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And the Bible reads, 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. Behold, I have made thee small among the heathen, thou art greatly despised. The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwelt in the cleft of the rock, whose habitation is high, that saith in his heart, who shall bring me down to the ground? Though thou exult thyself as the eagle, and thou set thy nest among the stars, then shall I bring thee down, saith the Lord. If thieves came to thee, if robbers by night, how hard thou couldst thou? Would they not have stolen till they had enough? If the grapegatherers came to thee, would they not leave some grapes? How are the things of Esau searched out? How are 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. Shall I not in that day, saith the Lord, even destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of the mouth of Esau? And the mighty man, O Taman, shall be dismayed to the end that every one of the mount of Esau may be cut off by slaughter. For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off forever. And 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 as one of them, thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother and 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, nor 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 shouldest 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. For the day of the Lord is near upon all the heathen, as thou hast done, shall be done unto thee. Thy reward shall return upon thine own head, for as ye have drunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the heathen drink continually, yea, they shall drink, they shall swallow down, they shall be as though they had not been. 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 of fire, and the house of Joseph aflame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them and devour them, and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau, for the Lord hath spoken it. And they of the south shall possess the Mount of Esau, and they of the plain of the Philistines, and they shall possess the fields of Ephraim, and the fields of Samaria, and Benjamin shall possess Gilead, and the captivity of this host of the children of Israel shall possess that of the Canaanites, even of the Sarepta, and the captivity of Jerusalem, which is in Sepharad, shall possess the cities of the south, and the saviors shall come on the Mount of Zion to judge the Mount of Esau, and the kingdoms shall be the Lord's. Let's pray. We thank you, Heavenly Father, for the book of Obadiah. Dear God, we thank you for the Bible you have given us, we thank you for the pastor you have given us. Please bless him as he preaches your word onto us tonight, in Jesus' name we pray, amen. Amen. Okay, we're going to be studying the book of Obadiah tonight, and of course there's only one chapter, so one of the reasons I wanted to do that is just to kind of finish off 2023 on a particular book and star a new book in the coming year. And so looking forward to this book tonight. Now Obadiah is a very unique book in the sense that it's one of those books that really doesn't talk about any judgment of Judah or Jerusalem, and it mainly focuses on Edom, which we know to be of course Esau, and that nation and the destruction that's going to come upon them. You have some books in the Old Testament that will do something like that. For example, you have the book of Jonah, and then of course Amos, and others that will mention the judgment that's going to come upon the heathen and the surrounding nations. But Obadiah is one of those books that only focuses on that particular judgment of that surrounding nation, and the reason why is because of the fact that, excuse me, not Obadiah, Edom essentially rejoiced over the destruction that came upon Judah and Jerusalem. And so that's one of the reasons why Edom is being mentioned here. And when you really think about what is the theme of the book of Obadiah, it is essentially what the Bible teaches in Proverbs 24 when it states, Rejoice not when thy enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth, lest the Lord see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him. And when you look at Edom in this particular era, you see that they did rejoice over the fall of Judah and Jerusalem. They were glad when they stumbled. They were glad when they were being judged by God, and it's for that reason that God turned his judgment upon them as well. Now let's talk about a couple things here. First and foremost, who is Obadiah? Here's the thing, when you look at the Old Testament, there's so many Obadiahs that are found in the Old Testament, and it's kind of hard to pinpoint who's the one responsible for writing this particular book. Of course we know probably one of the most famous mentions of Obadiah is the one who was a governor who was hiding the prophets during Elijah's ministry when he was hiding them from the persecution of Jezebel, and he was feeding them with bread and water. You have that Obadiah. You have an Obadiah that was there repairing the temple in the days of King Josiah, and then you have another Obadiah who was sent to teach the laws of God to Judah, and then probably the only other mention of Obadiah that's pretty popular is the priest that's mentioned during the time of Nehemiah. And when people speculate who this particular Obadiah is, they would say it's probably the one who was sent unto Judah to teach the laws of God, and I believe it's in 1 Chronicles chapter 17. And so at the end of the day, we don't really know, and really honestly it doesn't really matter who's the one who wrote the book of Obadiah. Now I will say this though, we do know who Edom is though, because obviously Edom is a nation that were essentially descendants from Esau, and the Bible tells us in Genesis chapter 36 verse number 8, thus dwelt Esau in Mount Seir, Esau is Edom. Now historically of course and according to the Bible we know that Esau is the brother of Jacob, and Jacob becomes Israel, Esau becomes Edom, and from these two spring up these nations that will essentially constantly have conflict one with another. And it's not because Israel has conflict with Edom, but rather because Edom is constantly provoking Israel, and constantly persecuting Israel, and so there's obviously an underlying theme to that. There is a spiritual truth to that that we're going to look at later on. Now the first part that we see here is a proclamation of judgment, and he says there in verse number 1, the vision of Obadiah, thus saith the Lord God concerning Edom, we have heard a rumor from the Lord and ambassador sent among the heathen, arise ye, let us rise up against culture in battle, behold I have made thee small among the heathen, thou art greatly despised. Now let me just mention this is that when we talk about Edom, you know this is the Edom that we're referring to or that the Bible's referring to, you think of the famous verse that says Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated, right? Found in Malachi chapter 1 as well as Romans chapter number 9. And automatically you think to yourself whoa is this