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Book of Obadiah and we are continuing our series through the prophets and we're in the minor prophets and I actually did a whole sermon on Obadiah but it's been three years so actually a lot of you weren't even here when I did that sermon so I don't want to just skip over and be like well I've already done a sermon on that. Same thing with Nahum, I went chapter by chapter through the book of Nahum but I'll still hit on the prophet Nahum when we get there. But this is a small book, obviously it's one chapter, 21 verses, but it's a packed book. And you may read through it and you're like what is this talking about, where is this at, what's going on? But I first want to start off with that there's actually two prophets called Obadiah. I don't believe it's the same prophet but go back to, or go to 1 Kings chapter 18 and I want to show you another prophet named Obadiah and I don't believe this is the same prophet and I'm going to give you some reasons why. First of all, I do believe that the minor prophets are in chronological order and this Obadiah was back in Elijah's day and King Ahab's day. That would be way before Isaiah and all that and that would be way before any of the other minor prophets but also just what's being talked about here as far as why Edom is going to be destroyed is stuff that I don't believe has happened yet from 1 Kings chapter 18. So, but I want you to see Obadiah, this other Obadiah because we're kind of dealing with the prophets and there's actually two Obadiahs. Notice in 1 Kings chapter 18 verse one it says it came to pass after many days that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year saying go, show thyself unto Ahab and I will send rain upon the earth and Elijah went to show himself unto Ahab and there was a sore famine in Samaria. And Ahab called Obadiah which was the governor of his house, now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly for it was so when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord that Obadiah took 100 prophets and hid them by 50 in a cave and fed them with bread and water. So, I mean you could say well maybe he wasn't a prophet, he was just helping out other prophets and I can understand that argument but at the same time I believe he was obviously with these prophets and all that. Verse five, so he hides these prophets from Jezebel and it says in verse five it says Ahab said unto Obadiah, go into the land, unto all the fountains of water, unto all brooks, peradventure we find grass to save the horses and mules alive and that we lose not all the beasts. So they divided the land between them to pass through it out, throughout it and Ahab went one way by himself and Obadiah went another way by himself and as Obadiah was in the way, behold Elijah met him and he knew him and fell on his face and said, art thou that my Lord Elijah? And he answered him, I am, go tell thy Lord, behold Elijah is here. Anna, I want you to sit up, get in your chair right and sit up straight and look at me. That's for Anna only, no one else. Now the first thing that he says here is he's like, tell Ahab that I'm here and if you remember Elijah's kind of roaming around, there's different things that are going on. I don't want to really get into the story of Elijah but notice Obadiah's answer says, and he said, what have I sinned that thou wouldest deliver thy servant into the hand of Ahab to slay me? Okay, now he's gonna explain this but basically what it comes down to is that if I go tell Ahab that you're here and then he comes and you're not here, then he's gonna slay me, okay? And to give you the short of it, notice in verse 15, it says, and Elijah said, as the Lord of hosts liveth before whom I stand, I will surely show myself unto him today. So he's basically saying, hey, I'm going to show myself, I'm not gonna just flee away or just go be caught up by the Spirit somewhere else. And notice verse 16 because Obadiah is a great man because he, first of all, hid these 100 prophets by 50s in a cave to keep from the wrath of Jezebel. But in verse 16, it says, so Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him, okay? So this man Obadiah, first of all, he saves 100 prophets from being killed by Jezebel but then he's saying basically, you know what? We know the way that you are, Elijah. You're like in one place at one point and then you're just over somewhere else so I'm gonna go in and tell him that you're here but then you're gonna go flee off somewhere else or you're gonna go somewhere else and then I'm gonna be put to death because the king's gonna be like, you told me he was here, he wasn't here, you're gonna die. But he basically trusted in the Lord and took Elijah at his word that he's gonna be there and he told him. So that's the type of man Obadiah was. So Obadiah, that Obadiah was a good man but I don't believe it's the same person you're dealing with in the book of Obadiah. Go back to the book of Obadiah. So I'm gonna give you my reasonings why I believe this Obadiah is actually later on, okay? So if you run into somebody that says, I believe this is the