Obadiah: Why Does God Seem So Angry?

God of Wonders

WELCOME

Psalm 77:13-14—Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God? You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples.

Welcome! (in-person/online)

In just a moment we’ll hear a reading from the text for today’s sermon in Obadiah. Turn there now.

While you’re turning, 4 quick announcements

1) Church Work Day—Saturday, May 22 at 9 AM (work in the playground area, etc.)

2) Church structure—two offices, elder and deacon

Elders serve by leading, Deacons lead by serving

Four elders—me, Mike K, Mike L, John (we lead the pastoral prayers every week)

Nine deacons—leading everything from safety team to men’s ministry to overseeing the building and grounds

Not serving? Many of our deacons are leading service teams and they’d love to have some volunteers to help them. > blue flag!

3) Our final announcement is from our newest deacon, Sam Garcia who was recently affirmed by the church as the Deacon of Member Care . . .

Scripture Reading (Obadiah 1:1-4)

Prayer of Praise (Phoebe Garcia)

Great Is Thy Faithfulness

Better Is One Day

Prayer of Confession (Jim Lewis)

In Christ Alone

NEW CITY CATECHISM #20

Past few weeks talked about sin, punishment, and need for a Rescuer. If that’s all we have it’s not good news!

But there is Good News. . .

Who Is The Redeemer

The only Redeemer is the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, in whom God became man and bore the penalty for sin himself.

PASTORAL PRAYER

Thanksgiving—effectual calling

General call extended to everyone, but we thank you for the effectual call that actually resurrects our dead hearts and wakes us up to Your beauty

Joel 2:32—“And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. . .”

But we can only call upon You because You first called us

Joel 2:32, those who call on You are “. . .those whom the Lord calls.”

Jesus, you said “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him. . .” (John 6:44)

Thank you for calling us! Call more sinners to Yourself today!

Bring our requests to you. . .

Pray for PBC

Today we begin praying through our five identities as a church

Help us be faithful as worshipers

Tempted to either overemphasize or underemphasize this worship gathering

Overemphasize it when we think that this is all that worship is, that our responsibilities to worship You end after the last amen

Underemphasize it when we think that this gathering is optional

Help us to worship with all our heart, soul, and mind

Help us to worship according to Your Word

Pray for sister church—Iron Horse Fellowship in Chesapeake

Pastor Paul Hardy—encourage him today

Success—in vision to reach souls for Jesus in the biker community

Faithfulness—to Your Word

Pray for USA—Against sexualization

Many Christians have viewed sexuality as a gross topic never to be discussed in the church

Meanwhile the world has turned sex into a god. It has become the core of our identity and the object of our worship

Help us to see it as a gift to be enjoyed in marriage

Husbands and wives to keep their marriage bed pure and undefiled

Singles to find joy and freedom in celibacy, and faith to believe that you will give them a name better than sons and daughters

Parents to have wisdom as we shepherd our children to not awaken love until its time

Pray for the world—Argentina

President Alberto Fernández

Legalized abortion this year—bring them to repentance! Forgive us for exporting evil across the world.

500,000 people living in slums—bring them out of poverty; help Christians to love and pursue them

Nominal Christians (89% claim Christianity, but less than 10% are in churches that teach and preach the true Gospel)

Gospel churches—help them to be faithful

Send laborers!

Pray for the sermon

SERMON

What do you with a child who throws a temper tantrum at school? There was a time, decades ago, when such misbehavior would’ve been swiftly dealt with by a principal and a paddle.

Today, things are a bit different. If a young child begins to throw a temper tantrum in the middle of his class, his teacher may make a few attempts to calm him down. If the child continues, the teacher may be forced to turn to desperate measures.

She will tell the rest of the class to line up, and take the entire class outside to the playground while the boy is left in the classroom to continue his tantrum.

A tantrum like this could continue for hours, but in many public schools a child will have full reign to vent his anger as long as he is not a threat to himself or others.

“Move on children, there’s nothing to see here. Johnny’s just angry again.”