referring to the people or is it referring to the nations? Well if you look at the Bible and story regarding Israel and Esau, the conclusion of the matter is that God did not hate Esau. Now they had conflict one with another of course, we know that Esau did persecute Israel to a certain extent, but at the end of their lives they really reconciled their differences as brothers. The older did serve the younger to a certain extent and we do see that Israel ended up coming to Esau to kind of reconcile with him and essentially make amends and they ended up getting along and they lived happily ever after. However, the nations that sprang forth from them ended up becoming a thorn in the side of Israel and in fact Edom, which means red, became a nation that perpetually persecuted Israel throughout the years. And if you've read through the Old Testament at any length of time, you see that they're constantly popping up and they're either siding with the enemies of Israel to fight against Israel or they themselves are fighting against Israel or they're just mistreating the Israelites when they're passing by, they're just never getting along with the Israelites. And so Esau is essentially the ancestor of Edom which means red and let me just say this is that Esau or Edom isn't referring to white people. That's an important point to make in the day and age in which we live because you have this false racist religious cult known as Israel United in Christ, these black Hebrew Israelites that will claim that every race is essentially confined themselves in one of the 12 tribes of Israel and conveniently all the black people who essentially make up a big part of this religious group, they are the real Jews apparently. And I don't remember all of them or who belongs to what tribe, I just know that Mexicans are Issachar in their eyes. So there's like Mexicans are Issachar, black people are part of their Jews so therefore they're from Judah and the common enemy are the Edomites. And so what they do is they hijack the narrative that we see in the Bible regarding the fact that the Edomites were obviously adversaries of Israel throughout the Old Testament and the fact that God greatly despised the Edomites and he destroyed them, he judged them. You know Jacob I love, Esau have I hated. And so they apply this narrative that oh the Edomites are just white people. And this is constantly what they preach. Now I haven't run into Israel United in Christ, it's been a couple of years since I have, but they're very much implacable, they're just an insufferable group that you can't really come to terms with and can't even win over to Christ because of the fact that they're so prideful. They're so arrogant, they only want to talk about race and they only want to talk about the devil, the Edomites. They hate white people. But here's the thing is that it's such a stupid point to make and it's such a dumb doctrine because of the fact that Esau, Edom, is literally red. And you say well you know you could mistake that for white, you know what I mean? There could be some truth to that. Well think about this because when you look at different people in the Bible that are described as red, a lot of them were from Judah. For example you have King David who's of Judah who the Bible says was ruddy, which means he was red. Well according to the black Hebrew Israelites he's supposed to be black. Because the black people are of the tribe of Judah but yet it says that he was ruddy which means red so therefore Esau being red is also white according to their standards. Not only that but how about Solomon? The Solomon says that he was white and ruddy. Well how does that fit if Solomon is from the tribe of Judah as well and he's supposed to be black? And so obviously their arguments completely fall apart and in my experience with them, anytime you've shown them these verses and shown them what the Bible says, at that point they just subvert the Bible even though they claim to believe it and they'll bring a King James Bible to you. They'll claim to quote from the King James Bible, they say that King James only is. But once you show them from the King James how wrong they are, at that point they put the Bible away and they use their racist talking points or whatever it may be. But what I'm saying is that they don't really have a leg to stand on. And it's a stupid doctrine that is just built off of racism and they think that they're Jews and the Edomites enslaved or whatever. But at the end of the day, nowhere in the Bible does it teach that Edomites are white. And in fact to say that the current white people of today are Edomites, it goes completely against the Bible since the Edomites were completely destroyed because we see in of course Obadiah and obviously in Malachi chapter 1 that God decimated them and they're no longer a people. So how can they still exist if God already completely judged them and they're no longer existing? It's a stupid doctrine. And it falls under this canopy of racist talking points that people try to put out there. For example, if they claim that white people are the Edomites, how does that work? Because you have another doctrine out there that claims that Italian people are like the black people of white people. Such a stupid doctrine that's put forth by Benjamin Franklin. What a stupid thing to teach. It's nonsensical, it's stupid, it's not based upon the Bible. And they'll say that Italians, what is it, Irish people too? That they're the black people of the white people? I mean it's so nonsensical because if you were to cut either one, they would all bleed red and we're all of one blood. And the reality is this, it doesn't matter what shade you are, Jesus Christ died for all shades, all colors and you know, Esau have I hated because of the fact that he hates those who hate the Lord. And that's a sermon for another dame, but we know that Edom is not the white people. So you white folks in our church, you're good to go, alright? You are actually Jews, you're not Edomites. This chapter's not about you, okay? So you can stop tensing up a little bit and worry that Pastor Mejia, who is the tribe of Issachar, is he going to preach against me because I'm an Edomite or something. But you're not an Edomite, for he is not a Jew which is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision outward in the flesh, but he is a Jew which is one inwardly and circumcision is that of the heart and of the spirit whose praise is not of men but of God. And so anybody who is a believer in Jesus Christ automatically becomes a spiritual Jew because of the fact that we are believers in Christ who is of the tribe of Judah, amen? And so I want to make that point that Esau, although Edom is Edom, Edom is not referring to a certain group of people, white people, whether that's the English or the Italians, it doesn't matter, okay? But they try to hijack that to teach their false doctrine. Now as I mentioned, the nation of Edom has always opposed Israel and you see this in Numbers chapter 20. Go to Numbers chapter 20 if you will, we're just going to look at an example of that. Numbers chapter 20 and verse 14, now obviously we saw that even with Esau and Jacob, that was