This morning’s text is the book of Obadiah. You can find it on page number 653 in a pew Bible. It is one of the shortest books of the Bible, containing just twenty-one verses. While you are searching for the book of Obadiah, I thought a little Bible trivia would be in order. How many people in the Old Testament share the name Obadiah? How many say one? How about two? Five? Seven? Eleven? It’s twelve!
Obadiah reveals the culmination of an ancient conflict between two brothers.
The book of Obadiah is really the escalation of a conflict between two brothers. You may recall the story of Abraham in Genesis. God had promised Abraham that he would be the father of many nations and that all the people on earth would be blessed through his child. Inher old age, Abraham's wife Sarah gave birth to Isaac. Isaac eventually marries Rebekah and she gives birth to twins, Jacob and Esau. Jacob’s descendants would become known as the nation of Israel. Esau’s descendants would become known as the nation of Edom.
Even before they were born, while they were in the womb Jacob and Esau struggled with one another. In Genesis 25:21-34 (NIV) we read, "Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was barren. The LORD answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, 'Why is this happening to me?' So she went to inquire of the LORD. The LORD said to her, 'Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.' When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau. After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them."
"The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was a quiet man, staying among the tents. Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob. Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. He said to Jacob, 'Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!' (That is why he was also called Edom.) Jacob replied, 'First sell me your birthright.' 'Look, I am about to die,' Esau said. 'What good is the birthright to me?' But Jacob said, 'Swear to me first.' So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. So Esau despised his birthright."
Sibling rivalry escalates into a multi-generational conflict.
And so began a multi-generational conflict between Jacob and Esau, Israel and Edom. It all began with a cup of lentil stew, the selling of a birthright, and sibling rivalry. But as Jacob and Esau’s descendants multiplied, hostilities escalated.
You may recall what happened after the Israelites were delivered from Pharoah and slavery in Egypt. In order to return to the promised land the Israelites had to pass through the land of Edom. But the King of Edom refused. Numbers 20:14-21 (NIV) tells us, "Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom, saying: 'This is what your brother Israel says: You know about all the hardships that have come upon us. Our forefathers went down into Egypt, and we lived there many years. The Egyptians mistreated us and our fathers, but when we cried out to the LORD, he heard our cry and sent an angel and brought us out of Egypt. Now we are here at Kadesh, a town on the edge of your territory. Please let us pass through your country. We will not go through any field or vineyard, or drink water from any well. We will travel along the king’s highway and not turn to the right or to the left until we have passed through your territory.' "
"But Edom answered: 'You may not pass through here; if you try, we will march out and attack you with the sword.' The Israelites replied: 'We will go along the main road, and if we or our livestock drink any of your water, we will pay for it. We only want to pass through on foot— nothing else.' Again they answered: 'You may not pass through.' Then Edom came out against them with a large and powerful army. Since Edom refused to let them go through their territory, Israel turned away from them."
As you can see, there was no understanding or compassion between Jacob and Esau or between the nations of Israel and Edom. They hated one another. In 2 Samuel 8:13-14 (NIV) we read how, "…David became famous after he returned from striking down eighteen thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt. He put garrisons throughout Edom, and all the Edomites became subject to David. The LORD gave David victory wherever he went."
A kind of final straw between these nations was broken in 2 Kings 8:20-22 (NIV) which says, "In the time of Jehoram, Edom rebelled against Judah and set up its own king. So Jehoram went to Zair with all his chariots. The Edomites surrounded him and his chariot commanders, but he rose up and broke through by night; his army, however, fled back home. To this day Edom has been in rebellion against Judah."
Edom’s high place; Israel’s low place.
By the time the prophet Obadiah arrives on the scene, the lines are firmly drawn. The Edomites, full of pride, had already begun collaborating with the Babylonians. The Babylonians were notorious for their brutal treatment of their own people and enemies. The Edomites assumed that with the Babylonians on their side, Israel would be defeated and they would be able to reclaim all that was lost. The Edomites were confident, optimistic,even hopeful that their rival Israel would be destroyed.
In essence, the Edomites had constructed a kind of "high place" for themselves, from which they could look down upon the Israelites in their "low place" and heap abuse on them. Their conflict with Israel had consumed them, and now defined their very existence! The Edomites had reached such a point of depravity that they were willing to let anything happen to their brother, the nation of Israel.
In Obadiah 1:11-14 (NIV) the Lord denounces Edom. "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. 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."
It’s a horrible thing when conflict and getting even, and taking justice into our own hands, or a spirit of pride comes to define our very existence! The Edomites felt justified to instigate the Babylonians to conquer Israel and to stand by as the Babylonians laid waste to Israel. The Edomites felt justified to turn the Israelites over to their enemies even as they fled. They felt justified to rejoice over the destruction of Jerusalem. Justified to plunder the land and to even cut down the escaping Israelites with their swords. Proverbs 16:18 (NIV) says, "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall." The Lord sends Obadiah to warn the Edomites about their pride and misplaced confidence. The high place that the Edomites had erected for themselves was about to come crashing down.
The high place of the Edomites was about to come crashing down.
In Obadiah 1:1-4 (NIV) we read, "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. The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rocks 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."
