Obadiah 15-21 - A Day of Destiny

Introduction:

If this board had the ability to think and feel, what do you presume the board would think of this nail? If this board looked at the nail and saw a beefy construction worker with a hammer arriving, what would the board think of that nail? What do you think this nail thinks as the construction worker gets close with the hammer in his hand? Now, what does this screw think of the construction worker with a hammer in his hand?

Likewise, the same set of facts—[God will ultimately provide deliverance for the oppressed, and He will punish all oppressors] leaves very different impressions on various groups. Some have the terror of the board, some anticipate the purpose of the nail, and some have the ambivalence of the screw.

One destined day – varied real responses!

None of us come to a Bible verse as a blank slate. We all have assumptions based upon what we have learned and what we know about this verse in relation to the rest of Scripture and the progression of History. Each week in my sermon prep step #4 of my 27-step plan is to identify the bias that I tend to read into the text.

Some of my bias is in the category of either orthodoxy(right belief according to historic Christianity) or heresy. Some of my bias fits into the category of personal conviction that I have concluded that other orthodox believers are not convinced. And a third set of bias is mere opinion, conjecture, or conclusions based upon my individual circumstances.

Identifying these pre-understandings is especially important when reading Biblical prophetic literature. How does this passage fit into the overall working of God with humanity from Eden to Paradise? Which of these were prophecies when first delivered, but have now been fulfilled and are history from our point of view? Which of these writings are yet to be fulfilled literally or figuratively?

Just so you know where I am coming from. I believe God made unilateral promises to the descendants of Abraham, some of which are yet to be literally fulfilled. I do believe a time is coming where wickedness by humanity will be judged (this is called the 70th week of Daniel (Daniel 9:24). The first 69 [7+62] weeks have already happened (Daniel 9:25). The 70th week is divided into 3½ year segments (Daniel 7:25& Rev. 12:14) – in the first 3½ the evil players are at work, but things are relatively peaceful, in the second 3½ someone who has been apparently good for Israel does something hideous that brings God’s full wrath in ways that have never been seen before. This time of destruction and deliverance are what is collectively called the Day of the Lord – a phrase that appears in 13 different Bible books in both testaments (5 of which appear after Christ has ascended to the Father, so my bias is that they were yet to happen during the first century, and they are still yet to happen literally).

From Obadiah’s perspective, which I said I believe was about 700-725 BC, it is hard to decipher what will happen in Christ’s first coming, during which He promised in John 14:3 a 2nd coming.

Who are the Chosen Ones?

Permanent (Gen 9:16; 17:7)

An everlasting covenant

Some see the promise to the Jews as unilateral and unconditional. So they see Obadiah’s words about Jacob and Esau as literal descendants of these brothers.

New (Romans 10:12)

Same God, new object of love – No hard feelings, just that was then, and this is now.

Jesus said in John 10:16 that one shepherds would oversee one flock that includes sheep not of the fold (of the Jewish listeners)

They read John 10 back into Obadiah in ways that Obadiah would not have seen personally. Those who Obadiah calls Jacob include the descendants of Jacob AND others who align with God. Those Obadiah calls Esau include both descendants of Esau AND anyone who opposes God.

Rejection & Replacement (Luke 7:30; 17:25; 20:17, Hebrews 7:22, 8:6)

Israel rejected their Messiah, so God responded by calling Gentiles to repentance in their stead.

Those who hold this perspective believe that anything that Obadiah prophesied about Jacob or Esau’s descendants had to have happened before the cross, so now it is either historical or figurative of friends/enemies of God

But, Gentiles were chosen (Eph 1:4) and written in the Book of Life (Rev.13:8) before the Foundation of the World.

Since God determined before Adam was created, the Church (Jewish and Gentile believers since Pentecost) is not a correction or an unanticipated plan B.

Grafted (Romans 11)

Jesus is the vine of Jewish root and we are the branches grafted in (John 15:5). One root, one vine, many branches.