kind of the case there where Esau persecuted Israel and we know that Israel at times behaved in a dishonest way towards Esau, but as far as their descendants are concerned, these are brethren nations that just could not get along, not because Israel didn't try to reach out to Esau, but because Esau became implacable towards Jacob, okay? Now look at verse 14 of Numbers chapter 20, look at an example here, it says that Moses sent messengers from Kadesh unto the king of Edom, thus saith thy brother Israel, thou knowest all the travail that hath befallen us, how our fathers went down into Egypt and we have dwelt in Egypt a long time and the Egyptians vexed us in our fathers. And when we cried unto the Lord, he heard our voice and sent an angel and hath brought us forth out of Egypt and behold we are in Kadesh, a city in the uttermost of thy border. Let us pass, I pray thee, through thy country, 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. So obviously Moses is respecting the borders that are established by different nations, right? Even when it comes to Edom himself, who is a brethren nation, you know, they essentially come from the same father which is Isaac and he's saying look, we're not trying to go through a way that would make you feel uncomfortable, make it seem as though we're potentially trying to start something or we'll go by the different way and we're not trying to take anything from your water, from your vineyards, we will go by the highway and so, you know, he's just asking for permission to pass through their land. Seems reasonable, verse 18, and Edom said unto him, thou shalt not pass by me, lest I come out against thee with a sword. He's like, you're not going to pass through or else I'm going to try to kill you, for no good reason, just being implacable. He says in verse 19, and the children of Israel said unto him, we will go by the highway, and if I and my cattle drink of thy water, then I will pay for it, I will only without doing anything else go through on my feet. And so he's basically saying look, we're not going to take any of your resources and if by accident any of our cattle drink of your resources, I will make sure that I make good and pay you for it. He says in verse 20, he said, thou shalt not go through, and Edom came out against them with much people and with a strong hand. Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his border, wherefore Israel turned away from him. Now go back to the book of Obadiah if you would. So we see here that from the very beginning, they've always been in opposition one toward another, and it's essentially the older brother nation rejecting the younger brother. Now what's something that we can apply to ourselves in this regard? Well you know, sometimes it's your closest in your life that won't like you. Sometimes it's people in your own family that won't like you, and for no good reason. There are instances in life where people that maybe you grow up with, brothers you have, sisters, cousins, aunts, people who love you, at one point would just completely reject you for just absolutely no reason other than the fact that you're a Christian. And you know what, with Israel, he didn't really do anything to deserve that. Israel as a nation is just kind of doing their own thing, and they're supposed to be getting along with Edom and vice versa, but Edom has this vitriol against Israel for no apparent good reason. You know that's a very common thing amongst Christians, where you could just be living a Christian life, doing that which is pleasing in the eyes of the Lord, just serving God, just working, providing for your family, going to church, soul winning, and you have people in your family who just don't like you for that reason. You know it's just like what, is there not a cause kind of thing? You know and it's just like, it's one of those things where as a Christian, no one complains when you're out in the nightclub, but when you're in church three times out of the week then there's complaint. You know what I mean? It's like, why aren't you out there on Friday nights getting drunk and committing whatever. Now you're in church, you know, it's like the complaints arise when you start living a righteous life. It's completely backwards. You know no one complains when you're out Saturday night doing whatever, they start complaining when you wake up early on Sunday morning and come to church. It's like what in the world? You know no one complains when you're dressed like the world, they complain when you put on a skirt, they complain when you put on a shirt and a tie and you start changing up your life. Why is that? For no apparent reason other than because of Jesus Christ and what the Bible says. And so this should always teach us and prepare us for the fact that you will always receive opposition from sometimes those who are closest to you. Sometimes those who are your brothers and sisters, relatives, will like you for apparent no good reason other than the fact that you're just living a Christian life, you know. And I have people like this in my personal life that you know for example I have you know brothers who are essentially blood brothers who honestly just don't like me at all. Now you may think to yourself well I can see why. You know you think to yourself you know what that makes sense though Pastor Mejia. You know I can definitely see why they don't like you. But here's the thing I'm not that bad of a guy I'm just telling you you know. And the reality is this is that a lot of these brothers I didn't really especially over the last I don't know 16 plus years I haven't lived with them, I haven't spent time with them but yet they have a vitriol against me for no apparent reason. They just don't like me. I mean can you really point to something in my life that they can point to and say well it's because of this wicked reason you know I'm not perfect but I'm trying my best to live a righteous life but you know as a Christian people will always pick out something that they don't like that they don't agree with and have some sort of animosity towards you because of it. And so you know I've learned as a Christian that sometimes people are just not going to like you just like they didn't like Jesus Christ just like they didn't like the Bible and you should expect that. Not bring it upon yourself but just expect it so that you're not defrauded you're not hurt you're not feeling you know left out when that takes place because you should expect that type of tribulation when it comes upon your life right. And realize that some people you know obviously there's people out there who will like you for a particular reason maybe you're giving them a reason not to like you okay. But there's other instances where it's just you're just living a Christian life and they don't agree with you and you know what you live rent-free in their minds and they don't like you because of it. So that's often the case there and it's important for us to realize that that's even though Edom is a brethren nation they're right next to each other for whatever reason Edom just doesn't like Israel and really you can't really point to anything in the Bible to say okay this is the reason