And if you have a Bible, I invite you to open to the book of Obadiah.
Maybe a little bit of a head-scratcher.
Obadiah, where is that thing at?
It's in the Old Testament towards the back end of it.
So maybe the way to do it is to find Matthew and start going back to the left a little bit.
It's right after the book of Amos, right before the book of Jonah.
I think it's on 918 if you have one of the hardback ESV Bibles from the pew.
As you're finding this, I want to invite you to kind of take a journey back in time together this morning.
Time of the people of Israel, God's people, who have just experienced the unthinkable.
An extraordinary army of a foreign superpower has arrived at their doorstep.
They've made it to the nation's capital.
They've torn down the gates of Jerusalem and ripped apart the walls.
They've neutralized and captured and killed the mighty men of the city and the country.
They're looting the treasury and all the valuable assets and the gold and silver and resources of God's people.
Their house of worship is being burned to the ground.
The temple of the living God.
All the people of any value whatsoever, the nobility, the skilled craftsmen, the mighty warriors,
are enslaved and deported to a foreign land.
And all the poor who are left looking around at a nation in utter ruin.
Jeremiah describes a scene in the book of Lamentations talking about weeping and wailing
and Judah being carried into exile and the empty streets.
But once flourishing nation now left a ghost town.
There's no one to attend the festivals and the celebrations that God ordained for his people.
We're talking, of course, about the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C.
When the armies of the foreign superpower Babylon came in, overthrew and destroyed the people of Israel,
they devastated the nation.
And we know that as we read the Bible, this was part of God's plan.
He kept sending prophet after prophet, telling his people, repent, repent, repent.
And finally, the day came when God judged his own people for their sins.
The prophet Jeremiah continues in the book of Lamentation that Jerusalem remembers in the days of her affliction
and wandering all the precious things that were hers from days of old.
They think back in the midst of this rubble and they remember the height of the monarchy where David is just conquering foes left and right.
And his son Solomon has wisdom that causes foreign nations to come just to get a glimpse,
to hear a word of the king.
And the wealth that Israel is acquiring and the beautiful temple of God,
just a couple hundred years earlier, filled with his glory for the good of his people.
And you think back farther and you remember that God had this mighty victory over Egypt
when he freed his people from bondage to this foreign nation.
And as they left, they plundered the Egyptians, taking all their wealth and their riches with them.
And now, all of Israel's national pride, all of their hopes and dreams of a bright future,
are lying in the rubble of a decimated city in the midst of a conquered people.
Imagine what thoughts would be going through your mind on that day.
Where is God?
Where is our hope?
Where do we go from here?
It's into this context of carnage that the prophet Obadiah speaks.
And it's not a word of hopelessness and despair.
It is a word from the sovereign Lord of the universe,
full of power and promise and coming judgment.
It's a word not just for those people of Israel who laid in ruins,
but for God's people today.
So we're going to look at Obadiah together.
The first 15 verses today will be our task.
And the text, to give you an idea of where we're headed,
the text is set up in the following way.
Verse 1 provides a formal introduction.
It says who's writing, who he's writing on behalf of, and who he's writing to.
We'll spend a lot of time there because we've got to get the context of
who's being written to and what's going on and why is God writing to this person.
And then, following this formal introduction, verses 12 to 15,
we see kind of a sentencing hearing in a court of law.
There's a defendant who's been convicted of crimes
and now is just awaiting the judgment, the punishment.
Verses 2 to 9, we see the judgment.
God is the judge.
Edom is the criminal.
And then in verses 10 to 15, we see the crimes that Edom has committed
and being judged for.
By the end,
when we arrive together at verse 15,
we'll see clearly the main thing that God is telling us in this text.
So let's jump in.
Verse 1.
The vision of Obadiah.
Thus says the Lord God concerning Edom.
We have heard a report from the Lord
and a messenger has been sent among the nations.
First thing we see,
the formal title,
the vision of Obadiah.
When we see this word vision,
what we need to be thinking is
that Obadiah has been given a special prophetic insight
into a future event.
God has given him clarity
regarding the judgment of Edom.
But who is this Obadiah guy anyway?
Well, he's a prophet, of course,
of Yahweh, the one true God.
And I believe that he lived
during and after the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC.
