The Punishment of a Privileged People — Aaron Dunlop

Reading Obadiah and Identifying Its Messenger

I have read the whole book of Obadiah tonight and I intend to, as we go through this series, it is good to read, if you are doing any study in any book, it is good to read it through numerous times to get a flow, to get the feel for the book in its entirety, to get the overall picture.

It is also good to read aloud, if you are doing a study on any verse or passage of scripture, it is good to read aloud and get the feel and hear the words that you are studying. It is one thing reading it to yourself, but to read it aloud and to hear it back in your ears is an added dimension that is very good in the study of scripture.

As I said I want to look at the first couple of lines of this prophecy, the vision of Obadiah, thus saith the Lord concerning Edom. We looked last week at the subject of Edom and the day when the Lord has his day.

We concluded that message with the identity of the messenger Obadiah. He is very obscure, he does not identify himself but for his name. He does not give his father's name which identifies his heritage, his lineage and is often used as a surname.

He does not identify which kings he prophesied under as many of the other prophets did. He does not identify who he was or what he did. So we looked at his identity, the identity of the messenger and we saw first of all that he is hidden behind his commission.

We made the point at that time that this man had such an important commission and such is the meaning of his name which means servant or worshipper of Jehovah. That his commission was paramount, he did not waste words.

The vision of Obadiah, thus saith the Lord. He was hidden behind his commission, not only was he hidden behind his commission as we saw the last time but he was hidden behind his message. He is simple in language, manifold in meaning, few in words, abundant in thought, according to that the wise man is known by the fewness of his words.

One commentator in the 11th century wrote What I want to look at tonight after having identified the identity of the messenger. I want us to look tonight at the intensity of the message. As an overview of the book, the intensity of the message.

Edom as the Symbol of Heathen Ungodliness

Intense in his message on a number of different levels. The condemnation of Adam was clear as we have seen from the beginning. He saw as we looked at in the whole of scripture, we span both the Old and the New Testament.

And we saw in the New Testament that he stumbled at the word because he was disobedient. He sold his birthright. And we went back into the book of Genesis chapter 25. And we saw how he despised his birthright.

He sold it to his brother. By that we saw this animosity, this hatred between Jacob and Esau. That was going to continue between the two brothers throughout their generations. And so we saw that this animosity and therefore the condemnation on Adam was there from the beginning.

If we look deeper into the life of Adam as a nation. The more we see that the Edomites became the personification of godless malignity and pride. They were the personification of pride and godlessness.

And we proved last week that this prophecy on Adam is indeed not only a prophecy on this little nation. But it is a prophecy on the heathen of the world. Verse 15 for instance. For the day of the Lord is near upon all the heathen.

Eden became the personification of all ungodliness. And it signified and symbolized throughout the scriptures The entire heathen ungodly world. Just as his brother signified the Christian church throughout the signified heathenism Of Esau at the beginning of murdering Jacob Would become the obsessive intent of the Edomites for the nation of Israel.

They would not be satisfied until Israel was exterminated. They had an innate hatred for the children of God and the God of Israel. And it is this hatred of God that Esau represents and Edom represents the nations remarkable lucidity.

The fate of heathenism then as we saw last time is bound up in the fate of Edom. This is a general but a crucial observation. In order to properly understand and in order to properly interpret the book of Obadiah.

So while the message of Obadiah might apply specifically and historically to a nation in the mountains of Seir. The message is for heathens, that's important. While this book in its historical context speaks to a nation, small nation at the south end of the Dead Sea.

Its message is for heathenism to the end of time. But more sensitive, again as we look at this book, more sensitive than that. We see that as we look to this book there is a very tender nerve indeed. Which identifies another category of people upon whom the destruction of eternal punishment rests.

Those who have known the privilege of the covenant blessings of God and spurned them. We are going to see that tonight. Those who have known the privilege of the covenant blessings and promises of God.

And spurned them, turned away and rejected them. What we are looking at tonight then is the punishment of a privileged people. The punishment of a privileged people. There are four other prophecies or oracles regarding Edom in the Old Testament.