A distinct continuation, with the original still in place for future fulfillment.

Revelation uses the number 24 instead of 12. 24 includes Abraham’s clan and Jesus’ Apostles. This understanding permits a reader to see that God may still do something primarily for the descendants of Abraham that is only secondary impact on Christians (or the church will be raptured away) before these things happen to Jacob/Esau. The church is a 2nd branch grafted into one vine and the pruning of the other branch has little to do with us.

TRANSITION: Now that I’ve spent half my time identifying my bias and explaining my frame for interpreting what Obadiah actually wrote, let’s make sense and receive hope from these 6 verses.

The Day of the Lord brings Destruction on All nations (Obadiah 15-16)

No waivers or exclusions (Obadiah 15a)

All peoples who remain on earth will experience the Day of Destruction/Deliverance.

There will not be an atheist exception or waivers for Muslims, Buddhists, or Hindus.

Every knee will bow, and tongue will confess!

The principle of retribution (Obadiah 15b)

This is not a divine Kharma or scales of justice type of recompense.

The type of attitude you have had toward God will determine the type of future you receive.

The principle of unrestrained consumption (Obadiah 16)

Drunk, drink continually, and drink and swallow are not terms of moderation. The idea is that you were unrestrained in opposing God and His wrath will be unrestrained toward these doers of evil.

TRANSITION: Just as a hammer magnifies the impact of the nail into the board, the hammer multiplies the effectiveness of the Builder. The Day of the Lord multiplies the blessing of the redeemed.

The Day of the Lord brings Deliverance on Mount Zion (Obadiah 17-21)

Mount Zion is a figure of speech for Jerusalem as the place of God’s favor.

God’s people escape (Obadiah 17-18)

here God’s holy mountain (v.16) was a place of consumption, in v.17 it becomes holy and a place of protected possessions.

The distinction in v.18 of Jacob and Joseph being fire and Esau being fuel can be interpreted as the southern tribe of Judah and northern tribes of Israel come back together as the dominant one and foreigners are those being destroyed.

God’s possession is established (Obadiah 19-20)

Negeb, Israel, Shephelah, Zeraphath, & Sepharad are terms that don’t mean much to us, until we get into the mindset of captives.

Israel indicates the land surrounding Jerusalem and Negeb is the suburb to the south. Zaraphath was a coastal city in Lebanon, neighbors to the North.

Shephelah is a generic term for lowlands. The closest lowlands to Jerusalem (the land of the Philistines) would be the area between Jerusalem and the Mediterranean, in other words “from the River to the Sea”. Sepharad was a village in Western Turkey where refugees were shipped off. Pulling all this together—the oppressed and refugees are coming home, and home will expand to the Negeb, Gaza & Lebanon [south, the West and the North] beyond current boundaries.

God’s province is evident (Obadiah 21)

If you have a NIV or NASB, v. 21 probably doesn’t raise concern. If you have an ESV, CSB or King James, the first word in the plural might furrow your brow.

The word deliverers/Saviors is not the idea of multiple gods or multiple redeemers. It is the plural of the name Moses, the ones who deliver in the name of the True God.

As officers take Jerusalem in the name of God and that kingdom dominates the foreigners to the East (country of Esau), all will know that there is only one kingdom and one King, King Jesus!

Obadiah would have a few strong words for those demonstrators who protested the speech on Wednesday with spray paint and flag burning.

Conclusion:

Current events may look like evil is winning. It is not the first time in history when things looked grim. But Obadiah says a day is coming when evil will be destroyed, and a righteous destiny will come to pass!

This righteous destiny is not only for the descendants of Jacob. It is a destiny for 12 tribes and those evangelized by 12 apostles who all recognize the Son of God as the Messiah, the Christ, of all who believe.

Because of the death and resurrection of the one Christ, we can have hope in a blessed destiny. That death and resurrection are what we celebrate now through communion.

The Lord’s Table

Response Song ............................................. “the People of God”

Benediction: Romans 15:13 (ESV) —May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.