Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to the book of Obadiah. Obadiah. You see Jonah, it's just before
that. Obadiah. Small book. Let's ask our Lord's blessing. Our Father, for Christ's sake,
we call upon you, asking your blessing upon the worship this
evening. Lord, we know that you do all
things well. We know, Lord, that this is the
way in which you call your people out, comfort your people. We
ask you, for Christ's sake, to have mercy. These things we ask
in the name of the Lord Jesus. Amen. The book of Obadiah is one chapter
long, but the message of the book of Obadiah is the same message
that has been proclaimed since man's fall to the last amen It's
found in Revelation 22-21. And here's the message. This
is the message of this prophet. Every other prophet. The Lord God is a just God and
a Savior. And Almighty God has mercy and
compassion on whomsoever he will, and whom he will, he hardens." Now this book deals with the
history and the heritage actually of two twin brothers, Jacob and
Esau. And these two men represent one
or the other of every person born into this world. Every man,
every woman is going to be represented by either Jacob or Esau. Every man, every woman is either
the object of God's mercy, love and compassion, or they're going
to be the object of God's wrath. for not coming to Christ, for
not bound to Christ. Now, all men, I'm telling you,
everybody that's ever been born in this world is represented
by one of those two men. Now, these two brothers were born to the same mother,
dad, born just moments apart. These two men were looked upon
by God Almighty. In a very different way. Now to understand, just mark
your spot right there in Obadiah, and turn with me over to the
book of Romans chapter 9. Romans chapter 9. Now we've read
this passage before, but I'd like for us to read it
again. Romans chapter 9. I'd like to read verses 11 to
18. I pray the Lord bless these words
to our heart that we might hear. This is Almighty God speaking.
Romans 9-11, for the children, being not yet born, neither having
done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election
might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth, it was said
unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. As it is written,
Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. What shall we say
then? Is there unrighteousness with
God? God forbid. For he saith to Moses,
I will have mercy, on whom I will have mercy, I will have compassion,
on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that
willeth, nor of him that runneth, going about to establish his
own righteousness, but of God that showeth mercy. For the Scripture saith unto
Pharaoh, even for this same purpose, Have I raised thee up that I
might show my power in thee, and that my name might be declared
throughout all the earth? Therefore hath he mercy on whom
he will have mercy, and whom he will, he hardeneth." Now,
from that Scripture, we know two things for sure. We know
that Almighty God is just. If he puts a man in hell because
of a man's rebellion, because a man will not come, because
he refuses to come, he refuses to bow, God is just. What does it take for a man or
a woman to perish? This is it. For God to leave
him alone. Just leave him alone. Just leave a man to himself,
and a man will perish. Secondly, that scripture teaches
that God is just in mercy. The mercy of God is shown justly. God shows mercy to all that He
has put away their guilt. by the precious blood of His
Son. God does not show mercy just
arbitrarily. There was no reason for it. The
mercy of God cost the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, here's
the first point. I've got two points tonight.
Here's the first point. God is just to punish sin because
of man's rebellion. Alright, let's look at the book
of Obadiah. Obadiah 1, the vision of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord God concerning
Edom. Now let me tell you who Edom
is. I think I've mentioned that, but if I haven't, I will now.
Edom are all the descendants of Esau. Edom. Edomites. All the descendants
of Esau. Edom. The vision of Obadiah,
thus saith the Lord God concerning Edom. We have heard a rumor. We, that is, all that is sent
from God. All the prophets. We've heard
a rumor. We've heard an order. We've heard
an announcement. We've heard something from the
Lord concerning Edom. An ambassador is sent. among the heathen. Whatever,
whoever Almighty God raises up is God's ambassador. Whenever
the Lord sent the plagues in Egypt, the locusts were God's
ambassadors. The lice, God's ambassadors.
The darkness, the hail, that's God's ambassadors. An ambassador
is sent among the heathen. Arise ye and let us rise up against
her in battle." This is what Almighty God says to the ambassadors. Whoever it is, an unbelieving
nation, Nebuchadnezzar, whoever, when Almighty God speaks to His
ambassador and says to His ambassador, whether it's a cricket, whether
it's an army, When God Almighty says, rise up, He rises up. And this is what the Lord says
to Edom. Verse 2, Behold, I made thee
small among the heathen, thou art greatly despised. Edom was a mighty nation. But the Lord says to them, though
you think that you're mighty, you're small, you're little,
No one is going to respect you as being able to stand. The pride, verse 3, of thine
heart hath deceived thee. Thou that dwellest in the clefts
of the rock whose habitation is high, that sayeth in his heart,
Who shall bring me down to the ground? Man esteems himself to
be something, while Almighty God proclaims him to be nothing
but a mass of rebellion and sin. From the sole of the foot, the
crown of the head. Putrefying source. Man says,
I'm something. God says, you're nothing. You're
little. Man is deceived by sin. Pride is the evidence of that
deception. And man exalts himself as Satan
did. Isaiah chapter 14, verse 13. If you'd like to turn there.
