Sermon Tone Analysis

*Edom [my brother, my enemy!]*

Turn to the shortest book in the OT – Obadiah.

Last year I started looking at some of the minor prophets; we went through the books of Joel and Amos; the next is the tiny book of Obadiah, only 21 verses.

It is a bit different to other prophecies that we have looked at – usually the prophecy was addressed to God's people: Judah or Israel; but read the first verse and we see that this prophecy was directed to Edom *read 1-14*.

The prophecy is wholly taken up with the condemnation of Edom for its treachery toward Judah, with a prophecy of its utter destruction and Judah's salvation in the day of the Lord.

Having been in church we know quite a bit of the background to Judah and Israel, we heard all the Sunday School stories, but we possibly don't know so much about Edom.

So before I look at this prophecy next time, I thought I set the context and talk a bit about Edom.

Who was this Edom?

Of what concern was it to Israel?

Why was this book in their Scriptures?

And of what concern is Edom to us?

Is it totally irrelevant and we can ignore it?

No, it's there for a reason.

So who was Edom?

Genesis 36 is all about Edom, its origins and early leaders, verse 8 states that "/Esau is Edom/".

So how did the name come about?

*Read *[*Genesis 25:21-34 */ Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord answered him and Rebekah his wife conceived.

But the children struggled together within her; /(Beginning of perpetual conflict – these two were forever enemies, not only the brothers but the people that came from them – we will see this enmity carried on through history, one always in conflict with each other and this conflict continues to this day in every one of us) /and she said, “If it is so, why then am I this way?”

So she went to inquire of the Lord.

The Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb; And two peoples will be separated from your body; and one people shall be stronger than the other; and the older shall serve the younger.”

When her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.

Now the first came forth red/ (the word for "red" is from the root "edom")/, all over like a hairy garment; and they named him Esau/ (meaning "hairy")/.

Afterward his brother came forth with his hand holding on to Esau’s heel, so his name was called Jacob; and Isaac was sixty years old when she gave birth to them.

When the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter /(relied on natural strength and ability – natural man "Adam")/, a man of the field /(a man of the earth, earthly, no heavenly~/spiritual perspective)/, but Jacob was a peaceful man, living in tents.

Now Isaac loved Esau, because he had a taste for game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

When Jacob had cooked stew, Esau came in from the field and he was famished; and Esau said to Jacob, “Please let me have a swallow of that red stuff there, for I am famished.”Therefore

his name was called Edom./(Why was he called "Edom"?

Because of the red lentil stew)/ But Jacob said, “First sell me your birthright.”

Esau said, “Behold, I am about to die; so of what use then is the birthright to me?”

And Jacob said, “First swear to me”; so he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob.

Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew; and he ate and drank, and rose and went on his way.

Thus Esau despised his birthright /(no interest in the hereafter, a man of this world, lived for the now)].

In this story is revealed the characteristics of Edom all contained in the meaning of "Edom": *[OHP]*

*Rely on natural strength ("Adam" – man)* - Esau was a man's man, skilled, strong – he'd probably the one we would take to, not Jacob the underhanded deceiver.

He was the epitome of man doing things by his own strength.

The word Edom has the same spelling as Adam, man.

Edom is natural man, living by his own efforts, skill, ability and strength.

- skilled hunter.

*Live by lusts ("Adom" red stuff) - *We see how he got the name Edom – it was from the red lentil stew that he hungered for.

Forever he was known by a single incident – his hunger that had to be satisfied – that characterised him: ruled by appetite, by lusts – he wanted something, he had to have it.

That is natural man ruled by lusts, hungers, desires – what I want.

This is Edom! - natural man.

*Earthly ("Adamah" dust, ground)* Esau despised his birthright – it meant nothing to him.

No concern for the hereafter, what did it matter?

He had to have food now.

We are a generation who live for the now.

Even as Christians we tend to focus on the present rather, on our building God's Kingdom here and now, rather than looking to Jesus return, to the future, to the hope, to the eternal, the heavenly, the spiritual.

We are caught up with tangible material things – things that do not last, that are a vapour!

Edom was living for now, no spiritual sensitivity, no interest in spiritual things.

A fine man – but dust (adamah) is what he was – no posterity, he gave it away for something that doesn't last, just as millions today are doing!

That is natural man today: rely on our own strength, technology, knowledge, diplomacy, wealth, ability – live for lust, satisfying our appetites be they sexual, gastronomic, house, car, boat etc. - and above all we live for now – no thought of God or anything outside this material world.

The natural man is a materialist and a humanist.

Later, and we know this story well from Sunday School, Jacob tricked Esau out of his father's blessing – Isaac had a tasted for wild game and sent Esau out to hunt some.

