Good Morning! Today we will begin a new series. The theme of the series is “Persevering in
the Modern World.” It is a short, three
week series. We are going to explore
three of the smallest books in the Bible, Obadiah, II John, and Jude. Each book is only one chapter long. Obadiah comes from the Old Testament and II
John and Jude from the New Testament.
Whenever we approach God’s word, it is important to reflect and be aware
that it does not return void. It
accomplishes His purposes. Whenever we
pick up a Bible to read, it is a good idea to pray and ask God what he wants to
say to you. Each of these books has its
own powerful message that has practical application in our lives today. Obadiah has a focus on pride and the effects
of pride. It also has promises for God’s
people which are encouraging. Both II
John and Jude contain warnings and encouragement and instructions on how we
should live. In combination, these three
books give us an overview of God's coming Kingdom of righteousness and how we
are to live while we wait for His kingdom to come.
Lord Jesus, give us eyes to see how You
desire us to live each day. I pray for
this message. Speak to us from Your
Word. May we see things about You and
about ourselves as a result of studying Your Word. You are sovereign, and You are working all
things for our good. Teach us that we
may live holy lives for You. In Jesus’
name. Amen.
I have to confess that when Carl mentioned this series to me I would have been hard pressed to tell you what the book of Obadiah is about without reading through it first. For those of you who remember that there is a book named Obadiah, perhaps the most significant thing you remember is that it follows the book of Amos and precedes the book of Jonah. I’m not sure, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone preach from the book of Obadiah. I don’t say any of that to minimize the book of Obadiah. On the contrary, based on all these things, it seems to make good sense to dig in deeper here and find what God has to say in this somewhat unstudied book.
Like the other books of the prophets, the name of the book is the name of the author. There are several different Obadiah’s in the Bible. However, Obadiah the prophet does not appear in any of the historical books of the Bible. The only record we have of him is the book he wrote.
Based on what Obadiah writes and some similarities with verses in Jeremiah 49, it appears that Obadiah is a contemporary of Jeremiah. Most likely, he wrote the book in the early 500’s BC after the Babylonians attacked Jerusalem. Let’s read through the first few verses:
The vision of Obadiah.
I have to confess that when Carl mentioned this series to me I would have been hard pressed to tell you what the book of Obadiah is about without reading through it first. For those of you who remember that there is a book named Obadiah, perhaps the most significant thing you remember is that it follows the book of Amos and precedes the book of Jonah. I’m not sure, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone preach from the book of Obadiah. I don’t say any of that to minimize the book of Obadiah. On the contrary, based on all these things, it seems to make good sense to dig in deeper here and find what God has to say in this somewhat unstudied book.
Like the other books of the prophets, the name of the book is the name of the author. There are several different Obadiah’s in the Bible. However, Obadiah the prophet does not appear in any of the historical books of the Bible. The only record we have of him is the book he wrote.
Based on what Obadiah writes and some similarities with verses in Jeremiah 49, it appears that Obadiah is a contemporary of Jeremiah. Most likely, he wrote the book in the early 500’s BC after the Babylonians attacked Jerusalem. Let’s read through the first few verses:
The vision of Obadiah.
This is what the Sovereign LORD says about
Edom—
We have heard a message from
the LORD:
An envoy was sent to the
nations to say,
“Rise, and let us go against
her for battle”—
“See, I will make you small
among the nations;
you will be utterly
despised. Obadiah 1-2
Obadiah is relaying a message from the Lord regarding the nation of
Edom. It doesn’t appear that the message
is directed to Edom. The message is from
God to Israel concerning Edom.
The message is not a pleasant one. The Lord is prescribing judgment against the nation of Edom. The judgment will come in the form of the other nations attacking Edom.
Who were the Edomites? The Edomites were descendants of Esau. And, in fact, this family became the nation of Edom. The nation of Israel came from the descendants of Jacob.
Esau was Jacob’s brother. Jacob and Esau were twins. You can go back and study in detail by reading Genesis 25 starting in verse 19, but I will give a few highlights. As the twins were in Rebekah’s womb they were fighting against one another. It was such a strong jostling that Rebekah prayed about it, asking God, “Why is this happening to me?” God told Rebekah that there were not just two babies in her womb, but two nations. Moms-to-be, you can think about that. As challenging as pregnancy is, at least you don’t have to give birth to nations.
The message is not a pleasant one. The Lord is prescribing judgment against the nation of Edom. The judgment will come in the form of the other nations attacking Edom.
Who were the Edomites? The Edomites were descendants of Esau. And, in fact, this family became the nation of Edom. The nation of Israel came from the descendants of Jacob.
Esau was Jacob’s brother. Jacob and Esau were twins. You can go back and study in detail by reading Genesis 25 starting in verse 19, but I will give a few highlights. As the twins were in Rebekah’s womb they were fighting against one another. It was such a strong jostling that Rebekah prayed about it, asking God, “Why is this happening to me?” God told Rebekah that there were not just two babies in her womb, but two nations. Moms-to-be, you can think about that. As challenging as pregnancy is, at least you don’t have to give birth to nations.
Esau was the older brother by birth. He was a big and hairy guy that liked to hunt and stay out in the open country. He also got the nickname Edom, which means "red," because he was real partial to a red stew that Jacob must have been pretty good at making. Jacob got Esau to give up his birthright over a bowl of that stew.