The tricky thing with that is
Obadiah is a common name,
shows up all over the Bible,
and it's hard to really nail down specifically
where this guy was.
Did another passage somewhere else
reference his name?
Or is this the only record we have
of Obadiah,
the prophet?
I think this is the only place
we have record of him.
But what we can tell
just by reading this book
and understanding a little bit of the context,
Obadiah is a faithful Jewish man.
He's God-fearing.
He loves the Lord.
And he has a clear and profound grasp
of Old Testament theology
and who God is.
And most importantly,
he speaks authoritatively for God.
That's the next thing we see in verse 1.
Thus says the Lord God.
It's this combo of two names of God,
Adonai and Yahweh.
And the combination Lord God
tells us that this is speaking
of God's supreme authority
and sovereign power.
God calls the shots.
He's the boss.
No one can oppose him in the end.
And in this case,
this statement,
the Lord God,
which is uniquely true of our God,
the God of the Scriptures,
he is the Lord God
and there is no other.
In this case,
our sovereign king
is speaking a message of judgment
concerning Edom.
Concerning Edom.
And we see a name like Edom.
I don't know about you.
I start scratching my head.
I don't know who this guy is.
I'm not like a super history guy
of the Bible.
So I got to start doing some legwork
and figuring out who this guy is.
But it's important, right?
Because the whole thing is for him.
So we better do some work.
We need to go all the way back
to the time of Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob.
Abraham, of course,
was promised to be the father
of many nations.
God promised him a descendant
even though he was old
and his wife had no children.
Isaac is born,
the child of promise
through whom God said
he would bless the nations.
This same Isaac
marries a lady named Rebecca.
Rebecca becomes pregnant
after years of trying
and she's pregnant
with twin boys.
During the hard pregnancy,
she asks the Lord
what's going on
and God answers her.
In Genesis 25, verse 23,
he writes this,
two nations are in your womb
and two peoples from within you
shall be divided.
The one shall be stronger
than the other
and the older
shall serve the younger.
Of course, God is referring
to Esau and Jacob,
the twin children
of Isaac and Rebecca.
Well, one day,
after a long day
in the fields hunting for food,
Esau comes in
starving
and sees his brother Jacob
cooking stew
and he says,
give me some of that red stuff.
Well, red
sounds in Hebrew
like the name
Edom.
And here we have our answer
as to where this guy
originates from.
Esau,
the son of Isaac and Rebecca,
is Edom.
Same guy.
Jacob ends up
giving him the soup
for a little exchange.
It's just the cost
of his birthright.
Then later on,
we know Jacob steals
his older brother's blessing
through treachery
and trickery.
It's no wonder
that Jacob's name
means he cheats.
Of course,
after Jacob steals
the blessing,
Esau's mad,
says,
I'm going to kill
my brother.
So,
Jacob flees.
When he is gone
in a foreign land,
Genesis 32 tells us
he wrestles with God
and God gives him
the new name,
Israel.
So,
now we've got
Esau and Jacob
becoming Edom
and Israel.
And God's promise
proves true.
These two nations
are at odds
with each other
from the womb
and continue to be
at odds.
Israel wandering
in the wilderness
asks their brother
Edom for safe passage
through their land
and Edom says,
no.
They refuse
Israel passage.
Numbers,
chapter 20,
verse 14.
And later on,
we see the great
king David
kills 18,000
Edomites
in the Valley of Salt
and sets up
military outposts
throughout Edom's land,
2 Samuel 8.
Hadad,
the Edomite,
becomes an adversary
of King Solomon
in judgment
for Solomon's refusal
to abide by the word
of the Lord,
1 Kings 11.
And then,
in 2 Chronicles 28,
we see that the Edomites
again invade,
defeat,
and carry off
the people of Judah.
Long track record
of conflict,
violence,
and bloodshed,
and thievery,
and deception.
Two brothers
rarely at peace,
just like God promised.
But Edom's treatment
of Israel,
God's own people
demanded judgment.
They weren't just
unrepentant,
it kept growing worse.
And that is why
we're here today
in the book of Edom,
ready to hear
the courtroom decree
of Yahweh
concerning Edom.
Now, let's look
at these verses
together.
What we're going
to read
is that we're seeing
a sentencing.