why I can see why they don't like Israel you know it's because Israel did this to Edom. No there's absolutely zero reason whatsoever in the Bible that you can pick out and say that's the reason why it's just for no apparent reason. See jealousy we don't know but this essentially became the downfall of Edom and became a part of their destruction because when Israel fell under the judging hand of God you know Edom rejoiced over it and they participated in that judgment they were fine with you know helping and aiding others and persecuting Israel and so that became part of the reason why they ended up being judged and so that is important to note that. Now look at verse number three he says here 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 though thou exalt thyself as the eagle and though thou set thy nest among the stars thence will I bring thee down saith the Lord. So what is probably the number one thing that he's getting on him for? Pride. So the first thing he addresses is like you guys are so prideful and arrogant and what's interesting is that verse number two says I have made thee small among the heathen. So what's interesting is the fact that these people are so prideful even though really they didn't have nothing to be prideful about. It's not like they're a great nation that they've done great exploits they have great military mights or great riches. According to the Bible God made them small among the heathen and yet in spite of that which should bring humility to the people they became prideful and arrogant and what this shows us is that you know sometimes people who are prideful aren't necessarily people who are the most gifted or the most rich or whatever it may be. People can become prideful without having those things. I mean think about people who are covetous you think to yourself oh rich people all of them are covetous but sometimes poor people are covetous too. People who don't have a whole lot of money are very covetous because it doesn't necessarily require for you to have those things in order to have that sin. And so with Edom it's just like what are you prideful about you're small among the heathen you don't have any exploits. God isn't necessarily pouring his blessing upon your land in an excessive manner where you are just a testimony to the Gentiles. What is there to be prideful about? And he's telling them there the pride of thine heart hath deceived thee. So they're prideful in their heart and in fact they're saying in their hearts who shall bring me down to the ground. I mean what an arrogant statement to make. And this is not something that they're saying with their lips the Bible says that they're saying it in their heart. Which shows us what? That this is actually something that they believe. What you say with your mouth and what you say in your heart are two different things sometimes and you know sometimes people will think things that they won't say right? And so he's kind of going to the heart of the matter there and you know based upon some of these verses some would speculate and conjecture that possibly Edom was just a nation that was on a high hill that had that type of geographical location where they had high hills and such and maybe they felt that that gave them the advantage over an enemy. But you know what? God is higher than you though. And so that's why he tells them that if they exalt themselves as the eagle or set their nest among the stars God's going to still bring them down. So it doesn't matter how much money you have, how much clout you have, how popular you are, what type of possessions you have. It doesn't matter what you possess or what you have God is still able to bring you down and humble you because of your pride. And in fact you know the Bible tells us in Proverbs 16 verse 18 pride goeth before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. Proverbs 14 verse 3 says in the mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride but the lips of the wise shall preserve them. You know the Bible tells us let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall. And Edom was definitely a nation that thought that they were standing right? Like who can bring us down? Who can destroy us? It's just like well you know just name a nation and they'll do it. Because at the end of the day it's God who's working against you. And you know what we should learn from this is the fact that we should be humble okay. This should teach us humility and help us to have a humble disposition and never think more highly than we ought to think of ourselves right? And sometimes Christians because they are obedient to the Lord and they're faithful they can often you know become prideful and arrogant because they're learning the Bible, they're winning souls to Christ, you are being successful in the Christian life. You can become high minded and it's important that when you do so you humble yourself before the Lord before he has to humble you. And then realize you know God has made me small among the heathen because as big of an impact as you might be making at the end of the day we're still small among the heathen and we are nothing you know in the eyes of the world and God could essentially just with one swipe destroy your resources, destroy your possessions, take away your job, take away whatever and just leave you with nothing you understand? And so you know let Edom be a testimony unto us all that you know we need to be humble and not think in our hearts who's going to bring us down. You know we should never think about that about our church either amen. Well we're First Works Baptist Church, we're a new IFB church, we're a King James, who's going to take us down? God? How about that? You know I definitely agree that the enemies of God can't take us down but it's not because of us because we're small among the heathen. It's because of God's hand upon our church and therefore if we want God's hand to remain upon our church, humility is necessary. And making sure that we don't become high minded and arrogant and prideful. The Bible says in Proverbs 29 verse 23, a man's pride shall bring him low but honor shall uphold the humble in spirit. And humility is a great virtue in the Christian life that's necessary in order to prevent God's judgment upon your life because God hates pride. He hates pride, he hates a prideful look, he hates a haughty spirit and you know he hates it when God's people take credit for things that maybe he's doing in their lives and when they don't deflect praise to others and to God for those accomplishments. And so remain humble, reject arrogance and pride. And one of the best ways to do that is that when you succeed in a certain area, make sure you give credit to where credit is due, amen. You know give credit to those who are around you whether it's your parents, it is your church, it's the people in your church, it's your leaders and give credit to God. You know and recognize obviously it requires your effort and your discipline to reach certain successes but when you reach it make sure you deflect that praise to those who are responsible because there's no such thing as a self-made man. We are all the compilation of other men's investments