The Bible Series Obadiah
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Notes
Transcript
Proverbs 6:16-19 is a truth given to us by God Himself to mankind… this truth spans time, culture, and is very practical for the church today…
The six … seven pattern used in this passage here and other places in the Hebrew poetry is for EMPHASIS!… the purpose of this kind of numerical pattern (x and x + 1) is not to give a complete list. Instead it is to stress the final (x + 1) item, as the culmination or product of its preceding items!!!
Look with me at what God states:
There are six things the Lord hates— no, seven things he detests: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that kill the innocent, a heart that plots evil, feet that race to do wrong, a false witness who pours out lies, a person who sows discord in a family.
Obadiah is the culmination of a long ongoing FAMILY narrative through the Old Testament. A sad one at that. To understand we must look back and recall Genesis 25:21-28
Isaac pleaded with the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was unable to have children. The Lord answered Isaac’s prayer, and Rebekah became pregnant with twins. But the two children struggled with each other in her womb. So she went to ask the Lord about it. “Why is this happening to me?” she asked. And the Lord told her, “The sons in your womb will become two nations. From the very beginning, the two nations will be rivals. One nation will be stronger than the other; and your older son will serve your younger son.” And when the time came to give birth, Rebekah discovered that she did indeed have twins! The first one was very red at birth and covered with thick hair like a fur coat. So they named him Esau. Then the other twin was born with his hand grasping Esau’s heel. So they named him Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when the twins were born. As the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter. He was an outdoorsman, but Jacob had a quiet temperament, preferring to stay at home. Isaac loved Esau because he enjoyed eating the wild game Esau brought home, but Rebekah loved Jacob.
Brothers
Brothers
Jacob - God would change his name to Israel “one who wrestles or strives with God”
Esau - Edom given when he sold his birthright for red lentil stew, name means “red”
Disregard for Birthright
Disregard for Birthright
Favoritism fed the animosity between them, differences drove wedges
Showing disregard for the family or the promise of God given
Food, temporal things took first place…
Esau sought the things of the world even went and married from the daughters of Ishmael out of spite to his father and family
Division & Distance
Division & Distance
The differences between these tow brothers would create division from generation to generation
Esau would settle and a people/nation would be established South of Judah
Pride & Arrogance
Pride & Arrogance
They would live in the hill country known today as “Petra”
They were high on a rock mountain, impenetrable so they thought, center of trade “kings highway passed through Seir its capital”, militarily powerful, wealthy
Scripture records a great deal of interactions between these two brothers, these two nations…
History
History
Brothers at odds would pass from generation to generation… bitterness and discord would grow stronger…
No passage into Canaan
No passage into Canaan
As Israel flees Egypt and crosses into Canaan they request passage through Edom, safety and ease of passage
Edom refuses Numbers 20:14-21
While Moses was at Kadesh, he sent ambassadors to the king of Edom with this message: “This is what your relatives, the people of Israel, say: You know all the hardships we have been through. Our ancestors went down to Egypt, and we lived there a long time, and we and our ancestors were brutally mistreated by the Egyptians. But when we cried out to the Lord, he heard us and sent an angel who brought us out of Egypt. Now we are camped at Kadesh, a town on the border of your land. Please let us travel through your land. We will be careful not to go through your fields and vineyards. We won’t even drink water from your wells. We will stay on the king’s road and never leave it until we have passed through your territory.” But the king of Edom said, “Stay out of my land, or I will meet you with an army!” The Israelites answered, “We will stay on the main road. If our livestock drink your water, we will pay for it. Just let us pass through your country. That’s all we ask.” But the king of Edom replied, “Stay out! You may not pass through our land.” With that he mobilized his army and marched out against them with an imposing force. Because Edom refused to allow Israel to pass through their country, Israel was forced to turn around.
No help in battle
No help in battle
Kings and Chronicles record when the Philistines & Arabians attacked Jerusalem
Obadiah 12-14 records Edom’s response...
