Obadiah

1452 was significant year in history. For over a thousand years, the city of Constantinople had been a symbol of strength for the Byzantine empire. It is situated on a narrow body of water that separates the Black Sea from the Mediterranean. It is bordered on three sides by water and encircled on all sides by a wall that had been virtually impenetrable for a millennia - that is until 1452.

In that year, the new sultan of the Ottoman Empire sought to finish some work started by his father. For 55 days, the new sultan laid a seige against the city. He even went so far as to move a fleet of ships over land in order to put them back into the water on the opposite side of some defenses.

After 1000 years of reign and 55 days of seige and attacks, the pride of the Byzantine empire finally fell. They had a well founded pride in their walls - but that let them down. They had pride in their alliance with Rome and other sea-worthy cities - but to no avail. There was not enough money for food or friends who could help - and so the city fell, ushering in the expansion of the Ottoman empire into Europe - and empire that would have influence for many centuries.

Pride can be a good thing.

But pride can also be a bad thing.

Today, as we continue our look at God’s Story in Scripture, we are considering a book that illustrates how the pride of one nation became its downfall - the book of Obadiah.

Background

The book of Obadiah is unique in a couple different ways.

It is the shortest book in the Old Testament. At only 21 verses and only 1 chapter, it is barely longer than some of the New Testament’s shortest books.

It is the only book of the bible that is totally focused on a non-believing nation or people - the nation of Edom. Now, there are many prophets who make statements against other nations, but this is the only book that is entirely focused on a single nation other than Israel or Judah. Even in the NT, the books are generally written to believers. Sure, people who are far from God can benefit, but all of the other books of the Bible are written for God’s people.

Like many of the other minor prophets, we don’t really know who Obadiah is or when he served. It is most likely that he served shortly after the fall of Jerusalem to the nation of Babylon in 586BC - as he references Jerusalem’s fall in his indictment against Edom.

So, just who is this nation?

Edom is located in the mountains just south east of the Dead Sea. Edom’s founding ancestor was Esau - Jacob’s twin brother - the children if Isaac and Rebekkah (Gen. 25:19ff).

(brief summary of Jacob and Esau)

Esau’s descendents - the Edomites - continued to feud with Jacob’s descendents - the Israelites - throughout much of their history.

when the Israelites were leaving Egypt - the Edomites refused to let them pass through their land (Num. 21:14-21

Under the reign of King David, Edom had been a “vassal” colony of Israel (Craigie, 184; McConville).

Around the 9th century BC, Edom rebelled against King Joram regained their independence (2 Kings. 8:20-22)

There was another season in the 8th century when Judah ruled over Edom (2 Kings 14:7 ; 2 Chr. 28:17) (McConville)

Gordon McConville notes

In the same century, Amos accused Edom of attacking ‘his brother’ (Israel-Judah) (Amos 1:11–12). It was also a willing trader of Israelite slaves (1:6, 9). Then in 587 bc Edomites apparently joined in the destruction of Judah by the Babylonians (Ps. 137:7; Lam. 4:21–22; Ezek. 25:12–14).

McConville, Gordon. Exploring the Old Testament: The Prophets. Vol. 4. London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2002. Print.

The strife between Edom and Israel had been carrying on for centuries. Obadiah seems to get called to step in to convey the final judgment of the Lord on this tiny mountain nation.

As we look at the message of the book of Obadiah, it seems best to frame it by quoting from the book of James:

James 4:6b ESV

But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

You see the pride of Edom had become its downfall. Judah may have been humbled by the Lord, but they would eventually be preserved. So let’s consider the message of Obadiah to the Edomites and to us.

First of all, we see that...

God opposes the proud … (1-16)

In the passage that we read earlier, Obadiah directly pointed to the the pride of Edom and pride’s innate deception.

Obadiah 3 NLT

You have been deceived by your own pride because you live in a rock fortress and make your home high in the mountains. ‘Who can ever reach us way up here?’ you ask boastfully.

Obadiah is addressing their physical location which seems to be a metaphor of their attitude. Mark Dever noted that...

“Edom was a small nation, but it was situated, like Switzerland, in an apparently impenetrable region of rocky heights and passes. And their hearts were well symbolized by their geography - high and hard, certain and proud.” (p. 752)

Pride causes us to act in ways that blind us to vulnerabilities, to weaknesses in our character. Pride causes us to place an inordinate amount of confidence in ourselves rather than being willing to trust others, or worse, causing us to not trust in God.

Edom seems to exemplify qualities of the proud that we should be aware of.

First of all...

The proud stand aloof (1-4; 10-11)

From their lofty perch, the Edomites sought to look down on the destruction of Judah. They thought that they were protected and better than Judah.

In much the same way - our pride makes us think that we are better than those around us. We begin to get into a game of comparing stories - always trying to find the way that we are better than others.