upon our lives and the investment of God upon our lives, amen. And so be humble and don't be someone who thinks so highly of themselves, oh man but we know so much Bible and I have so much Bible memorized and I just know all the stories and I just you know I'm like the best soul winner here, you know you better take it down a notch before God edomizes you and humbles you, amen. You never want to be edomized because of your pride and you know when he knocks you off your high horse then you realize wow I actually was small among the heathen because I got nothing left. And so we see here how arrogant they were, they're prideful in their hearts, they are just because they're in the cleft of the rocks, their habitation is on high, they're speaking arrogance in their hearts, they're saying who can bring me down to the ground and so that should never come out of our mouths or even be in our hearts. Look at verse number four, Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the Lord. Verse five says, If thieves came to thee, if robbers by night, how art thou cut off? Would they not have stolen till they had enough? If the grapegatherers came to thee, would they not leave some grapes? Now what does this mean? He's basically showing them how bad he's going to judge them. Okay is my mic coming off and on by the way, no it's good. I'm like paranoid now because of our mics, it's been messing up lately. What is he saying here, well what he's implying is that his judgment is going to be severe upon them because he's basically saying you know if a thief came to you they're only going to take what they need, right. In other words, they're going to stop at some point, right. And he's even saying look if grapegatherers came, they're going to leave some grapes behind. When someone gleans at a harvest, you know obviously especially in the Bible they will leave the corners of the field for the poor needy, right. And what he's saying here is that I'm not going to do that. When I judge you there's not going to be anything left. You know the thief will take until they've had enough, I'm just going to keep going is what he's saying. The grapegatherers are going to leave some grapes behind, he's saying I'm not going to leave anything behind. In other words, he's going to make a thorough destruction out of Edom to the point where there's just not going to exist anymore. That's how angry he is with Edom. He says in verse 6, how are the things of Esau searched out? How are 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. Now what is he saying there? You know people who you're depending on, you know your associates, the surrounding nations that you make Confederacy with, they're going to turn on you. You're going to learn what treachery is because people are going to turn on you. And you know sometimes people can become dependent on other people, right. You know Christians can become dependent on a political party. You know people can be dependent on a particular person for their successes but you know sometimes especially if you're not right with God, God can remove those people or cause them to turn on you so that you no longer succeed, right. I mean there's times when throughout the years of ministry I've heard of people getting out of church and you know because they find some girl or some guy out there and they're just going to live their best life now and you know man they got this one person, you know they're going to live happily ever after and all of a sudden the heart of that person just turns on them. You know they were confederate with that person, that person was going to make them happy, now it's like their worst enemy. Because of the fact that the heart of the king is in the hand of the Lord and has rivers of water he turned it to where the survey he will and so God can turn the hearts of those that you're depending on you know to turn against you so he's telling them their closest allies are going to turn on them. He's basically removing any type of aid that they would potentially have and remove their faith in every area just to tell them like you're dealing with me and me only and I'm going to destroy you and so they're going to experience treachery. Now let me read to you from Jeremiah 49 because Jeremiah 49 actually has this quote and some have speculated whether or wondered if Jeremiah is quoting Obadiah or is Obadiah quoting Jeremiah because it's almost verbatim of what he's saying here. Let me read this to you it says in verse number 7 it says concerning Edom thus saith the Lord of hosts is wisdom no more entombment? Is counsel perish from the prudent? Is their wisdom vanished? Lee ye turn back dwell deep O inhabitants of Dedan for I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him the time that I will visit him if great gatherers come to thee would they not leave some gleaning grapes if thieves by night they will destroy till they have enough but I have made Esau bare I have uncovered his secret places and he shall not be able to hide himself his seed is spoiled and his brethren his neighbors and he is not. Now I don't think it matters who quoted who what I think matters is the fact that this judgment was a long time coming okay and this is something that God has felt for a very long time and a judgment that he pronounced quite I mean through two great prophets and so obviously Edom had a chance to what to repent to get right with him you know hearing such a judgment should cause them to say you know I'm going to change my ways and a principle that we can learn there is that when you hear judgment coming out of my mouth of the preaching of God's word and maybe you're not right with God you don't know if you have till next Sunday to kind of get that right. God's not promising you anything. God doesn't promise us another day you know and so it's the goodness and forbearance of God that should lead us into repentance Romans chapter 2 amen and so you know when when that judgment comes get right with God you're like man are you preaching against me yes take it and change and flee from the wrath to come amen and so that is referring to God's judgment there he's expressing that because of their pride and he's saying that he's going to be thorough in his judgment look at verse number nine it says here and the mighty men of Timon shall be dismayed to the end that every one of the mount of Esau may be cut off by slaughter for thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee and thou shall be cut off forever. So here he's obviously saying that they're going to be destroyed they're not going to dwell on the land and he's talking about the violence that he's done towards his brother Jacob now again it's kind of hard to pinpoint when that took place because they just were always in opposition towards Jacob and you can point to various times throughout the Old Testament where they were in opposition and they mistreated them but here's one second Chronicles 28 verse 17 says for again the Edomites had come and smitten Judah and carried away captives now look what it says in verse 11 in the day that thou stoodest on the other side in the day that the strangers carried away captive his forces and foreigners entered into