SERMON: Obadiah (Pride)
TEXT: Obadiah 1:1-14 (ESV)
SPEAKER: Josh Hanson
DATE: 3-21/22-20
I want to welcome everyone — again — all of the Gateway folks who are joining us — I also want to welcome any and everyone else who’s joining us even if you’re not regularly a part of Gateway Church. I heard that last week — you all were posting pictures of you and your families joining us online — and please keep doing that. That’s an awesome way to let people know what we’re doing and how to join us.
And before we jump into the sermon — and this is the one thing that I always want you to know — I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you too.
We’re continuing in our Finding Jesus series — where we’re looking at a group of books in the Old Testament known as the Minor Prophets and we’re seeing how the whole Bible is telling one story — the story of Jesus.
And here’s a quick idea of what this sermon is going to be like. I’ll introduce you to a book of the Bible that you may or may not be very familiar with. I’ll give you an overview of the book — think of this as a highlight reel. And then we’ll focus in on one section of the book where I’ll show you how to find Jesus.
And in this year's edition of our Finding Jesus series — we’re looking at the first six of the group of books known as the Minor Prophets — and we’ll be looking at the book of Obadiah today. So if you have your Bible, please turn with me to Obadiah — it only has one chapter — and it’s the shortest of all the Old Testament books — so it may be a tough one to find.
In previous weeks we’ve looked at the books of Hosea, Joel, and Amos. And in the coming weeks we’ll look at Jonah and Micah. And I hope you’ll grow to know and love these books of the Bible and spend time in them — finding Jesus and the joy that’s found only in him.
Now — as a reminder — this year we’re only looking at six of the Minor Prophets. There’s a total of 12 — and we’ll look at the other six next year.
And one final thing about these books. The reason why these books are called the Minor Prophets is not because their material is minor — or less important than the books known as the Major Prophets — they’re called the Minor Prophets due to their size. Because — generally speaking — the Minor Prophets are much shorter than the Major Prophets.
OK. So let’s take a few minutes to get our bearings in our book — and — I hope — you’ll see that Obadiah is a book you’ll want to go read for yourself.
First, what do we know about Obadiah? Well — and this won’t be a surprise if you’ve been with us in this series — Obadiah was a prophet — which means he spoke on behalf of God. Now we’re not really sure when he lived. Some scholars believe he lived in the 9th century BC and others think he lived in the 6th century BC. But — it’s not just when he lived that’s a mystery — we don’t know much about this prophet — as I said — his book is short — so there aren’t many details about him.
Now the book is a collection of divine judgments against the nation of Edom. Something important to understand is that the people of Edom have a shared ancestry with the Israelites. What do I mean? Well the people of Edom are descendants of a man named Esau. And Esau was Jacob’s brother. And Jacob — who later is given the name Israel — Jacob is the man who’s the father of the 12 brothers whose offspring become the twelve tribes of Israel.
So Jacob and Esau are brothers — they’re twins — in fact. Their parents were Isaac and Rebekah. And Isaac’s father was Abraham. So both the Israelites and the Edomites are descendants of Abraham.
Now you need to know that Jacob and Esau had a strained relationship — to say the least. Let me give you two examples to give you an idea of the kind of relationship these brothers had with each other.
“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. 28 Isaac loved Esau because he enjoyed eating the wild game Esau brought home, but Rebekah loved Jacob. 29 One day when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau arrived home from the wilderness exhausted and hungry. 30 Esau said to Jacob, “I’m starved! Give me some of that red stew!” (This is how Esau got his other name, Edom, which means “red.”) 31 “All right,” Jacob replied, “but trade me your rights as the firstborn son.” 32 “Look, I’m dying of starvation!” said Esau. “What good is my birthright to me now?” 33 But Jacob said, “First you must swear that your birthright is mine.” So Esau swore an oath, thereby selling all his rights as the firstborn to his brother, Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew. Esau ate the meal, then got up and left. He showed contempt for his rights as the firstborn.” (Genesis 25:27-34 NLT)
So Esau didn’t show respect for his rights as the firstborn son — which was a huge deal in ancient times. And then you’ve got Jacob who’s ready to take advantage of his brother — when his brother was in a time of need. Now of course it didn’t help that both mom and dad were playing favorites among their sons.
So Jacob cheats Esau out of his rights as the firstborn putting a strain on their relationship. And if only that was as bad as things would get between the two. But...