The birthright had advantages of course but also some interesting responsibilities in ancient times. There was a double portion of the inheritance which would have been nice, but there was also an expectation of leadership from the firstborn son. There is a level of spiritual leadership that was also expected. You can study into that around what happened with the golden calf idol in Exodus 32 and the instatement of the Levites as the priests for Israel in Numbers 3. Because of their idol worship and the response of the Levites afterward, the priestly responsibility passed from the firstborn children in Israel over to the Levites.
Esau despised his birthright saying, “Look, I am about to die [of hunger]. What good is the birthright to me?” Esau didn’t have time for the things of God. He was more concerned about his own immediate needs. He was an independent self-sufficient man (except for that red stew). He didn’t need or want the leadership responsibility of the family. The Edomites grew to become a hearty and self-sufficient people living among a rough and rocky terrain southwest of the Dead Sea.
Here is a satellite image and a map. Edom is there in the lower right on the map. The yellow lines are the current borders of Israel. As you can see, the satellite image shows this area as very arid and dry. The middle to upper portion of Israel has a little bit of green. The area of Edom is all brown. It is nearly desert, but you can eke out an existence here. So why would you want to live here? There are a few advantages. One was the location is along a primary trade route. Another advantage is evident in the passage in Obadiah.
The pride of your heart has deceived you,
you who live in
the clefts of the rock
and make your home on the
heights,
you who say to yourself,
‘Who can bring me down to
the ground?’
Though you soar like the
eagle
and make your nest among the
stars,
from there I will bring you
down,”
declares the LORD. Obadiah 3-4
The land has a natural security about it. The geological formations offer a natural fortification that is nearly impenetrable. The Edomites knew this and they felt quite secure where they lived. The next couple of slides show the city of Petra which was also known as Sela, the capital of ancient Edom.
They literally carved out their homes from the rocks. Also, the entrance to Petra was only through a naturally formed rift in the mountain which is just shy of a mile long with a width not more than a single horse cart in places. It wouldn’t matter how big an attacking army would be. The Edomites would only have to defend against a few people at a time. The next view is from a building carved from the rock known as the treasury. You can see how narrow the rift is in comparison to the opening which it led to. The final slide shows the treasury in detail. I like this view because it is easier to see that the treasury was carved from the rock and not built into the rock.
In summary, the Edomites felt quite good about themselves. But God is God, he created these amazing geological formations. Their pride is baseless in view of God’s sovereignty and power.
That first phrase introduces the sin of Edom. The chief sin of Edom was pride. Pride is the original sin. In fact, pride predates sin in the garden of Eden. Satan’s sin was pride. Satan wanted to set himself to be equal or even superior to God. The result of Satan’s unbounded pride was his fall from heaven and into the depths of the pit.
What is the primary result of pride? Deception. Pride blinds us. We think we are okay, or worse, we have a high opinion of ourselves when we should not. I had a funny experience this past week. I’m pretty confident it came about when it did because of this message. It all started when my car nearly overheated. I thought man this is a simple problem. I’ve fixed these kinds of things before. I can do this.
My first mistake was not coming to God in earnest prayer. I really didn’t have time to mess with the car, but I figured that I could fix it faster than the mechanic could. It would probably take them a day or two to deal with it. And, I didn’t want to drive it because it was overheating. I estimated a half day to fix it tops. My second mistake was draining the coolant. Once I did that I had vested myself in the repair job. I could make the telling of this go on for quite a while. Suffice it to say, working on the cooling system of my car is way more involved than other cars that I have worked on. Then, when I thought I had it fixed, I had a leak so I had to take it apart again. When I took it back apart, I broke off a bolt in the engine block. Then, I had to work out a fix for that. At that point, I had butchered my repair so badly I didn’t want to take my car to someone to work on it. You know how it is when you’re embarrassed, so you just don’t want to let someone else see your sloppy work.
Then, to make matters worse, after all that, I put the car back together, and it still was overheating! I was so rattled at that point, I had to pull the whole thing back apart and go over it step by step to be sure of what was okay and not okay. When I had reached a stopping point, I took the dog for a walk because Melissa and the kids were away, and the dog had been cooped up in his pen all day. While I was walking, I was singing the song ‘For You Are Good’ that we sang this morning. I was singing, “I am weak, I need your hand to heal me. I need your love to free me.” I was praying about the car too as I walked, “God be my strength in weakness.”
Brian had texted me earlier in the evening and knew I was working on the car. So not long after I got back from walking the dog, he and Brad show up at the house to offer their help. I walk back through the whole story with them making sure to leave out the most embarrassing parts. It was getting dark by then, and I’m putting the car back together. Brian was holding the flashlight so I can see what I’m doing under the hood as darkness began to fall. As I’m finishing up, Brad says he’ll look up how to bleed the coolant system for me. He goes to one website and reads off exactly what I need to do, and then he sends me the link by email. I followed those instructions the next day, and everything worked perfectly, and I’ve been driving the car ever since.
I’m telling you, it’s not like I hadn’t done any research on my car. I had read my repair manual about the procedure. I read some reputable sites about what I needed to do, but none of them had the information that I needed. Knowing what I know now, I think there is a decent chance that the only thing I needed from the beginning was that procedure. It’s possible. So, Brian and Brad, you guys were definitely an answer to my prayer Wednesday night. And, I was really humbled by what I thought was a simple problem.