his gates and cast lots upon Jerusalem even thou wast as one of them. So two things here first and foremost we see that they're standing on the other side as their brethren are being persecuted which is really bad because they're not doing anything about it right and secondly there's even times when they participated in that captivity as well and here's a good verse for that look at Proverbs oh you don't have to turn to let me read to you Proverbs 24 verse 11 says this if thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn into death and those that are ready to be slain if thou sayest behold we knew it not doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it and he that keepeth thy soul doth not he know it and shall not he render to every man according to his works. So you think of the instances maybe in the history of Edom where they were witnesses to destruction that was coming upon Jerusalem or Israel via some other nation and they just stood there and did nothing and you think of the Levi and the priest of the New Testament that essentially saw the man who was beaten and they stole his goods and they left him for dead and they did nothing about it it took the Samaritan to come and actually put him on his ass and put him in the inn and actually take care of him and help him to recover but you know what the priest and the Levites did nothing about it you know and this is a principle for us that we can't be the type of people that says hear no evil speak no evil see no evil right. If we see an instance where someone's life's in danger you know you can't be like well you know that's none of my business or whatever no read Proverbs 24. If you forbear to deliver them that are drawn into death you know God's going to ponder your heart to see if that's really true and I'll give you an example of this and I'm no hero but you know there's been instances where I felt like people were in danger and this verse kind of tugs in my heart and you know I'm placed in a position where it's like am I going to do something or I'm not and you know I think it was on Christmas Eve we're going home we're driving home and I hit the corner where I live I was with my family in the van and there's a bar on the corner of our house okay so you always have like random people there especially late at night you know we fell a ship here pretty late at night so it was getting pretty late I don't know if it was like 11, 11, 13 I don't know when we left it was like a dream it was kind of fuzzy because of all the sugar that we had but you know we're coming home and I just see two people walking on the street I'm like and it wasn't anything abnormal because I typically see that people just leaving the bar and so we're driving and as I'm driving by I look I just recognize one of the people and they're one of my neighbors with some random dude there's a lady with a random dude and I kept driving I was like wait a minute I was like was that her neighbor and we come back and it's just like what are you doing and the guy's like oh do you know her I'm like yeah that's my neighbor he goes oh yeah she just kind of showed up I was just trying to take her home you know and I was just like well that's my neighbor I'll take her and so he had her dog and the thing is she was disoriented and I don't know if someone slipped or something but she was definitely not herself she was completely out of her mind she couldn't focus she didn't know what she was doing so I got out of the car I told my wife to you know drive and I said just drive next to me and I took the dog and I said I'll take it from here because she lives by us okay and so she had mentioned some things and the authorities got involved because she felt like someone did something to her but at the end of the day I thought to myself you know good thing I fellowshiped that late at church because I came around the corner just at the right time because at the end of the day if we came any later or any sooner he could have just taken her home and who knows what would have happened or how about I was just this person this this you know had bystander apathy as they call it where I just see her and I'm just like well that's her problem that's what she gets for going to the bar and whatever that's not my but I'm not going to get involved you know what if something would have happened and so you know it's important for us to realize that don't be an Edomite and just look afar off and just say you know I'm not going to get him you know obviously if someone's life's in danger you should do something about it that is a Christian virtue amen you know some Christians getting jumped out there you better jump in amen and don't say well I'm a pacifist you know I just I'm about turning the other cheek well if I'm defending one of my brethren I'm for turning the other cheek to do a spinning back fist amen turning all the way around you know I'm not for fighting I'm not for violence but you know what I believe the Bible requires for us to defend the innocent especially if someone is in danger it is a Christian virtue to sacrifice ourselves in order to help others who are in need if they're if they're drawn unto death amen and so don't be an Edomite in that area and you know what's worse is that they actually participated it to participated in the violence as well okay and look what it says in verse 12 it says but thou shouldest 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 so when they are in distress they're in anguish they're being taken in captivity what does Edom do they're throwing a party they rejoice and they're happy about it now what does this teach us you know we should love our enemies we cannot help but have enemies in our life that's just a way of life not even just the way of Christians just a way of life as human beings everyone's gonna have some sort of enemy and obviously it's even more true when it comes to being a Christian right when it comes to being a Christian you know obviously the Bible teaches us that as much as lies within us we should live peaceably with all men sometimes that's just not possible okay because everyone has differences of opinion everyone is wired differently but at the end of the day what God teaches us in Matthew chapter 5 is that we should love our enemies okay and you know there's people in your life or maybe not necessarily in your immediate circle just people in your life sphere I don't know what you call it you know people that you know who you might just not like at all and you know what I got people like that too I got a lot of people like that okay and people who are just my enemies because of the fact that you know whether it's because of my beliefs or because they just don't like me for whatever reason and you know this is something I have to constantly remind myself of to make sure that I don't become callous towards this principle is that if God were to judge that individual we're not talking about reprobates by the way okay let me just make that very clear okay so don't come at me but rapper I know we're not talking that's that's like another that's that's over there okay we're talking about enemies just enemies in general we need to be careful that we