1 of 9 Pastor Richard Allen Farmer Crossroads Presbyterian Church 5587 Redan Rd. Stone Mountain, GA 30088 770.469.9069-office Gems From Obadiah, Part 1 "The Swollen Head" Text: Obadiah 1-9 This is one of the shortest books in the bible. 2nd and 3rd John have fewer than 20 verses each. Philemon has 25 verses. This shortest book, of one chapter, has 21 verses. Obadiah begins with a vision(isaiah 1:1; Nahum 1:1) which is in complete opposition to what we expect in visions today. We envision great and marvelous movements and blessings from God. We expect to hear 1 of 9
2 of 9 God say, "I will make you great among the nations. You shall be celebrated and admired". Instead, Behold, I will make you small among the nations. You shall be greatly despised. Are we reading this correctly? Presumption and pride have gotten their claws into Edom. Who is Edom? It is the nation descended from Esau, the twin whose younger brother Jacob was a patriarch of Israel. You recall the line, "I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob". The book of Obadiah is directed to Edom, Esau's people. The book of Malachi is directed to Israel, Jacob's people. In Malachi 1:2-3, we read: "Was not Esau Jacob's brother?", says the Lord? "Yet Jacob have I loved; but Esau I have hated, and laid waste his mountains and his heritage for the jackals of the 2 of 9
3 of 9 wilderness." That's a fulfillment of the devastation spoken of in verse 1 of our text. Prenatally, it was prophesied that these two brothers, more specifically the nations over which they were patriarchs, would be enemies. We read in Genesis 25:21-23: Now Isaac pleaded with the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived. But the children struggled together within her; and she said, If all is well, why am I like this? So she went to inquire of the Lord. And the Lord said to her: Two nations are in your womb, Two peoples shall be separated from your body; One people shall be stronger than the other, 3 of 9
4 of 9 And the older shall serve the younger. That prophecy came true when Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for some lentil stew(genesis 25:34). There is a play on words there in Genesis. 25. The Hebrew word for red is used for both the color of the stew and for Esau (Edom)himself (Genesis 25, 30). Thus, the elder served the younger, as had been predicted. Jeffrey Niehaus says that the book of Obadiah is "a covenant lawsuit against Edom for its violation of fraternal relations". (The Minor Prophets. An Exegetical and Expository Commentary. Volume 2. p. 496) Edom will be judged because of specific attitudes and actions. 1. General pride- The swollen head. The puffed up chest. The arrogant spirit. 4 of 9
5 of 9 Proverbs 16:18: Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. The first clause of verse 3 in our text tells us one of the consequences of pride. It deceives the proud person. Pride makes us think more highly of ourselves than we ought think. 2. Geographical pride- Edom's capital was Petra, which sat high on the plateau of Umm el-biyara. The Edomites thought that they were impregnable. Deceiving themselves, they sat in their craggy bastion and thought, "Who could possibly bring us down from here?" (end of verse 3). God's response to the general and geographical pride of Edom is divine humbling. The Eternal responds to the 5 of 9
6 of 9 proud and haughty and smug and self-deceiving. God brings them down(4). The same language is used as Lucifer is described in Isaiah 14:12-15 Let's look more closely at the description of Edom's pride. Verse 5 uses two word pictures to emphasize the depth of Edom's arrogance. A. Robbers/burglars- The thieves steal until theyve had enough. B. Grape gatherers- As grape-gatherers take the best of the fruit, for wine and grape juice, so Edom will be plundered and the marauders will leave nothing behind. Verse 6 moves from the plural to the singular as it suggests that not only the corporate Edom(clause a) will suffer but so will every individual(clause b). 6 of 9
7 of 9 The proud, arrogant Edomites will find themselves forsaken by allies(verse7). The final note here in these 9 verses we have before us is Edom's reliance upon its wisdom. Verse 8 has God declaring that He will remove the wise men from Edom. That will certainly humble the people of the swollen head. Known for its resident discerning men, Edom will be stripped of them. One of Job's wise counselors, Eliphaz, was from Teman(Edom), so says Job 2:11. What God does here is beautifully described in Job 12:20, 24. Result of this loss of the wise ones? Dismay!! Pride leads to presumption, which eventually to humbling, followed by loss of wisdom, followed by dismay and demoralization. Illus. 7 of 9
8 of 9 Craig Brian Larson tells the story of 21-year-old Jose Cubero who was enjoying a spectacular career as a matador. However, in a l958 bullfight, Jose made a tragic mistake. He thrust his sword a final time into a bleeding, delirious bull, which then collapsed. Considering the struggle finished, Jose turned to the crowd to acknowledge the applause. The bull, however, was not dead. It rose and lunged at the unsuspecting matador, its horn piercing his back and puncturing his heart. Larson writes: "Just when we think we've finished off pride, just when we turn to accept the congratulations of the crowd, pride stabs us in the back. We should never consider pride dead before we are." Illus. 8 of 9
9 of 9 Before the Titanic left Southhampton, England in April 10, 1912 a Mrs. Albert Caldwell, a passenger, asked a crewman if the ship was really unsinkable. The crewman said, "God Himself could not sink this ship." (A Night To Remember. Walter Lord. p 50) What a swollen head! Amen 9 of 9