So I don’t know about you, but one of the things I have learned over time and again this week is that the feeling I have when I think that I can do something or that I can go one of two ways on something and it’s no big deal either way, that should set off warning bells that I have not sought the Lord. God does give us freedom in making a vast array of choices, so I don’t really expect you to stand over the cantaloupes and pray fervently about which one you should pick. But, I realize that there are plenty of times where I think, it’s okay God, I’ve got this one, I can handle it on my own. But, that’s just pride. And pride goes before a fall. And I don’t want to fall. I want to walk with Jesus.
Yesterday, when we went out for the outreach, I was surprised how many folks said things were good, and they really didn’t need any prayer. There was one guy who had lost his job on Thursday, and he told me he didn’t need any prayer. But even for the folks who felt like things were going good, I’m telling you, we all always need prayer. Jean is my hero in prayer requesting. I don’t think Jean ever passes up an opportunity to ask for prayer. She always has something or someone on her heart. She’s also seen some amazing things happen in her life because she is humble in seeking the Lord. May we keep our eyes on Jesus and always bring our every prayer and petition to God without hesitating.
“If thieves came to you,
The land has a natural security about it. The geological formations offer a natural fortification that is nearly impenetrable. The Edomites knew this and they felt quite secure where they lived. The next couple of slides show the city of Petra which was also known as Sela, the capital of ancient Edom.
They literally carved out their homes from the rocks. Also, the entrance to Petra was only through a naturally formed rift in the mountain which is just shy of a mile long with a width not more than a single horse cart in places. It wouldn’t matter how big an attacking army would be. The Edomites would only have to defend against a few people at a time. The next view is from a building carved from the rock known as the treasury. You can see how narrow the rift is in comparison to the opening which it led to. The final slide shows the treasury in detail. I like this view because it is easier to see that the treasury was carved from the rock and not built into the rock.
In summary, the Edomites felt quite good about themselves. But God is God, he created these amazing geological formations. Their pride is baseless in view of God’s sovereignty and power.
That first phrase introduces the sin of Edom. The chief sin of Edom was pride. Pride is the original sin. In fact, pride predates sin in the garden of Eden. Satan’s sin was pride. Satan wanted to set himself to be equal or even superior to God. The result of Satan’s unbounded pride was his fall from heaven and into the depths of the pit.
What is the primary result of pride? Deception. Pride blinds us. We think we are okay, or worse, we have a high opinion of ourselves when we should not. I had a funny experience this past week. I’m pretty confident it came about when it did because of this message. It all started when my car nearly overheated. I thought man this is a simple problem. I’ve fixed these kinds of things before. I can do this.
My first mistake was not coming to God in earnest prayer. I really didn’t have time to mess with the car, but I figured that I could fix it faster than the mechanic could. It would probably take them a day or two to deal with it. And, I didn’t want to drive it because it was overheating. I estimated a half day to fix it tops. My second mistake was draining the coolant. Once I did that I had vested myself in the repair job. I could make the telling of this go on for quite a while. Suffice it to say, working on the cooling system of my car is way more involved than other cars that I have worked on. Then, when I thought I had it fixed, I had a leak so I had to take it apart again. When I took it back apart, I broke off a bolt in the engine block. Then, I had to work out a fix for that. At that point, I had butchered my repair so badly I didn’t want to take my car to someone to work on it. You know how it is when you’re embarrassed, so you just don’t want to let someone else see your sloppy work.
Then, to make matters worse, after all that, I put the car back together, and it still was overheating! I was so rattled at that point, I had to pull the whole thing back apart and go over it step by step to be sure of what was okay and not okay. When I had reached a stopping point, I took the dog for a walk because Melissa and the kids were away, and the dog had been cooped up in his pen all day. While I was walking, I was singing the song ‘For You Are Good’ that we sang this morning. I was singing, “I am weak, I need your hand to heal me. I need your love to free me.” I was praying about the car too as I walked, “God be my strength in weakness.”
Brian had texted me earlier in the evening and knew I was working on the car. So not long after I got back from walking the dog, he and Brad show up at the house to offer their help. I walk back through the whole story with them making sure to leave out the most embarrassing parts. It was getting dark by then, and I’m putting the car back together. Brian was holding the flashlight so I can see what I’m doing under the hood as darkness began to fall. As I’m finishing up, Brad says he’ll look up how to bleed the coolant system for me. He goes to one website and reads off exactly what I need to do, and then he sends me the link by email. I followed those instructions the next day, and everything worked perfectly, and I’ve been driving the car ever since.
I’m telling you, it’s not like I hadn’t done any research on my car. I had read my repair manual about the procedure. I read some reputable sites about what I needed to do, but none of them had the information that I needed. Knowing what I know now, I think there is a decent chance that the only thing I needed from the beginning was that procedure. It’s possible. So, Brian and Brad, you guys were definitely an answer to my prayer Wednesday night. And, I was really humbled by what I thought was a simple problem.
So I don’t know about you, but one of the things I have learned over time and again this week is that the feeling I have when I think that I can do something or that I can go one of two ways on something and it’s no big deal either way, that should set off warning bells that I have not sought the Lord. God does give us freedom in making a vast array of choices, so I don’t really expect you to stand over the cantaloupes and pray fervently about which one you should pick. But, I realize that there are plenty of times where I think, it’s okay God, I’ve got this one, I can handle it on my own. But, that’s just pride. And pride goes before a fall. And I don’t want to fall. I want to walk with Jesus.
