Good Saturday morning, people of faith. This morning we're going to be in the book of Obadiah, and I'm wondering if you're anything like me. If you had asked me one week ago, what's the book of Obadiah about, I could have told you that it was the smallest book in the Old Testament.

I could have told you that it was apparently written by Obadiah. I could have told you that he was one of the minor prophets of the Old Testament, but I could not have told you what the subject of the book is.

The Judgment Pronounced on Edom in Obadiah

Well, here is the subject of the book. You can summarize it in one sentence. It is God's pronouncement of judgment on the nation of Edom. So to get the picture of this story, we have to go back to Genesis.

And in Genesis chapter 5 is the start of the story of Edom. Edom is the descendants of Esau. And so we pick up in chapter 25 of the book of Genesis. We have twins being born to Isaac and to Rebekah, and those twins are Esau, the older, and Jacob, the younger.

And we learn that Jacob, or the older, shall serve the younger. That is, Esau shall serve Jacob. And, well, Esau was a skillful—well, first of all, he was born with a hairy—his, like, had hair all over him, and it was apparently red hair.

And, anyway, there's a possibility that some of the medieval legends about red hair came from Esau's rebellion and how red-haired people were frequently viewed as rebellious people. That is kind of blown apart by David being of ruddy appearance as well.

So let's set that aside for a second here. And, well, anyway, we get to the story of Esau being a skilled hunter and going out into the field. And Jacob liked to dwell in tents, and he had made some stew.

And Esau came in very weary, says he's about to die, and Jacob says, I'll give you some stew if you sell me your birthright for it. And Esau goes ahead and sells his birthright. And it says at the end of chapter 25 of the book of Genesis that,.

And we see that Esau, throughout the rest of his life, did, in fact, despise his birthright. He denied the responsibility as well as the blessing of that birthright. And later on, Jacob deceives Isaac into giving him that blessing, has to flee from Esau for fear that Esau is going to kill him.

The story goes on, and Edom becomes this nation that is at odds with the people of Israel. And they are on a major trade route, they grow in prosperity. And eventually, the Lord says that He will make you small among the nations.

That's in verse 2 of Obadiah. You shall be greatly despised. And that eventually does happen. Well, this story of the Edomites goes all the way into the New Testament. And the land of Edom, the Greek name for it is Idumea, or Idumea.

I'm not sure if I'm pronouncing that correctly. But there are some enemies of God who are very distinct Idumeites, all right? And the most famous of them are the Herods. And so, this story of the enmity between the Edomites and God from the human side of it, they are shaking their fist at God for centuries, over a thousand years by the time we get to the story of Herod.

And what he proclaims, remember, the Magi were warned not to go back and tell Herod. And so, when Herod finds out that he's deceived, he becomes very angry. And it says here, then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry.

And he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. You want to know how to become despised?

You kill children. You kill children for fear that they're going to take your spot. And we see here, now, imagine this. Do you know anyone who names their child Herod? The name Herod has become despised.

I do not know anyone who would claim Edomite heritage. I don't know if they even exist as a people anymore. They are small among the nations, and they are greatly despised. We find later on in Obadiah that this judgment is not just for the Edomites.

The Day of the Lord and Judgment on All Nations

It says in verse 15 of Obadiah, for the day of the Lord upon all the nations is near. As you have done, it shall be done to you. And so as a nation and as individuals, we need to ask ourselves this day, are we in right standing with the Lord?

Do we in our hearts despise the birthright that we have as Esau did? Do we rebel against what God has for us? Do we as a nation prescribe laws that shake our proverbial fist in the face of God and say, we can redefine what God has defined in marriage.

We can redefine what is right and what is wrong based on what we want rather than what God has spoken. Let us ponder these things and pray for our nation that we would repent. That would include all of us individually to repent as a nation, to call upon the Lord to be merciful for he has every right to bring that judgment that he speaks of in Obadiah upon us.

Prayer for Repentance and Submission to God

Let's pray. Heavenly Father, today, even today, help us to see who you are in reality as the creator and sustainer of this world, that we have no right to shake our fist at you, that we accept our position before you as your servants.

Help us to walk closely with you, to love you, and to love others based on what you have prescribed. It's in your son's name, Jesus, we pray, amen. Have an excellent day, people of faith.