The Vision of Obadiah

Opening Prayer:

We ask that you challenge and change us.

Watch over Jeff and his family while they are away. Amen.

I would first love to thank Jeff for the opportunity to speak in here tonight.

I always look forward to these types of situations.

The only time you are actually growing is when you are uncomfortable.

Situations like this could build up my confidence or quickly humble me.

Trivia Question: shortest book of the Bible?

Obadiah, 21 verses total.

Turn with me to the Book of the Minor Prophet Obadiah

Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk

His name Obadiah means “Servant of Yahweh”

ebed-Yah; ebed = Servant, Yah(weh)

There is almost no information about him, no father, no genealogy, no town he is from..No King was named..

In his day, Obadiah was as common as the name John is in America.

13 different people are named Obadiah in the OT.

As far as a date, I am going to use 887 BC. SCOFIELD

The dating hinges on 2 things..

verse 11, discussing Judah’s fall to the Babylonians.

This happened on 587 BC, when there was no King reigning at that time.

The book of Malachi tells how Edom has already fallen and lying in ruins.

The Title of the Book is

The Vision of Obadiah

Obadiah presents a message of hope to GOD’s people.

Only the first verse is in prose, the rest is poetry.

We open with the Charge against Edom.

Edom will be humbled.

Obadiah 1 NASB95

1 The vision of Obadiah. Thus says the Lord God concerning Edom— We have heard a report from the Lord, And an envoy has been sent among the nations saying, “Arise and let us go against her for battle”—

Obadiah tells us immediately, bluntly, and to the point that this is a vision given to him by GOD Himself.

“Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning Edom.”

Edom is the key to this little book, and so we have to go back to Genesis to determine the identity of Edom.

In Genesis, where we have the record of the generations of Esau, notice this comment:

“Now these are the generations of Esau, who is Edom” (Gen. 36:1).

Also this: “Thus dwelt Esau in mount Seir: Esau is Edom.

And these are the generations of Esau the father of the Edomites in mount Seir” (Gen. 36:8–9).

Mount Seir. Mountain range south of the Dead Sea, in modern day Jordan.

Thru the Bible Vol. 28: The Prophets (Amos/Obadiah) Charge Against Edom

The Edomites were those who were descended from Esau, just as the Israelites are those who are descended from Jacob.

The story of Esau is that of twin brothers, sons of Isaac and Rebekah.

The boys were not identical twins; actually, they were opposites.

The record given back in Genesis 25 begins as Rebekah is about to give birth to these twins:

Genesis 25:22–23 NASB95

22 But the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If it is so, why then am I this way?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. 23 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.”

From the very beginning these two brothers were struggling against each other.

Esau was an outdoorsman who loved to hunt.

Jacob would rather stay in the house and learn to cook.

He was tied to his mama’s apron strings.

However, Jacob had a spiritual discernment that Esau did not have.

Esau was a man of the flesh and did not care for spiritual things.

In fact, he so discounted his birthright that he traded it to Jacob for a bowl of soup!

Genesis 25:30–34 NASB95

30 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. 31 But Jacob said, “First sell me your birthright.” 32 Esau said, “Behold, I am about to die; so of what use then is the birthright to me?” 33 And Jacob said, “First swear to me”; so he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. 34 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.

He didn’t sell his birthright because he was so hungry that he was about to die, or because there wasn’t anything else to eat in the home of Isaac, but because his was a desire of the flesh and he was willing to trade all of his spiritual heritage for a whim of the moment.

The man who had the birthright was in contact with God, and he was the priest of his family.

He was the man who had a covenant from God.

He was the man who had a relationship with God.

In effect Esau said, “I would rather have a bowl of soup than have a relationship with God.”

I don’t have enough time to go into this but, this is an illustration of a great truth for believers today. It is a picture of Christians.

A believer has two natures within him, and they are struggling with each other and against each other.

Galatians 5:17 NASB95

17 For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.

These are the two natures of the believer, the new nature and the old nature.

They are opposed to each other.

Esau pictures the flesh, the old nature, and Jacob pictures the spirit, the new nature.

The name Edom means “red or sunburned.”

Esau represented the flesh. He became Edom.

Jacob, who became Israel, a prince with God, represents the spirit.

Having seen Esau in the first book of the Old Testament, let’s look now at the last book of the Old Testament and read this very strange and often misinterpreted language:

Malachi 1:2–3 NASB95

2 “I have loved you,” says the Lord. But you say, “How have You loved us?” “Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet I have loved Jacob; 3 but I have hated Esau, and I have made his mountains a desolation and appointed his inheritance for the jackals of the wilderness.”

