Today we have the privilege of being able to go through an entire book of the Bible.
If you ever got tired of sitting in church and go, we're just looking at one verse today.
! I want to get into this.
Well, we get our entire book this morning.
And it is not just a lesson of history or a lesson of just trying to understand what it means.
Today is a moment for meaning.
Discovering the meaning of Obadiah for those who first heard it,
but also for us and what God has to say.
Because Obadiah is relevant for us in Chatswood in 2026.
Let me pray.
Lord God, would you speak to us these words of judgment and comfort,
just like you did at first through Obadiah.
And by your Holy Spirit, would you cut us to the heart
so that we may follow you as your people, saved by grace.
Amen.
Donald Glover is a musician.
And he, one day, was in a music studio.
And he'd been there for weeks.
And he had nothing to show for it.
He was stuck.
He had writer's block.
And in a moment of clarity and rejection of his anxieties and his pride,
he wrote on the walls of probably not his music studio.
So I wonder if it had to get taken down later.
He literally scrawled on the wall of that studio,
make the best sandcastle.
Make the best sandcastle.
If he could agree that his work was just a sandcastle,
here for the moment and then swept away by the tide of time,
then he could let go of his fears over his legacy, over his fame,
and just make art that he liked.
Seeing that his castle was temporary, his castle, it set him free.
Ever heard a wise saying that helps you live your life?
You might hear it in advertising.
You might hear it in a movie.
You might hear it in a random place.
But when I heard make the best sandcastle,
I've got to tell you, that really helped me.
Not only in my creative past life writing music,
but for every single day,
because I forget how fragile my existence is,
how fragile my nature is.
I spent years trying to build a castle for myself,
a castle of reputation or a castle for my family
or a castle of a place in this world.
And when I live this way,
I'm the worst version of myself towards me
and the worst version of myself towards those around me.
We all, in some ways,
tend to build castles out of our own lives.
They're built from the blueprints of our desires
and our understanding.
They're not visible.
They're invisible castles.
They're made of accounts.
They're made of a title,
a house,
a spouse,
a number and photos of children,
a reputation.
The pride that we have in our castle
shapes the priorities of our daily life,
our character,
how we treat people.
We become little kings over our own lives,
ready to attack anyone coming for our own castle.
And in Obadiah,
we see that the strongest castles built by man
are just sandcastles.
before the tide of the sovereign Lord.
No little kingdom is outside of his rule,
reach and wrath.
Obadiah is, in fact,
a message of comfort,
comfort to those oppressed
by those who are stronger.
And it is one of judgment
against the proud.
Now,
you might be thinking,
all right,
tell me about Obadiah.
We know almost nothing about him.
Not only do we know that his name is Obadiah,
but we also know that the name Obadiah
just means servant.
It's almost a name,
like if,
for instance,
I'll take my friend Merle here.
If Merle was a servant of the time,
I'd take her name Merle away
and I'd call her an Obadiah
or Obadiah.
So he's completely irrelevant
to this message.
Almost as if the prophet's job
is to just be unseen,
translucent,
compared to how important
this message is
against Edom.
Edom was a nation
that was descended
from the elder brother of Jacob,
Esau.
Now, Esau was the firstborn
to Isaac,
the son of Abraham.
Esau despised
being the firstborn,
despised
having the birthright,
which also meant
he was the one
through whom God's plan
would come about.
And what he did one day
when he was so hungry
is he traded
God's covenant promises
and his birthright
to his younger brother, Jacob,
who had been cooking up a stew.
As Jacob's family grew,
they became the nation of Israel.
As Esau's family grew,
they became the nation of Edom,
Israel's fierce enemies
who lived high in the mountains
south of Judah.
All the way through Obadiah,
God swaps the names.
And it might have been dislocating
as you were listening
to Sarah Regis then.
God swaps the names out
of brother and nation
to remind us of this old,
broken family bond.
It's really likely
that Obadiah prophesied
right after
when Judah was forcibly
exiled,
defeated,
and removed
from their kingdom
by Babylon
in 597 BC.
So,
we've got 1200 years
before then
of brotherly hatred.
And with all of that history
hanging over that moment
of destruction,
Edom
helped
Babylon
exile Judah
from their land.
And it's that moment
of betrayal
that inspires
the sovereign Lord
to declare the message
of Obadiah
that Edom
is going to be
annihilated.
The message
of Obadiah
wasn't heard
though
by Edom.
It was for
the last Israelites
left.
It was for Judah.
Obadiah
was assurance
and hope
to them
that the sovereign Lord
judges with power
bringing justice
and gracious
salvation.
They're the three
movements
of Obadiah
and my three
points this morning.
Today,
Obadiah calls us
to rest
with Judah
in the hope
that God
will bring
ultimate justice
to the oppressed
and bring salvation
even
for the sinful.
And while
the message
of annihilation
seems awful
to our modern ears,
there is no denying
the need for justice
in our world.
But can we hope
that God
is able
to judge
and that
he can do it
fairly?
Well,
let's see if he's
able to judge
powerfully.
Point one.
We might expect
God's judgment
to unfold
as if he is
a judge
over a modern
courtroom.
I don't know
if you've ever
seen a TV show
of a courtroom
scene
or been to court,
been in one
of the positions
in a courtroom,
but usually
the courtroom
begins with
reading out
of the charges
and then some
evidence,
maybe even
some discussion
or challenging
of evidence,
and then
comes the judgment.
However,
everything is
backwards here
in Obadiah.
Obadiah begins
with God's
already decided
verdict
over Edom.
Let's have a look.
Have a look
at verse 2
of Obadiah.
The sovereign
Lord,
who was the one
speaking,
when the quotes
start in verse 1,
go all the way
to the end.
The sovereign
Lord reveals
his plans.
He's first
going to make
Edom small
and utterly
despised.
Edom's highly
valued reputation
among all
the other nations
is the first
thing to go.
The second
thing Edom
valued
was their
rocky
stronghold
home on
the heights,
boasting,
who can bring
me down
to the ground
in verse 4?
God asks
his hearers
to imagine
that the highest
living animal
they know.
The cliff
nesting eagle.
Edom
imagined
themselves
high up
on that
ledge,
beyond the
reach of
God.
But Obadiah
says in verse 4
that not even
the stars
are beyond
the reach
for God
to bring
them down.
Everyone
here this
morning should
consider
how you
are clinging
to your
reputation
and your
security
as your
hope
for the
future.
But has
the pride
of your
heart
deceived you?
As it
says in
verse 3,
is your
mighty tower
made of
sand before
the sovereign
Lord?
God compares
himself to
great pickers
and thieves.
They are those
who take
and steal,
but they leave
behind what
they don't
need or
they don't
want.
However,
God is
coming for
Edom's
cities,
verse 3
and 4,
their wisest
in verse 8,
and their
mightiest
in verse 9,
leaving Edom
walls,
wisdom,
and warriorless.
He's taking
everything.
God will
leave nothing
behind in
Edom after
he is
finished.
And perhaps
what God
says most
forcefully,
we actually
miss out in
the NIV
translation.
The original
Hebrew language
is even
stronger in
verse 7
than it
appears.
So,
have a look
on the
screen or
in your
Bible if
you have
an NIV
English
translation.
And I'm
going to
read the
ESV,
which has
a slightly
more accurate
translation
of the
tense.
So,
have a look
at verse
7 and
see what
is different.
all your
allies have
driven you
to your
border.
Those at
peace with
you have
deceived you.
They have
prevailed
against you.
Those who
eat your
bread have
set a
trap beneath
you.
You have
no
understanding.
In the
original language,
what God is
saying is,
this prophecy
is as good
as already
happened.
as soon
as it
leaves the
Lord's
lips.
We're
meant to
experience
the force
and the
power of
God here.
Especially
as we
don't even
know yet
what Edom's
done wrong.
We don't
know their
crimes.
Everything's
out of
order for
us.
Humans
can
sometimes
be really
poor
judges.
We might
try our
best.
We get
all the
information.
We try
and make
a good
decision.
Or maybe
you've
been in
a jury
and had
to balance
the evidence
and the
crime and
how you
process it
and then
agree together
to try and
figure it
out.
We might
make our
best effort
at it.
But often
we dismiss
what should
be punished.
Especially
when it has
something to
do with
what we've
done.
We want
to get
that punishment
as far
away from
us as
possible.
Or away
from those
we care
about.
But what
about when
we enjoy
seeing wrath
poured out
on those
we dislike?
Even if
there's no
evidence.
Who would
you like to
see God
bring down?
I remember
a scene
in an old
TV show
that my
wife Sam
and I
watched many
years ago
called
Boston
legal.
And an
attorney
gave this
case
clinching
defense
by
challenging
the jury
on their
schadenfreude.
You might
not be a
German speaker
in the room
and many
weren't in
the jury
I'm sure.
So the
character
defined it
for them.
He challenged
them on how
they were
taking spiteful
malicious
delight in
the misfortune
of others.
I'm told
and I'm
going to
ruin the
pronunciation
of this
but I'm
told in
Mandarin
carries a
similar
meaning.
Now I've
seen people
laugh.
That means
I've got it
terribly wrong
but at least
it's on the
screen.
We don't
have a
word for
that in
English.
He argued
this lawyer
argued that
the jury's
attitude
towards his
unlikable
guilty
looking
client
was not
enough
evidence
for them
to convict.
The only
evidence they
had was
their
schadenfreude.
And so
with Obadiah
ordered in
this way
for us
the right
to sit
as jury
and judge
over
Edom
is taken
away.
As if
God knows
about our
schadenfreude
already
our pride
or our
limits
and our
right
or even
our power
to judge.
Instead
the Lord
God
alone
is the
judge.
And so
when he
pronounces a
sentence
our
modern
reaction
might be
let me
see why
let me
see if
that's
fair.
Instead
we're
actually
invited
to sit
amongst
the
crowd
and
trust
the
judge.
But the
original
hearers of
Obadiah
they didn't
need the
evidence.
They'd
experienced
the evidence
of
Edom's
crimes
as their
victims.
It is
a comfort
to Judah
that God
is a
prosecutor
and judge
over
Edom
for what
was done
to them.
He alone
can bring
justice.
He makes
sure
that the
voiceless
have their
day
in court.
Point two
the Lord
brings
justice.
So verses
10 to
14
we get
to see
that the
Lord's
justice
is in
fact
fair.
The
summary of
God's
evidence
against
Edom
is there
in verse
10.
Because
of the
violence
between
brothers
a lack
of
brotherly
love
care
or
defense
of the
other
standing
aloof
which means
being
intentionally
uninvolved
while
Babylon
plundered
Israel.
This is
not violence
like we
might expect
like Babylon
did to
Judah
but Esau
is still
charged
like an
oppressor
a
co-conspirator
like
one of
them.
In
verses
12 to
14
I encourage
you to
have that
open in
front of
you
because
it's
the
least
compelling
bit
of
writing
in
English
in
the
whole
of
Obadiah
and
it's
because
it
looks
like
it
just
repeats
itself
over
and
over
again
the
structure
of
the
sentences
is
the
same
and
the
reason
why
is
it's
in
the
original
language
like
a
poem
we
can't
really
grasp
that
unless
you're
ancient
Hebrew
speaking
or
understand
that
here
today
so
I
want
to
imagine
I
want
you
to
imagine
that
these
the
list
there
of
what
this
evidence
is
are
like
files
of
charges
being
stacked
up
on
a
desk
by
a
prosecutor
as
if
he's
making
these
opening
remarks
it
is
as
if
Eden
cheered
from
the
grandstands
they
gloated
and
rejoiced
and
boasted
in
Judah's
day
of
trouble
from
high
in
their
towers
they
taunted
traumatized
Jerusalem
then
Eden
came
down
and
joined
in
the
celebrations
they
marched
through
the
gates
of
Judah's
city
they
took
their
treasures
they
even
rounded
up
those
who
fled
to
bring
them
back
to
their
captors
around
the
globe
in
reported
or
often
unseen
places
perhaps
in
your
experience
or in
the
experience
of
your
family
there
is
war
and
conflict
and
persecution
and
oppression
it's
often
baseless
it's
always
senseless
allies
stand
idle
and
defenders
sit
still
silent
some
cheer
on
the
others
destructive
conquest
and
behind
the
podiums
of
power
leaders
lie
and
at
their
word
and
whim
people
die
lives
are
irreparably
broken
and
justice
is
often
and
usually
far
from
the
powerless
and
vulnerable
in
our
world
but
Obadiah
should
shock
us
and
challenge
us
who
believe
in
this
God
that
it
is
not
so
with
him
there
is
a
powerful
judge
who
will
bring
justice
to
the
oppressed
!
He
sees
and
will
punish
even
those
who
are
accessories
to
murderous
oppression
God
brings
justice
that
is
final
and
right
against
anyone
who
thinks
they
can
get
away
with
it
and
the
good
news
is
we
get
to
look
back
on
history
and
see
if
God
did
what
he
said
he
would
to
give
us
hope
that
he
can
judge
and
that
he
can
judge
fairly
because
a few
centuries
later
even
600
years
later
during
the
time
of
Jesus
Edom
was
no
longer
a
nation
surrounding
nations
ruled
over
their
lands
their
cities
had
been
renamed
and
those
from
the
region
weren't
from
the
land
of
Edom
anymore
they
were
from
the
land
of
Idumea
or
Idumean
for
those
beaten
down
and
oppressed
in
our
day
Obadiah
is a
comfort
that
God
can
and
will
bring
fair
justice
against
oppressing
nations
and
peoples
across
centuries
or
at least
once
for all
in a
future
day
to
come
it's
an
astonishing
message
for
Judah
as
it is
for
us
that
the
God
who
brings
just
judges
with
power
and
brings
justice
will
also
bring
a
gracious
salvation
he
won't
just
beat
down
on
their
enemies
he's
actually
going
to
restore
those
who
have
been
oppressed
!
God
will
restore
the
fortunes
of
his
exiled
beaten
beloved
people
but
not
even
Judah
know
how
wide
and
graciously
the
sovereign
lord
graciously
saves
third
point
the
lord
finishes
Obadiah
by
contrasting
his
plans
for
Judah
with
his
plans
for
all
the
nations
around
them
God
started
with
the
prosecuting
and
sentencing
of
Edom
but
this
judge
has
other
nations
on
his
docket
as
well
in
verse
15
the
lord
sets
a
judgment
day
to
come
when
all
the
nations
will
have
their
deeds
return
on
their
own
head
we
see
that
Edom
and
their
allies
celebrated
after
the
destruction
and
exile
of
Judah
by
drinking
perhaps
in a
ceremonial
or
worshipping
of an
alternate
god
right
there
on
the
lord's
holy
hill
in
Jerusalem
these
nations
will
be
forced
verse
16
says
to
come
together
again
and
drink
again
but
this
time
from
a
cup
of
wrath
from
verse
19
we see
that
the
nations
some
of
the
nations
who
will
join
Edom
Samaria
Canaan
Philistia
Gilead
their
lands
will
one
day
not
just
be
taken
away
but
be
given
to
Judah
Judah's
borders
will
be
stretched
and
take
note
this
is
before
Judah
have
done
a
single
thing
to
earn
it
they
haven't
done
anything
to
deserve
this
blessing
but
God's
plan
to
restore
Judah
is
a
plan
of
unearned
grace
the
pride
of
our
hearts
often
appears
most
forcefully
in us
in
our
self
saving
in
times
of
suffering
or
loss
or
failure
you
reach
out
for
help
in
Chatswood
in
2026
or
do
you
try
and
solve
your
problem
even
before
those
problems
happen
do
you
look
into
the
future
and
build
security
build
wealth
for
yourself
and
make
sure
none
of
what
could
go
wrong
will
ever
go
wrong
and
when
it
does
we
become
overactive
and
our
anxieties
are
screaming
in our
head
save
yourself
and
even
if
we
have
help
so
often
we
choose
to
go
it
alone
but
unlike
us
in
our
comparatively
safe
and
affluent
city
Judah
had
just
had
everything
torn
away
their
only
option
was
God's
grace
they
haven't
even
called
out
to
him
yet
and
yet
he
is
defending
them
and
seeking
to
bless
them
their
exile
itself
was a
consequence
of
their
own
sin
they
had
rejected
God
they
had
rejected
his
rule
over
them
and
yet
he
still
seeks
to
save
them
Judah
desperately
needed
the
promises
that
Esau
had
traded
away
for
a
bowl
of