Yesterday, when we went out for the outreach, I was surprised how many folks said things were good, and they really didn’t need any prayer. There was one guy who had lost his job on Thursday, and he told me he didn’t need any prayer. But even for the folks who felt like things were going good, I’m telling you, we all always need prayer. Jean is my hero in prayer requesting. I don’t think Jean ever passes up an opportunity to ask for prayer. She always has something or someone on her heart. She’s also seen some amazing things happen in her life because she is humble in seeking the Lord. May we keep our eyes on Jesus and always bring our every prayer and petition to God without hesitating.
“If thieves came to you,
if robbers in the night—
Oh, what a disaster awaits
you—
would they not steal only as
much as they wanted?
If grape pickers came to
you,
would they not leave a few
grapes?
But how Esau will be
ransacked,
his hidden treasures
pillaged! Obadiah 5-6
A thief can only take what he can carry. Because of that consideration, a thief will only take what is most valuable. Likewise, when you harvest fruit, you will only take what is ripe. You leave the unripened fruit on the vine. But God’s judgment against Edom is complete. There will be nothing left.
All your allies will force you to the border;
A thief can only take what he can carry. Because of that consideration, a thief will only take what is most valuable. Likewise, when you harvest fruit, you will only take what is ripe. You leave the unripened fruit on the vine. But God’s judgment against Edom is complete. There will be nothing left.
All your allies will force you to the border;
your friends will deceive
and overpower you;
those who eat
your bread will set a trap for you,
but you will not detect it.
“In that day,” declares the LORD,
“will I not destroy the wise
men of Edom,
men of understanding in the
mountains of Esau?
Your warriors, O Teman, will
be terrified,
and everyone in Esau’s
mountains
will be cut down in the
slaughter. Obadiah 7-9
The destruction will not be only the removal of the possessions of Edom. The people will be deceived and the smartest and the strongest along with everyone else in Edom will be destroyed. Why?
Because of the violence against your brother Jacob,
The destruction will not be only the removal of the possessions of Edom. The people will be deceived and the smartest and the strongest along with everyone else in Edom will be destroyed. Why?
Because of the violence against your brother Jacob,
you will be covered with
shame;
you will be destroyed
forever. Obadiah 10
Because Esau, the nation of Edom, did violence to Jacob, the nation of Israel, God would destroy Edom. In their history, there was continual antagonism and hatred between the two nations. The Edomites would not allow the Israelites to pass through their country when the Israelites came up to take possession of the Promised Land. The Edomites even marched out with an army to oppose them. There was fighting between King Saul and Edom. King David subdued Edom. Under later kings, Edom revolted from Israel. The Herods of Jesus’ time were also Edomites. At that time, they were called Idumeans, but it was an Edomite that tried to kill the baby Jesus in Bethlehem. It was an Edomite that beheaded John the Baptist and mocked and tortured Jesus before the crucifixion.
Violence is another result of pride. Pride deceives, and it opens up a door to violence. When one person treats another harshly or abuses them, they have placed themselves above the other person. But what right do we have to act out violence against someone else? We may have responsibility over someone else for a time, but as Paul wrote to the Ephesians, masters are to treat those in their charge with respect and sincerity of heart, not threatening, because we all have the same Master in heaven Who does not play favorites. (Ephesians 6:5-9)
On the day you stood aloof
Because Esau, the nation of Edom, did violence to Jacob, the nation of Israel, God would destroy Edom. In their history, there was continual antagonism and hatred between the two nations. The Edomites would not allow the Israelites to pass through their country when the Israelites came up to take possession of the Promised Land. The Edomites even marched out with an army to oppose them. There was fighting between King Saul and Edom. King David subdued Edom. Under later kings, Edom revolted from Israel. The Herods of Jesus’ time were also Edomites. At that time, they were called Idumeans, but it was an Edomite that tried to kill the baby Jesus in Bethlehem. It was an Edomite that beheaded John the Baptist and mocked and tortured Jesus before the crucifixion.
Violence is another result of pride. Pride deceives, and it opens up a door to violence. When one person treats another harshly or abuses them, they have placed themselves above the other person. But what right do we have to act out violence against someone else? We may have responsibility over someone else for a time, but as Paul wrote to the Ephesians, masters are to treat those in their charge with respect and sincerity of heart, not threatening, because we all have the same Master in heaven Who does not play favorites. (Ephesians 6:5-9)
On the day you stood aloof
while strangers carried off
his wealth
and foreigners entered his
gates
and cast lots for Jerusalem,
you were like one of them.
You should not look down on
your brother
in the day of his
misfortune,
nor rejoice over the people
of Judah
in the day of their
destruction,
nor boast so much
in the day of their
trouble. Obadiah 11-12
This is the scene which connects Obadiah with the time of the exile. When the Babylonians carried off the Jews and sacked Jerusalem, the Edomites were there smugly laughing and taking part. They rejoiced in the destruction of Judah.
You should not march through the gates of my people
This is the scene which connects Obadiah with the time of the exile. When the Babylonians carried off the Jews and sacked Jerusalem, the Edomites were there smugly laughing and taking part. They rejoiced in the destruction of Judah.
You should not march through the gates of my people
in the day of their
disaster,
nor look down on them in
their calamity
in the day of their
disaster,
nor seize their wealth
in the day of their
disaster.
