Obadiah's Vision

In this episode, we look at the vision that Obadiah had concerning Edom. It's easy to pass right by Obahdiah because it's such a short book but it's packed with amazing verses that both shed light on the history of God's people and on our lives today. We trace the history of Edom back to see what led up to them appearing in Obadiah's vision, we see what set the course that they'd later walk and then we find how they were acting in the vision, how they willingly and brazenly came against God's people and went out of their way to oppose them. Then we trace them forward to see how their history progressed. We look at how the enemy influenced them and how that same pride that they indulged in, plagues many people today. We need to avoid the pitfalls that Edom fell into and instead humble ourselves before the Lord, trusting God to go before us and give us the victory!

Transcript

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Welcome to the King's Word Bible study. Today our topic is going to be Obadiah's Vision. Let's begin today in the book of Obadiah.

Obadiah 1:1

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Obadiah, verse 1 says, The vision of Obadiah, thus saith the Lord God concerning Edom. We have heard a rumor from the Lord, and an ambassador is sent among the heathen. Arise ye and let us rise up against her in battle. Obadiah is the shortest book in the Old Testament, hidden between Amos and Jonah, both far more well known. We find this short, strange account of God's judgment against the nation of Edom. If you're not familiar with Edom and who they were, it could be a very confusing book. But when we trace back who exactly the nation of Edom was, it becomes very clear why God, in such a clear and straightforward way, proclaims and executes fierce judgment against them. In order to best understand Edom, we have to go back to the man from whom they descended, which was Esau.

Genesis 25:23-24

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Referring to Rebekah, the mother of Esau and Jacob, Genesis chapter 25, verses 23 to 24 say, And the Lord said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels, and the one people shall be stronger than the other people, and the elder shall serve the younger. And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. To us reading this in the modern era, it's easy to miss just how shocking of a statement this would be from the Lord. It was common in their culture for the elder to always be the one who received the inheritance, the birthright, and all the respect and honor that accompany those things. It's the elder that would be served by the younger. But here we find God expressing the exact opposite. He was promising to reverse the established order. That wouldn't just bring servitude on the elder, it would also bring shame. Who was the elder referred to here? Verses twenty five to twenty-six tell us, and the first came out red all over like a hairy garment, and they called his name Esau. And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel, and his name was called Jacob, and Isaac was three score years old when she bare them. At this point everything was normal. Esau was born first, and in turn he received the birthright, just like things that always operated. That changed one day, however, when Esau came home after a long day of hunting. Later on in this chapter, verses 29 to 34 tell us, and Jacob sawed pottage, and Esau came from the field, and he was faint. And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage, for I am faint. Therefore was his name called Edom. And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright. And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die, and what profit shall this birthright do to me? And Jacob said, Swear to me this day, and he swear unto him, and he sold his birthright unto Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentils, and he did eat and drink and rose up and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright. That's an incredible thing to think about. Esau had so little reverence for his birthright that he sold it for something so small as bread and pottage. The last phrase shows his heart. It says that he despised his birthright. That's quite the charge. It said that he despised it, and despised is a strong word. The classic amplified translates that last phrase as, thus Esau scorned his birthright as beneath his notice. He didn't even care so much as to take notice of it. What that shows is that he had no prudence. He wasn't thinking about his future or his posterity. He was just thinking about himself and his desire for food in the one solitary moment that he was in. All he cared about was satiating his flesh. If he was willing to go so far for something so small, it's not hard to see that he would go far beyond this for even more powerful desires of the flesh. It shows the trajectory that he was already on. The living Bible shows his attitude even more clearly. It says for verse 34, then Jacob gave Esau bread, peas, and stew. So he ate and drank and went about his business, indifferent to the loss of the rights he had thrown away. He wasn't hot or cold, he was lukewarm. The same problem that led to the Lord proclaiming that he would spew out of his mouth the church of Laodicea. He wasn't longing to keep and exercise his birthright, nor was he too concerned about losing them and throwing them away either. He didn't care one way or the other. He was willing to throw it all away. In the moment with his nonchalant attitude, it probably didn't seem like this would ever matter or ever be an issue. But then when the time finally did come when his father Isaac was dying, the effects of this irrational action became unavoidable. Isaac was old. He was lying on his deathbed, nearly completely blind. And he called Esau to him and asked him to go out and get him some venison for him to eat, telling him that he would give him his blessing when he returned. When his wife Rebekah heard of it, she told Jacob about it and encouraged him to deceive his father, so that he could get the blessing that Esau had sold to him. Jacob brought venison that Rebekah prepared before Isaac and fooled Isaac to give him the blessing that he was planning to give to Esau. Then later on, when Esau comes in, bringing the venison that he'd caught and prepared, Isaac told him that he had been deceived by Jacob, and that Jacob had already received his blessing instead of him.