“One day when Isaac was old and turning blind, he called for Esau, his older son, and said, “My son.” “Yes, Father?” Esau replied. 2 “I am an old man now,” Isaac said, “and I don’t know when I may die. 3 Take your bow and a quiver full of arrows, and go out into the open country to hunt some wild game for me. 4 Prepare my favorite dish, and bring it here for me to eat. Then I will pronounce the blessing that belongs to you, my firstborn son, before I die.” 5 But Rebekah overheard what Isaac had said to his son Esau. So when Esau left to hunt for the wild game, 6 she said to her son Jacob, “Listen. I overheard your father say to Esau, 7 ‘Bring me some wild game and prepare me a delicious meal. Then I will bless you in the Lord’s presence before I die.’ 8 Now, my son, listen to me. Do exactly as I tell you. 9 Go out to the flocks, and bring me two fine young goats. I’ll use them to prepare your father’s favorite dish. 10 Then take the food to your father so he can eat it and bless you before he dies.” 11 “But look,” Jacob replied to Rebekah, “my brother, Esau, is a hairy man, and my skin is smooth. 12 What if my father touches me? He’ll see that I’m trying to trick him, and then he’ll curse me instead of blessing me.” 13 But his mother replied, “Then let the curse fall on me, my son! Just do what I tell you. Go out and get the goats for me!” 14 So Jacob went out and got the young goats for his mother. Rebekah took them and prepared a delicious meal, just the way Isaac liked it. 15 Then she took Esau’s favorite clothes, which were there in the house, and gave them to her younger son, Jacob. 16 She covered his arms and the smooth part of his neck with the skin of the young goats. 17 Then she gave Jacob the delicious meal, including freshly baked bread. 18 So Jacob took the food to his father. “My father?” he said. “Yes, my son,” Isaac answered. “Who are you — Esau or Jacob?” 19 Jacob replied, “It’s Esau, your firstborn son. I’ve done as you told me. Here is the wild game. Now sit up and eat it so you can give me your blessing.” 20 Isaac asked, “How did you find it so quickly, my son?” “The Lord your God put it in my path!” Jacob replied. 21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come closer so I can touch you and make sure that you really are Esau.” 22 So Jacob went closer to his father, and Isaac touched him. “The voice is Jacob’s, but the hands are Esau’s,” Isaac said. 23 But he did not recognize Jacob, because Jacob’s hands felt hairy just like Esau’s. So Isaac prepared to bless Jacob. 24 “But are you really my son Esau?” he asked. “Yes, I am,” Jacob replied. 25 Then Isaac said, “Now, my son, bring me the wild game. Let me eat it, and then I will give you my blessing.” So Jacob took the food to his father, and Isaac ate it. He also drank the wine that Jacob served him. 26 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come a little closer and kiss me, my son.” 27 So Jacob went over and kissed him. And when Isaac caught the smell of his clothes, he was finally convinced, and he blessed his son. He said, “Ah! The smell of my son is like the smell of the outdoors, which the Lord has blessed! 28 “From the dew of heaven and the richness of the earth, may God always give you abundant harvests of grain and bountiful new wine. 29 May many nations become your servants, and may they bow down to you. May you be the master over your brothers, and may your mother’s sons bow down to you. All who curse you will be cursed, and all who bless you will be blessed.” 30 As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and almost before Jacob had left his father, Esau returned from his hunt. 31 Esau prepared a delicious meal and brought it to his father. Then he said, “Sit up, my father, and eat my wild game so you can give me your blessing.” 32 But Isaac asked him, “Who are you?” Esau replied, “It’s your son, your firstborn son, Esau.” 33 Isaac began to tremble uncontrollably and said, “Then who just served me wild game? I have already eaten it, and I blessed him just before you came. And yes, that blessing must stand!” 34 When Esau heard his father’s words, he let out a loud and bitter cry. “Oh my father, what about me? Bless me, too!” he begged. 35 But Isaac said, “Your brother was here, and he tricked me. He has taken away your blessing.” 36 Esau exclaimed, “No wonder his name is Jacob, for now he has cheated me twice. First he took my rights as the firstborn, and now he has stolen my blessing. Oh, haven’t you saved even one blessing for me?” 37 Isaac said to Esau, “I have made Jacob your master and have declared that all his brothers will be his servants. I have guaranteed him an abundance of grain and wine — what is left for me to give you, my son?” 38 Esau pleaded, “But do you have only one blessing? Oh my father, bless me, too!” Then Esau broke down and wept. 39 Finally, his father, Isaac, said to him, “You will live away from the richness of the earth, and away from the dew of the heaven above. 40 You will live by your sword, and you will serve your brother. But when you decide to break free, you will shake his yoke from your neck.” 41 From that time on, Esau hated Jacob because their father had given Jacob the blessing. And Esau began to scheme: “I will soon be mourning my father’s death. Then I will kill my brother, Jacob.” 42 But Rebekah heard about Esau’s plans. So she sent for Jacob and told him, “Listen, Esau is consoling himself by plotting to kill you. 43 So listen carefully, my son. Get ready and flee to my brother, Laban, in Haren. 44 Stay there with him until your brother cools off. 45 When he calms down and forgets what you have done to him, I will send for you to come back. Why should I lose both of you in one day?”” (Genesis 27:1-45 NLT)
So there’s a strained relationship between the two brothers — to say the least, right? And though they do have some reconciliation later on — as their father approaches death — things are never really great between the two brothers. And — eventually — both of them have families of their own — thus the two nations are born. And these two nations — made up of families related to one another — play out a similar strained relationship that Jacob and Esau had with each other.