don't rejoice when our enemy fallen okay and become the type of person where we speak proudly in the day of their distress we're not talking about false prophets and people who are evil and wicked and reprobate we're talking about individuals who just don't get along with us for whatever reason you know if they have a day of distress and a calamity and it could be that God is judging them God warns us not to rejoice over that stuff you know and you know I even have pastors who we don't necessarily get along with and I'm definitely not best friends with them and we probably will never be friends but you know if calamity comes upon them I cannot rejoice over that you know I've heard even of reports of pastors who didn't get along with us or don't like me or whatever you know having church splits and and you know their attendance is died out I don't rejoice over that I'm not gonna rejoice over it because you know that's not my place and so I'm gonna love my enemy and you said well does that mean you like them no I still know I don't I don't like them I'm a human being my friend yeah and so but it also means that and you said well do you love them of course I love them but liking someone loving them are two different things though you know I mean they can be related but you can love someone and not like them okay I don't rejoice over that I pray for them and you know I hope that they can recover because that's the right thing to do not like these Edomites that their brethren nation is in trouble and they just mistreat them they're throwing a party I mean how would that make you feel you know it's a terrible thing and so that being said look at verse 13 but you know I feel like I need to make myself very clear though because you know there are pastors out there who do deserve whatever judgment is coming upon them because of their wickedness and maybe they're doing wrong and you know what we need to read we need to rejoice over the God's judgments upon their life if some innocent person is being affected right but you know just because you don't like them or whatever it's not right to rejoice over their calamity verse 13 says thou shouldest not have entered into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity yea that 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 man these people are evil so aside from the fact that they're rejoicing they're throwing a party because you know they're being judged then they're just like all right let's see what we can get from you know their calamity they're stealing their stuff they're going into their land taking their substance looking upon their affliction showing no mercy no compassion whatsoever it's wicked but it gets worse it gets worse and the reason I'm emphasizing this is because I want us to understand why God was justified in just eradicating the Edomites sometimes you're just like man you know the God kind of overdo it here or what and no he didn't God never overdoes it for an unjustified reason you know this is they push them over the edge look what it says in verse 14 neither shouldest thou have stood in the crossway to cut off those of his that did escape neither shouldest have delivered up those of his of his that did remain in the day of his distress so people who escaped from the enemy Israelized they were able to recover and survive the Edomites were like waiting for them so that they can kill them or turn them into that foreign nation it's wicked so it's like they're escaping they're getting away from the sword and then here come the Edomites ready to turn them in to the authorities ready to just backstab them and do them dirty I that's super wicked they're lying in wait right they're privately lying in wait for their brethren talk about nations here in order to destroy them and so when you look at all these that you know from verses 12 to verses 14 where God is saying you shouldn't have done this you can see why he would destroy them because these people are just an implacable just void of compassion void of love for their brethren and it's just like why should even why should eat them even exist they're not like you know they're not part they're not necessarily providing anything useful to this world they're a thorn in the side of Israel they seem to be just a wicked people who just rejoice over the fall of a righteous individual so God is like you know I'm just gonna take you out so they're laying hand on their substance they're gleaning those who have survived and therefore God God's judgment is gonna come upon them verse 15 says for the day of the Lord hey we're familiar with that phrase right the day of the Lord is synonymous with what judgment good job class I know it's like 810 and hey you're you're sharp as a sharp as a marble amen for the day of the Lord is near upon all the heathen as thou has done it shall be done into thee thy reward shall return upon thine own head isn't that an interesting verse there he says that the day of the Lord is gonna come upon them which means judgment and he's basically teaching them the principle of sowing and reaping now go with me but if you would to 1st Peter chapter 4 1st Peter chapter 4 hold your place here in Obadiah we're almost done because we're kind of going somewhere with this regarding the Edomites okay and I'm gonna conclude it with that with the with a particular thought here because these last couple verses really are just talking about the completion of Edom's judgment and he says that the day of the Lord is gonna come upon them it's near upon all the heathen and he's gonna reward them upon their own head look at 1st Peter 4 verse 17 it says for the time has come that judgment must begin at the house of God now if we're to compare that to what's going on in Obadiah it's referring to Judah and Jerusalem right they were judged judgment came and began at the house of God it says and if it first begin at us what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God and if the righteous scarcely be saved where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear what is it showing us it shows us that you know yeah people might rejoice over the judgment that comes upon God's people but just look at how severely God would judge or allow God's people to be judged and then just kind of multiply that for the unsaved for those who obey not the gospel of God because if God is judging Judah and Jerusalem in such a way in Obadiah's day then that means Edom's judgment is gonna be twice as much twice as severe twice as destructive now go to Romans chapter 9 Romans chapter number 9 let me finish finish reading here in Obadiah in verse number 16 it says for as you have drunk upon my holy mountain so shall all the heathen drink continually yea they shall drink and they shall swallow down and they shall be as though thou has not been 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 aflame and the house of Esau for stubble and they shall kindle in them and devour them and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau for the Lord hath spoken it and they of the south shall possess the mount of Esau and they have the plain the Philistines and they shall possess the field of Ephraim and the fields of