“You should not have gloated when they exiled your relatives to distant lands. You should not have rejoiced when the people of Judah suffered such misfortune. You should not have spoken arrogantly in that terrible time of trouble. You should not have plundered the land of Israel when they were suffering such calamity. You should not have gloated over their destruction when they were suffering such calamity. You should not have seized their wealth when they were suffering such calamity. You should not have stood at the crossroads, killing those who tried to escape. You should not have captured the survivors and handed them over in their terrible time of trouble.
Rejoicing over calamity
Rejoicing over calamity
So steep was their hate, un-forgiveness, and bitterness they would celebrate
Bitterness took root in the depths of the heart of Esau, the tree of bitterness grew greater and stronger with each generation, the fruit of bitterness was a poison consuming people and lives…
Bitterness refers to a settled hostility that poisons the whole inner man.
Warren W. Wiersbe
Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host.
Author Unknown
Consider now with this background in mind… this short but powerful message of Obadiah 1-21 Let’s read this book together...
This is the vision that the Sovereign Lord revealed to Obadiah concerning the land of Edom. We have heard a message from the Lord that an ambassador was sent to the nations to say, “Get ready, everyone! Let’s assemble our armies and attack Edom!” The Lord says to Edom, “I will cut you down to size among the nations; you will be greatly despised. You have been deceived by your own pride because you live in a rock fortress and make your home high in the mountains. ‘Who can ever reach us way up here?’ you ask boastfully. But even if you soar as high as eagles and build your nest among the stars, I will bring you crashing down,” says the Lord. “If thieves came at night and robbed you (what a disaster awaits you!), they would not take everything. Those who harvest grapes always leave a few for the poor. But your enemies will wipe you out completely! Every nook and cranny of Edom will be searched and looted. Every treasure will be found and taken. “All your allies will turn against you. They will help to chase you from your land. They will promise you peace while plotting to deceive and destroy you. Your trusted friends will set traps for you, and you won’t even know about it. At that time not a single wise person will be left in the whole land of Edom,” says the Lord. “For on the mountains of Edom I will destroy everyone who has understanding. The mightiest warriors of Teman will be terrified, and everyone on the mountains of Edom will be cut down in the slaughter. “Because of the violence you did to your close relatives in Israel, you will be filled with shame and destroyed forever. When they were invaded, you stood aloof, refusing to help them. Foreign invaders carried off their wealth and cast lots to divide up Jerusalem, but you acted like one of Israel’s enemies. “You should not have gloated when they exiled your relatives to distant lands. You should not have rejoiced when the people of Judah suffered such misfortune. You should not have spoken arrogantly in that terrible time of trouble. You should not have plundered the land of Israel when they were suffering such calamity. You should not have gloated over their destruction when they were suffering such calamity. You should not have seized their wealth when they were suffering such calamity. You should not have stood at the crossroads, killing those who tried to escape. You should not have captured the survivors and handed them over in their terrible time of trouble. “The day is near when I, the Lord, will judge all godless nations! As you have done to Israel, so it will be done to you. All your evil deeds will fall back on your own heads. Just as you swallowed up my people on my holy mountain, so you and the surrounding nations will swallow the punishment I pour out on you. Yes, all you nations will drink and stagger and disappear from history. “But Jerusalem will become a refuge for those who escape; it will be a holy place. And the people of Israel will come back to reclaim their inheritance. The people of Israel will be a raging fire, and Edom a field of dry stubble. The descendants of Joseph will be a flame roaring across the field, devouring everything. There will be no survivors in Edom. I, the Lord, have spoken! “Then my people living in the Negev will occupy the mountains of Edom. Those living in the foothills of Judah will possess the Philistine plains and take over the fields of Ephraim and Samaria. And the people of Benjamin will occupy the land of Gilead. The exiles of Israel will return to their land and occupy the Phoenician coast as far north as Zarephath. The captives from Jerusalem exiled in the north will return home and resettle the towns of the Negev. Those who have been rescued will go up to Mount Zion in Jerusalem to rule over the mountains of Edom. And the Lord himself will be king!”