same Obadiah, you know, whatever, it's not like that big of a deal but I think it's pretty clear that you're dealing with an Obadiah that's in the future under other kings. So in Obadiah one and verse one, we see what the book is about. It says, the vision of Obadiah, thus said the Lord God, concerning Edom. So what's this about? It's about Edom. This whole chapter, whole book is about 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. So they're basically talking about how Edom is gonna be taken out, like basically these nations are gonna come up and go against Edom. And now what is Edom, who is Edom? So what are we dealing with here? Well, Edom is Esau. So Esau was the brother of Jacob and Jacob was renamed Israel. So you had Jacob and Esau and they were both renamed. And so Israel was actually Jacob's name. He just went by Israel after he wrestled with the angel, remember? Now go to Genesis chapter 25 because this is important to know that when you're talking about Edom and then you go through this chapter and you're dealing with this dichotomy of Edom and Israel and there's an application here that is something that's gonna be in the near future that's gonna happen to that physical nation of Edom but there is also an allegory here and I go back. Okay, go use the potty. All right. We're trying something different here as far as her being up here and me watching her. So and her not going to the mother baby room. So bear with me everybody as I deal with that. So but all that to say is that there's obviously there's a dichotomy here dealing with Esau and Jacob on a spiritual level as well. Okay, so I wanna hit on both of those, the physical nation of Edom that they're gonna be destroyed for a certain reason but then how that applies in a spiritual realm as well. So in Genesis chapter 25 verse 29, it says, and Jacob sawed potage and Esau came from the field and he was faint and Esau said to Jacob, feed me I pray thee with the same red potage for I am faint, therefore was his name called Edom. Okay, so why was his name called Edom? Because he was faint. Why was Jacob renamed Israel? Because as a prince, thou has power with God. See the extreme polar opposite difference between those two names? So Edom's not exactly a blessing of a name, okay. Israel was, Israel was an upgrade because Jacob meant he was a supplanter and Israel meant that he as a prince had power with God and Edom is meaning that he's faint. Now go to Genesis chapter 36, okay. If you didn't get that Esau is Edom, it's literally gonna say that here in Genesis 36. Genesis 36 and verse eight, it says, thus dwelt Esau and Mount Seir, Esau is Edom and these are the generations of Esau, the father of the Edomites and Mount Seir, okay. So Mount Seir, you're gonna see that throughout the Old Testament. So this is a good lesson just to kinda hold on that Edom comes from Esau and where do they dwell? Mount Seir, okay. You think of Jerusalem, Mount Zion, you know, with Israel and all that, but then you think of Mount Seir with Edom and Esau is Edom, okay. Just as much as Jacob is Israel. And we're talking about the physical people here at this point. So what is this book physically talking about? What's the main, you know, what is he trying to get across here? Because there's an actual punishment that's gonna be done against Edom. Of course, it's already happened, but at this point it hadn't happened yet, so he's prophesying about it. Is the fact that Edom is going to be punished for their treatment of Judah when Judah was afflicted, okay. Now, I've heard people say that, well, I believe this is a prophecy about how Judah's gonna be taken out by the Babylonians. Okay. And I don't believe that's the case because basically the way you have to understand this is that Obadiah is writing this as if this has already happened, right. They'd already, you know, basically distressed Judah and Jerusalem and basically, you know, done them wrong. Okay. So if that's the case, if we're talking about Babylonian, you know, captivity, then that means Obadiah is all the way, you know, past the captivity. He's like in the captivity or past the captivity. Does that make sense? And in the timeline here, that would make sense. And you say, well, what is this talking about? Well, let's first of all see why Edom's being punished. In Obadiah 1, verse 10, it says, "'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, "'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. "'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. "'Thou 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 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.'" So basically, Judah is being distressed, they're being taken captive, all this stuff's going on. And obviously, in your mind, you're thinking Babylonian captivity, because that's the big captivity, but there's other times that Judah was taken captive and Jerusalem and all this stuff on a lower scale, because obviously Babylonian captivity, that's a big scale, to the point where the temple was destroyed and everything was broken down, that was, yeah, that's captivity. But there's other times that this