I think many Christians deal with God’s anger in the Bible much like our modern public schools deal with children throwing temper tantrums.

We don’t quite know how to handle the references to wrath in Scripture, so we avert our gaze somewhere else. We leave the situation and look to something a little easier on the eyes.

“Move on people, there’s nothing to see here. God’s just angry again.”

Perhaps that’s one reason why books of the Bible like the Minor Prophets are so easy to skip over.

Three weeks into this sermon series, perhaps you’ve noticed how God's anger burns against sin

Only 9 more sermons to go!

Today: Why does God seem so angry?

Some would deny the question outright.

“The God I worship isn’t a God of anger.”

The God you worship isn’t God. You cannot read the Bible without coming across the wrath of God.

Others would say, “God used to be angry, but not anymore! He’s changed!”

The OT God is a God of wrath and anger, but the NT is a God of mercy and love

Once again, this is a severe misreading of the New Testament

Jesus talks about hell more than any other subject and more than any other person in the Bible

Why does God seem so angry?

He’s not like the tantrum-throwing child in Kindergarten

His anger is fierce, but settled. He doesn’t throw tantrums or fly off the handle.

His anger is furious, but purposeful. He’s not venting. He doesn’t need to get anything out of His system.

The message of Obadiah demonstrates that God is angry because God is love.

Turn to Obadiah 1

SHOW TIMELINE

A few hundred years before Obadiah prophesied, the prophet Joel prophesied in Joel 2 that the Southern Kingdom (Judah) would be destroyed by a great army if they did not repent.

We know from history and from the Biblical record that Jerusalem was sacked by the Babylonians in 586 B.C.

But Obadiah’s prophesy is in response to something else that happened when Jerusalem was destroyed

Obadiah is prophesying about God’s anger towards Judah’s neighbors in the South, the people of Edom.

SHOW MAP

If you were alive in Obadiah’s day, any mention of Edom and Israel would be like hearing the names Hatfield and McCoy. This was a family feud that had persisted for centuries.

Began in Genesis 25

Abraham had a son, Isaac

Isaac’s wife Rebekah was pregnant with twins

Jacob, father of the Israelites

Esau, father of the Edomites

Story of Jacob and Esau is a story of conflict

If anything, that conflict only intensified after Jacob and Esau died

For over 1000 years, the feud continued. But it climaxed in 586 B.C. When Jerusalem was ransacked, the Edomites rejoiced. As their brothers and sisters were taken away into exile, the Edomites looted.

Like vultures, circling above a carcass, the Edomites circled above Judah and devoured what was left by Babylon.

Obadiah prophecies to the Edomites about God’s coming wrath for their sin. They will not get away with it. God is angry.

And from Obadiah we learn something about the anger of God.

The message of Obadiah reveals that God is angry because God is love.

Two Reasons for God’s Anger:

1) God is Angry Because He Loves His GLORY.

God’s love for His own glory is implied when you notice the first reason for God’s anger with Edom: God is angry because Edom is proud.

Obadiah 1:1-3a—The vision of Obadiah. Thus says the Lord GOD concerning Edom: We have heard a report from the LORD, and a messenger has been sent among the nations: “Rise up! Let us rise against her for battle!” 2 Behold, I will make you small among the nations; you shall be utterly despised. 3 The pride of your heart has deceived you, . . .

Notice the reasons why Edom is proud. . .

i) Edom is proud of her land. . .

Obadiah 1:3b-4—you who live in the clefts of the rock, in your lofty dwelling, who say in your heart, “Who will bring me down to the ground?” 4 Though you soar aloft like the eagle, though your nest is set among the stars, from there I will bring you down, declares the LORD.

Edomites lived in a high plateau south of the Dead Sea. At some places it was over 5,000 feet above sea level.

They felt impregnable, but God says “I will bring you down.”

Land will not save Edom from the anger of God.

ii) Edom is proud of her possessions. . .

Obadiah 1:5-6—If thieves came to you, if plunderers came by night—how you have been destroyed!— would they not steal only enough for themselves? If grape gatherers came to you, would they not leave gleanings? 6 How Esau has been pillaged, his treasures sought out!