Genesis 27:39-40

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After Esau pleads with him to bless him as well, Isaac is only able to offer up the secondary blessing that we find in Genesis chapter 27, verses 39 to 40. And Isaac his father answered and said unto him, Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above, and by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother, and it shall come to pass, when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck. This was the prophecy that was proclaimed over Esau, and we'll find the effects of this resonating throughout the centuries that ensue. Esau cried at the realization of what his actions had brought upon him, but he didn't truly repent. It wasn't godly sorrow, it was worldly sorrow. He was only upset that now he'd lost the blessing that he had so callously thrown away. It didn't lead to true remorse, it led to hatred. Verse 41 makes that very clear. It says, And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him. And Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand, then will I slay my brother Jacob. Jacob ended up fleeing from him, and his descendants became the nation of Israel, while Esau and his descendants became the nation of Edom. These nations were never truly at peace. They were always at odds. Centuries later, when the children of Israel were passing through the wilderness and found themselves near the border of the Edomites, and desired to pass through to take a more simple route,

Numbers 20:17

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Moses, speaking to the messengers of the king of Edom, said in Numbers 20 and 17, Let us pass, I pray thee, through thy country, and we will not pass through the fields or through the vineyards, neither will we drink of the water of the wells. We will go by the king's highway. We will not turn to the right hand nor to the left until we have passed thy borders. Although they only desired to simply pass through and be on their way, the hatred and the resentment that had resided in Esau's heart had trickled down, and now his descendants felt the same exact way. We see that very clearly in the answer that they gave to Moses. Verse 18 said, And Edom said unto him, Thou shalt not pass by me, lest I come out against thee with the sword. That's an amazing thing to consider, because Isaac had told Esau that he would live by the sword. Nothing had changed. When Moses pleaded with them, promising them that they just wanted to pass through and be on their way. Verse 20 tells us, and he said, Thou shalt not go through. And Edom came out against him with much people and with a strong hand. Edom was ready to fight and battle their brethren with no provocation. They were ready to live by the sword and die by the sword if necessary. This was the defining characteristic of the Edomites as a nation. Then when we fast forward to the time of Obadiah, we find him describing the Babylonian capture and destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC. This was Israel's lowest point. They were under attack. Their capital city was being overrun by the enemy, and they were being captured and taken into exile in Babylon. The Assyrians and the Babylonians were coming against them on all sides. What did Edom, Israel's brethren, do during this time? Did they help? Did they come to their aid? Did they do everything that they possibly could to assist them? They did the exact opposite. Obadiah explains exactly how they conducted themselves. The Lord speaking to Edom says in verses 10 to 14, For thy violence against thy brother Jacob, shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off forever. In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, and the day that the strangers carried away captive his forces, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even thou wast this one of them. But thou shouldst not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day that he became a stranger. Neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction. Neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress. Thou shouldest not have entered into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity. Yea, thou shouldest not have looked on their affliction in the day of their calamity, nor have laid hands on their substance in the day of their calamity. Neither should thou have stood in the crossway to cut off those of his that did escape. Neither shouldest thou have delivered up those of his that did remain in the day of distress. These are shocking and appalling verses for us to read. Here's Edom, the relative and brother of Israel, gloating over his ruin, celebrating his destruction, cheering the plundering of his streets. Edom was looting the city, catching Israelites who were fleeing, and handing them over to the enemy. They were casting lots, working hand in hand with Israel's enemies. We would expect that from an enemy like Babylon or Assyria or Amalek or any of the other historical enemies of Israel, but it's different when this comes from Edom, because this goes far beyond just violence. It's really a betrayal of the bond of brotherhood that once existed between them, of these two nations that had once been together in the same womb. This is what Isaac foretold. Now Esau, who had lived by the sword, now had dominion over his brother's city and broke Israel's yoke from off of him, throwing it away, just like he did with his birthright in the first place long ago. Verses six to seven earlier in the chapter tell us, how were the things of Esau searched out? How were his hidden things sought up? All the men of thy confederacy have brought thee even to the border. The men that were at peace with thee have deceived thee and prevailed against thee. They that eat thy bread have laid a wound under thee. There is none understanding in him. This is the direct opposite of what we saw earlier in the book of Numbers. In Numbers, we saw that the Israelites were coming to the border of the Edomites and asking if they could peaceably pass through. Here, however, we find the Edomites coming with the enemies of the Israelites to their border and forcibly taking the city, looting and destroying it, capturing the people. We know that Edom had a deep resentment and hatred for Israel. We know that they lived by violence, but how did they get to this point where they were willing to gladly betray their own brother? This wasn't just a natural sentiment that had developed over the course of time. This was a supernatural attack against Israel. It was one of the devil's many foolish and vain attempts to take down God's people of promise. How do we know that this was a demonic attack and not just something purely natural? We have to look at the attitude that the Edomites had and what that reveals to us about them. Verses free to force say, The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high, that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground? This is more than just natural pride. There's something deeper going on here beneath the surface. The wording here should sound very familiar to us, because this isn't the only place that we hear this.

