MPC 30th December 2007.December 30 - Obadiah - "Restoring God's Order"
Derek Hanna MPC 30th December 2007.
The stories we often hear of Cleopatra are those of her affair with Julius Caesar, her love of Mark Antony, and the tragic end their love brought them to.
But there was a lot more to Cleopatra and her family than just Mark Antony. And not all of it was so heart-warming.
You see, when Cleopatra was young, her older sister Berenice was beheaded by her father.
And when she was slightly older, it seems that Cleopatra was forced to marry her brother Ptolemy, only for Ptolemy to eventually exile Cleopatra for her independent ways.
After plotting the downfall of her brother in exile, and returning to power... Cleopatra hadn't learnt her lesson obviously and married her other brother.
After a fling with Caesar, his untimely death on the Ides of March, Cleopatra's current husband (her brother)... died a mysterious death that couldn't quite be tied back to Cleopatra.
Now I know lots of people, but in terms of sibling rivalry... this I pretty extreme isn't it?
In Obadiah we read of a sibling rivalry that puts this to shame.
But it's not two brothers, but the descendents of two brothers. Twin brothers, Jacob and Esau.
And it's a conflict, or a rivalry, that was predicted even before their tiny feet made any impact on the world.
Back in Genesis 25, Jacob and Esau were born to Isaac (the Son of Abraham) and his wife Rebekah, and this is what was said to Rebekah before they were born, Gen 25:23:
Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.
There was conflict in their life, although they made peace in the end.
And in fact, in Deuteronomy 23, when the descendents of Jacob (Israel) and Esau (Edom) had grown into a great many people, Israel were commanded in their law not to abhor the Edomites for they were their brothers. (Deut 23:7)
There was always a sense of kinship between Israel and Edom.
Which makes the history of violence that litters their relationship all the more disturbing.
One jealous of the rise to power of the other.
One waiting for a moment of vulnerability from the other in order to pounce.
And that's what happened in Israel's time of vulnerability.
Obadiah writes after the fall of Jerusalem, and probably before people had returned to Jerusalem.
But when Edom saw his brother in dire straits, with Babylon descending on Jerusalem... and he pounced.
It's recorded in history that Edom seized upon the opportunity to ransack Jerusalem with the rest of the Babylonian forces, and even went so far as to pillage the remaining villages surrounding Jerualsem (1 Esdra 4:5).
But when we read Obadiah, there is more going on than just the assessment and future of Edom. Not only is this a judgement on Edom. Edom is representative both of the problem with those who oppose God and how God is going to deal with them.
And ultimately what we see in Obadiah is what we see in the overall picture of the Bible - God is going to restore order. His order.
But lets start with the Edomite problem.
And the heart of the problem that we see in Edom is a little word we read in v.3. Pride. You see the evidence of it in v.3-4?
Edom think themselves invulnerable. While Israel might have been brought low by Assyria and Babylon - Edom thinks their superior geographical position in the mountains makes them impregnable. You see, pride is really the illusion of being something that you're not.
CS Lewis said that "Pride is spiritual cancer" (Mere Christianity). It is the essential problem, the utmost vice. All other sins - greed, anger, selfishness are mere fleabites in comparison. He says it was through pride that the devil became the devil, and pride that leads to every other vice. It is the complete anti-God state of mind.
Why is that? What is it about pride that causes the downfall of Edom? What is it about pride that makes CS Lewis rate it as the essential problem?
Well, it's because it is self-deceptive. It's because it tells you you're something (whatever it may be) even if you're not. Isn't that what we see in this stupid thing called celebrity status? That because people appear on TV, because we know their names, because they can stand in front of a camera and repeat words from an autocue... they are worthy of our respect?
It's pride that convinces people they are more important than they are.
It's pride that helps you justify your behaviour even when it's clear to everyone else that you're wrong.
It's pride that prevents you from seeing where you stand with God, and puts you in a very precarious position.
Pride is the sin that will condemn the world.
It's what makes people think they can live without God.
It's what makes people desire to do away with the need for God, to disprove the existence of God, so they can live "freely" as they see it.
It's what convinces people who have been to church their whole life, whose parents went to church, whose parents parents went to church... that God is impressed with them because they have served for so long and so tirelessly in the Church.
It is pride...
And pride crumbles in the face of the power of the Lord.