This is a strange thing for God to say—“I loved Jacob, and I hated Esau.”

It immediately presents a problem.

A student once approached Cliffe Knechtle with this question, “I am having a problem with this statement in Malachi. I cannot understand why God says He hated Esau.” Cliffe replies to him,

“Young man, I am having a problem with that verse also, but my problem is different from yours. I can understand why He hated Esau, but I cannot understand why He loved Jacob.”

So one thing that makes the little book of Obadiah important is that it is the only place in the Word of GOD where we find the explanation of why GOD hated Esau.

What was small in Esau is now magnified 100,000 times in the nation.

God did not say at the beginning that He hated Esau;

He had to wait until he became a nation and revealed the thing that caused God to hate him.

God never said that He hated Esau or loved Jacob until He came to the last book in the Old Testament.

Both men have become nations, Edom and Israel.

Israel has been mightily used of God through the centuries.

Israel produced men like Moses, Joshua, Samuel, David, Hezekiah, Nehemiah, Ezra, and on down the line.

But the nation that came from Esau became a godless nation.

Edom turned its back upon God, and what was it that caused God to hate Esau and to hate the nation?

Obadiah 2 NASB95

2 “Behold, I will make you small among the nations; You are greatly despised.

This great people—they were a great people, as we are going to see in this book—are now going to be brought down.

Obadiah gives this as a prophecy which looks to the future, but from where we stand today, we see that it has been fulfilled.

What was the great sin of Edom which brought about God’s judgment upon her?

Obadiah 3 NASB95

3 “The arrogance of your heart has deceived you, You who live in the clefts of the rock, In the loftiness of your dwelling place, Who say in your heart, ‘Who will bring me down to earth?’

The arrogance or pride of your heart has deceived you...

Why did God hate Edom? Pride.

Pride is that all? That’s not that bad… is it?

I would like to use an illustration.

I think we can all agree that when it comes to sin, in today’s world we have things all out of proportion...

Suppose that I knew of a certain Christian who was drinking very heavily and that I came to ask your advice as to what his church should do with him.

I am sure that you would say that he ought to be put out of the membership of the church, and I would agree with you.

Now suppose that I told you of an officer in a church who was caught by the police the other night in a supermarket as he was breaking into the safe.

I’m sure that you would say he ought to be put out of the church and that he ought to be disciplined. I’d agree with you on that.

Suppose, though, that I told you that I knew of a certain church member who was filled with pride.

And that he was one of the proudest persons I had ever met.

I would say that you would not suggest that he be put out of the church.

Many who have a very tender heart would say, “I think the pastor should talk to him and tell him that it’s wrong to have pride.

But it’s not such a bad sin after all. At least, it’s one that doesn’t show.

It’s not like getting drunk; it’s not like stealing; it’s not like lying.”

Would I surprise you if I told you that in the sight of God, pride is a much worse sin than getting drunk?

Now the Bible does have a great deal to say about the sin of drunkenness.

God condemns drunkenness.

It contributed to the downfall of Israel, Babylon, the kingdom of Alexander the Great, and Rome. It has brought down all the great nations, and it will bring down our nation.

But, may I say to you, in God’s sight, pride is worse than drunkenness.

We need a proper perspective concerning pride.

Pride is the sin of sins.

It is one of the worst sins of all.

It is something that Scripture condemns above everything.

God has said that He hates pride, and in Malachi, that is the thing that Edom is eaten up with, God can say, “Esau have I hated because of his pride.”

Notice what the writer of the Proverbs says:

Proverbs 6:16–19 NASB95

16 There are six things which the Lord hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: 17 Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood, 18 A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that run rapidly to evil, 19 A false witness who utters lies, And one who spreads strife among brothers.

“arrogant or haughty eyes” also translates “A Proud Look”

Do you see what is number one on GOD’s hate parade? A proud look.

When a man or woman walks into church and looks at some poor saint who is known to have committed a sin, and that man lifts his head and puts his nose in the air, or the woman, that, in the sight of GOD, is worse than getting drunk.

This is not to condone drunkenness; it is saying that drunkenness is bad, but pride is much worse.

This is not all that God has to say about pride.

GOD says that He resists the proud, but He is always on the side of the humble.

Proverbs 8:13 NASB95

13 “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverted mouth, I hate.

John tells us,

“… the pride of life, is not of the Father …” (1 John 2:16).

Where does the pride of life come from?

If there is anything that comes from the Devil, that is it.

Philippians 2:5 NASB95

5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,

What attitude? Humble. Lowliness of Mind.