They are found in Amos chapter 1 verses 11 and 12. Isaiah chapter 21 verses 11 and 12. Jeremiah 49 verses 7 to 22. And Ezekiel 25 verses 12 to 14. Elements common to all. But we will be looking, and as we look at the other prophecies You will see that there are elements, that all of the elements that are mentioned in the other prophecies converge in Obadiah.

They converge in Obadiah. Prominent in the prophecies of Amos, Ezekiel and Obadiah. Is the fact that Edom had harbored such a vengeful spite against Israel. Particularly so since Edom and Israel were brothers.

And that spite and that vengeful spirit against Israel Was so intense and so destructive. Particularly because they were so closely knit as brothers. Obadiah then deals in his prophecy with the judgment of God on the Edomites As a specially and particularly privileged people.

And his terse dealings in 21 verses adds emphasis to his message. As I said he does not multiply words. He speaks clearly, he speaks pointedly to a people who ought to have known better. The brevity of this book is intensity.

And apart from the brevity of the message there are three other aspects That I want us to pick up on tonight in these 21 verses. Three other aspects of this prophecy that highlight the intensity of the message.

And the intensity of a message, hear me? The intensity of a message of punishment on a privileged people. Three aspects in this little book of 21 verses. That intensifies the punishment of God on a people who have heard the gospel.

On a people who know the gospel intellectually. And on a people who have rejected the gospel spiritually. These three aspects are applicable to every individual. Who sits under the sound of the gospel.

And turns from it unaffected. And still entertaining in their hearts a hostility and an indifference to the things of God. I want you to hear what Obadiah has to say tonight. As I said this morning we are living in the end of the end times.

Deception is rife. The bible says that if it were possible even the elect would be deceived. And I am under no illusions and I have said it before and I will say it again. That as I preach the gospel to any congregation I do never assume that all my hearers are believers.

Continually to examine ourselves to see if we are in the field. And I don't care how much you know the gospel. And I don't care what your intellectual acumen is concerning the things of scripture. I want you tonight to think of the privilege that you have.

As you sit in a Christian country so called In a Christian meeting hearing the gospel. Ask yourself have you in your heart and in your spirit accepted the gospel. I am not talking about your head. I am not talking about what you know intellectually.

Covenant Privilege and the Relationship Between Jacob and Edom

I am talking about your heart. First thing I want us to notice tonight. Regarding the intensity of this message. Is the relationship that is emphasized. The relationship that is emphasized. It is the highest possible privilege.

The highest possible privilege. The main body of the prophecy of Obadiah is against the Edomites. Is unambiguous as to the nature of the relationship between Israel and Edom. He makes no bones about it.

He is clear and he clearly states that they are brothers. That they had this relationship to Israel God's peculiar particular chosen people. They were not distant cousins. They were brothers. And what's more to add intensity to that.

They were twin brothers. They were from the same father and the same mother. There is no closer relationship than what Edom had to Israel. Here were a people who then had all the covenant privileges In Esau reprobate.

It's a striking thought. Here's a people who had all the promises of a covenant people In their father, in their patriarch Esau. And yet they are reprobate. The privileges of the seed of Abraham Were many and varied.

We could go through the Old Testament and give you the privileges That Esau had in Abraham, in his father Abraham In the promises that God gave Abraham and Isaac And would have given to Esau. Only Esau rejected them.

That's a striking thought. That Esau is within the broad covenant family Under the broad blessings and promises of Abraham. It would not be true to say that the Edomites were the covenant people of God.

Because as we know the promises were given to Abraham. They were reiterated to Isaac. And they were reiterated to Jacob specifically Having left Esau off. So it would not be true to say that Edom was the covenant people of God.

Yet it is not without significance That the seal of the covenant made with their father Abraham Was given to Esau and to the Edomites. Abraham was told to circumcise all the male children in his house As a sign of the covenant that God made with his people.

He did that Isaac was told to do the same. And so closely knit together Was the sign of the covenant And the covenant itself. That to be without the sign was to be without the covenant. So closely knit were they by God in the Old Testament.

And so the point I want us to see tonight is that Esau as a child of Abraham and Isaac Had on his body the sign of the covenant of God. He carried with him a continual reminder Although it had been blurred by time and the innate corruption of humanity.