Samara and Benjamin shall possess Gilead so obviously this is something that's taking place in the immediate future once Edom is actually judged and destroyed but when you hear the mount of the Zion the mount of the Lord what does that put in your mind it's referring to someone in the future okay which leads me to my final point is that the book of Obadiah is obviously referring to judgment upon the physical nation of Edom who persecuted Israel who rejoiced over their destruction and just kind of opposed them for no apparent good reason other than Jesus Christ right well look at Romans 9 because often when we draw parallels to the physical nation of Israel and believers we often focus on who Isaac and Ishmael right but there's also another parallel with Esau okay and Jacob says in verse 8 of Romans 9 that is they which are the children of the flesh these are not the children of God but the children of the promise are accounted for the seed it's referring to Isaac right for this is the word of promise at this time will I come and Sarah shall have a son listen to verse number 10 and not only this referring to the fact that the symbolic nature of Ishmael and Isaac are not the only representations of the New Testament unsaved Jews and believers he says not only this but when Rebecca also had conceived by one even by our father Isaac for the children not being not yet born neither having done any good or evil that the purpose of God according to the election might stand not of works but of him that calleth it was said unto her the elder shall serve the younger referring to Jacob and Esau of course verse 13 as it is written Jacob have I loved but Esau have I hated now that is not an isolated independent thought from the rest of the chapter that is in direct context to believers and Jews so just as he's drawing the parallel between Ishmael and Isaac Isaac representing believers Ishmael representing unsaved people more specifically the Jews who are children of the flesh he proceeds to give a further illustration of the children of Rebecca referring to who Jacob and Esau and he says Jacob have I loved but Esau have I hated. Why is that? Well because of the fact that Esau also represents unsaved Jews who crucified the Lord Jesus Christ and it's no wonder that he says in Revelation chapter 3 that I will make them to come before thy feet and to show that I have loved thee referring to Jews and believers okay and so what is the purpose of Obadiah was to show us this other underlying future event or relationship between Jacob and Esau that represents believers and non-believers and more specifically the Jews okay go back to Obadiah and we know that at the end of the three and a half years when the day of the Lord takes place it's when Israel all Israel shall be saved why because Esau is removed and that's what he says that Israel shall inhabit Esau shall be stubble and then the the the land of Esau shall be inhabited by Israel shall be inhabited by Judah and Jerusalem okay verse 20 says the captivity of this host of the children of Israel shall possess that of the Canaanites even unto Sarepta and the captivity of Jerusalem which is in Shepharad shall possess the cities of the south and Savior shall come up on Mount Zion to judge the Mount of Esau and the kingdom shall be the Lord's now verse 21 you know that's pretty interesting right that it says Savior's but I believe what it's actually referring to when it talks about these saviors actually referring to the 12 apostles okay because it says that the Savior shall come up on Mount Zion which is in Jerusalem to judge the Mount of Esau and the kingdom shall be the Lord's this is essentially the 12 disciples judging the 12 tribes of Israel in Mount Zion and so a great book here to drive home the point that don't ever become prideful don't be like Esau the Edomites who represent unsaved Jews who are prideful of just being Jews I mean they're still prideful about being Jews right even though there are small people you see the parallels there even though there are small people and they really don't have anything to boast about because there is no covenant with them they're boasting they're so lofty and proud there you know they who's gonna take us down and all these things and God is saying you shall be brought down low he's gonna take them down a notch and he says also because of their persecution of Israel just as the New Testament Jews persecuted believers and so God is going to judge them for that and so you know the main principles that we can learn here is stay humble you know be a humble person have humility in your family spread humility in our church not false humility but be humble right and never think well you know I'm just great I'm just I'm God's gift to this church pastor is so lucky to have me as a member here so I'll give you that me and my family are here oh yeah what would they ever what would the new IFB do without me if I left the church would fall apart never have that attitude never become high minded and proud and haughty make sure you remain humble in the sight of the Lord and he shall lift you up the Bible says right and then of course the underlying meaning here is the fact that he's gonna decimate Jews according to the flesh and at which point only Israel the Israel of God will be saved you know he's gonna restore them and so that's it let's pray father we thank you so much for your word and thank you for the book of Obadiah what a powerful reminder to us all Lord and many Christians struggle with many different sins but I think that one that is common unto all is pride and I pray that you'd help us to be humble in our eyes Lord and not to think of ourselves more highly than we ought to think to deflect praise to those who have invested in our life and unto you Lord and I pray that you continue to use our church and continue to bless our church in the new year as we continue to invest our efforts into getting people saved and teaching them the ways of the Lord and teaching them in the ways of righteousness Lord and Lord help us to continue to be humble and when we become prideful may we think about Obadiah's message may we think about Edom and I pray that you bless us as we go home Lord keep us safe and bring us back here safely on Sunday we love you we thank you pray these things in Jesus name Amen Jesus keep me near the cross there a precious fountain free to all a healing stream flows from Calvary's mountain in the cross in the cross be my glory ever till my raptured soul shall find rest beyond the river near the cross a trembling soul love and mercy found me there the bride and morning star sheds its beams around me then the cross and the cross be my glory ever till my raptured soul shall find rest beyond the river near the cross O Lamb of God bring it scenes before me help me walk from day to day with its shadows or me in the cross in the cross be my glory ever till my raptured soul shall find rest beyond the river near the cross I'll watch and wait hoping trusting ever till I reach the golden strand just beyond the river in the cross in the cross be my glory ever till my raptured soul shall find rest beyond the river amen wonderful singing you are dismissed