happened. Go to 2 Chronicles, chapter 21, and during, and this actually helps explain, you know, King Ahaziah. So King Ahaziah is the king of Judah, and he, the so-called contradiction in the Bible is that, was he 22 years old when he began to reign or was he 42 years old when he began to reign? And I believe it's both, okay? And I believe there was a captivity that took place that the Bible doesn't really specifically say, hey, there's 20 years of this captivity. Now, if you read the book of Judges, that happens all the time, right? You think about Israel, they're like under captivity for 40 years, then there's risen up a savior or a judge, right? And then they judge over Israel for this amount of time then they go into captivity again, right? It kinda goes back and forth all the time. That was before they had a king, and that same stuff, I believe, was going on or it happened during Ahaziah's reign. So meaning that he basically ruled for a little bit as king at 22 years old, and then they were taken captive, and then he came back and ruled at 42, okay? That's how I believe you answer that, okay? There's like a 20-year captivity, and I believe this is when Edom was taking advantage of Jerusalem, okay? You say, well, was Edom mentioned? Yeah, Edom's actually mentioned during this time. Notice what it says in 2 Chronicles chapter 21 and verse eight. It says, in his days, the Edomites revolted from under the dominion of Judah and made themselves a king. So this is in the days of Jehoram, which is Jehoshaphat's son, and then Ahaziah is Jehoram's son, okay? And this is where that discrepancy comes in as far as, okay, well, how old was Ahaziah when he began to reign? And it says, then Jehoram went forth with his princes and all his chariots with him, and he rose up by night and smote the Edomites, which compassed him in and captains of the chariots. So basically, there's this battle, right? The Edomites are revolting against them, and Jehoram is going and smiting them. And then in verse 10, it says, so the Edomites revolted from under the hand of Judah unto this day. So they're still revolting. Whoever is pinning down 2 Chronicles is saying, they're still revolting unto this day. It says, the same time also, notice this, did Libnab revolt from under his hand because he had forsaken the Lord God of his fathers. Moreover, he made high places in the mountains of Judah and caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to commit fornication and compel Judah thereto. Go down to verse 16, because obviously Jehoram was not a good king. He was doing that which was evil on the side of the Lord. Ahaziah, you know, followed suit, you know. But verse 16 here, notice what's going on, okay? So this is before Ahaziah takes reign, okay? So this is gonna explain something here. And verse 16, moreover, Anna, sit up. Sit up and look at me. Moreover, the Lord stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines and of the Arabians that were near the Ethiopians. And they came up into Judah and break into it and carried away all the substance that was found in the king's house and his sons also and his wives so that there was never a son left him save Jehoahaz, the youngest of his sons. So what's going on? There's a captivity. Now, not an extreme captivity where they're taking like everybody that lives there, okay? But they took all the spoil and they took the kings, you know, the seed royal, if you will, except for one, Anna, look at me and look straight up at me. Now, now goes to verse, chapter 28. Now, you're in 2 Chronicles. So I believe that's what this is dealing with is basically Edomites, the time that Jerusalem was in distress and obviously God brought that on Judah, okay? Because you had a wicked king and he brought these people on there but I believe Edom was basically taking advantage of that and that's what Obadiah is talking about is basically like in their day of distress, you weren't being a brother unto them, you were literally taking part in it. You were taking part in the captivity, you were spoiling them, you were doing all this stuff and you're going to be punished because you did that, okay? Now, in 2 Chronicles chapter 28, this is another story that this takes place during Ahaz's reign, okay? If you remember, Ahaz is Hezekiah's father. So if you don't believe that, you know, Obadiah is talking about this story back in Ahaziah's day or Jehoram's day, it may be talking about this because that's when Obadiah was probably being written but I believe it's a culmination, okay? I believe it's actually both of these, okay? You had Edom taking advantage of Judah when they were in distress but notice in chapter 28, 2 Chronicles chapter 28 verse 17, for again, the Edomites had come and smitten Judah and carried away captives. Again, okay, do you notice that? It says, for the Philistines also had invaded the cities of the low country. We see the Philistines again. You know what's interesting is the Philistines are brought up in Obadiah. I don't think that's a coincidence, I believe that's what you're dealing with here is Edom, the Philistines, all these people are being punished for