He had on his body a continual reminder that God had condescended to relate to men. And he rejected all of those covenant promises and blessings He turned from them. He spurned them. Deuteronomy chapter 2.

God as we have seen previous weeks God had protected the Edomites. He told the Israelites as they were going up through the Kings Highway On their way through Edom. They were not to pillage the land of Edom.

In fact as they went through they were to buy their very bread. They were to buy their very water to survive. They were not to accept anything free from Edom. Edom was protected by God. In Deuteronomy chapter 23 verses 7 to 9 The Edomites are further privileged when God commands the Israelites Not to despise the Edomites.

Why? Because God says they are your brother. They are your brother. They were not to despise the Edomites. God made a special identity with these people the Edomites. Because they were the brother is significant.

They were to permit them into the covenant. That is if an Edomite had come to be part of Israel And accepted the true worship of the true God Israel were to receive them. They were to treat them right.

They were not to despise them as unworthy of salvation. My friend the point I want to make tonight Is that Edom. Edom was a privileged nation Next to Israel itself. There was not a more privileged nation In all of the Old Testament.

The relationship that is emphasized. Verse 10. For the violence against thy brother Jacob Shame shall cover thee. This my friend was the highest possible That God gave to Edom. Secondly There is the sin that is exhibited.

Pride as the Root of Edom’s Rebellion

It is the worst possible sin. Verse 3. The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee. Now these scenes that I am picking up on Run throughout the entire book. The fact that he is a brother of Israel Runs throughout the entire book.

The fact that sin, the sin of pride Is the sin for which they are judged Runs throughout the entire book. And pride is here epitomized as the sin That sank the Edomites. I say it is the worst possible sin.

Because this in many ways is the sin that defines sin. Pride It is the epitome of sin. And all the sin of the Edomites is summed up in this one sin. All their sin against Israel And all their sin against God Flowed from this sin of pride.

And the heinousness of this sin is seen in the very fact that it is against. It is against privilege of knowing the word of God And against light Against light. That makes it all the more heinous. The fact that they are sinning against privilege Which we have already seen.

The sin of pride is exacerbated By the fact that they are sinning against Privilege And knowledge And light. The sin of pride is the sin In relation to the Edomites Against the closest of human relations And the dearest of spiritual privileges.

It is therefore a sin against God. And what Edomites is accused of Throughout this book is accused of the sin Of being proud against Jacob And being vindictive and hurtful And spiteful against Jacob. That is what they are accused of.

That is what they are going to be judged for. That is what they are going to personify The entire heathen nations for Their hypocrisy and their work against Jacob. But my friend, the fact remains As the Lord said in Matthew chapter 25 verse 44.

When he is speaking about casting them out into outer darkness. And they say, answer him saying Lord, when saw we thee in hunger or thirst or strange or naked Or sick or in prison and did not minister unto thee.

Then shall he answer them saying, verily I say unto you Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these Ye did it not to me. Now if that is true In that sense Where we don't do good to God's people We don't do good to God.

It is true on the contrary. When we do ill to God's people We do ill to God. And we do well to remember that God's people are hurt. And you hurt one of God's people. You are doing ill against God. And Edom here had sinned against Israel.

They had sinned against Jacob. They had sinned against their brother. They had therefore sinned against. They had sinned against God In their arrogance and pride. The pride of their heart had deceived them.

Thou art the dwellest in the clefts of the rock. Whose habitation is high that saith in thine heart. Who shall bring me down to the ground? There Edom sat in Mount Seir In the rocky hills of Seir. They thought there was nobody could conquer them.

They thought they were safe. They thought God could not even touch them. They said in their arrogance and pride Who shall bring us down to the ground? This arrogance and pride. The sin of pride Is a sin first of all Of insurgence against God.

It is the sin of insurgence against God. My friend as you were born in sin And shiven and iniquity. And as you grow and as we see children grow They get you see that sinful nature coming out in them very early in years.

Before long when they have a mind of their own. And they get up in years and they can make decisions of their own. We see that they are not only against their parents But they are against God Against God.

And pride in its essence is insurgence against God. This is the primary source and the root of all sin Against God. Because pride precipitated the fall of Satan And his angels. Isaiah chapter 14 verses 12 -15.