If not, I'll just read it. Isaiah 14. This is Satan. Now listen to
what Scripture says. Verse 13, Thou hast said in thine
heart, and this is the heart of every man, woman born in Adam. This is what they say in their
heart. It doesn't say they said it outwardly. The Lord says this
is what they think. I will ascend into heaven. I
will exalt My throne above the stars of God. I will sit also
among the mound of the congregation of the sides of the north. I
will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will be like
the Most High." When man speaks of having a free will, that's
the attitude of his will. I will. This is what I'm going
to do. I'm going to be bigger than God. I'm going to ascend
above Esau, Edom's father, sold his
birthright. Do you remember that? Esau came to him and said, give
me something to eat. And Jacob said, give me your
birthright. He said, Esau, I'm about to die anyway. I'm going
to die of hunger. That's fine. I don't care. Esau
sold his birthright. Gave it up. Like Adam did in
the garden and steel, Esau, all left to themselves. All that
God Almighty has left alone, left to themselves. Thinks that
he has a right to the heritage of God according to his will
and his ability. The carnal heart thinks. that
its self-righteous works are stronger than anything that can
oppose them. I can. I will. Verse 4 says, Though thou exalt
thyself as the eagle, though thou set thy nest among the stars,
thence will I bring thee down, saith the Lord, See, Edom had
just asked in verse 3, who shall bring me down to the ground?
The Lord said, I will. I'll bring you down. Pride. Pride is that enemy that strikes
against God's honor. And Almighty God is going to
deal with it either in a man personally, or He's going to
deal with it in his substitute. But He's going to deal with it.
Six things Proverbs 6.17 says that the Lord hates. Number one,
proud look. And God Almighty sees pride.
And the Lord says that pride is bound up in the unregenerate. Bound up in every man, every
woman born in Adam. They're proud. They're arrogant. I can. I will. I shall. Who's going to take me down?
Who's going to knock me off this high horse? Man's deceived as
to the extent of his misery and his pride. And he thinks that
there's some good still in him. Ever heard that? Everybody says,
well, you know, there's a little good in all men. Scripture says
there's none good. Man thinks that there's still
something there. Look at verses 5 and 6. The prophet
says, if thieves came to thee, if robbers by night, how art
thou cut off? What he just said in that, how
art thou cut off, he said, what a miserable person you are. Would they not have stolen until
they had enough? If the great gatherers came to
thee, Would they not leave some grapes? How are the things of
Esau searched out? How are his hidden things sought
of? What the prophet said right there.
How are those things that Esau thinks are not there? How they
are exposed. Now here's what. I just asked
this question a while ago. When man thinks that he's still
got some good. Here's what the prophet is saying.
He said, you know if thieves broke in. If these broke into
a house, what they're going to do is they're going to go and
they're going to find everything that they can get their hands
on, that they can either sell or do something with. They're
going to grab what they can and they're going to take off. But
there's going to be something there left. I mean, they're not
going to pick up that whole foundation of that house and walk away with
it. I mean, they'll get what they can. They'll get what they
can get in a vehicle or run away with. They'll get something.
If great gatherers came, they came and they started, you know,
they wouldn't get everything that was there. There may just
be some twigs left, but there's still going to be something there. But as far as Edom, as far as
Esau is concerned, he's totally depraved. There is absolutely
nothing there. There's no good. It's evil. There's nothing left that has
any sense of honor to it. And he's proud of it. He's proud
of that. Verse 7, All the men of thy confederacy
have brought thee even to the border. The men that were at
peace with thee have deceived thee, prevailed against thee. They that eat thy bread have
laid a wound under thee. There's none understanding in
him. All those that rebel against
the Lord, Think that they have friends. Now, whatever it is,
it's always something to do with himself. It's always something
to do with his ability. It's all others just like him.