what they did to Judah. Now, it says, keep reading there. It says, and of the south of Judah, he had taken Beth-Shemesh and Agelon and Gediroth and Shoko with the villages thereof and Timnah with the villages thereof, Gimzo also in the villages thereof and they dwelt there. For the Lord brought Judah low because of Ahaz king of Israel, for he made Judah naked and transgressed sore against the Lord. So obviously these are all judgments, God was judging Judah in both those cases, that the Philistines came in, which sounds like the book of Judges, doesn't it? Because who was the main enemy of Israel during the book of Judges? But the Philistines. I mean, think of Samson, all that. The Philistines were one of the main culprits or enemies of that nation and both these cases you have, I believe, Edom coming in and taking advantage. As the Philistines are coming in with the Arabians and are coming in and taking captive, they are basically pillaging with them and this is a prophecy concerning Edom saying, hey, you're going to be destroyed because of how you treated Judah in the day of their distress, okay? So I hope that gives you the physical, like what is this prophecy about? What is this concerning? That's what I believe it's concerning about, okay? Is that physical, you know, basically spoiling and captivity they put on their own brother, okay? And it talks about this in the Bible about how they broke their brotherly covenant and all that. So Esau and Jacob were twins. They were supposed to be brothers. You say, well, what's the spiritual meaning about this? Well, go to Romans chapter nine, Romans chapter nine and verse 10 because the Bible actually talks about Jacob and Esau a lot and I personally, I'll just say this, I personally believe Jacob and Esau were both saved. Okay, I can't prove to you that Esau is saved but you know, I don't believe Esau was a reprobate. Now, what we're going to get into though is about the nations, okay? Jacob and Esau as nations and you say, well, you know, it's Edom and Israel. Those are the nations. Now, a lot of times they'll talk about Jacob as a nation and they'll talk about Esau as a nation. Now, obviously they have those given names that were given to them as far as Israel and Edom but sometimes it'll be like the nation of Jacob or you know, Jacob, my nation, you know, like, you know, we'll just call him by Jacob and but in Romans chapter nine and verse 10 here, so once you get that service meaning, you can be like, all right, I'll just apply this physically. This is just, you know, laying out that, hey, the day of the Lord's coming on Edom because of what they did to Judah and this is physically going to happen, you know, line by line on the Philistines, on all this stuff. That's what's going to happen to them and that did happen to them but then you have the spiritual application where you're dealing with Jacob and Esau as far as nations and as far as spiritually speaking, I'm just going to say it, you're dealing with the children of God and children of the devil and you're dealing with that dichotomy of those whom God loves and those whom God hates, okay? Now, in Romans chapter nine and verse 10 here, notice what it says. It says, not only this but when Rebekah also had conceived by one, even by her father Isaac, for the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of him that calleth, it was said unto her, the elder shall serve the younger as it is written Jacob have I loved but Esau have I hated. Now, there's two different quotes here. One's going back to Genesis, talking about the elder shall serve the younger and the other one's going back to Malachi which is Jacob have I loved but Esau have I hated. So let's break this down and then when you understand this and you go back to Obadiah with that understanding, then there's gonna be things that are gonna pop out to you that are on the spiritual level, okay? So when you're dealing with the elder shall serve the younger, let's see what we're talking about. Are we talking about the physical Jacob and Esau? Because I don't believe you are, okay? Because actually, show me in the Bible where Esau served Jacob. Show me where that happens. Actually, I'll show you where Jacob is even after he received the blessing or stole the blessing, how he comes back and is just serving his brother and giving him all kinds of gifts and cattle and all that and it seems like Esau's the one that's winning that whole blessing when it comes to that. But obviously, on a nation level though, Israel was obviously blessed way above Esau, okay? And Esau ends up serving Israel. Now, go to Genesis chapter 25 and verse 22. Genesis 25 and verse 22. It says, and the children struggled together within her and she said, if it be so, why am I thus? And she went to inquire the Lord and the Lord said unto her, two nations are in thy womb. So I want you to get this because then he's gonna get to, you know, the elder shall serve the younger. He's not talking about the physical people, okay? And there's not actual nations of people in her womb, okay? This is obviously spiritualizing this or showing the future as far as what