 Well, it's a privilege to be with you again tonight. Lord, we're going to start a study in the book of Obadiah. So don't be ashamed to use your table of contents if you have to to find Obadiah. Turn to those minor prophets. Hosea, Joel, Amos, then Obadiah. The minor prophets are sort of like taking a trip out into the woods. There's a lot of beautiful things there that many people don't see that often. So the minor prophets, they have themes throughout them. Think of three themes that you see often in the minor prophets. One is that how the people are not keeping the covenant that God has given them in the book of Deuteronomy. Another is the covenant faithfulness of God. And then third, we have the final hope of Christ's return of God's rule and reign over all the nations. So we'll see these themes throughout the minor prophets. And Obadiah is very similar to many of these aspects, but it has something that makes it distinct among the minor prophets. And that is that it is addressing Edom. It is addressing a heathen people, a group of people that are not Israelites. And that's the only of the minor prophets that does that. Let's go ahead and we'll read the book of Obadiah together. And we're going to read the entire book in one sitting. It is the shortest book in the Old Testament. Let's begin in verse one. The vision of Obadiah fesses 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. Behold, I will make you small among the nations. You shall be greatly despised. 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. 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. 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 grave-gatherers had come to you, would they not have left some glanings? Oh, how Esau shall be searched out. How his hidden treasures shall be sought after. 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. Will I not in that day, says the Lord, even destroy the wise men from Edom and understanding from the mountains of Esau? Then your mighty men shall be dismayed to the end that everyone from the mountains of Esau may be cut off by slaughter. For violence against your brother Jacob, shame shall cover you, and you shall be cut off forever. 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. 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. 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. You should not have stood in 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. 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. 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. But on Mount Zion there shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness. The house of Jacob shall possess their possessions. 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 in the house of Esau, for the Lord has spoken. The south shall possess the mountains of Esau. The lowlands shall possess Philistia. They shall possess the fields of Ephraim and the fields of Samaria. Benjamin shall possess Gilead, and the captains of the host of the children of Israel shall possess the land of the king knights, as far as Zarephath. The captives of Jerusalem, who are in Zepharad, shall possess the cities of the south. Then saviors shall come to Mount Zion to judge the mountains of Esau, and the kingdom shall be the lords. May God bless his holy word. Do you see that last verse in Obadiah? The kingdom shall be the lords. That's the heart and thrust of Obadiah. The kingdom shall be the lords. There's many themes in here. There's pride. There is destruction and attack of God's people. There is the coming of the day of the Lord, the final judgment and the return of the Lord. But what holds it all together is that the kingdom shall be the lords. Imagine with me that you are in the French resistance in 1940s France. If you remember, the Nazis have taken over France in the early 1940s, and there's a movement in Paris, in France, called the French resistance, where people are fighting in guerrilla warfare against the Nazis and their rule. And imagine with me that you are part of that resistance, and you've been fighting with your friend, say we pick a French name like Jean, you're fighting with Jean, and you meet with your group of the resistance, 10, 12 people. After a year or two of bloodshed, you go back to the hideout one time, and the Nazis have discovered it. And in the end, you find that it's Jean who sold you out. The one who you ate bread with, the one who you fought with, the one who you said and vowed together, that you died together, that one who is near to you has betrayed you, and it's cost you the lives. At that point, when you see your dead friends, that your closest friend has betrayed you, what do you need to hear about? But you need to hear about how D-Day is coming. There's an invasion coming from the Allies, and the Allies will come and liberate your country. They will come and people will be free once again. And all of those who betrayed and turned back will be shamed. This is what happens in this context. The people of Israel have Edom that is their close allies, even considered a cousin or a brother, because they're descendants from Esau. They even are called Esau many times in the book. Israel and Esau. Jacob and Esau, brothers, descendants. And in this book, there's an attack on Jerusalem, and it comes because of a betrayal of Edom. So when the people of Israel see Jerusalem in ruins, they see