Isaiah 14:12-15

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Isaiah chapter 14, verses 12 to 15 say, How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning? How art thou cut down to the ground which did weaken the nations? For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God, I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation in the sides of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the most high. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell to the sides of the pit. This was the enemy's attitude. He was prideful. He wanted to be like God. He wanted everything to be about himself. That's how the devil tempts people. That's the very first temptation that we find in all of Scripture in Genesis chapter 3. He tells Eve that if she eats the fruit of the tree, she'll be like God. That's the way that he deceives people and families and nations. Edom was no exception. The hatefulness, the bitterness, the resentment that Edom was harboring in its heart, the violence that got so infused with its national identity, when we fervor rolled out the red carpet for the enemy to exploit their pride and to use it against them. It put them in the mindset and the posture of heart to be used by the enemy as a vessel. The enemy filled their heart with pride, and their pride was getting the best of them, leading them to betray their brother, making the same mistake that Esau made. Esau sold his birthright in a moment of weakness and emotion, not knowing what effects his decision would bring about. And Edom did the same thing, looting the city in a moment of weakness and emotion, not realizing what that was setting in motion for themselves. The Lord tells us in the book of Proverbs that he hates pride. It's an abomination to him, and those are strong words. That means that pride isn't something that flies under the radar. God takes notice

Proverbs 16:18

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of that. And on top of that, Proverbs 16 and 18 tells us, pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before fall. They were setting in motion their future destruction. Now, if we fast forward again and come to the end of the Second Temple era, we find that Edom had been dissolved as a nation and been absorbed into the region south of Judea that the Romans called Idumea. King Herod was of Idumea, and we know that the enemy used him in another demonic attack against Israel when he tried to murder all the male children two years and younger, in an attempt to stop Christ from being born. This is the queer pattern the Edomites all throughout Scripture. Like Amalek, they made themselves to be the archetype enemy of Israel. Today we understand Edom and their history because our history before we met Christ wasn't that much different.

Romans 5:10-11

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Romans chapter 5, verses 10 to 11 say, For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. We've been made the friends of God, because we've given him our life, and we do the things that are pleasing to him, walking in obedience and faithfulness with him. Now not only are we not enemies, we're family.

Romans 8:15-17

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Romans chapter 8, verses 15 to 17 say, For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear, but ye have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. If so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. Adam threw away our birthright in the family of God, just like Esau did with his. And that's why we live in this fallen state today, while we live in an imperfect world. But now through Jesus, the second Adam, we're born again. We're born into the family of God with a new birthright because we're heirs of God. We're joint heirs with Christ, meaning that we have an inheritance that belongs to us and that can never be stolen by any attack of the enemy. That being our new reality is a new creature in Christ Jesus. We have a responsibility to guard ourselves against pride. We may look at the account of Edom and their hatred and betrayal and think that that's so extreme that there's no way we would ever find ourselves in that same place. But that wasn't a fall that happened overnight. That came subtly, it came slowly over the course of time. We should never be so haughty to think that we're immune from this danger. It's the ignoring of danger that often puts us in the gravest danger of

Hebrews 6:6

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all. Hebrews 6 and 6 says, if they shall fall away to renew them again under repentance, seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh and put him to an open shame. This is what so often happens. People start off well, but then they allow pride to sneak its way into their heart, and that pride begins to corrupt them and pull them away from God. The enemy attempts to take back as much control as he possibly can, using pride to deceive us and distort our thinking. Then once he hardens our heart, he wants us to betray our faith in Christ, betraying the Savior we put our trust in and given our life to, walking away from the free gift of salvation and inheritance. We don't want to be a betrayer of God or of anyone else. We want to be faithful to the Lord the same way that he's always been faithful to us. We don't want pride to separate us from our brethren and the faith. We want our humility to pull us together, uniting us in faith and in the spirit. That's why we make the decision to humble ourselves before the Lord, allowing him to destroy any trace of pride in our life and to fill us to overflowing with his spirit.