these two men, they're gonna bring forth children that are gonna become nations and that is what you're dealing with. You're dealing with two nations. One nation, the elder nation is going to serve the younger nation, okay? And in verse, two nations are in thy womb and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels. And one people shall be stronger than the other people and the elder shall serve the younger. So when it says in Romans chapter nine, the elder shall serve the younger, the Calvinist will come in and be like, see, he chose Esau from the womb to be damned and he chose Jacob from the womb to be blessed and to be saved. No, you're talking about two nations, okay? And those two nations represent one saved and one is the children of the devil, okay? And this is extreme dichotomies because in between there, you have people that are just children of disobedience, children of wrath, people that are not one or the other, okay? So, because God loves the world, he loves unsaved people, wants them to get saved, but he obviously loves his children, okay? But he hates the children of the devil, okay? Now, go to Malachi chapter one, Malachi chapter one, because we see the elder shall serve the younger, is that talking about Esau and Jacob as a person or is that talking about two nations? It's talking about two nations. Well, let's see what it's talking about when it says Jacob have I loved but Esau have I hated. Malachi one in verse two, Malachi one in verse two says this, it says, I have loved you, saith the Lord, yet ye say, wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother, saith the Lord? Yet I loved Jacob and I hated Esau and I laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness, whereas Edom saith, we are impoverished but we will return and build to desolate places, thus saith the Lord of hosts. They shall build but I will throw down and they shall call them the border of wickedness and the people against whom the Lord hath indignation forever and your eyes shall see and you shall say the Lord will be magnified from the border of Israel. So when it's talking about Jacob have I loved but Esau have I hated, is he talking about two separate people or is he talking about two nations? He's talking about two nations. He's talking about the Edomites and he's talking about the Israelites and I believe when you're in Malachi, that destruction has already happened. And he's basically saying you've been destroyed and if you try to rebuild, I'm gonna throw it down. Okay, and so Obadiah is talking about how they're gonna be destroyed and Malachi is looking back on it saying listen, you wanna prove that I love you, look what I did to Esau, okay? Look what I did to Edom. And so when you're talking about Jacob have I loved but Esau have I hated, he's not talking about the person Esau and he's not talking about the person Jacob. Now you love Jacob, obviously, but just because you're a picture of an allegory, like Hagar and Sarah, they weren't literally the Old and New Testament. When you look at these are the two allegories because there's two covenants, Sarah is not the New Testament and Hagar is not the Old Testament but they picture it. Okay, because you have the physical fleshly covenant and then you have the covenant of promise which is obviously representing the Lord Jesus Christ and all that. Now go back to Obadiah with this in mind, okay? That you're dealing with, okay when you look at Israel and Judah you're dealing with the saved, you're dealing with children of God, okay? When you're dealing with Edom you're dealing with children of the devil. You're dealing with people that God hates, okay? Now look at Edom, first of all in verse three, so Obadiah, verse three, what's the first thing that we see talked about here dealing with Edom? Verse three, the pride of thine heart hath deceived thee. What is one of the biggest things dealing with people that are reprobate, people that are rejected by God, what is the big thing that you see all the time? They're proud, they have pride, they're proud, they're boasters, right? The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou hast thou that dwellest in the cleft of the rock whose habitation is high, that saith in his heart, who shall bring me down to the ground? So they're in Mount C and they're like, who's gonna bring us down? Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence why I bring thee down, saith the Lord. So Edom's up there saying, hey, you know, who's gonna bring us down? We're up in the cleft of the rocks, we're like soaring up here like eagles, who's gonna bring us down? And God's saying, I'll bring you down. Now go to Ezekiel chapter 16 because I want you to see something that's very similar and you think of Sodom and Gomorrah. Now in Ezekiel chapter 16, Ezekiel chapter 16 and verse 49. Now this isn't gonna be an all-inclusive study on the book of Obadiah because there's all kinds of little pieces in there and some stuff I may have hit on the other sermon that I'm not hitting tonight, okay? I didn't just reprint out my sermon, okay? I actually wrote this, this is a different sermon. Obviously