God promises that he will bring Edom down and make them small (v.2). That though they soar like an eagle both in where they live and their attitude to their own place in the world... He will bring them down (v.4).
Avoid pride.
It was at the heart of the downfall for Edom. It is a plague that is easy to detect in others, but hard to detect in yourself.
CS Lewis' word on this is telling for Christians. Whenever you find that your Christian life, your involvement in Church, your serving at Church is making you feel that you are good - above all, better than someone else - you can be sure that pride is present and setting in.
The test he says of really being in relationship with God is that you either forget about yourself altogether and embrace the majesty of God... or see yourself as a small, dirty object.
Does that offend you? Does it offend you that I might tell you that in the presence of God you are small and dirty?
If it does, you can be sure there is pride in your heart that you need to root out, before it spreads.
Remember what the great Apostle Paul said about himself - that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners - of whom I am the worst.
There is no room for pride before God.
But Edom did not hear the warning, or in their pride they ignored it, and have a look at the result (vv.5-14), because it's pretty grim.
Look at the kind of destruction that God is visiting on Edom (vv.5-7).
It's not like being robbed, as robbers take only what they can carry. And it's not like grape pickers, who might only take the best of what they see. It's more like having everything you own repossessed. Standing helplessly as you see your life empty out the front door. (v.5-6)
And it's not going to be done by strangers. One night they'll be sitting and enjoying a meal with their friends and allies... and the next those same people will be ransacking the village for all it's worth.
Everyone from the wise (v.8) to the warrior (v.9) will be terrified and destroyed.
They will be covered with shame, destroyed forever (v.10).
What God is promising Edom here is a systematic dismantling of everything that has brought them pride. Their wisdom, their military might, their wealth.
Those things they hold close to their heart... he will rip out.
And all because their pride led them to violence against their brother Jacob (v.10).
Seems harsh doesn't it?
It's the pain of a father who looks at his children and sees such hate and animosity between them. Look at how he describes Edom's actions.
When Babylon besieged Jerusalem, and carried off the wealth of God's temple... their brother Edom was just like a stranger (v.11).
In fact, Edom watched on with pleasure. Rejoiced in their suffering. Boasted over their destruction (v.12).
In fact, they did more than that, the joined in the destruction. They were there to march through the city gates when Jerusalem finally fell. They were there to steal the wealth of Israel. They participated in the judgement that fell on them (v.13)
And then when it was over, on their way back to their mountain kingdom... they killed whatever survivors they found, or handed them over to the enemy (v.14).
This has gone way beyond a family feud, hasn't it?
You might feel like your family situation is hard, and you might have felt like your Christmas lunch was a little strained.
But this is extreme.
Can you see God's pain and anger at the way Edom has treated his brother?
There's little pain greater I imagine than the pain of parents grieving over their kids.
Their behaviour, their choices in life, their animosity to their parents or their siblings.
But Edom made their choice. I'm sure it wasn't what God had hoped for them. But it was their choice. And what they sow, so they will reap.
And so it was with Edom.
By the time we get to Malachi 1:2-4, somewhere between 400 and 500 BC, we see that Edom has been destroyed.
They say they'll rebuild, but to God, they have become a people under curse.
And so it is that in about 300 BC, archaeology tells us that the area Edom occupied is ruled by another.
Now I said at the start that in Obadiah, we are speaking not only about Edom itself, but Edom is also set up as the template for those who oppose God.
You see, Obadiah has a bigger picture in mind than just the judgement that Edom has brought upon itself.
Obadiah wants people reading this to know that God is restoring his order to the world.
And while the proud strut about now... it won't always be so.
And so he says, "The Day of the Lord" is coming.
And have a look at Obadiah's description of the Day of the Lord. It's a day of reversal.
You see in v.15 - it's about reaping what you sow.
Those who sow hatred towards God, those who are proud, those who are bent on violence - that is, those who are like Edom... well, on the Day of the Lord, it will be returned upon their own head.
Just as they sat and drank in Jerusalem as they plundered it... so they will drink the wrath of God on the Day of the Lord.
But there is another group see in v.17-18.
These are those who looked down and out, these are those who were being walked over and gloated over by the proud, these are those who have no wealth to boast of... but soon they will be the hunters, and not the hunted.