And again,
the Lord is the judge,
Edom is being judged
and receiving
the sentence.
So I'll start back
at verse 1,
and I'll read
down through 15.
The vision of Obadiah.
Thus says the Lord God
concerning Edom.
We have heard
a report from the Lord
and a messenger
has been sent
among the nations.
Rise up!
Let us rise up
against her
for battle.
Behold,
I will make you
small among the nations.
You shall be
utterly despised.
The pride of your heart
has deceived you,
you who live
in the clefts
of the rock
and your lofty dwelling,
who say in your heart,
who can bring me
down to the ground.
Though you soar
aloft like the eagle,
though your nest
is set
among the stars,
from there
I will bring you down,
declares the Lord.
If thieves came to you,
if plunderers by night,
how you've been destroyed.
Would they not steal
only enough for themselves?
If grape gatherers
came to you,
would they not leave
gleanings?
How Esau has been pillaged,
his treasures sought out.
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.
He has no understanding.
Will I not
on that day,
declares the Lord,
destroy the wise men
out of Edom
and understanding
out of Mount Esau,
and your mighty men
shall be dismayed,
O Taman,
so that every man
from Mount Esau
will be cut off
by slaughter.
Because of the violence
done to your brother Jacob,
shame shall cover you,
and you shall be
cut off forever
on the day
that you stood aloof,
on the day
that strangers
carried off his wealth
and foreigners
entered his gates
and cast lots
for Jerusalem.
You were like
one of them.
But do not gloat
over the day
of your brother
in the day
of his misfortune.
Do not rejoice
over the people
of Judah
in the day
of their ruin.
Do not boast
in the day
of distress.
Do not enter
the gate
of my people
in the day
of their calamity.
Do not gloat
over his disaster
in the day
of his calamity.
Do not loot
his wealth
in the day
of his calamity.
Do not stand
at the crossroads
to cut off
his fugitives.
Do not hand over
his survivors
in the day
of distress.
For the day
of the Lord
is near
upon all
the nations.
As you have done
it shall be done
to you.
Your deeds
shall return
on your own
head.
So two parts
in this
scary
word of God.
First part
is the judgment
that we see
in verses
two to nine.
Essentially
these verses
tell us
that Edom's
judgment
is both
certain
and near
at hand.
In verse
two we see
that the Lord
cuts right
to the chase.
He brings
immediate
and swift
statement
behold.
It's like
saying see
look this is
really urgent
what I'm about
to say.
I will make
you small
among the
nations.
You should
be utterly
despised.
This
small among
the nations
is insignificant.
He's just
going to weaken
them to the
point that
everybody looks
on and goes
whatever.
It's scary
and in
fact it's
already
happening
because if
you remember
from the
end of
verse one
there's this
messenger of
God who
goes out
among the
nations and
says hey
rise up
guys.
Time for
action.
And they
all agree
collectively
agree let's
go get
Edom.
God's
already at
work judging
this people
even before
the final
judgment
comes.
There's an
immediate sense
as to why
God would
be so
upset when
we look at
verse three.
The pride
of your
heart has
deceived you.
See Edom
was this
very high
well guarded
secure
almost
impenetrable
nation in
the mountains
southeast of
Israel.
And they
knew it.
They were
very well
aware that
nobody could
touch them.
They looked
down on their
neighbors and
even if
somebody wanted
to get from
south to
north or
north to
south they
had to ask
Edom permission
to go
through.
And it was
Edom's choice
whether or not
they would let
people pass.
Just as in
numbers they
said no to
their own
brother.
And this
lofty hearted
thinking of
Edom shows
up strongly
and emphatically
at the question
they ask at the
end of verse
three.
Who is going
to bring
me down?
Who can
do that?
We're
awesome.
And notice
what the
Lord says
in verse
four.
You might
very well
be soaring
like an
eagle from
the perspective
of man.
Majestic
and carefree
and just
dominant over
the landscape.
Even if you
were there,
even if your
nest was among
the stars,
from there
I will
bring you
down,
declares
the Lord.
Who can
bring me
down?
The knower
of hearts
who knows
this arrogant
Edom
says,
I will.
Your time
is up.
I will.