I'm hitting on some same points but there may be some other little details that I hit on then. So I just want you to think about that. When you read Obadiah, think about this. Think about the fact that, okay, what if I'm reading this as if Edom, you're dealing with children of the devil. And when you're reading about Israel and Judah, you're dealing with children of God. And basically, it'd be like this. If God were to chasten his children and then the children of the devil came in and started persecuting them as they're getting chastened and this is God taking it out on them for doing that, okay? Because that's essentially what you see that he was doing with the nation of Judah. And Ezekiel chapter 16 and verse 49, it says, behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride. Now I want you to say, I want you to realize this, it doesn't have a period at the end of that because what people want you to think is that that's the only reason. But it's funny because, you know, what are all these parades called of the Sodomites? Gay pride, pride month. It's just like a little on the nose, isn't it? You know, you had the flag that says I will never destroy the earth by water, you know, and the rainbow and it's a token of God's judgment that he destroyed all the vile wickedness that was in the earth. And by the way, it's not gonna be by water, it's gonna be by fire, okay? Next time, now, keep reading there though because it says, behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her daughters. Oh, I thought this said Sodomite, I think it's meaning America. Listen, the Bible's like a newspaper. I mean, if you read this and I didn't say Sodom, wouldn't you be like, you're just talking about America, aren't you? Pride, fullness of bread, abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters. They did, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy, they were haughty. Listen, pride goeth before destruction and haughty spirit before it fall. And that is exactly, you know, what happened with Sodom and I believe what happened with Edom. It says, and notice this because this is all one thought here, it says, and they were haughty and committed abomination before me, therefore I took them away as I saw good. So why did you take them away? Was it just for pride? No, it's because the abominations that they did. It wasn't because of sodomy, it was just because they were proud. No, pride and they did abominations and that's why you took them away. Anna, sit up, sit up in your chair and go back to Obadiah chapter one, chapter one, not chapter two, verse seven. Obadiah verse seven. So I'm just kind of showing you some different things here that if you look at this in the light of a reprobate, right, Edom is like the reprobate. Okay, what's the first thing you see? They're proud, they're exalting themselves. Okay, well let's see some other information here. Obadiah verse seven. It says 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, said the Lord, even destroy the wise men out of Edom and understanding out of the mouth of Esau? Oh, I wonder what we're talking about here. You know, they professing themselves to be wise, they became fools. Go to Deuteronomy 32. You know what's interesting about this is that this dichotomy of Israel and Edom is obviously children of God, children of the devil, but these same things are said about Israel. And it's interesting because in the New Testament, instead of having this dichotomy of Israel and Edom, you have this dichotomy of the physical nation of Israel and the true Israel, which are believers. Because when you get into Galatians in that Old Testament, New Testament, you're dealing with the fact that Israel, which is of the flesh, they're in bondage and they are Hagar. They're basically saying you're Ishmael to the physical nation of Israel. And so it's interesting because Israel sometimes is likened unto being reprobate. Notice what it says in Deuteronomy 32 in verse 28. This is talking about Israel. For they are a nation void of counsel, neither is there any understanding in them. Isn't that interesting? That Israel is like the same thing that's said about Edom was said about Israel in the law, okay? Now we know this to be true because what did Jesus say about him? And the fact that constantly he's talking about how they don't have faith. It says you're rejected. And it says the kingdom of God is gonna be taken away from you and given to a nation, bringing forth the fruits thereof. The stone of the building that was rejected, it was made the head of the corner. And so they rejected Christ, he came unto his own, his own received him not. But the idea that they have no knowledge, they don't have any understanding, they can't understand. They have ears to hear, but they can't hear. They have eyes to see, but they can't perceive. And that was said about Israel over and over and over again. Go to Isaiah chapter 27, Isaiah chapter 27. So I want you to see that this isn't just for Edom, but this was said about Israel. Because Israel was supposed to be the nation that had understanding, that had the oracles of God, that was preaching