On this Mount Zion, there will be deliverance and holiness.
The house of Jacob which is lying in ruins, will consume its previous tormentors.
Not just Edom, but all nations.
And this group won't only consume the enemies of God - it will take over ownership, responsibility for the earth (v.19-21).
You see in v.21 there, the Kingdom is the Lord's, and His people possess it.
Not just the promised land as under David, but the mountains of Esau, which God had previously said the Israelites weren't to try and take. And the land of the Philistines which fell outside the original borders of the promised land.
The Day of the Lord is more than just Edom getting their just deserves.
Obadiah envisions the Day of the Lord as a time when God would put things right, when he would finally restore things to their rightful order.
It's about those who fear God, living in God's land with God at the centre, and those who are too proud to bend their knee, being cast out of the land and being destroyed.
Those are the two groups described in Obadiah vv.15-21.
One is characterised by Edom and are eventually destroyed. They're proud. They have no regard for God. They wait for God's people to fall so they can pounce on them and gloat. They think they're invincible, and so live life as they see fit. The Day of the Lord will not be a pleasant experience for them.
And the other is... well, what are they like?
Obadiah never says.
But you do find out. Have a look at this in Matthew 5:3-10.
This is what those who will rejoice in the Day of the Lord are like.
They are poor in spirit, they mourn in this life, they are meek, they hunger and thirst for righteousness, they are merciful, they are pure in heart, they are peacemakers, they are persecuted for righteousness.
These are the types of people who should look forward to the final Day of the Lord. The day when God brings final judgement on this world. The day when people will reap what they have sown. The day when God will give the world to His people, and punish those too proud to bend their knee to Him.
So the question from Obadiah really is, what is the Day of the Lord going to be like for you?
Because what is in question is not whether God is going to restore order...
The question is when God does restore His order, where you will fall in the shake up.
When God calls the world to account; when God calls you to account - how will you fare?
Your answer relies on whether you will approach God humbly... or whether pride will be your downfall.
Because the characteristics you exhibit in your life will tell you where you stand with God.
And the first point of contact to even be included in the family of God, requires you to humble yourself before God and admit that without the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ you couldn't come within coo-ee of God.
If Christ is the point at which you start with God, then when you come before God on that final day, you are in for something special.
Because you have seen through the lies the world has to offer, and you have humbled yourself before God, and acknowledged the King that God has installed.
And in God's new order of things... under Christ, you will inherit the earth, you will be filled, you will be comforted, you will see God.
So hold on to that humility.
Don't let pride set in and stop you from hearing God's Word as you did at the start.
Don't let pride set in and rob you of the compassion you had for the lost when you first realised what you had been saved from.
Don't let pride set in and water down the mercy you have once showed to those who are in need.
Just as you started in humility, so we need to continue in the same humility, for we were saved by Christ, we are saved by Christ, and we will be saved by Christ.
Only pride will tell you differently.
Yet if you are a person who is proud, or who has become proud of who you are... who looks down on others... who considers yourself above mundane things like compassion, gentleness, service... then take heed from the warning in Obadiah, and hear the words of the Lord Jesus.
Not all who say "Lord, Lord" will enter the Kingdom of heaven.
That is, there are some who say they are Christians, but who exhibit none of the characteristics of being in God's family, and prove by their life they are not trusting in the death and resurrection of Christ.
It can be pride that will convince you you're right with God... just like Edom... right up until the point of destruction.
If there is no humility before God, there can be no relationship with God.
My encouragement is to examine (or re-examine) your life.
One test is to ask someone who you know will tell you honestly whether they think you are a person of compassion, of gentleness, of genuine repentance.
Do they see a desire in you to hear the Word of God and respond... or to hear the Word of God and then convince yourself you've heard it before and it doesn't apply to you.
Do they see you as a person with a passion for serving God's people... or with a passion for serving yourself.
Are you a peacemaker... or a troublemaker?
Do you hunger and thirst for righteousness... or do you hunger and thirst to satisfy your own needs?
Examine your life. Ask someone who will tell you truly. And pray that God will make it plain to you.
Root out pride, because while you may feel secure, it may well be your downfall.
The Day of the Lord will be a day of restoring God's Order to the World.
The proud will be brought low, but the humble will be raised.
How do you think you'll fare? How are you going while you wait?
I pray that we wait in humility.