that the betrayal has happened by, not just some foreigner, but it's happened by Edom, the close country. The friend. What do they need to hear about? But that the kingdom is the Lord's. Do you feel weary in the battle? Do you feel weary following the Lord? Another betrayal, another lost friend. Well, what you need to hear about is that the kingdom is the Lord's. You need to think about the return of the Lord. You need to think about how the king of kings is coming back, and he will set all things right. The people of Israel here needed to hear that. They needed to hear that the kingdom is the Lord's. And I think that today, we need to hear the same. We need to hear that the kingdom is the Lord's, and his rule and reign over this world is coming. And it gives us great hope and great perseverance, great joy. So let's consider, I'm going to give you some more of a teaching now, time to give you some background about Obadiah, Edom and the Lord, okay? Then, God willing, we'll get into some of the judgment, pride, and fall. If you have the outline that's in the bulletin that will help you follow along, so first, I'm going to cover some of the background of the book of Obadiah. Okay, so first, who's Obadiah? There's approximately 12 Obadiahs in the Bible, and nobody really knows anything about this Obadiah. I'm sorry, I guess you were expecting some more background, but really, nobody knows anything about this Obadiah. He's a mystery. He's a mystery figure. We know that he gives his prophecy to those who are in Judah, and we know that in the very first verse, it's called the vision of Obadiah, and what's also a mystery is the time in which he writes. The time in which he writes. We can make some estimated guesses, but the commentaries are all in agreement that no one knows for sure when this book is written. Let me run you through some of those different options very quickly. There's five different major attacks on Jerusalem. So we know from Obadiah that it's in the time of a major attack on Jerusalem. There is the time of 925 B.C., where Sheshach king of Egypt in the reign of Rehoboam comes in to attack Jerusalem. There's the time in 2 Chronicles 21, where the Philistines and the Arabians come in during the reign of Jehoram, and that's in 841 B.C. There's a time in 790 B.C. when Jehoash king of Israel comes in and attacks Jerusalem. There's the time in 735 B.C. when Edom and Philistia come in during the reign of Ahaz, and there's also the time of Nebuchadnezzar in 586. That's the one most people know, the time of the Babylonian captivity. Considering the context in Obadiah, where what happens with the people in Jerusalem, you can narrow it down to either two of those dates. It's either 841 or 586. To give you an idea of each of those times, let's turn and look at 2 Chronicles 21. We'll see the earlier date, the possibility that this is in the reign of Jehoram. 2 Chronicles 21 verse 8, In his days, Edom revolted against Judah's authority and made a king over themselves. So Jehoram went out with his officers and his chariots with him, and he rose by night and attacked the Edomites who had surrounded him and the captains of the chariots. Thus Edom has been revolted against Judah's authority to this day. If you look on in verse 17, it says in verse 16, Moreover the Lord stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines and the Arabians were near the Ethiopians and they came into Judah and invaded it and carried away all the possessions that were found in the king's house. And also his sons and his wives so that there was not a son left to him except Jehoaz, the youngest of his sons. Another option of the time, if you look in Psalm 137, 300 years later approximately, Psalm 137 is about after the Babylonian captivity. And it reads in verse 1, By the rivers of Babylon there we sat, yea we wept, When we remembered Zion we hung our harps upon the willows in the midst of it. For there are those who carried away captive asked of us a song, And those who plundered us requested mirth, saying sing one of us the songs of Zion. How shall we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land if we forget you, O Jerusalem? Let my right hand forget its skill. If I do not remember you, let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth. If I do not exalt Jerusalem above my chief joy. Remember, O Lord, against the sons of Edom, The day of Jerusalem who said, raise it, raise it to its very foundation. O daughter of Babylon, who are you to be destroyed? Happy the one who repays you as you have served us. Happy the one who takes and dashes your little ones against the rock. You can see from this Psalm the people of Israel crying out to the Lord for justice. And what does the Edom do? But they come in and they say, raise it, raise it to its very foundation. Destroy, destroy Jerusalem. So I'm hoping that you can see some of the history of Edom and verses Israel. It's a long family feud that has gone on. And it started back in Genesis 25 when two nations are in the womb of Rachel. I'm sorry, of Rebecca. And it goes on when the people of Israel try to get passage through Edom that they're denied passage. Edomites oppose the king of Saul. Edomites are subdued by David in 2 Samuel 8. The Edomites are subjected by Solomon in 1 Kings 11. They fight against Jehoshaphat in 1 Kings 22. They rebel against Jehoram in 2 Kings 8. They're conquered by Amaziah in 2 Kings 14. They rebel against Ahas. They're controlled by Assyria and Babylon. There's a long history of Edom versus Israel. In the 4th century, the Edomites are forced out by the people called the Nabateans. They're forced to move to Southern Palestine where they become known as the Idumeans. And there's one famous Idumean who you know and his name is Herod. So the battle of Edom versus Israel goes all the way down to Herod where he tries to destroy the Messiah. This is a long family feud. And here in the book of Obadiah, it is a declaration of God against the Edomites. It's a declaration of a death sentence. He doesn't plead for the Edomites. Instead he says you're going to be wiped out within time. And now in the time of 8070, since that time in that destruction of Jerusalem, we have not heard of any Edomites. They have been wiped off the face of the earth. God's word has been fulfilled. So there's the background of Obadiah, Edom, and the Lord. Let's try and get into verse 1 before we close tonight. Verse 1 says 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 against her for battle. Do you see how verse 1 starts out with the vision of Obadiah? That should remind you of Hebrews. Hebrews 1-1 that where God has spoken in times past and now he's spoken to us by his son. Here's an example where God is speaking through the vision of Obadiah. And thus says the Lord God. You see how we have here the, it's by the prophet. It's from the Lord. The target is Edom and the significance is God is going to war. God is going to war. God is going to war against the proud. God is going to war against those who attack God's people. And you don't want to go to war against the God of the universe. Here he begins by saying we have heard a report from the Lord. And a messenger has been sent among the nations saying arise. Let us rise up against her for battle. Israel's judgments are only in temporal and nature when they are the true people of God. They're in a 70 year captivity. But Edoms are eternal. Hell. Death. They're going to be wiped out when God says let us rise up against her for battle. This is like a battle cry that God gives in the prophets many times. Turn over to the left to Joel and Joel chapter 3. Joel chapter 3 verse 9 to 13. Proclaim this among the nations. Prepare for war. Wake up the mighty men. Let all the men of war draw near. Let them come up. Beat your plowshears into swords and your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weak say I am strong. Assemble and come all you nations and gather together all around. Cause your mighty ones to go down there oh Lord. Let the nations be awakened and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat. For there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations. Put in the sickle for the harvest is ripe. Come go down for the wine press is full. The vats over flown for their wickedness is great. What a fearful thing it is to be opposed by God. Do you know who God opposes? God opposes the proud. God opposes the proud. Think with me tonight about how you have pride in you. You have pride in you and you have got to battle it every day. It rises up and leads to fruit in your life of evil fruit. Pride says to God that I deserve worship and not you. Pride says to God pushes God off his throne and says I'll sit on it. The judgment of God comes against Edom because of their pride. Their pride and their pride leads them to destroy and attack God's people. Does God have enemies? Yes, his enemies are the proud. So would you want to be one of God's enemies? Would you want to be a proud person? God opposes the proud. He declares war against the proud. He will humble all the proud. Either you must humble yourself now before the cross of Christ, before God Almighty, or you will be humbled on judgment day like Edom. There was someone who doesn't have to be humble, and he's the Lord Jesus Christ, but he humbled himself to save a proud people. Think about all of the pride that's been in your life where you think and consider yourself to be a good person, where you put yourself first ahead of others, where you expect people to say wonderful things about you. And when someone says something wonderful about you, I remember I heard this story about a guy who sent out these letters of congratulations and thank you letters to like 12 of his friends, and every one of his 12 of his friends replied back with, oh yes, you're welcome, and they wrote about something good they did. And all 12 of his friends were expecting praise and thanks. What kind of attitude do you have before God? Is it pride? There's one who humbled himself, and he didn't have to. You should humble yourself every day, but the Lord of Glory humbles himself. He becomes a man. What kindness and what goodness from the Lord Jesus Christ to come and save a proud people. We are a proud people, but we have a very humble savior who humbled himself to the point of death on the cross. So let's consider his humility and our pride. Let's pray. Dear Lord God Almighty, we don't want to be your enemies. We don't want you to declare war on us. We want to be a humble people. Thank you for Obadiah. Please help us to be able to understand the meat of this book and the heart of this book. Please help us to be able to get into the rest of this book and be humbled, worship you, exalt you, and see that the kingdom is the Lord's. Amen.