the gospel, but eventually they were rejected. And then it was given off to a better testament where Jesus is the high priest and all believers, whether Jew or Gentile, are a part of that holy nation. Now in Isaiah 27 and verse 11 here, notice what it says. It says, when the bowels thereof are withered, they shall be broken off. The women come and set them on fire, for it is a people of no understanding. Therefore, he that made them will not have mercy on them. He that formed them will show them no favor. That's interesting because when you go to Romans chapter nine what does it talk about? I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and whom he will, he hardeneth. And what happens to those that he has no mercy on, but they're set, he set them on fire. Talks about, he's liking them onto these branches that are gonna be taken off and set on fire. Why? Because there's no understanding in them. Go to Romans chapter one, Romans chapter one. And let's look at the reprobate. Look at the person that's rejected by God, that's given over to a reprobate mind, and it fits the bill. When you look through Obadiah, it fits the bill on every, you go through every verse through here, and you'd be like, reprobate, reprobate, reprobate, reprobate, you know. And you can understand why he's being so harsh with them. Now, do I believe that everybody that was in Edom was a reprobate? No. That's as crazy as thinking that everybody in Israel was saved, or everybody in Judah was saved, okay? We're talking about as a whole, the nation was rejected and God hated that nation. And as a whole, God accepted the nation of Israel, okay, as his people, because there was a remnant. There was a remnant of people that did believe. Anna, sit up now, sit up now. And so, don't get me wrong, don't be like, well, everybody in Edom was just a reprobate and just no one in there, okay? That's not what I'm saying, okay? But as a whole, the nation was rejected by God and was an allegory for someone that was rejected by God. How did you go to Romans chapter one? Look at verse 28 there. It says, and even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind to do those things which are not convenient, being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity, whispers, back fighters, haters of God, despiteful, here we go, proud, boasters, so we already hit on that, inventors of evil things, disobedient parents, notice this in verse 31, without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, covenant breakers, they broke the brotherly covenant, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful, who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same but have pleasure in them that do them. So you can see how this definitely fits the bill, when you're looking through here in a spiritual aspect. How about this, ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth, as Janus and Jamborees withstood Moses so that these also resist the truth. Men of corrupt minds reprobate concerning the faith. They can't understand. They could not believe. Neither could they understand, talked about it in John chapter 12. And that's what it said about this nation. Now go back to Obadiah in verse 15. Obadiah in verse 15. I'm almost done. Because, I mean, this is really just simple to understand, you have the physical, where Edom was not treating Judah right, when they were in distress, they were basically taking advantage of it, and then you have the spiritual application here, where you're dealing with a dichotomy of the children of God and the children of the devil. And so in verse 15 here, we see this dichotomy. Deliverance for the children of God, destruction for the children of the devil. Just two, I mean, think of the end times, right? You have the rapture, we're saved out of it, the children of the devil are gonna be in the battle of Armageddon, where they're all gonna be destroyed, and they're thrown into the wine press of the wrath of God, okay? And that's quite a difference. Notice what it says in verse 15 here, it says, for the day of the Lord is near upon all the heathen, as thou hast done, it 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, and they shall swallow down, and 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. They shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau, for the Lord hath spoken it. They're gonna completely be annihilated by fire. Now, like I said, you're dealing with children of God, children of the devil, okay? Go to Matthew chapter 13, and the last thing I wanna show you here is how this couples up when you deal with the parable of the terrors of the field, and how, what are you dealing with? You're dealing with children of God, children of the devil. We're not dealing with just unsaved people, okay? So when you're dealing with, you know, it says Jacob have I loved, Esau have I hated, those are two polar opposites. When you're dealing with Jacob, you're dealing with those that are at the seat of Abraham, those that are blessed with Abraham, faithful Abraham, because they believed, and then when you're dealing with Edom, you're dealing with those that have