Obadiah: Prophet of God's Triumph

Introduction

Among the many things which may irritate us is the gloating of someone’s victory over our defeat. Students gloat when the straight A student struggles. Co-workers gloat when another is dismissed. Teams gloat when they defeat another. Generally, this gloating has to do with jealousy, envy, and pride. When we gloat over the failure of another, our pride has gotten in the way. Such pride is unholy.

There are times in which another will feel good about themselves because another has failed. There are times in which one may take advantage of another’s defeat, using that defeat as the way to increase one’s prominence or success. The issue is one of motives. That is not to say that we cannot take the job of another who has been dismissed, but to gloat over his or her demise and harbor the intent to seek their downfall so that you can succeed is completely different. This kind of jealous pride is not of God. But such thinking and actions based on such thinking has been going on for a long time. In fact, the Bible is not silent about such conduct. God has something to say to us about pride, jealousy, and the belief that another’s demise must mean that we are okay.

As we study the one-chapter writing known as Obadiah, we are going to be reminded of how God views jealous pride and that he still reigns. Pride goes before the fall, the Bible says. Obadiah shares the same message in his writing. Our purpose today is to check our motives and to rid ourselves of pride and to replace it with faith in God who will see to our needs.

Background

We aren’t completely sure when Obadiah is written. There aren’t any significant clues to help us date the writing. Many believe that it is written around the time of Nebuchadnezzar’s destruction of Jerusalem. This destruction fits well with some of the extrabiblical information we have concerning this period of time. We don’t know who Obadiah is. We are to assume that he is a prophet, and while other Obadiahs are mentioned in the Bible, none of them can be firmly stated to be the one who wrote this short writing. Obadiah, the writing, is against Edom, a kingdom to the south of Israel.

Here is the situation. Israel has been defeated. This kingdom, recognizing an opening when it sees one, begins to take advantage of Israel’s demise. People from Edom begin to move into the now defeated and unprotected territory of Israel. These people began to loot the unprotected cities. They found fugitives and turned them over to the authorities. They boasted of their invincibility. Living in rugged hill country, they believed that no one could touch them.

This scenario fits well with what we know about Nebuchadnezzar’s destruction of Israel. When he attacked Jerusalem, he took the royalty and prominent as captives. He left behind the poor, weak, and defenseless. These would have been easy targets for those who wanted to profit from the disadvantaged. Edom moves in and takes what is left of Israel’s wealth. Edom gloats over Israel’s destruction. Edom sees itself as a place which cannot be overthrown. Obadiah speaks against Edom’s pride and assault on Israel.

Lessons

First, pride in self will be brought down. Edom believed that they were invincible. She believed her fortifications were enough to protect her. Her capital city, Seir, or Petra, was carved out of the mountains and could only be accessed through a narrow gap. Edom thought its strength was enough to save it. But it wasn’t. Like Edom, we may begin to trust in our own strengths. We may believe that our physical strength, our intellect, our wisdom, our wealth, our shrewdness—all of these we may think are enough to prosper and win. But God says these things will not bring the endurance that we want.

Notice that pride is deceiving. Pride says we are better than another. Pride says we cannot be hurt. Pride says that we are invincible. Edom trusted in their fortress, yet they were brought down. Edom trusted in wealth; thieves stole it from them. Edom trusted in their allies; they turned against them. Edom trusted in their wisdom; they were destroyed.

The point is that there is only One who is worthy of our boasting and our trust—God who is over all.

Second, taking advantage of those who have lost is against God’s will. We have the saying about “kicking a good man when he is down.” Edom and Israel were related by blood. Both nations laid claim to the same father, Isaac. Israel came from the seed of Jacob. Edom came from the seed of Jacob’s brother, Esau. When Edom saw Israel’s destruction, they did nothing to help. They stood to the side and offered no assistance. When siblings grow up, they may fight like most do, but let someone try to fight one of them and the first defender is often the sibling. This seems to be the point that God makes in verses 11 and 12. Edom gloated over Israel’s misfortune and took advantage of their destruction.

This is harder to illustrate in our lives. Didn’t Israel deserve to be punished? Then what is wrong with Edom enjoying watching Israel get what they deserve? For over ten years political and economic sanctions have been enforced against Iraq because of the actions of Saddam Hussein. Is he getting what he deserves? Probably. But what about the children who have suffered immeasurably because of politics? This is not a political statement. It is to help us think differently. There is no room for gloating about the destruction of another. Innocent people often get hurt in the destruction.

God is angered by Edom’s response. Instead of compassion and help, they stood by and allowed Israel to suffer alone. No defense. No help. No support. The lesson to learn is that no one should have to stand alone. Israel needed help from the south, but none came. Instead, from the south came silence and anticipation that eventually they would take over what was left. When people lose, they need our support, compassion, and help. What they don’t need is “I told you so” or “You got what you deserve.” Gloating doesn’t come from God.

Obadiah ends with God promising that he will restore Israel again. Throughout this writing, God sees and responds. He is neither blind nor reluctant to defend. Within 200 years of this writing, Edom no longer existed. Her name had been wiped from the list of nations. Another nation had risen in its place.

It was our sin which separated us from God. But God didn’t gloat over our loss. He didn’t tell us that we got what we deserved. Instead, he sent his son, Jesus, to stand by our side, to demonstrate compassion, to defend and help us. In fact, Jesus’ death was the way in which God revealed that he was the only One who could help us.

Follow Jesus

If you’d like to respond to this message or learn more about following Jesus, please reach out.