You should not wait at the
crossroads
to cut down their fugitives,
nor hand over their
survivors
in the day of their
trouble. Obadiah 13-14
Even worse, the Edomites plundered Jerusalem and looted what was left. They attacked the people who were fleeing and had escaped the Babylonians. Then, they captured others and turned them over to the Babylonians. “Here you missed a few!” It was a heartless and cruel act carried out against a brother nation.
“The day of the LORD is near for all nations.
Even worse, the Edomites plundered Jerusalem and looted what was left. They attacked the people who were fleeing and had escaped the Babylonians. Then, they captured others and turned them over to the Babylonians. “Here you missed a few!” It was a heartless and cruel act carried out against a brother nation.
“The day of the LORD is near for all nations.
As you have done, it will be
done to you;
your deeds will return upon
your own head.
Just as you drank on my holy
hill,
so all the nations will
drink continually;
they will drink and drink
and be as if they had never
been. Obadiah 15-16
God’s judgment is never far off whether we are talking about a person or a nation. We should be reconciled to God by accepting his Son Jesus. Putting it off for another day puts you at great risk. We have no idea what a day may bring forth. Will we live another day? Who can say for certain?
Here also is a fulfillment of the golden rule (Matthew 7:12, Luke 6:31). Apart from the forgiveness we can receive in Christ, what we do will be done to us. There is nothing that is said or done in secret that will not be revealed. There is no one who does right apart from God. There is no one righteous, not even one apart from Christ. God’s judgment will fall also on us if we are not wholly dependent on Jesus for salvation.
The Edomites drank in Jerusalem on the temple mount in revelry and celebration profaning God’s holy mountain, but a time is coming when all the nations will drink and will not be able to stop. They will drink the wine of God’s wrath staggering and going mad because of the sword to be sent among them. (Jeremiah 25:15)
But on Mount Zion will be deliverance;
God’s judgment is never far off whether we are talking about a person or a nation. We should be reconciled to God by accepting his Son Jesus. Putting it off for another day puts you at great risk. We have no idea what a day may bring forth. Will we live another day? Who can say for certain?
Here also is a fulfillment of the golden rule (Matthew 7:12, Luke 6:31). Apart from the forgiveness we can receive in Christ, what we do will be done to us. There is nothing that is said or done in secret that will not be revealed. There is no one who does right apart from God. There is no one righteous, not even one apart from Christ. God’s judgment will fall also on us if we are not wholly dependent on Jesus for salvation.
The Edomites drank in Jerusalem on the temple mount in revelry and celebration profaning God’s holy mountain, but a time is coming when all the nations will drink and will not be able to stop. They will drink the wine of God’s wrath staggering and going mad because of the sword to be sent among them. (Jeremiah 25:15)
But on Mount Zion will be deliverance;
it will be holy,
and the house of Jacob
will possess its
inheritance. Obadiah 17
We spoke briefly at the beginning that this book is written to the Israelites concerning Edom. Now we come to the promises for Israel. Deliverance will come to Mount Zion, though it was desolate at that time, it will be holy. Jacob will possess its inheritance. In many translations, the word inheritance is translated possessions. So, an alternate translation would be “The house of Jacob will possess its possessions.”
Charles Spurgeon made a great sermon about this topic of possessing our possessions (http://www.spurgeongems.org/vols34-36/chs2136.pdf). I’ve put a link in the transcript, so that you can go back and read it if you are interested.
But the former fulfillment of a promise does not make it useless like a cashed check—the promise may be presented again—and it will again be honored. God’s rules of action are immutable and therefore what He did to one company of His people He will do to others of them. God is Sovereign but yet He acts according to His unchanging Nature so that from one of His proceedings we may infer the rest. The temporary restoration of the captives to Jerusalem can only have fulfilled the promise upon a very small scale—it has a wider meaning than such an event could exhaust. The Lord is prepared to do the same on a larger scale for all those who put their trust in Him.
Jacob can be seen as a representative of people who are saved, and Esau can be taken as the representation of those who reject God and are not saved. Those who are saved have a great many promised possessions from the Lord, forgiveness, justification, new life, and sanctification, just to name a few. If we place ourselves into the place of Jacob in these verses, and we see that the deliverer has come in Jesus Christ, we are free to possess our possessions in Christ right now, today.
God is prepared to fulfill all his promises for us, and his promises for us are so much greater than inheriting a pleasant place to live. We have eternity in Christ. What a glorious possession.
The house of Jacob will be a fire
We spoke briefly at the beginning that this book is written to the Israelites concerning Edom. Now we come to the promises for Israel. Deliverance will come to Mount Zion, though it was desolate at that time, it will be holy. Jacob will possess its inheritance. In many translations, the word inheritance is translated possessions. So, an alternate translation would be “The house of Jacob will possess its possessions.”
Charles Spurgeon made a great sermon about this topic of possessing our possessions (http://www.spurgeongems.org/vols34-36/chs2136.pdf). I’ve put a link in the transcript, so that you can go back and read it if you are interested.
But the former fulfillment of a promise does not make it useless like a cashed check—the promise may be presented again—and it will again be honored. God’s rules of action are immutable and therefore what He did to one company of His people He will do to others of them. God is Sovereign but yet He acts according to His unchanging Nature so that from one of His proceedings we may infer the rest. The temporary restoration of the captives to Jerusalem can only have fulfilled the promise upon a very small scale—it has a wider meaning than such an event could exhaust. The Lord is prepared to do the same on a larger scale for all those who put their trust in Him.