On the surface, this is just another boring history lesson. But let me assure you it is not. Like the Edomites, we also erect high places for ourselves. High places are the justifications we make for being indifferent to the needs of others. Israel was Edom’s brother! They were descendents of the same father! Yet the Edomites had become infected with pride. Edom wanted Israel to fail. Edom denied Israel mercy and forgiveness. Edom clung to the bitterness, hate, and envy of the past. Their pride grew unchecked. But now it had reached a point where God was about to intervene.
Our high places can undercut God's will for us.
Have you ever noticed how quickly pride decimates relationships? What begins as a dispute over lentil soup or a birthright, easily escalates into full warfare. We all have people we look down upon from our high places. And we have our reasons. We look down on that person who has more than us. Who is more successful. Who got that promotion. Seized that one-time opportunity. Who stole our limelight. Jacob seized an opportunity and inherited the blessings rightfully entitled to Esau.
We look down on that person who seems to have it easy in life. The one who takes and takes but does not give anything in return. The one who manipulates and connives and forges ahead. This is why Esau hated Jacob. He hated Jacob because Jacob took advantage of Esau to steal Esau's inheritance!
We look down on that person who is different than us. Jacob was born fair-skinned and normal, but Esau’s skin was red and he was covered in hair. We look down on that person who has hurt us in some way. Jacob and Esau spent their lives hurting one another, returning insult for injury. Even their children and grandchildren inherited their animosity for each other. Generations were impacted.
Who do you look down upon from your high place? Who is more successful? Who keeps getting ahead while you fall behind? Who takes things they're not entitled to? Who has it easier than they should? Who manipulates and connives and is taking advantage of you? What personsdo you not like becausethey aredifferent than you? Their skin color, their dress, their diet, their style, their fashion, their upbringing, their values, their religion? Who has hurt you, perhaps repeatedly, so much that now you wish evil upon them? Who has offended you so much that you want them to fail? Who have you come to hate so much that you'rewilling to go to most any length to destroy them? Who do you want to make trip and stumble? Who do you laugh at when you see them in their low place?
High places are the justification we make for being indifferent to the needs of others.
Pride causes us to be indifferent to the needs of others. Instead of relating to people generously, we turn a cold shoulder. Instead of reaching out and helping people, we make things worse on them. Instead of burying the past and mending fences, we withhold God’s mercy and forgiveness. Instead of trusting God, we take justice into our own hands and try to even the score. Instead of seeking the good of others, we wish evil upon them and do evil to them.
How many times have you let pride destroy one of your relationships? How many times have you sat idly and not lifted a finger as your brother was ravaged? Pride comes before a fall. God will shake us from our high places and he will bring us low. Jesus says in Matthew 5:40-42 (NIV), "If someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks you and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."
Recently, I saw this book with the title 99 Annoying Attributes of God: Why God is God and You’re Not. One of the reasons God annoys us is because he shows so very little interest in our justifications for our sins of indifference against our brother. Every little terror cell from here to the Middle East has a justification for doing evil. God’s not interested.
God wants us to care for one another.
God wants us to demonstrate love, mercy, forgiveness, generosity, and compassion. He wants us to love our enemies. He wants us to magnify his goodness and kindness. Love your rebellious son or wayward daughter. Love your selfish brother or thoughtless sister. Love your bitter ex, your insensitive husband or wife. Love your business office rival, obnoxious neighbor, that outcast, that needy person who keeps coming back for more, that swindler, that person you envy, or that person who hurts you.
The costs of indifference.
First, we reap what we sow.
As we read Obadiah we discover the costs of pride and indifference. First, we will reap what we sow. Consider how the tables are turned in Obadiah 1:6-10. The very things Edom wished upon Israel become its downfall. Pride is like a boomerang that when thrown, always circles back to catch us. Obadiah 1:6-10 (NIV) says, "But how Esau will be ransacked, his hidden treasures pillaged! 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. Because of the violence against your brother Jacob, you will be covered with shame; you will be destroyed forever.' "
Second, we meet God's justice.
Consider another cost of indifference,meeting God’s justice. In Obadiah 1:15-18 (NIV) we read,"'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. But on Mount Zion will be deliverance; it will be holy, and the house of Jacob will possess its inheritance. 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."
In the end, God will dish out justice according to his own standard of righteousness. Edom may have thought she was doing the Lord's work, but on the last day Edom would be completely annihilated. There would be no survivors from house of Esau.
Last, God promises to restore Israel.
Last, consider God’s promise to the downtrodden. God promises to restore Israel. Obadiah 1:19-21 (NIV) says,"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. Deliverers will go up on Mount Zion to govern the mountains of Esau. And the kingdom will be the LORD’s."
In the divine economy of things, it was the Edomites who eventually lost everything and it was the Israelites who gained everything. In Matthew 5:5 (NIV) Jesus says, "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth." In the end, God rewards and blesses humility, not pride or arrogance. Not people who justify their indifference, but people of humility. The meek!
This morning, the prophet Obadiah is calling us down from our high places. He is calling us to relate to all people with God’s mercy and generosity. James 1:9-10 (NIV) says, "The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower."