Obadiah

“Judgment on Edom”

March 15, 2015

First Baptist Church

Jackson, Mississippi

USA

What’s the number one thing?

The Glory of God!

http://ts1.mm.bing.net/th?&id=HN.607995021124832962&w=300&h=300&c=0&pid=1.9&rs=0&p=0

1 Corinthians 10:31 NKJV 31 Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of

God.

March Memory Verse:

Romans 3:23 NKJV 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

References

• Are We Living in the End Times? By Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins, Tyndale

House,1999

• The MacArthur Study Bible, NKJV, Thomas Nelson Publishing, 1997.

• Obadiah, The Enigma of the Edomites, Dr. Chuck Missler, YouTube Video

• www.gotquestions.org/endtimes. (Got Questions)

The Minor Prophets

• Hebrew Bible treats these as a single book

– “The Book of the Twelve Prophets”

– English versions separate into 12 books based on the name of the

Prophet

• Not in chronological order in Bible

• Major vs. Minor – based on length of writing

Timeline of Minor Prophets

The Prophet Obadiah

• Book of Obadiah shortest book in OT

• Not quoted in the NT

• Cannot identify the “ghost writer” Obadiah

• Probably written between 848-841 B.C. during reign of Jehoram of Judah

after Philistines and Arabians attacked Jerusalem

• Prophet Jeremiah (49:7-22) borrowed verses from Obadiah (v. 1-9)

Outline of Obadiah’s 21 Verses

• God’s Judgment on Edom: v. 1-14

• God’s Judgment on the Nations: v. 15-16

– Tribulation (Great Tribulation)

• God’s Restoration of Israel: v. 17-21

– Millennial (1,000 Years Reign)

Where was Edom?

The Mountains of Seir

Entrance to Petra (Sela) via Siq

Petra (Sela)

Who Were The Edomites?

• The descendants of Esau

– The firstborn son of Isaac and Rebekah

– Twin brother was Jacob

– God told Rebekah they would become 2 nations

– God said the older would serve the younger

– Grandparents were Abraham and Sarah

– Esau married Ishmael’s daughters

– More Bible judgments against Edom than others

Family Tree

Esau Sold His Birthright

Genesis 25:29-32 29 Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open

country, famished. 30 He said to Jacob, "Quick, let me have some of that red

stew! I'm famished!" (That is why he was also called Edom.)

31 Jacob replied, "First sell me your birthright."

32 "Look, I am about to die," Esau said. "What good is the birthright to me?"

33 But Jacob said, "Swear to me first." So he swore an oath to him, selling his

birthright to Jacob.

34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank,

and then got up and left.

So Esau despised his birthright.

Isaac’s Blessings

Esau’s Character Flaws

• Sold his birthright (inheritance) to Jacob for a bowl of soup (Genesis 25)

– Showed disrespect

• Married foreign women and was a source of “grief to his parents”

• Described in Hebrews 12:16 as a “profane person” who wanted God’s

blessings, but did not want God

The Ongoing Conflict

• Last recorded meeting of Jacob and Esau was at Isaac’s funeral in

Genesis 35:29.

• Jacob and sons end up in Egypt for 430 years

• Esau’s dynasty thrives in Edom (Genesis 36)

• Edom refused to let Israel come thru their land on their way to the

Promised Land (Numbers 20:14-21)

• Edom continually attacked Israel before their Babylonian Exile

Obadiah 1-2 1 The vision of Obadiah.

Thus says the Lord God concerning Edom

(We have heard a report from the Lord,

And a messenger has been sent among the nations, saying,

"Arise, and let us rise up against her for battle"):

2 "Behold, I will make you small among the nations;

You shall be greatly despised.

Obadiah 3-9 Overview

• The sin of Edom was PRIDE.

– Believe you are superior to God; no need for Him

– Self-idolatry

– Pride is focus on yourself; Humility is focus on others.

– Sin of pride applies to us personally and as a nation

Psalm 10:4 (NIV) 4 In his pride the wicked man does not seek him;

in all his thoughts there is no room for God.

Obadiah 3-4 3 The pride of your heart has deceived you,

You who dwell in the clefts of the rock,

Whose habitation is high;

You who say in your heart, 'Who will bring me down to the ground?' 4 Though you ascend as high as the eagle,

And though you set your nest among the stars,

From there I will bring you down," says the Lord.

Pride of Strength & Location

• Edom was one of the world’s great powers.

• They thought they were impenetrable because of mountain location with

passageways.

• Who can capture us?

Obadiah 5-6 5 "If thieves had come to you,

If robbers by night—

Oh, how you will be cut off!—

Would they not have stolen till they had enough?

If grape- gatherers had come to you,

Would they not have left some gleanings?

6 "Oh, how Esau shall be searched out!

How his hidden treasures shall be sought after!

Pride of Wealth

• Edom controlled the trade routes going to Egypt.

• The King’s Highway went through their land.

• They hid looting treasures in their caves.

King’s Highway

Obadiah 7 7 All the men in your confederacy

Shall force you to the border;

The men at peace with you

Shall deceive you and prevail against you.

Those who eat your bread shall lay a trap for you.

No one is aware of it.

Pride of Alliances

• Their enemies deceived them.

• In 5th Century B.C. the Nabateans attacked the Edomites driving them out

of the area.

– The Edomites had just fed them a peace meal.

• The Edomites moved west and captured Hebron, and formed “Idumean”

after Judah’s exile.

Obadiah 8 8 "Will I not in that day," says the Lord,

"Even destroy the wise men from Edom,

And understanding from the mountains of Esau?

Pride of Wisdom

• Edom was known for its “great thinkers”.

• Job’s friend Eliphaz was from Teman and the Shuhite was from the Edom

mountain range.

• Edom’s wisdom was not “Godly Wisdom”.