Jacob can be seen as a representative of people who are saved, and Esau can be taken as the representation of those who reject God and are not saved. Those who are saved have a great many promised possessions from the Lord, forgiveness, justification, new life, and sanctification, just to name a few. If we place ourselves into the place of Jacob in these verses, and we see that the deliverer has come in Jesus Christ, we are free to possess our possessions in Christ right now, today.
God is prepared to fulfill all his promises for us, and his promises for us are so much greater than inheriting a pleasant place to live. We have eternity in Christ. What a glorious possession.
The house of Jacob will be a fire
and the house of Joseph a
flame;
the house of Esau will be
stubble,
and they will set it on fire
and consume it.
There will be no survivors
from the house of Esau.”
The LORD has spoken. Obadiah 18
I tried to piece together the history of the Edomites, and their destruction. One thing we can say for sure is that there is no longer a nation of Edom today. We can also say that there is no one out there claiming to be an Edomite today. Following the destruction of Israel and the captivity in Babylon, it appears the Edomites were driven out of their land by the Nabataens. This was during the 500’s BC, not long after the Israelites were conquered. This was a swift judgment. Malachi mentions the destruction of Edom in his writings from around 400 BC.
The remaining Edomites settled in southern Judah. They became known as the Idumeans. These people were attacked by the Maccabees. The Maccabees were a Jewish rebel army during the 100’s BC. They set up a new Jewish state for a short time before the Romans took over. One of the Maccabean leaders forcibly converted the Idumeans to Judaism. This actually opened the possibility for Herod the Great to become “king of the Jews” as recognized by the Roman Senate about 80 years later.
Of course, the last Herod falls dead when he failed to give glory to God when the people praised him as if he were a god (Acts 12:23). Following the destruction of the temple in 70 AD, there is no more mention of Edom or Idumea in history. This was the final destruction of Edom by one of her allies.
People from the Negev will occupy
I tried to piece together the history of the Edomites, and their destruction. One thing we can say for sure is that there is no longer a nation of Edom today. We can also say that there is no one out there claiming to be an Edomite today. Following the destruction of Israel and the captivity in Babylon, it appears the Edomites were driven out of their land by the Nabataens. This was during the 500’s BC, not long after the Israelites were conquered. This was a swift judgment. Malachi mentions the destruction of Edom in his writings from around 400 BC.
The remaining Edomites settled in southern Judah. They became known as the Idumeans. These people were attacked by the Maccabees. The Maccabees were a Jewish rebel army during the 100’s BC. They set up a new Jewish state for a short time before the Romans took over. One of the Maccabean leaders forcibly converted the Idumeans to Judaism. This actually opened the possibility for Herod the Great to become “king of the Jews” as recognized by the Roman Senate about 80 years later.
Of course, the last Herod falls dead when he failed to give glory to God when the people praised him as if he were a god (Acts 12:23). Following the destruction of the temple in 70 AD, there is no more mention of Edom or Idumea in history. This was the final destruction of Edom by one of her allies.
People from the Negev will occupy
the mountains of Esau,
and people from the
foothills will possess
the land of the Philistines.
They will occupy the fields
of Ephraim and Samaria,
and Benjamin will possess
Gilead.
This company of Israelite
exiles who are in Canaan
will possess the land as far
as Zarephath;
the exiles from Jerusalem
who are in Sepharad
will possess the towns of
the Negev. Obadiah 19-20
This is a portion of Obadiah which is not yet fulfilled. These places mentioned here are the farthest extents of the nation of Israel. (Southeast, southwest, central, north, south) Places that they do not control even today. When Jesus returns, the boundaries will be established and all the Promised Land will belong to Israel. They will fully possess their possessions.
Deliverers will go up on Mount Zion
This is a portion of Obadiah which is not yet fulfilled. These places mentioned here are the farthest extents of the nation of Israel. (Southeast, southwest, central, north, south) Places that they do not control even today. When Jesus returns, the boundaries will be established and all the Promised Land will belong to Israel. They will fully possess their possessions.
Deliverers will go up on Mount Zion
to govern the mountains of
Esau.
And
the kingdom will be the LORD’S. Obadiah
21
I’ve got a couple of more stories that I will tell, and then we’ll be done. The first is about September 11, 2001. I think there are only a few of you who know this story. There is no great drama for me, but what did happened puzzled me for a while. On September 10, 2001, I flew out of Logan International Airport in Boston, the same airport the terrorists flew out of that next morning to fly into the World Trade Center. I was up in Boston visiting a machine vendor about an upgrade we were doing at the time. The guy at the company I was visiting was also a believer. We had talked on and off that whole day about the problems with airport security. I got down to the airport well in advance of my flight. I can even remember wandering around the airport looking for something to do. At one point, I stopped at the concourse which led down to the United Airlines gates. I didn’t go down there because it meant I would have to pass through security, but I have a very definite memory of standing there looking in the direction of where all those people on those planes would have walked about 12 hours later.
My flight was delayed, and I ended up not getting back to Atlanta until after midnight. I had to drive home, so I slept in the next morning. We actually got a call from my work telling us what had happened because they wanted to know where I was.
Probably the reason I haven’t told you that story is because there was so very little impact to me. I was only left with a burning question. God, why did you send me to Boston on September 10? What is the reason that I was there?