Thieves and grape gatherers have one thing in common: both leave things behind. They don’t take everything.

But nothing will be left behind when Edom is pillaged.

Possessions will not save Edom from the anger of God.

iii) Edom is proud of her friends. . .

Obadiah 1:7—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.

Edom knew friends in high places. They had influence.

But they would turn on her, as she turned on God’s people.

Friends will not save Edom from the anger of God.

iv) Edom is proud of her wisdom. . .

Obadiah 1:8—Will I not on that day, declares the Lord, destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of Mount Esau?

Edom prided herself on her wise men.

One of Job’s counselors was a wise man named Eliphaz the Temanite. Teman is a city in Edom.

Wisdom will not save Edom from the anger of God.

v) Edom is proud of her strength. . .

Obadiah 1:9—And your mighty men shall be dismayed, O Teman, so that every man from Mount Esau will be cut off by slaughter.

Strength will not save Edom from the anger of God.

God’s anger rises in proportion to Edom’s pride!

God’s anger towards pride is clearly throughout Scripture. . .

Proverbs 16:5—"Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the LORD;  be assured, he will not go unpunished."

James 4:6—“God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

What is it about pride that fuels God’s anger?

Last week was Mother’s Day. Moms, how would you have felt if you’re gathered with your family for lunch and your kids are sitting at the table staring at their phones?

All of us know what that feels like.

Is it right to be angry?

Yes, because they’re exchanging something greater (image-bearers of God!) for something lesser (words and images on a screen!)

If that is true in human relationships, how much more is it true for a holy and infinitely good God? Pride is exchanging the infinitely glorious One for something infinitely lesser!

Isaiah 42:8—I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.

God loves His glory!!!

Is God a megalomaniac?

A megalomaniac has two obsessions:

Obsessed with fantasies of their greatness

Obsessed by a need for praise

God’s greatness is not a fantasy!

Isaiah 46:9-10—“I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all My purpose’”

God doesn’t need your praise

Acts 17:25—[God is not] served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.

God commands us to worship Him, not because He needs it but because we do. We have a God-shaped vacuum in our hearts that cannot be satisfied by anything but Him!

God is angry at pride because pride is the one thing that keeps you from looking to Him and seeing His glory. It’s the one thing that will keep you from being truly and fully satisfied!

Unbeliever: pride is the greatest obstacle to trusting Christ

Gospel says “you’re so bad, the cross is what you deserve”

Gospel says, “your sin is so great the cross was the only way!”

Gospel says, “you have nothing to offer. Only empty hands.”

Christian: where is pride still lurking in your heart?

Didn’t say “is pride still lurking.” It is.

Puritan Thomas Hooker— “Pride is a vice which cleaves so fast unto the hearts of men, that if we were to strip ourselves of all faults, one by one, we should undoubtedly find it the very last and hardest to put off.” [2]

Proud of your wealth? Skill? Career? Education? Political views? Age? Sex? Race? Children? Personality? Social media influence? Holiness? Humility?

A good doctor can love his patient and yet hate the cancer that’s destroying her.

If you’re a Christian, God is not opposing you but He opposes the pride within you. So put it to death.

Because God loves you, He is angry at the pride that keeps you from seeing His glory.

Verse 10 marks a shift in Obadiah’s message. In verses 1-9, God’s anger burns because Edom is proud. In verses 10-14 God’s anger burns for a different reason. . .

Obadiah 1:10—Because of the violence done to your brother Jacob, shame shall cover you, and you shall be cut off forever.

2) God is Angry Because He Loves His PEOPLE.

When America was attacked on 9/11, President George W. Bush led the nation to mourn with what he called “a quiet, unyielding anger.” [3] Americans were angry not because we didn’t love, but because we did.

Much of God’s anger in the Bible is fueled by His love for His people. He is angry at anyone and anything that threatens them. He is angry because He loves.