And when we
see this little
tag ending,
declares the
Lord,
we should
think similarly
to the way
Jesus introduces
statements
sometimes like,
truly,
truly I say
to you,
it's kind
of the same
thing,
this weightiness,
this emphasis
that the one
speaking has
this special
kind of
authority and
we should
really pay
attention to
what he's
saying.
Edom,
God has
seen your
pride and
he's going
to bring
you down.
Bank on
it.
As we
move into
verses 5
to 7,
God kind
of leaves
the scene
sort of
and we
start seeing
how the
human agents
are going
to carry
out this
judgment
upon
Edom.
It starts
in verse
5 with
this really
sort of
gruesome
word picture
of thieves
coming by
night and
plunderers
and the
question,
would they
not only
steal what
they can
carry off?
If thieves
come, they
have to be
strategic,
right?
They got to
go after the
valuable things.
And grape
gatherers,
the end of
five, if
they came,
would they
not leave
gleanings?
We just
saw on
Ruth,
right, how
gleanings
were left
for the
poor and
the helpless
and the
vulnerable.
And in
verse 6,
God says
how Esau
has been
pillaged.
You will
not have a
grape on
the ground.
You will
not have
anything in
your cupboards.
My judgment
is total
against you.
Verse 7
shows how
it's their
own allies,
their friends,
those that
they've broken
bread together
with at
table for
dinner,
totally at
ease because
you know
there's peace
between you.
It's their
allies that
God will
turn against
them to
bring judgment
upon their
heads.
God
is
clueless.
In the
end of
verse 7,
we see
Edom has
no idea
what's
coming.
He's
clueless.
It's like
when the
Bible says
that the
day of
the Lord
comes like
a thief
in the
night.
Edom is
unprepared,
unexpecting.
It's
tragic.
It's
terrible.
And we
see as
much back
in verse
5.
I skipped
over this
little phrase,
how you
have been
destroyed.
The prophet
inserts this
not to
gloat,
not to
say yay
and cheer,
but a
shock
over the
total
devastation
that Edom
faces.
Same thing
in verse 6,
how Esau
has been
pillaged.
He's on the
verge of
tears over
this reality.
It's horrible.
And even
though Edom
deserves
judgment,
it's not
pretty.
It's not
something to
rejoice
over.
That's
important
because we'll
see Edom
do the
opposite
in a bit.
God
cared about
Edom.
He cared
about the
people that
he said,
time's up,
judgment's
coming.
He cared
a lot
about
Edom.
In fact,
in a
different
narrative
of the
Israelite
wandering
in the
wilderness
when Edom
said no,
in Deuteronomy
2,
we see a
little bit
more information.
God tells
them,
you're about
to go into
the land
of your
brother.
You're not
to take
advantage of
them.
You're not
to look at
their land
and start
going,
oh,
that's kind
of nice.
I want
that.
I've given
it to them
as a
possession.
God cares
about Edom
very much.
He is not
here just
looking to
kind of
pummel
another group
of people
for wrongdoing.
That's not
our God.
God.
He's a
God of
mercy and
patience,
a God
slow to
anger and
abounding in
steadfast love
and faithfulness.
Yet a
God who
does not
leave the
guilty go
unpunished.
And time
was up.
Edom had
had their
chances and
they had
failed to
repent.
Verses
8 and
9,
we see
that the
Lord God
kind of
comes back
onto the
scene and
asks this
question,
will I not
on that
day,
declares
the Lord.
There's that
certainty
again.
Will I not
destroy the
wise men
in understanding,
terrifying the
armies and
making sure
that no
person escapes
from the
slaughter.
God will
destroy the
wisdom,
all of the
wise,
will send
the army
into complete
terror,
and the
end will be
the destruction
of this
people.
By 312
BC,
this came
true.
The
Nabataeans
came in
and Edom
was no
more.
Well,
maybe you're
thinking,
this sounds
pretty harsh.
Every person
cut off by
slaughter?
Not to
mention that
the God
who is saying
this message
has just
turned his
judgment upon
his own
people,
plundered
and devastated
their land
and his
own
temple,
his own
house.
And we
could go
on and
on in the
history of
the Bible
and find
examples of
this same
type of
thing.
Both
individuals
and whole
nations
brought under
the judgment
of God
and not
spared.