Matthew 11:29 ESV

29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Pride is that which is destroying the testimony of many Christians and has made them very ineffective for God.

Pride, after all, was the sin of Satan. He said,

“I will exalt my throne above the stars of God…. I will be like the most High” (see Isa. 14:13–14).

Pride was also actually the root of Nebuchadnezzar’s insanity.

What is pride?

Let me give you a definition of it:

Pride of heart is the attitude of a life that declares its ability to live without God.

We find here in the Book of Obadiah that pride of heart had lifted up this nation of Edom just like Esau who had despised his birthright.

Even in the home of Isaac, where there was plenty to eat, he liked that bowl of soup, and he liked it more than he liked his birthright.

He didn’t care for God at all.

In despising that birthright, he despised God.

And now Esau had become a great nation that had declared its ability to live without God.

As long as you are proud, you cannot know God. --C.S. Lewis

Obadiah 3 NASB95

3 “The arrogance of your heart has deceived you, You who live in the clefts of the rock, In the loftiness of your dwelling place, Who say in your heart, ‘Who will bring me down to earth?’

Edom lived in a very unique place.

He lived in the rocky mountainous area south of the Dead Sea, Mt Seir.

The Greek word for Rock is Petra, the city of Petra.

It is still in existence today and can be visited and viewed online.

Many who see it are overwhelmed by the size of the city. It is a ready–made city hewn out of the rock.

It is protected by the entrance way which is very narrow in places.

A horse and rider can get through but with just a bit of twisting and turning. It was, therefore, a city which could easily be defended. Everything was secure.

It was like the First National Bank in that many of the nations of the world deposited vast sums of gold and silver there because they felt that the city could never be taken.

The Treasury was featured in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

PETRA VIDEO

They dwelt “in the clefts of the rock.”

They were living in great buildings which were hewn out of solid rock inside this great canyon and up and down the sides of it.

They were perfectly secure—at least they thought they were.

The Edomites had signed a declaration of independence.

They had a false sense of security and had severed all relationship with God.

They had seceded from the government of God.

They had revolted and rebelled against Him.

Now what is God going to do in a case like this?

Obadiah 4 NASB95

4 “Though you build high like the eagle, Though you set your nest among the stars, From there I will bring you down,” declares the Lord.

They were going to handle the business that God was supposed to handle.

“And though you set your nest among the stars”—this was the sin of Satan, for he wanted to exalt his throne above the stars.

God says, “Then will I bring you down.”

How many people today are attempting to run their lives as if they were God?

They feel that they don’t need God, and they live without Him.

Obadiah 5 NASB95

5 “If thieves came to you, If robbers by night— O how you will be ruined!— Would they not steal only until they had enough? If grape gatherers came to you, Would they not leave some gleanings?

Obadiah is saying that if a thief came to rob them, he would take only what he wanted—he wouldn’t take everything.

That would also be true of a grape gatherer—he would leave some grapes.

But God said to Edom, “When I judge you, the destruction will be complete.”

Obadiah 6 NASB95

6 “O how Esau will be ransacked, And his hidden treasures searched out!

This is the key verse to the Book of Obadiah.

“How are the things of Esau searched out!” -KJV

How Esau will be pillaged -CSB

Ginsburg, the Hebrew scholar, translates this, “How are the things of Esau stripped bare!”

Or, it’s like God has put Esau under a microscope, and God says, “Come look. Look through the Word of God, and look at this man.

I hate him. Why do I hate him? It is because of his pride of life.

He has turned his back on Me and has declared his ability to live without Me.”

That is the pride of life, my friends.

“And his hidden treasures searched out!”

Honestly, when I read the story of Esau back in the Book of Genesis, I don’t quite understand it, but although I missed it in Genesis, I sure don’t miss it here.

I can now take the microscope and go back and look at Esau and see why he wanted to trade his birthright for a bowl of soup.

It was for the very simple reason that the birthright meant he would be the priest in the family and it meant a relationship to God.

Frankly, Esau would rather have had a bowl of soup than to have had a relationship with God.

Obadiah 7 NASB95

7 “All the men allied with you Will send you forth to the border, And the men at peace with you Will deceive you and overpower you. They who eat your bread Will set an ambush for you. (There is no understanding in him.)

Edom was a nation that all the enemies of that day just passed by.

They just couldn’t be bothered with him because he was safely holed up in the rock–hewn city of Petra.

However, Nebuchadnezzar was able to get the city.

Just as God used Nebuchadnezzar to destroy Jerusalem, the city of Jacob’s sons who had turned from God, He used Nebuchadnezzar also to reach in and take Edom, the nation of Esau’s sons.