James 4:10

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James 4 and 10 tells us, humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord and he shall lift you up. God's not against us being exalted, but he is against us exalting ourselves. We have to humble ourselves, which doesn't mean thinking less of ourselves, but thinking of ourselves less. That's an important distinction. It means that we're always willing, unlike Esau, to put our brethren and their welfare ahead of our own. And most importantly, put God and the things of God at the center of our life. That's when God can exalt us, because we put ourselves in the right frame of mind and posture of heart to be able to receive that great blessing from the Lord and to walk in that exaltation without giving way to the pride that so often accompanies it. We'll be able to handle it wisely and with discernment, seeing the hand of the Lord working upon us and not allowing it to distract us from him, but rather pointing us towards him, drawing us closer to him into his heart. It's at that point, rather than feeling the hatred and resentment and bitterness that Esau felt in his life that led him to such violence and destruction, we'll instead feel joy. It's been said that joy is an acronym standing for Jesus, others, and yourself. When you keep things in your life in that order, you'll always have joy in your life. And it's only humility that enables you to do that. You have to be willing to look beyond yourself and put yourself last, not so that we become some pitiful weak victim with an ideology that matches that, but so that God can lift us up and exalt us, knowing that he's the same God who promises that the first shall be last and the last shall be first. If we're willing to be last, God will take notice of our faithfulness and compassion, and he will elevate us to be the head and not the tail, and be above and not beneath, just as his word tells us.

Obadiah 1:17-18

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Obadiah verses 17 to 18 say, But upon Mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness, and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions, and the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them and devour them, and there shall not be any remaining in the house of Esau, for the Lord have spoken it. Then later on, verse 21 promises us, and saviors shall come up on Mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau, and the kingdom shall be the Lord's. Although it seemed in the moment that the prideful and arrogant Esau had won and had overcome his brother, the story wasn't over. Israel, although seemingly defeated, would rise again and would be stronger and more powerful than before, and Esau would yet again serve the younger. In the same way, God is going to enable us, his chosen people, the apple of his eye, to prosper and thrive in the midst of a hostile fallen world, recovering all that the enemy has taken from us, enjoying the full inheritance and every promise that Jesus Christ made available to us, the same Christ who became the Savior who stood on Mount Zion. Let's close in prayer. Lord, today we thank you that you became that Savior that we needed, the Savior who stood on Mount Zion in our place. And Lord, today we thank you for the joy and the peace and the hope that we find in you and in your presence. And Lord, today we rebuke and we cast out all the hatefulness, all the bitterness, all the resentment, all the pride that tries to creep its way back into our heart and take root in our life. Lord, today we uproot it and we cast it away forever. We burn it away as chaff and as stubble. And Lord, in its place, we allow all the fruits of the Spirit to grow and to flourish in our life, at the direction and under the watchful guidance of your Holy Spirit. And Lord, today we thank you that just like Israel, although our story may seem in the natural like it's over, like it's not going well, Lord, we thank you that we're going to rise again, that we're going to recover all that the enemy has tried to steal from us, that the story isn't over, but that it's just beginning, that your hand is still moving powerfully upon our lives and upon the church, and that our best days are still ahead of us. And Lord, we thank you in advance for all the amazing, incredible things that you have set apart for the people that you love. And Lord, we give you all the honor, all the glory, and all the praise in Jesus' name. Amen. Now, if you want to enjoy your inheritance and have Jesus as a part of your life today, all you need to do is invite Jesus into your heart to be your personal Lord and Savior. You then need to repent of your sins and ask for his forgiveness. Then you trust that you've been forgiven and you ask for his free gift of eternal life. Now, if you've prayed this from a sincere heart and you truly meant it, then you are now a part of the family of God. Welcome to God's family. We want to thank everybody for listening today. We appreciate you taking out your time to spend with us. If you want even more of the King's Word, you can go to our YouTube page at Kingsword Ministry or visit our TikTok page at Kingsword Bible. God bless you. We want you to know that we love you all. And we'll see you next week as we continue to study the King's Word together.