The language that is used Is similar to that used of Edom. How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning? How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst reckon the nations? I have said in thine heart, who shall ascend into heaven?

I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation in the sides of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will be like the Most High.

Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell to the sides of the pit. That is God's word against Satan. You parallel that with God's word against Edom. Striking similarity. Because the sin of Satan The sin of Lucifer Is played out in every unbeliever.

The sin of pride and arrogance and insurgence against God Is played out and acted out in every unbeliever Who defies God. This insurgence against God, Edom was guilty of. So Bediah tells us. Verse 4. Though thou exalt thyself as an eagle Though thou set thy nest among the stars.

Hence will I bring thee down. The sin that is exhibited is the worst possible sin. Because it is insurgence against God. Not only is it insurgence against God But the sin of pride is independence from God.

Independence from God. Now believer, you may think you've got off tonight. And I'm not going to touch on you. But here, here In our independence from God We see that pride rises up in the hearts of God's people himself.

Pride is here characterized in Obediah As self-sufficiency. Though thou say in thine heart Who shall bring me down to the ground. Self-sufficiency. They were self-sufficient. They thought that no one could touch them.

That trait in humanity. That indifference to the things of God and his sovereignty over all our actions Is pride and independence from God. This is what Edom had done to the Lord. They had left him out of the reckoning Of Israel's woman Prime Minister.

In the 1970s, Golda Meir said We only want that which is given naturally to all the peoples of the world. To be masters of our own fate. Next to Frank Sinatra's song, I did it my way. It's not another humanistic statement Than Golda Meir's statement in the early 70s To be masters of our own fate.

This independence from God Is clearly seen in Esau Throughout his life. And then furthered in the nation of which he was a patriarch. They thought themselves to be beyond the reach of God. Hebrews 12 verse 16.

Lest to be any fornicator or profane person as Esau Who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. Testament description of Esau. A profane person. The word profane Gets to the very heart of the problem here And gets to the very core of the sin.

For which Edom is going to be judged. Esau, in other words, lacked the respect for spiritual reality. He sold it to his brother Jacob. He had no respect for eternal things. He had no respect for spiritual things.

He was, in other words, a person Consumed with secular ideas Independent from God. He was a man devoted If I can put it this way. He was a man devoted to the spirit of the world The spirit of the world The spirit of the age.

He had no time, no thought for the spiritual condition of the soul. And he was completely indifferent to the things of God. He was, in essence, living without God. Because the sin of pride Is the sin of independence from God.

The fool has said in his heart As we saw a few weeks ago No God for me. That's pride. That's arrogance. And my friend, that is the sin that will damn you in hell. For all eternity He loosed himself in vain delusions.

The sin that pride of thine heart hath deceived thee. And his offspring followed in his train. My friend, this is the sin That is exhibited in this intense message of Obadiah. The sin that epitomizes all sin.

The sin that is found in every heart. Pride comes in many and varied. Pride is the most deceiving of all sins. We need to be careful. We need to be careful That as Christians, as God's people That the pride of our hearts Does not deceive us Does not deceive us But humble ourselves before God In humble recognition Of the God of Heaven and His sovereignty And His control over us as individuals.

The Day of the Lord and the Futility of Human Strength

Not only Is the intensity of the message seen in the relationship that is emphasized The sin that is exhibited. But it is seen in the language that is employed. It is the strongest possible language The strongest possible language.

The language that is employed. The prophet here speaks in unequivocal terms. He does not bandy with words. There is no uncertainty as to the message Adam is to get from this prophecy that Obadiah is giving to it.

They are going to be brought down. They are going to be brought down. Verse 7. Those with whom they had fought And who were their allies Are going to turn against them. And they are going to give them a mortal wound.

Verse 9. They are going to be cut off with a slaughter. So like this prophecy we could go on and multiply the different language That Obadiah uses to get the point across to Edom. That they are going to suffer an utter destruction.

But all of these images of disaster Brought into view before the Edomites Culminates in verse 15 With the phrase The day of the Lord. The day of the Lord. One phrase encapsulates the doom On the ungodly world.

This one phrase Encapsulates the doom On an ungodly world. The day of the Lord. It is one of the central themes of prophecy in the Old Testament. It was to put it simply A period of time when the Lord would break into time.