Obadiah 8 NASB95

8 “Will I not on that day,” declares the Lord, “Destroy wise men from Edom And understanding from the mountain of Esau?

Not only was Edom noted for the fact that they were well protected in their rocky mountain fastness, in the beautiful city of Petra, but they also had developed a wisdom and learning and superstition.

Petra was a pagan center where there were many “pillar cults.”

Expeditions have excavated the great high place on top of the mountains round about Petra where bloody human sacrifices had been offered.

Also Edom was famous for its wisdom. Job’s friend, Eliphaz, was a Temanite (see Job 4:1).

People traveled from afar to hear the wisdom of its wise men (see Jer. 49:1).

God says that He will destroy the wise men out of Edom and understanding out of the mount of Esau.

Obadiah 9 NASB95

9 “Then your mighty men will be dismayed, O Teman, So that everyone may be cut off from the mountain of Esau by slaughter.

Teman takes it’s name from a Grandson of Esau and is located in the southern portion of Edom.

The Temanites were noted for their courage.

CRIME OF EDOM

10-14, Obadiah gives a list of reasons that God is going to destroy Edom.

The pride of life, was their great sin, but it lead also to committing other sins.

If you are godless, you are going to lead a godless life. If you are godly, you are going to lead a godly life

Therefore, Obadiah is now going to spell out the terrible sins that came from Edom’s pride of life.

You must remember at this point that Esau and Jacob were brothers, twin brothers, although not identical but opposites.

They did grow up in the same family and had the same father and mother.

There was a struggle between them from the very beginning.

There was a hatred and a bitterness that was never healed.

It was never healed even when they became two great nations.

We find, however, that God had something to say to His people about their relationship to Edom. In Psalm 137:7 we read,

Psalm 137:7 NASB95

7 Remember, O Lord, against the sons of Edom The day of Jerusalem, Who said, “Raze it, raze it To its very foundation.”

Edom, instead of befriending Israel in the dark hour when the Babylonians destroyed that nation, stood on the sidelines and, in fact, became the cheering section, urging the Babylonians on in their brutalities.

But God had said to Israel at the very beginning, when they came into the land

Deuteronomy 23:7 NASB95

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.

Israel’s tie with the Edomite was greater—he was his brother, a blood brother—and because of that, God said they were not to hate him.

However, we will see that Edom manifested a hatred and bitterness toward Israel throughout the entire length of the history of their nation.

There are five specific actions mentioned here which are derived from pride, from their attitude that they could live without God.

The first one is violence—

Obadiah 10 NASB95

10 “Because of violence to your brother Jacob, You will be covered with shame, And you will be cut off forever.

2 things would happen to them. Shame covers them as they would be taken captive, and the nation of Edom would be destroyed.

It is interesting that in our day we hear a great deal about Israel but nothing whatever about Edom.

Edom was a nation that attempted to live without God, and they were a violent, warlike people.

The second charge against Edom is that they joined the enemies of Israel—

Obadiah 11 NASB95

11 “On the day that you stood aloof, On the day that strangers carried off his wealth, And foreigners entered his gate And cast lots for Jerusalem— You too were as one of them.

Instead of attempting to befriend and help the people of Israel, to whom they were related by blood, they went over to the side of the brutal enemy which had invaded the land.

Obadiah 12 NASB95

12 “Do not gloat over your brother’s day, The day of his misfortune. And do not rejoice over the sons of Judah In the day of their destruction; Yes, do not boast In the day of their distress.

They were happy over what had happened to Judah. Action of pride.

The 4th action of the Edomites is looting--

Obadiah 13 NASB95

13 “Do not enter the gate of My people In the day of their disaster. Yes, you, do not gloat over their calamity In the day of their disaster. And do not loot their wealth In the day of their disaster.

Not only did they join with the enemy against Israel, but they actually moved in to loot and plunder after the enemy had taken Israel away into captivity.

The 5th action from pride--

Obadiah 14 NASB95

14 “Do not stand at the fork of the road To cut down their fugitives; And do not imprison their survivors In the day of their distress.

The lowest, they betrayed their brothers.

When Nebuchadnezzar invaded Jerusalem, the inhabitants scattered and many of them fled to the rugged country of Edom where they could hide.

The Edomites, standing at the crossroads, would betray their hiding places.

When the Babylonian soldiers were after them, the Edomites would say, “Yes, we saw a bunch of Israelites come by here. They went that way.

You’ll find them holed up in that canyon.” They betrayed their brothers.

To see the final issue of Edom and Israel, we would go to the time of Christ.