Pride is threatened by the strengths of others and can sometimes refuse to listen.

Pride is threatened by the input of others.

Pride fails to act with compassion, failing to get involved when others are in need.

Look at Obadiah’s indictment against Edom

Obadiah 10–11 ESV

Because of the violence done to your brother Jacob, shame shall cover you, and you shall be cut off forever. 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.

Edom’s haughty observation and silence in the destruction of Jerusalem made them silent contributors to the Babylonian invasion.

How often do we stand off and silent when others are hurt or oppressed? How often do we look down on those who are in pain or in a different station in life? How often do we simply think that we are better?

Not only do the proud stand aloof, but...

The proud trust their own alliances (7)

Consider what Obadiah says in verse 7

Obadiah 7 ESV

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.

Even though Edom was a sort of sister nation to the Israelites, they had trusted in alliances against Israel. Yet, those alliances became a thorn in their flesh. The deception that they received from those relationships exposed a weakness in their defenses.

I think in much the same we, when we act in pride, trust in alliances with people and things that can become deceptive forces in our lives.

Money - we rely too much on our ability to accumulate and keep wealth - thinking that in our financial resources we will be secure.

Jobs - maybe we focus to closely on our jobs - finding our identity there - not realizing that grander forces are at work and even the best job can be lost in an instant

Political Parties - there is no perfect political party. Every party is at best a compromise of values - they support one thing that we love and another thing that we hate. We are deceived if we trust too fully in one political party or another - ultimately, they are each after power and control.

We exhibit pride when we focus too much attention or place too much trust in alliances that are not of God or God himself. Money, jobs, political parties, even friendships, and families are all great resources - but they are all terrible saviors.

Edom fell into the trap of pridefully trusting in alliances. Are we falling into the same trap?

Another thing we learn about Edom and those who are full of pride is that...

The proud trust their own wisdom (8)

Obadiah 8 ESV

Will I not on that day, declares the Lord, destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of Mount Esau?

In God’s judgment, even the learned and the wise were not going to be spared from His wrath. Their wisdom failed to recognize that God was sovereign over all things, all nations, all circumstances, all people. Their wisdom and knowledge could not save them from the Day of the Lord.

Even today - with the overload of information that we receive - there are so many self-help books, blogs, articles, podcasts, speakers, and agencies - that it is difficult to know what is truly the wise way to go.

I was listening to one podcast this week where the speaker talked about this very thing - we hear all sorts of wisdom of the world and yet we have difficulty discerning. One argument on one side seems logical and good, then we read another point of view and get a different bit of wisdom. The speaker found that in his empathy - he could relate to multiple points of view ,but ultimately became frozen because there was no clear path forward. And yet he acknowledged that when it comes to the truth of God’s word, there is rest and peace. (9Marks Pastors’ Talk Podcast Episode 131: On Pastoring Amidst National Trauma)

We can see this conflict of the wisdom of the world in so many areas - race relations, leadership, love, fitness, weight-loss.

When we submit ourselves to God’s wisdom we find that there is more clarity. God doesn’t always lay everything out in a step-by-step sequence, but His Word and His Spirit are our authoritative guide - when used properly.

In Obadiah, we also learn that...

The proud trust in their own strength (9)

One of the big elements of the cold war was the idea that both the United States and Russia were using the strength of their arsenals as a means of proving one country was stronger than the other. The nuclear weapon stockpiles had both become so strong that each nation assured the destruction of the other. There was no amount of weapons that would bring peace.

For Edom, their mighty men or their warriors would not be able to stand up against the wrath of God.

Obadiah 9 ESV

And your mighty men shall be dismayed, O Teman, so that every man from Mount Esau will be cut off by slaughter.

How often have we seen it where the healthiest and the fittest individuals among us are the ones who gets struck with cancer or some incurable illness? Or what about the athletes who in the prime of their careers simply fall over from a massive heart attack or aneurism?

Just this week I was having a conversation with Tom, Robin, Hannah and Robin’s son Donny about weaknesses. We discussed the fact that the Apostle Paul was so gifted mentally that God allowed him to have a weakness, a “thorn in the flesh” in order to help him to trust more fully and rely more completely in God.

Look at what Paul says about this...

2 Corinthians 12:7–9 ESV

So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

It would have been easy for Paul to put too much trust in the strength of the revelations that God had given him - making it about Paul and not God - so God allowed these weaknesses.

Are we trusting too much in our own physical, mental, financial, occupational, political, influential, relational, or even spiritual strengths?

There is one other way that the book of Obadiah seems to address the pride of Edom. He notes that...

The proud rejoice over the downfall of others (12-14)

Not only was Edom standing aloof and trusting in their own alliances, wisdom, and strength - when Judah was disciplined and Jerusalem was destroyed - Edom seemed to rejoice over their downfall.

