in the OT, Edom is condemned and is the subject of God’s wrath and judgment.

At the time of Obadiah’s writing, Edom believed themselves to be a nation that was impenetrable by any other country.

Their home was found in the mountains, where the peaks extended up to 5,700 feet.

It was the place where the stone city of Petra was located

Because of their strategic protected location, they believed they were untouchable and indestructible.

While they felt untouchable to the surrounding nations, there was One Who’s wrath they could not escape… God

The reason for God’s judgment is clear: Edom had a problem with Pride

I. EDOM’S PROBLEM WITH PRIDE

EXPLANATION: We find God’s diagnoses in Obadiah 1:3-4

Obadiah 3–4 KJV 1900

3 The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, Thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; That saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground? 4 Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, And though thou set thy nest among the stars, Thence will I bring thee down, saith the Lord.

In their pride, the Edomites proclaimed from their mountain habitation, “Who shall be me down to the ground?”

Who could overthrow us?

ILLUSTRATION: Captain Edward John Smith, could have taken a lesson from the Edomites.

It was he who in 1912 said of the newly built ship, “Even God himself couldn’t sink this ship.”

That ship… The Titanic.

EXPLANATION: The root of the boasting of both Captain Edward Smith and those from Edom is found at the beginning of verse 3… “The pride of thine heart.”

The Bible has much to say about this devastating sin

Proverbs 6:16–17 KJV 1900

16 These six things doth the Lord hate: Yea, seven are an abomination unto him: 17 A proud look, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood,

God hates pride.

It was the very sin that led to the fall of Lucifer himself according to the book of Isaiah

Isaiah 14:12–14 KJV 1900

12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! 13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

It was pride that led to the fall of mankind in the Garden of Eden

Genesis 3:1–6 KJV 1900

1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. 6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

You see pride will always lie in two ways:

It will lie about you

It will lie about God.

And the Edomites had fallen to both lies… We are unstoppable… not even God could do anything.

APPLICATION: Are you being lied to this morning?

Not by your boss, or your spouse.

Not by this preacher

I’ve heard preachers try to emphasize a point by telling the crowd, “What I’m about to tell you is the truth.”

I get what they are trying to do, but in the back of my mind I’m think, “So what have you been doing this entire time?”

No are you being lied to… by yourself?

The Edomites believed their security was in where they lived.

They lifted themselves up, exalting themselves.

“Look at what we have done.”

“Look at what we have built”

“Look at us!”

And they were deceived… by themselves

And it could be that you are here this morning and you are deceiving yourself as well.

You’re deceived about your eternity

You have convinced yourself that because of something you have done, you will earn your place in heaven

Ephesians 2:8–9 KJV 1900

8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

John 14:6 KJV 1900

6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Titus 3:5 KJV 1900

5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;

Friend, there is only one way that you are going to get to heaven, and it isn’t by any good works that you can do.

It is only through Jesus Christ!

But in your pride you can be deceived to believe that you can do it on your own… you are lying to yourself!

You’re deceived about your security

The Edomites believed they were untouchable because of the mountains that surrounded them.

But they discovered they were only as secure as God allowed them to be.

Obadiah 4 KJV 1900

4 Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, And though thou set thy nest among the stars, Thence will I bring thee down, saith the Lord.

There are some who find their security in their finances

They have a good paying job with benefits

They have some money in the bank

Some find security in their families

Everyone is in good health

Everyone is getting along

Your spouse is always there for you

Some find security in their plans

You’ve got everything scheduled and planned

You’ve got things under control.

But what happens when God shakes things up?

When the bills come and the money isn’t there

When their is a health scare in your family

When your plans fall apart and life begins to spiral out of control

Your pride has deceived you about your security

And suddenly you discover that everything that made you feel so safe and secure could disappear in a moment!

Just ask Job!

ILLUSTRATION: He had everything, and in a matter of moments, everything that defined his life was taken away!

ILLUSTRATION: Just ask the disciples.

For 3 and a half years they had given everything to this man they had followed, and in one night it was all gone!

Do you want to know why Peter denied Christ and responded like he did?

Because earlier that night Jesus had told him what was going to happen and Peter responded with Matthew 26:35

Matthew 26:35 KJV 1900

35 Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples.