Obadiah 9 9 Then your mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed,

To the end that everyone from the mountains of Esau

May be cut off by slaughter.

Pride of Military

• They had pride in believing that their military was undefeatable.

• The mighty military army of Edom will become dismayed and ineffective

(self-destruct).

Obadiah 10-14 Overview

• Edom did not come to Israel’s defense.

• Edom rejoiced over Israel’s destruction.

• Edom attacked and plundered the land.

• Edom assisted Israel’s enemies.

Obadiah 10-14 (Edom Mistreated His Brother) 10 "For violence against your brother Jacob,

Shame shall cover you,

And you shall be cut off forever. 11 In the day that you stood on the other side—

In the day that strangers carried captive his forces,

When foreigners entered his gates

And cast lots for Jerusalem—

Even you were as one of them.

12 “But you should not have gazed on the day of your brother

In the day of his captivity;

Nor should you have rejoiced over the children of Judah

In the day of their destruction;

Nor should you have spoken proudly

In the day of distress. 13 You should not have entered the gate of My people

In the day of their calamity.

Indeed, you should not have gazed on their affliction

In the day of their calamity,

Nor laid hands on their substance

In the day of their calamity. 14 You should not have stood at the crossroads

To cut off those among them who escaped;

Nor should you have delivered up those among them who remained

In the day of distress.

Obadiah 15-16 Overview

• Obadiah’s prophecy projects to the Great Tribulation (“the day of the

Lord”)

– The Tribulation follows the Rapture of the Church.

– A 7 year period when God’s wrath is poured out on the earth.

– The Great Tribulation is last 3½ years of Tribulation.

– Reaping what you sow – retribution v. 15.

– Having to drink the wrath of God v. 16.

Pre-Tribulation/Pre-Millennial View

Dispensationalism

• Definition – divine administration of a period of time, a divinely appointed

age

• Primary Principles:

1. A consistently literal interpretation of scripture, especially with

Biblical Prophecy.

- Pretribulation & Premillenium (Rapture before Tribulation)

2. A distinction between Israel and the church in God’s program (Not

Replacement Theology).

Obadiah 15-16 15 "For the day of the Lord upon all the nations is near;

As you have done, it shall be done to you;

Your reprisal shall return upon your own head. 16 For as you drank on My holy mountain,

So shall all the nations drink continually;

Yes, they shall drink, and swallow,

And they shall be as though they had never been.

Obadiah 17-21 Overview

• Obadiah’s prophecy moves to the 1,000 Year Reign (Millennium).

• Israel’s will occupy ALL of the Promised Land.

• There are no survivors of the house of Esau.

• The Messiah will rule His Kingdom from Mt. Zion.

The Millennium/1000 Years Reign

• Begins with Christ returning to earth with His own (The Glorious Appearing

or 2nd Coming).

• Resurrected saints will reign with Him over Israel and all nations on earth.

• Satan is bound in Abyss for 1,000 years.

• Major changes in earth’s climate, geography, flora and fauna.

Obadiah 17-20 17 "But on Mount Zion there shall be deliverance,

And there shall be holiness;

The house of Jacob shall possess their possessions. 18 The house of Jacob shall be a fire,

And the house of Joseph a flame;

But the house of Esau shall be stubble;

They shall kindle them and devour them,

And no survivor shall remain of the house of Esau,"

For the Lord has spoken.

19 The South shall possess the mountains of Esau,

And the Lowland shall possess Philistia.

They shall possess the fields of Ephraim

And the fields of Samaria.

Benjamin shall possess Gilead. 20 And the captives of this host of the children of Israel

Shall possess the land of the Canaanites

As far as Zarephath.

The captives of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad

Shall possess the cities of the South.

Map of Millennial Kingdom

Obadiah 21 21 Then saviors shall come to Mount Zion

To judge the mountains of Esau,

And the kingdom shall be the Lord's.

1 Corinthians 6:2a 2a Do you not know that the saints will judge the world?

Revelation 20:4c 4c And they lived and reigned with Christ for a 1000 years.

Are there any Edomites today?

• Edomites were forced to convert to Judaism in 126 B.C. (Maccabean

wars).

• Julius Caesar in 47 B.C. appointed the Edomite (Idumean) Herod as King

over Israel.

– Bethlehem’s babies: John the Baptist; James

• Rome renamed the area Palestina (Palestine), and they became

assimilated into the “Palestinians” of today (?).

Overcoming the Sin of Pride

2 Chronicles 7:14 14 if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray

and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from

heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

Closing Thoughts on Obadiah

• The prophecy given to Obadiah was not given to the Edomites, but to the

Israelites as a warning.

• Any nation not recognizing God as authority and truth will commit the sin

of pride.

• Where are we in the USA along this path?

The Plan of Hope & Salvation

John 3:16 NKJV 16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever

believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

John 14:6 NKJV 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the

Father except through Me.”

Romans 3:23 NKJV 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Romans 6:23a NKJV 23a For the wages of sin is death,

Death in this life (the first death) is 100%.

Even Jesus, the only one who doesn’t deserve death, died in this life to

pay the penalty for our sins.

The death referred to in Romans 6:23a is the second death explained in

Revelation 21:8.

Revelation 21:8 NKJV 8 “But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral,

sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with

fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

Romans 5:8 NKJV 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners,

Christ died for us.

Romans 6:23b NKJV 23b but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Revelation 21:7 NKJV 7 “He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be

My son.”

Romans 10:9-10 explains to us how to accept Jesus as our Savior.

Romans 10:9-10 NKJV 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that

God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one

believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto

salvation.

Romans 10:13 NKJV 13 For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”

If you have questions or would like to know more, Please, contact First Baptist

Church Jackson at 601-979-1900 or http://firstbaptistjackson.org/contact/