no understanding, those that are rejected by God, and God hates them, okay? Anna, look at me. I want you to sit up on your chair and look at me. I wanna see your eyes. Sit up now. Get up on your chair. Now, Matthew chapter 13, I'm almost done. Matthew chapter 13 and verse 37 here, you're dealing with the explanation of the tares. So I'm not gonna give you the parable, I'm just gonna give you the explanation. Verse 37 here, it says, and he answered and said unto them, he that soweth the good seed is the son of man, the field is the world, the good seed are the children of the kingdom, and the tares are the children of the wicked one. I love how Jesus just, you know, playing out this is what it is, right? And so the good seed that was sown was the children of God, okay? The children of the kingdom, that's the wheat that he puts into his barn, but the tares are the children of the wicked one. So you're not dealing with just saved and unsaved, you're dealing with saved and those that have been rejected and hated by God, okay? So you're not dealing with just unsaved people. Just as much as you're dealing with the good prophet, the good tree that's bringing forth good fruit, and then the evil tree that's bringing forth corrupt fruit, you're dealing with a good prophet and a false prophet. There's people out there that aren't prophets, okay? So you're dealing with, you know, the two sides of the spectrum, the two extremes. Now keep reading there, it says, the enemy that sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the world, and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire so shall it be in the end of the world. The son of man shall send forth his angels and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity, and shall cast them into a furnace of fire, there shall be wailing and gnashing of tea. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the son in the kingdom of their father, who hath ears to hear, let him hear. This is exactly the way the book of Obadiah ends. Okay, you have deliverance for Mount Zion, they're gonna possess their possessions, but what happens to Edom? They're burned with fire. See how that all fits, okay? So it's a short book, but it's definitely interesting, and it's deeper than you may think. And so it's interesting to look at the physical, like here's why the Philistines are being punished in here, because the Philistines and Arabians were taking them captive, then the Philistines are doing it again later on, and Edom is there revolting against Judah during all that time. And God's taking it out on Edom for basically distressing them in their time of affliction, okay? And in this book, you see a great dichotomy between Jacob and Esau. And when it says Jacob have I love, Esau have I hated, I believe Obadiah is a great book to go to with that understanding of what that's talking about, dive into Obadiah and those 21 verses, and like I said, I'm not hitting all of them, all the correlations, but there's some that I've pointed out. So in your study, read through Obadiah and see if you can pick up on some other things. There may be some other things you see there, like oh, this matches with the children of God over here, or this matches with the children of the devil over here. But that's the book of Obadiah, that's the prophet Obadiah. And so it's a shorter book. Next week, Lord willing, we'll get into Jonah. And so I'm excited about that, I love the book of Jonah. And so these sermons are more like overviews if you were to look at it that way. I'm kinda talking about the prophet, but really I'm just kinda overviewing these books as far as what is their ministry, who are they talking to? And so when you go to read the minor prophets, you know, okay, this is during this king or this timeframe, and what's the physical surface meaning, like the near future application, and what's the spiritual application? Because you may be looking at me like, why do I care, what's the big deal that Edom got destroyed, okay? All right, I'll mark that down as a history lesson. But when you understand, hey, this has got a big spiritual meaning to deal with the children of God and children of the devil, well now, that's something you can dive into and it applies. It's got real world application, and it's something that you can use. And all these minor prophets have that type of stuff going on, okay? So I think you should know both. I think you should understand both. So don't just go and be like, I'm just looking for the spiritual, like real world application. No, you should look at like, what's going on here? What's the historical background? You know, where's this tie-in with the kings, you know? But that's Obadiah. Let's end with a word of prayer. The Heavenly Father, we thank you today. Thank you for your word, and Lord, thank you for the book of Obadiah. And Lord, it truly is awesome to see just even little books having so much deep meaning in them. But Lord, just pray that you'd help us through the series and just help us to understand the prophets more and more as we go through it. And Lord, we love you. Pray all this in Jesus Christ's name, amen.