I do have a bit of guilt about it. I had flown up on September 9th. I was trying to find something to eat near the hotel, but I could find anything nearby that I thought was any good. I was unsettled in my spirit that evening. At one point, I wondered if I should just fast and pray and seek God that night. Instead, I ended up getting in my rental car and going somewhere else to eat. I really wish I had sat up with the Lord that night.
Several weeks after it had happened when I was back home, I was jogging in the evening. I was praying and asking God why He sent me up to Boston again. It was one of those very palpable answers to prayer. In the past, I don’t know what I would have said I expected God’s voice to sound like, but I imagine if you had asked, I would have said it should be loud and deep and powerful. Experiencing God’s answers to my prayers over time, I think now that God’s voice must have such a quality of patience and love. He’s not in a panic nor does he respond in wrath toward his children.
God answered my prayer while I was jogging. The answer was short. All he said was, it’s training. It was training in the same way that jogging was training. At that time, I was jogging several times a week to train or discipline my body to be in better physical condition. God had sent me to Boston for spiritual training. He wanted me to be close to that event in order to experience the unsettling feeling in my spirit so that I could recognize it in the future. He used it to teach me to listen to His still, small voice.
Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago when we had the ridiculous rainstorm where we got 9 inches of rain in a couple of hours. I already told you guys about standing in my driveway at 5 o’clock in the morning finding out that my drain in my driveway was not clogged and that there was just so much runoff that my driveway was turned into a small river. Because we have a one car garage in our basement, there is a chance for water to back up and begin to seep under the garage door and because the floor is not sufficiently sloped, the water can find its way into the basement.
God is merciful in all our dealings with Him. He doesn’t come crashing down on us. He works and works to communicate with us, but He is not overbearing with us. His kindness and mercy extends beyond our human ability. The two weeks before, we had had water in our basement two times before. If we hadn’t, we really would have had a big mess. It wouldn’t have been destruction. It would have just been a big mess. So for us, even if there had been water in the basement, it would have been merciful.
Back to the big rainstorm. There was nothing outside the house I could do to make the water go down faster. The only thing I could do was try and get the water up before it reached the basement. It’s 5 o’clock in the morning, and by God’s grace everyone except for Melissa and I were either asleep or in bed. Melissa’s parents were sleeping in our den directly above the garage.
I grabbed a bucket and an armload of towels, and I started soaking up water and wringing it out into my bucket. At first, I was throwing the towel into a puddle deep enough that the towel would be instantly saturated. My bucket would hold 2 gallons. Melissa would carry the full bucket to the other end of the basement and pour out the water where it would run away from the house. During that time, I would wring towels into a 48 quart cooler. When it was all said and done, we figured we moved about 30 gallons of water that way in roughly an hour. That’s like 250 pounds.
The work kind of took on a certain monotony. It was mindless work. I had a reasonably good feeling that I was at least keeping up with the incoming water, so that was good. The rain would ebb and flow some, but every time it slacked off, it seemed like it would come again with a vengeance.
While I’m wringing out towels, I’m asking God. Why is there a flood? What is the reason for this? What do you want to tell me? Again, I felt like God was speaking into that time in a very tangible way. He said, “John, I am sending a flood of judgment on the world. It is coming soon. There are people who have not heard about me. Just because you are saved and your family is saved, do not make Hezekiah’s mistake.” King Hezekiah heard God’s judgment against Israel from Isaiah. The judgment said that everything would be carried off to Babylon and even some of his descendants would be made eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon. But, Hezekiah was not grieved that God was going to do those things. In fact, Hezekiah said, “The word of the Lord you have spoken is good,” because he was thinking that there would be peace and security in his lifetime.
God was reminding me not to rest on my own salvation. I shouldn’t be content that I will be taken up to meet Jesus in the air and escape the wrath of God. We need to work while there is still light before darkness comes and no one can work. While I was wringing out towels, another Scripture came to mind from Paul’s letter to the Philippians, “But what does it matter [why people are preaching the gospel]? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice.” (Philippians 1:18)
If Paul wasn’t concerned by what motive people were preaching the gospel, then I surely shouldn’t be concerned about whether I can speak the gospel eloquently or with the most skill. The important thing is that in every way, whether with tied-tongues or true, Christ is preached.
I’ll close with this verse from Luke 4:
At daybreak, Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. But he said, "I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent." Luke 4:42-43
We too have an obligation to proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God. Jesus’ disciples were sent to reach the nations, and we are His disciples. “The day of the LORD is near for all nations.” Our deliverer has come, and the kingdom will be His. His return is not far off. Let’s pray.
Lord Jesus, we thank You that You have delivered us from our sins. Thank You for all the precious possessions we have in You. Foremost, we are grateful for your love for us. Thank You also for our eternity with You. I pray that You would put a fire in our souls to share the gospel with anyone and everyone that we can. Please help us to sow continually with joy. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
I’ve got a couple of more stories that I will tell, and then we’ll be done. The first is about September 11, 2001. I think there are only a few of you who know this story. There is no great drama for me, but what did happened puzzled me for a while. On September 10, 2001, I flew out of Logan International Airport in Boston, the same airport the terrorists flew out of that next morning to fly into the World Trade Center. I was up in Boston visiting a machine vendor about an upgrade we were doing at the time. The guy at the company I was visiting was also a believer. We had talked on and off that whole day about the problems with airport security. I got down to the airport well in advance of my flight. I can even remember wandering around the airport looking for something to do. At one point, I stopped at the concourse which led down to the United Airlines gates. I didn’t go down there because it meant I would have to pass through security, but I have a very definite memory of standing there looking in the direction of where all those people on those planes would have walked about 12 hours later.