When the Lord who is eternal Would break into time in a very definite manner And for a very decisive action against sin. Very specifically. Every judgment of God was not known as the day of the Lord. Every destruction on a nation Was not referred to as the day of the Lord.

The point I want to make in saying that Is that when the Lord speaks of His day He is speaking very specifically when He will enter into time With a very definite purpose. This term is not speaking of the normal providences of God against sin.

It is no ordinary day. No ordinary day. This is the language that Obadiah employs. And it is the strongest possible language. Let me take you through the prophets and give you an idea. In Joel 1 .15 It is referred to as the destruction of the Almighty.

In Amos 4 .13 Visitation from the Lord of hosts. In Joel 2 .2 It is a day of darkness and gloominess. A day of thick clouds and thick darkness. In Amos 5 .20 It is a day of darkness and not light. In Zechariah 2 .3 It is the day of the Lord's anger.

And I could go on through the prophets. I could go on all night and speaking of this one concept The day of the Lord. Because it is the strongest possible language Against an ungodly world. Amos 2 .14 -16 It paints a very vivid picture Of utter helplessness On the part of man to save himself From this day of the Lord.

We read there. Therefore the flight shall perish from the swift. And the strong shall not strengthen his force. Neither shall the mighty deliver himself Strong. Or the flight shall perish from the swift.

Those who are known for their swiftness in departure Will be consumed without opportunity. Those who are known for their strength Will be consumed as though they were weak. Neither shall he stand that handleth the bow.

And he that is swift on foot shall not deliver himself. Neither shall he that rideth the horse deliver himself. And he that is courageous among the mighty Shall flee away naked in that day. Saith the Lord.

Here Amos takes all the pictures Of strength and military prowess. And he brings them together in one broad picture. And he puts them all together and he blows on them. And he says all of your strength.

All of your military prowess. Your swiftness, your might Will be as nothing on the day of the Lord. Joel's description of irresistible destruction Is equally as candid as Amos. Joel chapter 2 verse 3.

The fire devoureth before them And behind them The flame burneth As the garden of Eden before them And behind them a desolate wilderness. Yea nothing shall escape them. You get the picture? Before them a garden of Eden, paradise And as the day of the Lord comes by Behind them a desolate wilderness.

This my friend. These terrible descriptions are of the day of the Lord. But the real sting The real sting, unbeliever The real sting in the day of the Lord. And the prophecies of the day of the Lord In the Old Testament Is found in verse 15 Of Obadiah.

For the day of the Lord is near Is near, it is imminent. That my friend is the sting that comes In the fact that this day is imminent. It's near. This my friend is the key characteristic of the day of the Lord.

This phrase Is an indication then Has his day. The Lord has his day. The day of the Lord has expired. When the Lord has his day There will be no opportunity for repentance. All hope is gone As he overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.

And ye were as a firebrand plucked from the burning. Amos chapter 4 verses 11 and 12 tells us I have overthrown some of you As the Lord overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah And ye were as a firebrand plucked out of the burning.

Yet have ye not returned unto me saith the Lord. Therefore He says I have overthrown Sodom and Gomorrah. I have given you warning And ye have not returned unto me And I have preached to you And I have warned you of the flames of hell.

And I have told you of the glories of heaven And exhorted you to accept Christ as your savior. And as Amos said Yet have ye not returned unto me saith the Lord. Therefore this will I do unto them O Israel.

And because I will do this unto thee. Meet thy God. Prepare to meet thy God. That phrase my friend Is not an opportunity to get ready Spiritually to meet God. That phrase prepare to meet thy God Signifies and intensifies the imminency Of the return of God.

Ye have not returned unto me. Therefore Here comes the day of the Lord and destruction. Language Intensifies the message of Obadiah against Adam And intensifies the message of the gospel ministry Against those who are unbelievers In this world In this city.

And those who are unbelievers In this meeting. My friend there is not stronger language. There is not a greater privilege You have tonight in hearing the gospel. And if you rejected There is not a worse sin Than rejecting the conviction And the convincing of the spirit of God.

The Warning to Those Who Reject the Gospel

Obadiah's message to Adam Is a message of punishment For a privileged people.