stew
they
needed
those
promises
that
God
had
made
with
Jacob
that
from
a
far
off
land
God
would
make
them
his
nation
once
again
verse
17
but on
Mount
Zion
there
will
be
deliverance
it
will
be
holy
and
Jacob
will
possess
his
inheritance
and
then in
verse 21
it even
says
even
the
mountains
of
Esau
will
be
given
to
Judah
the
oppressed
are to be
restored
as a
kingdom
who
will
belong
to the
sovereign
Lord
I
imagine
the
exiles
who
heard
Obadiah
who
had
nothing
except
trauma
grief
and
shame
I
imagine
them
being
so
comforted
that
one
day
maybe
in the
next
generation
or the
one
after
or the
one
after
that
they
would
return
to
their
land
and
they
did
they
did
return
but
the
geopolitical
outcomes
of this
prophecy
never
came
about
Edom
did
fall
and
never
recovered
that
happened
that
the
kingdom
that
Obadiah
promised
Judah
here
is
still
a
future
hope
even
today
if
you
look up
the
maps
Judah
is
not
in the
same
place
exactly
anymore
and they
certainly
do not
have
the
land
around
them
and
then
think
of those
in
Judah
more
generations
later
in
Jesus
day
in
Jesus
day
Judah
was under
Roman
rule
they
didn't
run
their
own
country
and
the
Romans
had
given
them
a
ruler
to
a
bit
like
a
puppet
king
to
kind
of
oversee
under
their
authority
and
they
laughingly
even
mockingly
called
this
guy
the
king
of
the
Jews
as
if
he
had
any
power
at
all
his
name
was
Herod
in
Matthew
2
we
hear
about
this
historically
accurate
person
and
his
reputation
in the
Bible
is
the
guy
who
killed
all
the
infant
boys
in
his
kingdom
in
Bethlehem
he's
the
reason
Jesus
family
fled
to
Egypt
as
he
sought
to
get
rid
of
the
king
he
was
told
the
promised
king
who
had
come
as
a
child
this
piece
of
history
if you
read
it
in
Matthew
2
it
helps
us
wonder
alongside
Judah
who'd
been
waiting
and
wondering
what
God
was
doing
for
centuries
will
the
sovereign
Lord's
promised
kingdom
ever
come
that
is
where
Obadiah
leaves
us
with
yet
unanswered
promises
we've
seen
the
proud
brought
low
and
the
oppressed
defended
and
a
restored
kingdom
of
Judah
kind
of
fulfilled
but
only
in
part
and
so
what
should
we
then
take
away
as
we
look
back
all
the
way
back
to
Obadiah
well
firstly
I want
to
encourage
you
that
you
cannot
build
a
good
enough
sand
castle
to
defeat
to
please
or to
be
anything
but
enemies
of
God
we
need
a
plan
to
remove
what
is
between
us
and
God
all
of
our
rebellion
needs
to be
white
clean
somehow
or
like
Eden
the
Lord
will
judge
us
with
power
too
we
cannot
self
save
ourselves
out
of
the
wrath
of
God
we
must
yield
to
the
way
God
graciously
saves
and
brings
us
into
his
promised
kingdom
for
God
has
promised
in
Obadiah
to
make
a
way
for
the
Jews
to
be
saved
but
as
I
look
out
here
and
I
don't
know
all
of
you
but
I
don't
think
anyone
here
is
Jewish
no one's
putting
their hand
up to
say
yeah
I
am
well
in
Chatswood
in
20
26
in
this
gathering
no one
is
Jewish
and
that
means
that
we're
not
standing
in
the
shoes
of
the
Jews
in
Obadiah
we're
standing
in
the
shoes
of
the
nations
we
don't
have
a
right
to
any
of
those
words
we
are
those
who
build
castles
we're
a part
of
the
pain
of
those
around
us
in
our
homes
and
in
our
work
places
God's
plan
for
us
for
the
nations
must
extend
beyond
the
borders
of
Judah
otherwise
Obadiah
is only
about
our
drinking
of
God's
wrath
and
there
is
no
sense
of
hope
there
at
all
!