Can we
just admit
it seems
harsh?
Maybe a
bit hasty?
Is God
just being
extreme
here?
Let's move
into the
second part
of our
text and
we'll come
back to
that.
So just
keep that
question there
though.
Moving on
into verse
10 through
15, we
see that now
God is going
to announce
the formal
charges
against
Edom,
Esau.
Because of
the violence
done to
your brother
Jacob,
shame shall
cover you
and you
shall be
cut off
forever.
There's that
cut off
language again
we just saw
in verse
9.
Now this
violence
against
Jacob,
kind of
this general
summary,
okay God
violence,
get it,
murder maybe,
but where's
the details?
We need
more evidence
here for
this charge
and God
will provide
that.
But notice
in verse
10,
the violence
done to
your
brother
Jacob.
That's
important.
It's really,
really important.
See that's
why throughout
this whole
prophetic
oracle,
Obadiah has
kind of been
interchanging
Edom and
Esau,
Edom and
Esau,
because what
he's really
concerned with
is the
magnitude
of the
crimes.
These weren't
people who
didn't know
each other
and just
kind of
got in
some little
fight.
These are
brothers.
Brothers.
It's horrible.
In verse
11, we see
that strangers
came in,
foreigners
came in
and carried
out the
wealth
and the
nobility
of Israel.
And then
at the end
of that
verse, we
see God
say to
Edom,
you were
just like
one of
them.
You
treated
your own
brother as
if he
was a
complete
stranger.
It's one
thing to
conquer
strangers,
but another
thing entirely
to come
after your
own kin.
Verse 11,
if you
look, you
see this,
on that
day when
you stood
aloof,
there's
reason to
think that
what Edom
is actually
doing here
is kind of
looking upon
the destruction
to be
entertained
by it.
It's like
they've got
their favorite
lounge pants,
they've popped
the popcorn,
the butter's
on it,
and the salt
is just
coating the
butter,
and it's
just so
delicious,
and then
they're just,
this is
amazing.
I'm loving
what I'm
seeing here.
Woohoo!
They're
amused
by their
brother's
destruction.
Do you
notice the
on the
day,
twice in
verse 11?
See at
first,
back in
verse 8,
when the
Lord says,
will I
not on
that day
destroy the
wise men?
And now,
verse 11,
on the day
that you
stood aloof.
Verse 15,
it changes
from that
day to
the day
of the
Lord.
Obadiah
uses this
concept of
day to
connect this
whole oracle
together.
There's three
distinct days
that he's
talking about.
The first
day in
verse 8
is the
day of
Edom,
the near
future day
when God
will completely
judge the
people of
Edom.
then in
verses 11
to 14,
the day
he's talking
about is
the day
that Israel
had just
experienced
when Babylon
came in
and destroyed
their land,
exiled their
people.
And then
verse 15,
the day
of the
Lord is
the uncertain
future day
when the
Son of
Man,
Jesus Christ,
comes in
the clouds
with his
angels and
judges the
nations once
and for
all.
Those are
the three
days that
Obadiah is
talking about,
all having
to do with
sin purging
judgment.
This day
reference now
that we see
in verse 11
continues into
verses 12
to 14 and
it just is
like this
hammer on
an anvil,
just over
and over
and over.
It's used
in a series
of eight
commands
directed at
Edom.
The ESV
translates them
do not,
do not.
Maybe if
you're in
KJV
or other
translations
you might
see,
you should
not have
or you
shouldn't
not have.
What's
going on?
That's like
one sounds
future,
one sounds
past.
Here's what
I think
Obadiah is
doing.
He's using
these commands
to continue
expressing
sort of
the formal
charges
against
Edom.
So the
do nots,
do nots are
still what
Edom has
already done.
And
writing them
in the way
that he
has
emphasizes
the depth
of the
criminal
activity.
These
things are
no-brainers.
They knew
better.
This is like
God saying
do not,
saying shame
on you.
You knew
that that was
wrong the
whole time
you did it.
You didn't
care.
In fact,
you took
great joy.
notice if
you look
closely through
the list of
those eight
charges in
verses 12
to 14,
they start
in the
heart and
they just
keep expanding
and expanding
until finally
Edom has
turned into
bounty hunters,
turning their
own brothers
over to
captors
because of
a heart of
pride.