Obadiah 12–14 ESV

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. 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. Do not stand at the crossroads to cut off his fugitives; do not hand over his survivors in the day of distress.

Rather than looking at Jerusalem with compassion and empathy - pride had set in and the attitude of Edom became - “better you than me.”

Are there places in our lives when we are so prideful that we look at the pain, hurt, sickness, oppression of others and have that same attitude? How do we feel when a neighbor files for bankruptcy or gets dementia? Does it break our hearts when we hear of the unjust death of an African American or the blanket generalizations that get wagered against the police? How do we respond when we hear about the looting and fires in one city and the anarchy that sets in when a portion of another city is taken over by a vigilante force? Do we think -“I’m glad that’s not Poolesville or I’m glad I don’t live there?”

Or what about when a marriage falls apart - whether because of unfaithfulness or neglect? Do we look down on others and think - that will never happen to me?

Pride has a devious way of setting in, blinding us to the reality of our own weaknesses. Pride gives us a false sense of security in things that really are not secure.

Obadiah’s message to Edom was that their pride would be their downfall - and it was.

Obadiah 15–16 ESV

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. 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.

There was a day of judgment for Edom. In the century after Obadiah prophesied - Edom was invaded by Arabs. Over the next several decades they were continually attacked until they no longer existed as a nation (Dever, 764). Pride had become their downfall.

Obadiah helps us to see that God truly does oppose the proud...

But gives grace to the humble.

Let’s consider the last several verses of Obadiah.

Obadiah 17–21 ESV

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. 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 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. 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. Saviors shall go up to Mount Zion to rule Mount Esau, and the kingdom shall be the Lord’s.

Judah had been taken off into exile. They had been humbled by the Lord and they would be restored. They would once again return to the land that God had promised them.

God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble - even those he has humbled.

God is a God of strength and power, but he is also a God of humility. Consider what the Apostle Paul writes in Philippians

Philippians 2:5–11 NLT

You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

God, the Sovereign ruler over the universe humbled himself in His Son Jesus - in order to be like us. Think about all that Jesus laid aside on our behalf - the glories of heaven, the unlimited power of his being, the adoration of the angels.

He stepped into this place - humbling himself - being virtually unknown - and yet showing us how to live and then being the replacement for our sin so that we might be in a relationship with God.

Friend - you may be checking out church just to see what it’s like. You may have grown up in church. You might be tempted to look at the church as a place that is full of hypocritical people - and you’d be right. We are all sinners who have been saved by grace. We are all tempted to stumble. We are all tempted to say the wrong thing and speak out of anger rather than love. We are all working to lay down our pride. I pray that you would join us in this journey. I pray that you would repent of your pride, your self reliance, your trust in things that really don’t matter, and trust in what Jesus Christ humbled himself to do for you. Jesus paid the price of your sin and mine, of your pride and mine. Trust in Him today. If you’d like to understand that more, please put a note in the facebook feed or send me an email - [e-mail] - it would be a joy to open the Word of God with you and help you see Who God is, who you are, what God has done for you, and how you should respond.

Just as Edom faced a day of the Lord - a day of wrath and judgment, there will be a final Day of the Lord. Humble yourself before the Lord while you still can. Is your pride really worth the eternal separation from God on the other side of the final Day of the Lord?

You see for Obadiah - the Day of the Lord was a day of judgment for God’s enemies, but a day of restoration for God’s people. The final day of the Lord will be the same. God’s enemies will go to eternal judgment and God’s people will dwell with Him for eternity.

Beloved - fellow brothers and sisters in Christ - pride is a deceptive characteristic. Even if we have been saved by the grace of Jesus - we are still tempted to pride. While we are in this world, we will struggle with sin, we will struggle with pride.

1 John 2:16 NLT

For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world.

Beloved, let me encourage all of us to...

Walk humbly, not haughtily. - recognize that we can commit every sin, every action, every thought that brings others down. We are not immune.

Live graciously, not gratuitously. - God has blessed us to be a blessing. Are we blessing others?

Love bountifully, not begrudgingly. - Pride has a way of making us think that love is in short supply - when it is not. As God’s people, we are called to love. In this closing passage, consider what roles love and pride play with each other.

1 Corinthians 13:4–7 ESV

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Benediction

2 Corinthians 13:14 ESV

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

References:

Craigie, Peter C., The Old Testament: It’s Background, Growth, and Content (Abington, Nashville, 1987)

Dever, Mark, The Message of the Old Testament: Promises Made, (Crossway, Wheaton, 2006)

Longman III, Tremper; Raymond B. Dillard; An Introduction to the Old Testament, 2nd Ed. (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 2006)

McConville, Gordon. Exploring the Old Testament: The Prophets. Vol. 4. London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2002.