"The Lofty Fall"
[Obadiah 1-4]
February 25, 2007 Second Reformed Church
"The vision of Obadiah."
If the Lord is willing, during the Sundays in Lent, we will be looking at the book of Obadiah. Obadiah is the shortest book of the Old Testament, and most of us probably don't know anything more about it.
I hope you have noticed that when God is named, I usually mention the name that is used for God. In our pew Bible, though they don't do that, they give us signals to look for. For example, if the word "LORD" is all in capital letters, that signifies that the Name in Hebrew is "YHWH." Whereas, if the word "Lord" only has the "L" capitalized, it is signifying the Name "Adonai." Please notice in verse one, the first use of "Lord" only has the "L" capitalized; that is an error. The Name there, as in the rest of Obadiah is "YHWH" -- "LORD" should all be in capitals.
And some are thinking, "Who cares?" And the "who cares" is this: there are reasons for the Names that are used for God. "YHWH" is that most personal, most holy Name that God gave to Moses. "Adonai" is a much more generic word. The vision of Obadiah comes from YHWH, the Holy God, the Most Perfect Being, He Who Was and Is and Is to Come, the God of Being.
And Obadiah delivered the word of YHWH Elohim to the people of Edom, telling them that They have heard -- remember we have just looked at the doctrine of the Trinity -- God said that They have heard that all the nations of the world have joined together to make war against Edom. And, of course, God didn't "just hear" that the nations were going to war against Edom, as we see, He incited it.
Well, who was the nation of Edom? Why would the nations attack them? Why would God want the nations to attack them?
If we turn back to Genesis 25:23, we read that Isaac and his wife Rebecca conceived twins, "And [YHWH] said to her, 'Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the young.'" We remember that the two children, the two nations were Esau and Jacob. Esau was the first-born, a strong red-headed hunter, whom Isaac loved. The younger son, Jacob, was a quiet man, who stayed home and helped his mother in the kitchen. And we remember, in Israel, that the first-born, Esau, would receive the blessing of his father and the greater inheritance at his father’s death; he would be the head of the household.
One day, Esau came home from the hunt hungry. He burst into the kitchen where Jacob was making some red lentil stew. And Esau demanded that Jacob give him the stew to eat, and Jacob, trained well by his mother, said he would give Esau the stew, if Esau gave him his birthright. Esau agreed, and from that day forth, the descendants of Esau were called "Edom," meaning "red," after his hair and the stew.
Jacob received the birthright, and in another trick, the blessing of Isaac, and God changed Jacob's name to "Israel" and made him the father of God's people.
So the descendants of Jacob and Esau were the nations of Israel and Edom. The Israelites and the Edomites were kin. So what happened? Well, the Edomites resented the Israelites for what happened between their fathers, so, when Babylon attacked Israel in 586 B.C., the Edomites helped the Babylonians. The Edomites sold out their brothers in Israel; Edom sold out the people of God.
So now, we see in Obadiah, God has turned His Attention to Edom, and through Obadiah, He says, "Gee, Edom, We hear that all the nations of the world are turning and coming after you. You sold out Israel, and now everyone has turned against you."
But Edom wasn't worried, because Edom was located in the caves of the mountains, high up, and at a great advantage when it came to war: in order to attack Edom, invading armies would have to scale the mountains, so Edom thought herself invincible, based on her location. God thought otherwise.
"I will surely make you least among the nations; you shall be utterly despised."
If Edom thought they had gotten the short end of the stick all those years ago, now they would learn something. No longer would Edom look down from the heights on Israel and be jealous of what they had, because God was going to take away what Edom had for her sin. God was about to make them the very least of all the nations. God was going to make them despised, a word of derision among all the nations.
They were jealous of their brothers and wished them harm -- they assisted others in harming them, and God told them that He would make them least for their sin of jealousy and betrayal.