It's scary
how far
pride will
go.
in the
lives of
the nations
in our
own lives.
Notice
in verse
13 that
after God
saying your
brother and
his misfortune
and then 13
he says do
not enter the
gate of my
people.
Now God
is personally
offended
because
Edom has
now done
harm to
his chosen
the ones
he particularly
loves in
all the
earth.
These are
horrible crimes
against
God's
people.
Edom's
own
brother.
Just to
point out
this nerdy
thing that I
found this
week from
verse 13.
If you look
and you see
this word
repeated three
times calamity
in the day
of their
calamity
in the day
of his
calamity
in the day
of his
calamity
maybe in
a different
Bible it
might say
distress or
destruction.
In Hebrew
this word
sounds a lot
like
Edom.
So if we
reword
verse 13
listen to
it.
Do not
enter the
gate of
my people
in the
day of
their
Edom.
Do not
gloat over
his disaster
in the day
of his
Edo.
Do not
loot his
wealth in
the day
of his
Edo.
It's like
this
tolling
bell
clanging
away
promising
Edom
full
total
retribution
for the
wrongs
he committed.
it's just
one of the
ways that
Hebrew
poetry is
just
beautiful
at
conveying
the
meaning
God
wants
us
to
know.
And now
we arrive
at verse
15.
And we
see this
for the
day of
the Lord
is near
upon all
the
nations
and we
see
why
this
is in
our
Bible.
It's not
so we
would kind
of look
back at
Edom
and just
go
poor
fellows
they met
their end
because
God's
holy.
We see
that
Edom's
judgment
is just
one of
a multitude
of signposts
that warns
every person
everywhere
today and
every day
judgment
is coming
judgment
is near
near upon
all the
nations.
Edom
is an
example to
us all
judgment
is coming.
It's a
severe
yet
merciful
warning
to
repent.
This
text this
morning
claims
this
the Lord
will judge
all the
nations
according
to his
righteousness.
The
Lord will
judge
all
the
nations
according
to his
righteousness.
So what?
God,
why in
this
warm
sanctuary
2,500
years
later
does that
matter
to you
and me
in Christ
the King
Church?
Let me
just give us
a few
reasons
as we
close.
it matters
that the
Lord will
judge all
the nations
according to
his
righteousness
because I
think you
and I
if we're
honest we
have trouble
with the
idea of
judgment.
It makes
us a little
squeamish,
fearful that
we might
offend
people who
God loves.
When we
start talking
about wrath
and hell
and judgment
we seem
like we're
afraid we
might come
across as
holier than
thou.
Big headed,
proud,
self-righteous,
legalistic,
bigoted,
hate mongers.
We have
trouble with
the idea
of judgment.
It's not
what we
want to
hear.
God is
love,
right?
Let's just
talk about
his love
day after
day.
It's so
beautiful.
And of
course God
is love.
We never
forget that
he's love
and we
never cease
to tell
people that
he is
love.
There's
another
reason why
this matters
that the
Lord will
judge all
nations
according to
his righteousness
and it's
because judgment
reveals an
essential
character of
our God,
the God
that we
want the
nations to
know.
Our Lord
wants us
and all the
world to
know that
he is
righteous
and holy
and not
just to have
that thought
kind of
hanging in
our systematic
theology
brains like
Wayne
Grudem's
book on
a shelf.
That's not
why God
wants us
to know
that he
is righteous.
He wants
that reality
to operate
in our
lives,
to function
in our
minds and
in our
hearts and
the way
we live
our lives
before the
world.
We know
a righteous
God.
It's
important
God's
righteous
good.
He's going to
get that guy.
A third
reason why
this matters
to us
today.
It's because
judgment
can either
make us
squirm
in discomfort
or we
can become
hard-hearted,
right?
We can just
remove compassion
from the
equation,
well,
God's going
to get
you,
man.
Peace
out.
And we
leave.
And we
condemn
people.
We lack
compassion
of our
Lord Jesus.
Oh,
God's
righteous
good.
He's going
to get
that guy,
that creep.
That's not
who God
is and
that's not
who his
people are
to be
either.
We know
as Christians,
as God's
people who
have his
word,
that God
has determined
to reveal
his righteousness
two ways.