Obadiah shows us four sins that Edom committed against God’s people. . .

i) They deserted their brothers. . .

Obadiah 1:11—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.

ii) They celebrated Jerusalem's destruction. . .

Obadiah 1:12—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.

iii) They looted Jerusalem’s ruins. . .

Obadiah 1:13—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.

iv) They assisted Judah’s enemies. . .

Obadiah 1:14—Do not stand at the crossroads to cut off his fugitives; do not hand over his survivors in the day of distress.

Those who escaped the Babylonian exile were captured by their Edomite brothers

Imagine you have a daughter living in an apartment in a big city. You hear she’s been captured by a notorious group of traffickers so you fly to the city as soon as you possibly can. You talk to people in her building about what happened. You learn that her next door neighbors were with your daughter the night she was kidnapped. But they stood by and did nothing. In fact, these neighbors actually cheered the kidnappers as they grabbed your daughter and pulled her screaming out of the building. When she got away from them for a moment, they stopped her and handed her back over to her captors. To top it off, they looted her apartment after she was gone. How would you feel towards those neighbors? Would it be right for you to be angry?

God is angry because He loves His people.

But Edomites are not the only ones who harm God’s people. . .

Shortly after Adam and Eve fell into sin, God promised their would be a perennial struggle between God’s people and the serpent. . .

Genesis 3:15—I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

Fast-forward to Revelation, and the fight is still ongoing. . .

A woman (representing Israel) and the serpent (here called a dragon)

Revelation 12:17—Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.

Notice here the war is no longer merely against ethnic Israel, but her offspring which includes everyone who “holds to the testimony of Jesus” (Christians!)

From Eden until the New Jerusalem there’s an age-old conflict between God’s people and everybody else.

Do you feel the walls closing in, Christian? Do you feel the hatred rising towards God’s people? Our brothers and sisters throughout church history and across the world have dealt with this for years. We’re feeling it now perhaps like never before.

What is God going to do about it?

Obadiah 1:15—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.

Day of the Lord (judgment) coming for all nations.

Unbeliever: God is being patient with you now, but His patient will not last forever. His patience is perfect, not permanent.

Is there any hope?

On July 8, 1741, Jonathan Edwards stood in a Connecticut pulpit and preached the most famous sermon in American history.

Almost 300 years later, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, is still required reading for many high school and college students as an example of early American literature.

In that sermon, Jonathan Edwards said God holds sinners in His hands like “one holds a spider . . . over the fire.”

That same man also said this: “God has no pleasure in the destruction or calamity of persons or people. He had rather they should turn and continue in peace. He is well-pleased if they forsake their evil ways, that he may not have occasion to execute his wrath upon them. He is a God that delights in mercy, and judgment is his strange work.” [4]

Explain natural vs. strange work

We have to be provoked to love and good works. He is provoked to anger.

God’s heart is to show mercy and grace!

This is why He sent Jesus!!!

Obadiah 1:17—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.

Five truths. . .

(1) A People—they will escape God’s anger

(2) A Place—those who escape will dwell in Jerusalem

Mount Zion is where Jerusalem was located

Verses 19-20 says its bigger than Jerusalem! The full restoration of the Promised Land is predicted!

(3) Purity—It will be a holy city

(4) Protection—this will not be like the former days in Israel. This will be a place of blessing, where possessions are never taken away

(5) A King—the kingdom shall be the LORD's (v. 21)

What is Obadiah talking about?

Revelation 21:1-5—Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And He who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also He said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

A People

A Place (Living in a New Jerusalem)

Purity (a holy city)

Protection (A place of blessing without tear, death, or pain)

A King (seated on the throne)

How can I have this?

Revelation 21:6-8—And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

Only two ways to live.

Live for yourself, live for your sin and you will have it in the end.

As Obadiah says, “your deeds shall return on your own head.”

Or trust Christ. Thirst for Him, and He will give you living water. You can’t pay for it. You can only receive it as a gift.

If you’ve done that, persevere until the end!

All Who Are Thirsty

2 Corinthians 13:11

Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.