Are we satisfied as Second Reformed Church and as individuals? Are we thankful for what God has done for us and how He has preserved us? Or are we wondering why God hasn't given us as much as others? Now, we are right to look to see if our sin is keeping us from being what God has called us to be, but if we are simply lusting after others, if we are just being jealous of others -- then that may be the sin that keeps us from progressing in Christ. Who are we jealous of? Who are we jealous of as a church and as individuals? Edom's jealousy got the whole nation destroyed.
"Your proud heart has deceived you, you that live in the clefts of the rock, whose dwelling is in the heights. You say in your heart, 'Who will bring me down to the ground?'"
Edom was filled with sinful pride; her response to the word of war against her was, "Come on and get us! You'll never make it up the mountain. We're in a better place defensively. You will lose. We're better than you are, and this will show it." They weren't taking the threat seriously; they weren't seriously considering that it was God Almighty Who had called for their destruction. And no one has cause to be prideful in the sight of God.
Pride is a sin that everyone can fall into, because we can always find someone, who, in our mind, is lower on "the scale" than we are. That's one reason there are so many court shows on television -- "Did you see the one where that foolish person said such and such and did such and such? Where do they get these bottom feeders?" Perhaps the greatest freak show on television is the "Jerry Springer Show." We feel good watching those shows because "we're better than they are." No matter what is going on in our lives, we can say, "did you see that one?"
And we can be prideful about our churches and denominations, "We know we're blessed by God because we're big and rich." "Well, we know we're blessed by God because we're right." "Well, we know we're blessed by God because nobody is ever offended by what is preached in our church."
Why are we the Church? What is the mission of the Church? Is it to know we are better than everyone else? Is it to keep ourselves happy?
Pride destroys. Solomon wrote, "The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate" (Proverbs 8:13). "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall" (Proverbs 16:18). "One's pride will bring him low, but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor" (Proverbs 29:23).
"Though you soar aloft like the eagle, though your nest is set among the stars, from there I will bring you down, says the Lord."
What Edom had forgotten was that they had been kept by God, and they had been kept well. God had kept His Promises to them according to the blessing their father received: "Behold, away from the fatness of the earth shall your dwelling be, and away from the dew of heaven on high. By your sword you shall live, and you shall serve your brother; but when you grow restless you shall break his yoke from your neck" (Genesis 27:39b-40).
What was the blessing that Esau and his descendants received? "Yes, you have been tricked. Yes, you have lost the Promised Land. Yes, you will have to struggle. Yes, you will have to rely on your brother. But in time you will be a free nation." Edom was a free nation, but they were still concentrating on the foolish results of their father's sin, which they blamed on Israel! They didn't trust God; they didn't trust the Promises of God.
Do we? Do we believe that God has work for us and will sustain us and cause us to accomplish His Work? Or are we looking back at all our mistakes and sins, we which cannot change, and blaming everyone but ourselves. "If this minister had done this, if the denomination had stepped in, if the town hadn't changed..."
The prophet Isaiah came to Israel with a rebuke from God, saying, "Why, when I came, was there no man; why when I called, was there no answer? Is my hand shortened, that it cannot redeem? Or have I no power to deliver?" (Isaiah 50:2a). "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear" (Isaiah 59:1).
Let us learn from Obadiah and the destruction of Edom, (which would come one hundred years later). Let us repent of our jealousy. Let us repent of our pride. Let us be about the work that God has called us to do: to go and make disciples, preaching and teaching the Word of God alone, to rightly administer the sacraments, to believe and teach and do all that God has taught in the Bible, and then let us trust Him -- let us humbly trust Him. Let us believe Him at His Word: "Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20b).
Let us pray:
Almighty God, we are a complex and sinful people. We have believed in You for salvation, yet we are still afraid of the dark; we are afraid of the future. Give us Your Wisdom and teach us to use it. Cause us to trust You in all things and humbly follow Your Word. Make us to be that city on a hill, that light on a stand, that You have called us to be. Cause us to rise up, not out of pride or jealousy, but for the sake of the Knowledge and the Glory of Jesus Christ. For it is in His Name we pray, Amen.
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