We’ve looked at Jacob and Esau’s relationship — but here’s a quick example of the relationship between their ancestors. Just after the Exodus — about about 400 years or so after Jacob and Esau lived — just after the Exodus story where God used Moses to rescue the Israelites out of their slavery in Egypt — the people of God are wandering in the wilderness. And look at what happens when they come across their relatives — the Edomites.
“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. 15 Our ancestors went down to Egypt, and we lived there a long time, and we and our ancestors were brutally mistreated by the Egyptians. 16 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. 17 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.” 18 But the king of Edom said, “Stay out of my land, or I will meet you with an army!” 19 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.” 20 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. 21 Because Edom refused to allow Israel to pass through their country, Israel was forced to turn around.” (Numbers 20:14-20 NLT)
So the Edomites are unwilling to help their relatives escape as they flee from Egypt. Later in history — after the Israelites have split into two nations — the nations of Israel and Judah — Israel will be conquered by the Assyrians. We saw mention of this in the book of Amos last week. And you may remember that Edom was one of the nations that God spoke judgment against because they participated in plundering the cities and abusing the people — their relatives! — after the invasion. And here — in Obadiah — we find similar judgment language against the people of Edom — but not it’s because of their actions against the people of Judah.
So that’s the relational conflict going on.
Now the book of Obadiah can be divided into two parts. Verses 1 to 14 focus on the accusations against the Edomites — which we’ll look at in a moment — and verses 15 to 21 focus on the Day of the Lord for all nations — and this Day of the Lord keeps coming up again and again in the Minor Prophets — as you’ve probably noticed. Now the second half of the book does contain a bit of a surprise — as the focus goes from the judgment of one nation — the Edomites — to the judgment of all nations that suffer from the same thing that the Edomites do — pride.
But the book doesn’t end on a depressing note — which might be hard to believe. Much like the two books that come just before Obadiah — Joel and Amos — this book ends on a note of hope. In Joel we find the promise that, “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved...” (Joel 2:32a, NLT) And in Amos we read of God’s promise to restore the line of David — a King will rule once more — but under this new King all nations will be part of God’s Kingdom.
And Obadiah ends with these hope filled words. “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 1:21, NLT) One day the Lord will be their King.
So with that background, let’s turn to our passage in Obadiah — to discover a way to find Jesus — both here — and in all of the Bible. Let’s begin in verse 1.
“The vision of Obadiah. Thus says the Lord God concerning Edom: We have heard a report from the Lord, and a messenger has been sent among the nations: "Rise up! Let us rise against her for battle!" 2 Behold, I will make you small among the nations; you shall be utterly despised. 3 The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rock, in your lofty dwelling, who say in your heart, "Who will bring me down to the ground?" 4 Though you soar aloft like the eagle, though your nest is set among the stars, from there I will bring you down, declares the Lord. 5 If thieves came to you, if plunderers came by night — how you have been destroyed! — would they not steal only enough for themselves? If grape gatherers came to you, would they not leave gleanings? 6 How Esau has been pillaged, his treasures sought out! 7 All your allies have driven you to your border; those at peace with you have deceived you; they have prevailed against you; those who eat your bread have set a trap beneath you — you have no understanding. 8 Will I not on that day, declares the Lord, destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of Mount Esau? 9 And your mighty men shall be dismayed, O Tay-man, so that every man from Mount Esau will be cut off by slaughter. 10 Because of the violence done to your brother Jacob, shame shall cover you, and you shall be cut off forever. 11 On the day that you stood aloof, on the day that strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were like one of them. 12 But do not gloat over the day of your brother in the day of his misfortune; do not rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their ruin; do not boast in the day of distress. 13 Do not enter the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; do not gloat over his disaster in the day of his calamity; do not loot his wealth in the day of his calamity. 14 Do not stand at the crossroads to cut off his fugitives; do not hand over his survivors in the day of distress.” (Obadiah 1:1-14 ESV)
In our culture, pride has been elevated to a virtue. We’re encouraged to take pride in our work, to take pride in our families, to take pride in our finances and material possessions — even to take pride in our sexual orientation. Pride is the way some are responding to the bans being issued by our government — “no one’s gonna tell me what I can or can’t do.” Pride is what’s driving some — who are less vulnerable — to act invincible right now — potentially spreading a virus to those who are vulnerable.