My flight was delayed, and I ended up not getting back to Atlanta until after midnight. I had to drive home, so I slept in the next morning. We actually got a call from my work telling us what had happened because they wanted to know where I was.
Probably the reason I haven’t told you that story is because there was so very little impact to me. I was only left with a burning question. God, why did you send me to Boston on September 10? What is the reason that I was there?
I do have a bit of guilt about it. I had flown up on September 9th. I was trying to find something to eat near the hotel, but I could find anything nearby that I thought was any good. I was unsettled in my spirit that evening. At one point, I wondered if I should just fast and pray and seek God that night. Instead, I ended up getting in my rental car and going somewhere else to eat. I really wish I had sat up with the Lord that night.
Several weeks after it had happened when I was back home, I was jogging in the evening. I was praying and asking God why He sent me up to Boston again. It was one of those very palpable answers to prayer. In the past, I don’t know what I would have said I expected God’s voice to sound like, but I imagine if you had asked, I would have said it should be loud and deep and powerful. Experiencing God’s answers to my prayers over time, I think now that God’s voice must have such a quality of patience and love. He’s not in a panic nor does he respond in wrath toward his children.
God answered my prayer while I was jogging. The answer was short. All he said was, it’s training. It was training in the same way that jogging was training. At that time, I was jogging several times a week to train or discipline my body to be in better physical condition. God had sent me to Boston for spiritual training. He wanted me to be close to that event in order to experience the unsettling feeling in my spirit so that I could recognize it in the future. He used it to teach me to listen to His still, small voice.
Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago when we had the ridiculous rainstorm where we got 9 inches of rain in a couple of hours. I already told you guys about standing in my driveway at 5 o’clock in the morning finding out that my drain in my driveway was not clogged and that there was just so much runoff that my driveway was turned into a small river. Because we have a one car garage in our basement, there is a chance for water to back up and begin to seep under the garage door and because the floor is not sufficiently sloped, the water can find its way into the basement.
God is merciful in all our dealings with Him. He doesn’t come crashing down on us. He works and works to communicate with us, but He is not overbearing with us. His kindness and mercy extends beyond our human ability. The two weeks before, we had had water in our basement two times before. If we hadn’t, we really would have had a big mess. It wouldn’t have been destruction. It would have just been a big mess. So for us, even if there had been water in the basement, it would have been merciful.
Back to the big rainstorm. There was nothing outside the house I could do to make the water go down faster. The only thing I could do was try and get the water up before it reached the basement. It’s 5 o’clock in the morning, and by God’s grace everyone except for Melissa and I were either asleep or in bed. Melissa’s parents were sleeping in our den directly above the garage.
I grabbed a bucket and an armload of towels, and I started soaking up water and wringing it out into my bucket. At first, I was throwing the towel into a puddle deep enough that the towel would be instantly saturated. My bucket would hold 2 gallons. Melissa would carry the full bucket to the other end of the basement and pour out the water where it would run away from the house. During that time, I would wring towels into a 48 quart cooler. When it was all said and done, we figured we moved about 30 gallons of water that way in roughly an hour. That’s like 250 pounds.
The work kind of took on a certain monotony. It was mindless work. I had a reasonably good feeling that I was at least keeping up with the incoming water, so that was good. The rain would ebb and flow some, but every time it slacked off, it seemed like it would come again with a vengeance.
While I’m wringing out towels, I’m asking God. Why is there a flood? What is the reason for this? What do you want to tell me? Again, I felt like God was speaking into that time in a very tangible way. He said, “John, I am sending a flood of judgment on the world. It is coming soon. There are people who have not heard about me. Just because you are saved and your family is saved, do not make Hezekiah’s mistake.” King Hezekiah heard God’s judgment against Israel from Isaiah. The judgment said that everything would be carried off to Babylon and even some of his descendants would be made eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon. But, Hezekiah was not grieved that God was going to do those things. In fact, Hezekiah said, “The word of the Lord you have spoken is good,” because he was thinking that there would be peace and security in his lifetime.
God was reminding me not to rest on my own salvation. I shouldn’t be content that I will be taken up to meet Jesus in the air and escape the wrath of God. We need to work while there is still light before darkness comes and no one can work. While I was wringing out towels, another Scripture came to mind from Paul’s letter to the Philippians, “But what does it matter [why people are preaching the gospel]? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice.” (Philippians 1:18)
If Paul wasn’t concerned by what motive people were preaching the gospel, then I surely shouldn’t be concerned about whether I can speak the gospel eloquently or with the most skill. The important thing is that in every way, whether with tied-tongues or true, Christ is preached.
I’ll close with this verse from Luke 4:
At daybreak, Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. But he said, "I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent." Luke 4:42-43
We too have an obligation to proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God. Jesus’ disciples were sent to reach the nations, and we are His disciples. “The day of the LORD is near for all nations.” Our deliverer has come, and the kingdom will be His. His return is not far off. Let’s pray.
Lord Jesus, we thank You that You have delivered us from our sins. Thank You for all the precious possessions we have in You. Foremost, we are grateful for your love for us. Thank You also for our eternity with You. I pray that You would put a fire in our souls to share the gospel with anyone and everyone that we can. Please help us to sow continually with joy. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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