One,
through
judgment
that will
be full
and finally
meted out
when Jesus
comes back.
That's
way number
one.
Way number
two is
by crushing
his son
for us.
God
there's
your
options
world.
As
Obadiah
writes this,
he says,
judgment
is coming
upon all
the nations
and there
is no
one who
will be
spared.
There
is not
one who
will stand
in the
judgment.
None
is
righteous,
no,
not one.
No
one seeks
God.
No
one
understands.
God
and then
Jesus
shows up
and says,
I give
my life
as a
ransom
for many.
That's
righteous
of God.
You know
that,
right,
friends?
It was
right and
just of
God to
pour out
his wrath
on his
own son
so that
sinners
like us
might become
the righteousness
of God
welcomed
into his
family
forever.
God is
righteous and
we celebrate
that.
We love
him for
that.
He's
wonderful
because
he's
righteous.
And
it's even
more difficult,
right,
when we
know that
the world
and our
very neighbors
and some
of our
closest friends
and family,
they reject
the God
of the Bible
because he's
too mean.
He's cruel
hearted.
He's mean
in the Old
Testament.
He's nice
in the New
Testament,
so who
needs him
anyway?
And so
we shy
away from
telling people,
no,
he's
righteous
and he's
loving
and he sent
Jesus in
your place.
We fear
angering those
we want to
save,
so we
kind of
suppress and
diminish the
righteousness of
God and
kind of
go after the
warm and
fuzzy things
of him.
God never
ceases to be
righteous.
Obadiah says
that the day
of the Lord
is coming upon
all the
nations when
God judges
everybody in
his righteousness.
It's so
clearly
peppered on
the pages
of our
Bibles.
He wants
us to
love his
righteousness,
friends.
He wants
us to
be zealous
for it,
be quick
to speak
of it
before others.
He will
judge all
nations
according to
his righteousness.
So
we ask,
friends,
do you
love
his
righteousness?
Do you
love it?
If you
love it,
is it
operating in
your life?
Is it
changing how
you live?
Do you
hate sin
more?
Because God
is righteous
and God
himself hates
sin?
Are you
longing for
the day?
Are you
hungering and
thirsting for
the righteousness
that one day
will be satisfied
when Jesus
comes and
brings us to
glory?
Long all
you want,
Lord.
Long all
you want,
friends.
You'll be
satisfied.
God is
righteous and
he will one
day reveal
that to
all nations.
We only
have to look
at Edom.
Edom stands
there.
Fallen,
covered in
shame,
no more
people.
We love
God's
righteousness
and bravely
and lovingly
warn everybody.
The day's
coming.
And after
we get done
telling them
of the
righteousness
of God,
we say,
let me tell
you about
this sweet
guy I know.
His name's
Jesus and
he gives you
his own
righteousness
so that you
can be spared
from judgment
forever.
over and
he's for
all the
people
everywhere.
The one
who takes
our guilty
sentence
upon
himself
and gives
us his
own
righteousness
forever.
Perfect
righteousness.
The Lord
will judge
all the
nations
according to
his
righteousness
and thanks
be to
God,
friends,
we have
a refuge
in Jesus
Christ.
We would
not stand
either.
We're among
the proud.
We're among
the nations
who will
stand at
the judgment
and be
cast out.
But for
Christ,
only
him,
flee to
him.
He's your
refuge.
Day
after day
flee to
him.
You have
no
righteousness
of your
own.
It's
filthy
rags,
but Jesus
is your
righteousness.
And when
God comes
back to
judge the
nations,
you'll be
safe in
him.
Friends,
we're now
going to
gather at
the Lord's
table.
reflect on
the crushed
body,
shed blood
of our
Lord Jesus.
We're going
to unite
together and
marveling at
what he has
done for
unrighteous
sinners like
us to
make us
righteous.
And then
we're going
to sing as
we go,
nothing but
the blood.
So let's
pray together
as the
communion
servers come
forward today.
God,
help us to
be lovers of
your
righteousness.
thank you
for this
warning in
Obadiah,
and I
pray that
you would
make us
messengers
who go
out and
say,
the day
is coming,
Jesus is
your hope,
repent now.
We love
you,
give you
thanks and
praise in
Jesus' name.
Amen.