Obadiah
Obadiah
Obadiah is probably the first of the writing prophets. Most likely from Judah. Obadiah delivers a brief but forthright and powerful message to this people of Edom…
Edom is the prime example of Proverbs 16:18
Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall.
Arrogant boastful, but God will bring them low figuratively and practically… Wilkinson writes this:
Talk thru the Bible (Date and Setting)
Edom was later controlled by Assyria and Babylon; and in the fifth century B.C. the Edomites were forced by the Nabataeans to leave their territory. They moved to the area of southern Palestine and became known as Idumaeans. Herod the Great, an Idumaean, became king of Judea under Rome in 37 B.C. In a sense, the enmity between Esau and Jacob was continued in Herod’s attempt to murder Jesus. The Idumaeans participated in the rebellion of Jerusalem against Rome and were defeated along with the Jews by Titus in A.D. 70. Ironically, the Edomites applauded the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. (see Ps. 137:7) but died trying to defend it in A.D. 70. After that time they were never heard of again. As Obadiah predicted they would be “cut off forever” (10); “and no survivors shall remain of the house of Esau” (18).
Tried 10-14
Tried 10-14
For their evil actions against Israel
For their INACTION as well!
“I didn’t do anything”… EXACTLY!!!
Cain’s question all the way back to the beginning… “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
Should I watch out for him?
Should I care?
YES, YES, YES!!!
Convicted
Convicted
15 illustrates God’s judgement on all peoples “Edom” & “Adam”
“There will be no survivors”
The gavel comes down as God states, “I, the LORD, have spoken!”
The ruling is final, it is JUST, and it will be!
Sentenced
Sentenced
God had not only spoken through Obadiah, but others as well
But Egypt will become a wasteland and Edom will become a wilderness, because they attacked the people of Judah and killed innocent people in their land.
This is what the Lord says: “The people of Edom have sinned again and again, and I will not let them go unpunished! They chased down their relatives, the Israelites, with swords, showing them no mercy. In their rage, they slashed them continually and were unrelenting in their anger.
Esau’s descendants in Edom may say, “We have been shattered, but we will rebuild the ruins.” But the Lord of Heaven’s Armies replies, “They may try to rebuild, but I will demolish them again. Their country will be known as ‘The Land of Wickedness,’ and their people will be called ‘The People with Whom the Lord Is Forever Angry.’
The final verses of this book speak to RESTORATION!!!
The final verses of this book speak to RESTORATION!!!
God Restores Israel
God gives a place of Refuge
God gives the land of Edom as a Possession to Israel!
The people Return & God Restores!!! [Transition to Cross Slide]
Bitterness imprisons life; love releases it.
Bitterness paralyzes life; love empowers it.
Bitterness sickens life; love heals it.
Bitterness blinds life; love anoints its eyes.
Harry Emerson Fosdick
God conveyed His heart for Unity in Proverbs… BUT He demonstrated it at the cross. (BRINGING GOD & MAN UNITED AGAIN!!!)
Before He would go to the cross he prayed… He prayed for you and me… John 17:11,20-23
Now I am departing from the world; they are staying in this world, but I am coming to you. Holy Father, you have given me your name; now protect them by the power of your name so that they will be united just as we are.
“I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. “I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.
GOD RESTORES
GOD RESTORES
The broken Home
The broken Marriage
The broken Friendship
The broken Hearted
The broken Individual
The broken relationships… most of all
The broken relationship between God and Man
The forgiveness of Christ extended at Calvary attacks bitterness at the root!!! (SIN)
What right do we have to hold on to a grudge, hurt feelings, wrong done to us?
We as believers in Christ have been forgiven!!!
Give me such love for God and men, as will blot out all hatred and bitterness.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
There is a lesson for us in this powerful brief book of Obadiah… God takes the relationship between brothers seriously! Oh may we be a people, a church, a family… known for our love for one another and our unity as the FAMILY OF GOD!