not
only
do
we
need
God
to
get
rid
of
the
barrier
that
we
have
built
between
him
and
us
in
our
sin
we
need
to
be
brought
into
that
promise
we
the
nations
need
someone
to
take
our
sin
and
drink
our
cup
of
punishment
for
us
so
here
is
where
I
want
you
to
see
that
the
sovereign
lord's
plan
for
a
kingdom
did
break
into
history
and
turn
everything
upside
down
in
Matthew
which
began
with
the
threat
of
an
Idumean
we
meet
or
we
see
a
Judean
called
Jesus
and
he
had
been
building
the
castle
of
God's
promised
kingdom
out
of
his
own
life
out
of
his
righteousness
holiness
rejecting
sin
refusing
pride
he
had
every
right
to
boast
to
judge
even
destroy
but
he
stayed
silent
and
meek
in
verse
36
we
see
this
man
sweating
blood
in
the
dark
desperately
calling
out
to
God
saying
my
father
if
it
is
possible
may
this
cup
be
taken
from
me
yet
not
as
I
will
but
as
you
will
Jesus
in
that
moment
chose
to
trade
his
table
place
at
the
table
of
peace
with
God
for
our
place
at
Obadiah's
table
of
judgment
of
the
nations
taking
for
himself
the
cup
of
the
sinner
the
cup
of
the
proud
the
cup
of
the
oppressor
the
cup
of
the
exile
before
anyone
asked
for
or
earned
a
trade
as
tribute
even
as
Judah
themselves
Judeans
were
planning
to
murder
him
Jesus
decided
to
drink
down
our
cup
and
face
the
wrath
of
the
sovereign
Lord
for
us
and
he
drank
that
cup
down
the
next
day
on
the
cross
and
you
know
what
is
just
mind
blowing
about
that
moment
is
that
above
Jesus
head
nailed
to
his
cross
was
a
sign
in
all
the
known
languages
of
the
time
for
everyone
to
read
this
is
Jesus
the
king
of
the
Jews
a
title
written
in
sarcasm
in
hatred
yet
gloriously
true
is
that
Jesus
was
the
king
it
is
the
king
of
the
Jews
Jesus
established
a
kingdom
in
his
death
a
castle
that
with
defenses
that
no
tide
or
power
can
sweep
away
for
all
the
nations
to
run
to
for
all
people
to
run
to
and
be
saved
the
offer
of
peace
with
the
sovereign
lord
and
citizenship
in
his
eternal
kingdom
is
open
to
all
to
Jews
and
to
non
Jews
to
the
Jews
who
killed
their
king
to
all
who
live
their
lives
in
pride
and
sin
to
those
who
oppress
harm
and
hate
and
to
those
who
are
oppressed
there
is a
hope
for
all
in
the
power
and
justice
of
God
in
Jesus
if you
don't
know
this
hope
follow
Jesus
come
and speak
to me
after
we sing
and
find
hope
in
Jesus
and
stop
playing
in
the
sand
don't
leave
here
today
without
taking
your
next
step
toward
Jesus
if
you
do
follow
him
I
want
to
encourage
you
to
take
a
step
in
how
you
are
understanding
the
rule
of
Jesus
over
your
life
and
his
grace
to
you
as
you
explore
the
Bible
what
is
your
next
step
in
seeing
the
love
of
Christ
to
you
and
exploring
scripture
and I
want you
to take
your
next
step
by
experiencing
a
Sabbath
every
week
is
there
a
big
chunk
of
time
or
a
day
that
you
can
set
aside
every
week
to
unlearn
the
patterns
of
your
self
dependence
and
proneness
to
self
saving
build
your
reliance
on
God's
grace
to
you
keep
choosing
to
get
down
from
your
pride
and
rest
in
Jesus
Obadiah's
promised
kingdom
is
ruled
by
Jesus
who
graciously
saves
!
Amen
to
Jesus
love