Peter was strong when Jesus was standing there beside him in the garden… but now his whole world had been turned upside down.

And when he couldn’t see Jesus because of the situation around him, and his security was gone, in fear he said, “I don’t even know Jesus.”

APPLICATION: You know the truth is Christians are good at acting like Christians when everything is going well.

But when your security get’s upended, and now you are having a hard time seeing God in your situation… often it’s the Christian who start acting like they don’t even know Jesus.

We are good at criticizing Peter standing around that fire… but if truth be told, many of us have been standing around our own fire at times in our lives acting like we don’t know Jesus too.

Your pride will deceive you about your eternity… it will deceive you about your security.

You’re deceived about your abilities

Obadiah said the people of Edom “exalted” themselves.

“Look at what we have done.”

It’s so easy to fall into this trap in our lives.

To believe that we are where we are today because of something that we did.

Before you start patting yourself on the back to hard… can I remind us all that we are where we are today because of the grace of God!

It was God’s grace that allowed you to be born in this country

It is God’s grace that enables you to wake up each day

It is God’s grace that you have the abilities that you have today

And if it weren’t for the grace of God, you would be broken and without hope.

You see Ephesians 2:1-7

Ephesians 2:1–7 KJV 1900

1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

It is by God’s grace that you are saved… and it is by God’s grace and power that you are enabled.

1 Corinthians 10:31 KJV 1900

31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

It can be so easy to start to pat ourselves on the back because of things that God has done in and through us.

Can I remind you who gets all the glory for what is happening at WBC?

It’s God.

Can I remind you who gets all the praise for anything God that happens in the future?

It’s God

Can I remind you who should get the glory for anything good that happens in your life?

It’s God!

Yet so often, your pride will cause you to lie to yourself… and to lie about God!

And it happens when we make our life all about the center of pride… we make it all about “I”

THE PROBLEM WITH PRIDE, IS IT’S ALL ABOUT “I”

II. THE FOCUS OF OUR ATTENTION

EXPLANATION: Obadiah forecasts the coming destruction that Edom would endure.

While they were proud of their country and what they had built, God would show them that their pride would lead to their destruction.

And that’s exactly what happened and will happen one day when Christ returns at the Second coming.

But in the midst of that coming destruction, Obadiah gives a glimpse of hope.

He turns the attention of the readers to where it should have been all along.

Obadiah 17–18 KJV 1900

17 But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; And the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions. 18 And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, And the house of Joseph a flame, And the house of Esau for stubble, And they shall kindle in them, and devour them; And there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau; For the Lord hath spoken it.

One was coming Who would restore the split nation of Israel and Judah (the house of Jacob and the house of Joseph).

One was coming Who will lead Israel to take back their land.

One is coming Who will set all things right, even with the enemies of God and His people.

And that one is Jesus!

That is Who they are referring to in v.17!

APPLICATION: You know what will help you to keep your pride in check… stop focusing so much on you… and turn your attention to Jesus!

And it doesn’t take long when you turn your focus to Jesus, before you see what He spent His earthly ministry doing: Serving

Matthew 20:28 KJV 1900

28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

Philippians 2:4 KJV 1900

4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.

Jesus Christ was the greatest leader to ever live, and He led by serving!

Can I tell you what is going to take our church to the next level?

What is going to grow the impact of the Gospel in our community?

What is going to be the key to seeing people growing in their faith and reaching new heights for Christ?

It’s going to happen when we stop putting “me first” and start serving Christ by serving others.

CONCLUSION

APPLICATION: It’s interesting each week as we have walked through these minor prophets.

I have strove to point out what the name of the writer means… and it’s always amazing because it’s usually something that I kind of forget about until toward the end of my message preparation.

Well it was no surprise again that the Lord knew better than me with His Word...

The name Obadiah… It means Servant of the Lord.

Friend, as you remember this short book in the OT, I hope you’ll remember that the writer of it wanted us to know, it wasn’t about him… it was all about the Lord.

Edom was blinded by it’s pride… and it led to their destruction.

But Obadiah turned our attention to where it should be all along… He turned it to the Lord.

Now may we, like him, choose to be a servant of the One Who was the greatest servant to ever live!

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