Jesus is in the line of Jacob. Also, the man on the throne during those years.

His name is Herod, and the Scriptures are very careful to identify him—Herod, the Idumaean, the Edomite, in the line of Esau.

When a warning came to the Lord Jesus to flee because Herod would kill Him,

Luke 13:32 NASB95

32 And He said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I reach My goal.’

And when the Lord Jesus was finally brought before him for judgment, He wouldn’t even open His mouth before Herod.

There they stand, Jesus and Herod, the final issue of Jacob and Esau.

CATASTROPHE TO EDOM

Obadiah 15 NASB95

15 “For the day of the Lord draws near on all the nations. As you have done, it will be done to you. Your dealings will return on your own head.

The Day of the Lord is a technical expression which covers a period of time beginning with the Great Tribulation period. Which Jeff will get to in Revelation 20.

We can see what he thinks about this but I think when Obadiah says this verse, he is meaning Edom will again become a nation during the end times.

If you think that is impossible, look at Israel. 2500 years they were not a nation until 1948.

I think he is saying all nations, even ancient nations will be judged because they are all responsible to GOD.

Obadiah 16 NASB95

16 “Because just as you drank on My holy mountain, All the nations will drink continually. They will drink and swallow And become as if they had never existed.

GOD says to Edom, what you did will be done to you.

Poetic Justice. Law of retaliation.

Jesus said..

Matthew 7:1 NASB95

1 “Do not judge so that you will not be judged.

Paul says “Whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap.” in Galatians.

In verses 17 through 21 we come to the second and last major division of the Book of Obadiah.

It is only a few verses, and it is about the nation Israel.

For Edom it was destruction, but for Israel it is to be restoration.

The little nation of Israel fits into the program of almighty God.

CONDITION OF ISRAEL

Although GOD judged Israel, they were not to be destroyed as a nation--

Obadiah 17 NASB95

17 “But on Mount Zion there will be those who escape, And it will be holy. And the house of Jacob will possess their possessions.

Salvation is to be offered upon Mount Zion for the world.

That is where it is offered to you and me today.

The Lord Jesus came and died at Golgotha for you and me.

He is coming back to this earth again.

Although we are told that at that time His feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives, He will be coming into Jerusalem, and He will, I believe, rule from the top of Mount Zion.

Obadiah 18 NASB95

18 “Then the house of Jacob will be a fire And the house of Joseph a flame; But the house of Esau will be as stubble. And they will set them on fire and consume them, So that there will be no survivor of the house of Esau,” For the Lord has spoken.

There will be ultimate, final judgment of Esau.

I believe that “the house of Esau” is a kingdom that will not enter into the eternal kingdoms of this earth which will become the kingdoms of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

What is it that keeps them from being there?

Pride of heart—that attitude of a life that declares its ability to live without God.

If it is your decision to live without God, you are going to live without Him not only now but throughout eternity.

Obadiah 19 NASB95

19 Then those of the Negev will possess the mountain of Esau, And those of the Shephelah the Philistine plain; Also, possess the territory of Ephraim and the territory of Samaria, And Benjamin will possess Gilead.

The southern section of Judah will expand to possess “the mount of Esau.”

Those on the west will include the coastland of the Philistines.

“The fields of Ephraim, and … Samaria”—that is, the northern kingdom—will be restored to the nation, and Benjamin will include Gilead, which is on the east bank of the Jordan River.

Obadiah 20 NASB95

20 And the exiles of this host of the sons of Israel, Who are among the Canaanites as far as Zarephath, And the exiles of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad Will possess the cities of the Negev.

Israel will occupy all the land that GOD promised to them. To Abraham, 300,000 square miles. Even in David and Solomon’s time they only controlled 30,000 square miles.

Obadiah 21 NASB95

21 The deliverers will ascend Mount Zion To judge the mountain of Esau, And the kingdom will be the Lord’s.

God is moving forward today without deviating without hesitating toward the accomplishment of His purpose; that is, of putting His King on Mount Zion.

Nothing can deter or detour or defer God in His plan and in His program.

No son of Esau, can stop Him.

No proud man walking this earth can cause God to relinquish or retreat one inch.

He is moving today to victory. The Kingdom is the Lord’s!

He also says,

John 12:32 NASB95

32 “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.”

You who were made in the likeness of God can be restored.

You will have to lay aside your pride and come in helplessness to His Savior.

He can lift you.

Pray with me...

Dear Lord,

Help us recognize the pride in our lives.

Help us lay aside our pride and come in helplessness to You

In Your name we pray.