Now here’s the fine line with pride. It’s not a bad thing to feel like you’ve accomplished something that you’ve worked hard for. But we must be cautious in making a virtue out of the sin of pride.
And here’s the reason why: The gospel. You see, in the gospel we come face to face with God becoming man in order to die on a cross. And that should shape our understanding of both what it means to accomplish something truly great and how to do so humbly. And in the Bible, pride is called a sin. And there’s no way to redeem a sinful vice simply because our culture calls it a virtue — calling sin a virtue doesn’t make it any less sinful. So — instead — we’re to embrace the virtue of humble obedience — humbly obeying Jesus — a freedom from pride that he’s made possible by humbly serving us in his life, death, and resurrection.
Now pride can show up in our lives in so many different ways — and many of them are very subtle and so natural to us — that we don’t even notice them. For example, think of how our culture defines being good or bad. “Well I know I’m not perfect, but I’m not as bad as my neighbor, or co-worker, or whoever.” That’s so prevalent in our culture and that kind of thinking is sinful because it’s prideful.
Pride shows itself in how we celebrate the downfall of others — we enjoy it when others fail. They could be someone from the other political party — who doesn’t get elected — or a coworker you can’t stand — who doesn’t get the promotion — or that straight A student who keeps ruining the grading curve — and they finally don’t ace the test. We have this tendency — don’t we — of taking joy in seeing others fail. And that’s because of pride — we feel superior when we see others fail.
Now among Christians, pride subtly sneaks into our lives as we compare ourselves to other Christians who aren’t putting as much effort into their faith as we are. You know, those Christians who don’t read their Bibles like you do, or serve like you do, or give like you do, and so on. Those things aren’t bad — but using them to elevate yourself above others is.
And pride inevitably leads us further away from — and not closer — to God. For example, in our pride, we expect that Jesus must love us even if we ignore his commands. We think we can do whatever we want, whenever we want, however we want, and Jesus must love us — regardless. And that kind of thinking is built on pride. And pride — well it comes — not just before a fall. Pride comes before the eternal fall.
And that’s what we find in Obadiah — that pride comes before the eternal fall — and not just for the Edomites — but for anyone. But there is hope — which is how we’ll find Jesus.
So let’s go back to our verses and quickly see how our sin of pride can help us to find Jesus. Back to verse 1.
“The vision of Obadiah. Thus says the Lord God concerning Edom:
Though — depending on the time period — Assyria or Babylon are the major national powers — neither are mentioned. Edom is the antagonist of God’s people. Blood relatives — fellow descendants of Abraham — they’re the ones causing trouble for God’s people.
We have heard a report from the Lord, and a messenger has been sent among the nations: "Rise up! Let us rise against her for battle!" 2 Behold, I will make you small among the nations; you shall be utterly despised.
God’s not necessarily going to make them small in number — God’s going to make them insignificant in the eyes of other nations — which is the last thing our pride ever wants to happen to us, isn’t it? Our pride doesn’t want us to be seen as insignificant.
3 The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rock
For all of you Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade fans, some believe the location — being referred to here — is Petra — which is the place cut out of therocks where Indiana and his pals find the Holy Grail.
you who live in the clefts of the rock in your lofty dwelling, who say in your heart, "Who will bring me down to the ground?"
What’s being described here is the actual geography of the land. The land elevates to a high plateau of roughly 5,500 feet which is where Edom was situated. And it was guarded by narrow passages through towering rocks which made it an easy place to defend. And all of this military advantage only adds to their pride and arrogance.
4 Though you soar aloft like the eagle, though your nest is set among the stars, from there I will bring you down, declares the Lord.
Just like no height nor depth nor breadth can separate God’s people from his love — no height nor depth nor breadth of defenses can protect God’s enemies from his wrath. And listen to God’s accusations against them.