He knew that God had said that the older would serve the younger but he favoured Esau, loved him and loved game – his fleshly desires won out over God's will.

Rebecca favoured Jacob, heard what Isaac had said and had Jacob impersonate Esau – it was a bit dicey but it worked; Jacob got the blessing.

Esau came back and found he'd been cheated – he was distraught [*Genesis 27:34-41 */When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, “Bless me, even me also, O my father!”

And he said, “Your brother came deceitfully and has taken away your blessing.”

Then he said, “Is he not rightly named Jacob, for he has supplanted me these two times?

He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing.”

And he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?”

But Isaac replied to Esau, “Behold, I have made him your master, and all his relatives I have given to him as servants; and with grain and new wine I have sustained him.

Now as for you then, what can I do, my son?” Esau said to his father, “Do you have only one blessing, my father?

Bless me, even me also, O my father.”

So Esau lifted his voice and wept.

Then Isaac his father answered and said to him, Behold, away from the fertility of the earth shall be your dwelling, and away from the dew of heaven from above.“By

your sword you shall live, and your brother you shall serve; but it shall come about when you become restless, that you will break his yoke from your neck.”

So Esau bore a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him; and Esau said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”/

(lasting hatred)] This prophecy was fulfilled – played out in history – Israel and Edom were in perpetual conflict, much of the time Israel had Edom in subjugation but at times Edom would break out from under Israel and would treat his brother with bitter hatred.

*Edom the nation:* But before we have a brief look at some of that history, lets look at the nation of Edom that came from Esau: Esau became a nation: the nation of Edom.

Edom lay to the south of Israel *(map)*, south of the Dead Sea, going right down to the gulf of Aqaba, the north-eastern tip of the Red Sea.

An important highway, called the King’s Highway (Num.

20:17), passed through the eastern segment of Edom in a north to south direction.

It was this path that the Israelites wished to travel to the promised land, but Edom refused to let them through.

It is a rugged, mountainous area, with peaks rising to over 1000 meters.

While not a fertile land, there are good cultivable areas* [OHP]*.

There are many references in prophecies concerning Edom to its mountainous nature – because the geography typified the spirit of the people – high and mighty, lofty and proud.

On these heights they built fortresses which, because of their location, the Edomites considered impregnable.

They were self assured, confident of their own security, that no one could bring them down from their lofty position.

[*Jeremiah 49:16 */“As for the terror of you, the arrogance of your heart has deceived you, O you who live in the clefts of the rock, who occupy the height of the hill.

Though you make your nest as high as an eagle’s, I will bring you down from there,” declares the Lord/].

They were sure of their own security and sure of their own wisdom – Edom was renown for its wisdom.

This is natural man relying on himself for security and trusting in his own wisdom.

Edom is very close to us.

That is natural man – proud, self-sufficient, doesn't think anything can touch him, assured of his own wisdom.

/Natural man relies on man /– humanism!

*Edom, the history* - perpetual enmity [Ezek 35:2-6] - no natural compassion [Amos 1:11; Obad 10-14]

You will be relieved to know that I haven't the time to bore you with a full history of the long and unrelenting record of conflict between Israel and Edom (though it makes an interesting study) – the conflict was there before the twins were born and it continued unabated throughout their history.

Despite a show of affection when Jacob appeased Esau when he returned to the promised land, he and his brother never lived together.

In the Exodus Israel sought to travel the King's Highway through Edom to Canaan but were refused.

Notwithstanding this discourtesy, Israel was forbidden to abhor his Edomite brother (*Deuteronomy 23:7 */You shall not detest an Edomite, for he is your brother; you shall not detest an Egyptian, because you were an alien in his land./).

Later King Saul was fighting the Edomites, although some of them were in his service, a certain Doeg who betrayed David and the priests to Saul, killing 85 of them.

David conquered Edom and put garrisons throughout the land.

There was considerable slaughter of the Edomites at this time and Joab, David's commander remained in Edom for six months until he had cut off every male in Edom.

Some must have escaped, for Gadad, a royal prince, fled to Egypt and later became a trouble to Solomon.

In Jehoshaphat's time the Edomites jointed the Ammonites and Moabites in a raid on Judah but the allies fell to fighting one another.

Under Joram, Edom rebelled, but, although Joram defeated them in battle, he could not reduce them to subjugation, and Edom had a respite of some 40 years.

Amaziah later invaded Edom, slew, 10,000 Edomites in the valley of Salt captured their capital and sent 10,000 more to their death by casting them from the top of Sela, their capital.

Uzziah, his successor, restored the port at Elath, but under Ahaz, when Judah was being attacked by Pekah and Rezin, the Edomites invaded Judah and carried off captives.

The port of Elath, on the Red Sea, was lost once again.

Judah never again recovered Edom.