5 If thieves came to you, if plunderers came by night — how you have been destroyed! — would they not steal only enough for themselves?
The implication being even thieves leave some stuff behind, but Edom hasn’t treated their relatives this way.
If grape gatherers came to you, would they not leave gleanings?
Again, they would’ve left some fruit behind — but not Edom. So look at what will happen to them.
6 How Esau has been pillaged, his treasures sought out! 7 All your allies (so these are their friends — not their enemies...) have driven you to your border; those at peace with you have deceived you; they have prevailed against you; those who eat your bread have set a trap beneath you — you have no understanding.
As you’ve treated your relatives so will your friends treat you — but only ten times worse.
8 Will I not on that day, declares the Lord, destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of Mount Esau?
Not only will your military advantage be taken from you — which you’ve prided yourself on — but God says he’s going to take away the wise men from them — these were important leaders in the nation.
9 And your mighty men shall be dismayed
If the wise men were the intellectual leaders — the mighty men are the practically skilled leaders...And your mighty men shall be dismayed…
O Tay-man (that’s another name for the nation of Edom), so that every man from Mount Esau will be cut off by slaughter.
The consequences for their pride won’t simply be an exile from the land — they will be slaughtered. And — again — here’s why…
10 Because of the violence done to your brother Jacob, shame shall cover you, and you shall be cut off forever. 11 On the day that you stood aloof, on the day that strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were like one of them.
And our passage ends with eight things that they’re commanded not to do.
12 But do not gloat over the day of your brother in the day of his misfortune; do not rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their ruin; do not boast in the day of distress. (This has the idea of “looking down” on them — a prideful attitude.) 13 Do not enter the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; do not gloat over his disaster in the day of his calamity; do not loot his wealth in the day of his calamity. 14 Do not stand at the crossroads to cut off his fugitives; do not hand over his survivors in the day of distress.” (Obadiah 1:1-14 ESV)
So all of that — standing aloof, plundering, gloating, rejoicing over the ruin of Judah, boasting in their distress — all of that was happening — not against an enemy — or even just some neighboring nation — they did all of this to their own blood relatives. That’s where their pride had led them — to boasting and rejoicing over the demise of their own relatives. And so now…
So how does this help us to find Jesus — not only here in Obadiah — but in all of the Bible? Often — in this series — I show you how something good ultimately points us to Jesus who is better. But — here — we do the opposite. We use something bad — like pride — to point us to our need for Jesus. How? By realizing that Jesus — instead of being proud — came to be a humble servant of those who think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think.
Jesus — instead of gloating over our deserved misfortune — God’s judgment of us for our sin — Jesus instead of coming to gloat — came to be killed. And as we hung him on the cross — we gloated over him — rejoicing that we’d finally brought him to his end.
And Jesus — in our days of distress — instead of boasting over us — Jesus tells us to “not let our hearts be troubled.” (John 14:1a) He tells us to “not worry” but “to seek the Kingdom of God.” (Matthew 6:31, 33) And when you think about the distress Jesus endured for us — like when he knew he was about to be killed — and was under so much distress that he sweated drops of blood as he prayed for us — well that shows us the length Jesus was willing to go to prove his love for us.
Love. Understanding his love for you is what will humble you. And growing in our love for him is what will bring an end to our prideful ways. Because when we look to Jesus, we see the foolishness in trying to compare ourselves to him. And when we see his love for others, we see how disgraceful of a response it is to his love — when we even compare ourselves to them.
And the assurance to all who receive and respond to Jesus’ love is that nothing will separate you from his love. Not even your pride. How so? Because our pride has been defeated by Jesus’ love. And we will come to see that we have no need for pride when we step into the safety and security of his eternal love for us.
Yes, pride comes before the eternal fall. But pride is defeated by the eternal love of Jesus. May you know his eternal love for you — so the sin of pride is defeated in your life. Let’s pray.
Heavenly Father, thank you for the many ways we find Jesus in the Bible. We should expect — we know — for it is telling one story — his story. And though we often find him by seeing good things that remind us of the One who is better — here — we’ve seen how even bad things — like our pride — can point us to Jesus — for he is the One who came — in love — to die for our pride.
So help us — Holy Spirit — help us all who respond to your love for us so we die to our pride and live in your love. Not comparing ourselves to others. But humbling obeying the One who came in humility to free us from our pride. Thank you that though pride does come before the eternal fall — your eternal love for us is greater than our pride. And we pray all of this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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May we all respond to the eternal love of Jesus — following him in humble obedience. Amen.
God loves you. I love you. You are sent.
You can find the notes for this sermon here.
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