Those things that a man trusts, his choice, his will, he's in
confederacy with it. Those that pamper a man and tell
him he's got some hope and peace. The prophet says, all the men
of our confederacy, they brought thee even to the border. They
were at peace with you, but they've deceived you, prevailed against
you. They eat thy bread, you have
fellowship, they've laid a wound under thee. What it is is laid
treachery. for God's people, sustained by
the everlasting arms of God's mercy and grace, and holds them
up, sustains them, keeps them, comforts them. You know what? Edom has just bound up with treachery. That's what he's got. Wound under
him. What's going to be the end of
the false hopes that men Trust in. What is it going to be? Look
at verse 8. Shall I not in that day, saith
the Lord, even destroy the wise men out of Edom? Understanding
out of the mount of Esau? Oh, the horrors of that day. That day. Shall I not in that
day? What day is that? You know what
that is. That's in the day of God's judgment.
That day that I'm telling you will be here. Think about this.
We have just so long on this earth. You know that. And what
if the day of the Lord, what if it is? What if it's a thousand
years? What if it's two thousand? Whatever it is. The moment you
leave this world, that day is right now. for you.
It's right now. Appointed unto man once to die
in the judgment. Those that are lying in a grave
right now, they're not concerned, they're not thinking about when
that day is. They're in eternity right now. Oh, that day. that finds a man
trusting in a deceived heart, a heart that trusts in his own
work, in his own will, in his own righteousness. And now that
man is under the judgment of God. In that day, those that
trust in their own wisdom shall be destroyed. We read what Almighty
God has to say. We just read Romans 9, 11 to
17, a minute ago. Now let me ask you something.
Who said that? Who said that? The Lord God of heaven said that. Now let me ask you this. Whose word is going to stand?
In that day when a man stands before God, and a man or woman
says, that sovereign grace, that election,
that predestinating grace, Who's going to stand in that
day? Their understanding, what they
thought was understanding, is going to be shown to be nothing
but confusion. And in that day, they'll not
be able to trust the Lord. Their wisdom will be folly. It
is appointed, as I said a moment ago, unto man once to die, judgment. Verse 9, And thy mighty men,
O teman, shall be dismayed, to the end that every one of the
mount of Esau may be cut off by slaughter. Teman, I found
out, was a part of the country of Edom, where the Edomites were
from, that were known for its mighty men. They were mighty
men. And Scripture says, Thy mighty
men, O teman, shall be dismayed. The best you got." That's what
he's saying. Is that the best you got? That
which you trust in? Everything that a man thinks
is the mightiest part of his obedience. Well, I may not be
strong in this suit, but I'm faithful. I may not do everything just
right, But I'm telling you, I read my Bible. Whatever you think
is your demon, your mightiest suit, cut off. One might ask, though, of all
these things that the Lord has said to Edom, to the descendants
of Esau, for their rebellion against God, for the selling
out of their souls, for the temporal things. And that's what Esau
did. He sold his soul out for nothing of all the things that
God Almighty is going to deal with him on. What was the one
crime laid to the charge of Esau for which God Almighty brought
that one crime forth? as the very heart and evidence
for the reason of their judgment. Look at verse 10. For thy violence
against thy brother Jacob, shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt
be cut off forever. Now here it is. If you want to
know the evidence, of Almighty God leaving a man
to himself. But the violence against our
brother Jacob, injuries to God's people are
offensive acts toward God. I heard someone told me that
Brother Scott said rightly so. Men can't get to God. So they
go after God's people. They go after God's people. All unrighteousness is sin. And the Lord reveals it to be
a great aggravation. The evidence of a man's heart
is when evil is committed toward God's people. This is a great
accusation. Violence against your brother. Born the same mama, the same
daddy, and Esau, Jacob were at odds. And Jacob resisted Esau. And Almighty God said, that's
the point right there. That's the point of contention.
Those that the Son Almighty God, the Lord Jesus Christ, was forsaken
for. That violence against God's people
is laid to a man's charge as it is against the Lord God Himself. Saul had letters of authority
to take all that were of the way. Going to take them down. Take them back to Jerusalem.
Down. Put them in jail. Stone them. Whip them. Do whatever
you want. Letters of authority. Saul, why persecutest thou me? That's
my body. Enmity against the people of
God is against the Lord. It's against His truth. It's against His sovereignty.
And Almighty God is going to deal with it in absolute, strict
justice. The Lord told His people, He
said, you remember this, He said, they hated Me before they hated
you. The reason that men hate God's people, hate God's gospel,
hate God's truth, hate God's assembly, the reason that men
and women hate this assembly and all like it is because they
hate God. They despise God. In the day that thou stoodest
on the other side, in the day that the strangers carried away
captive his forces, and foreigners entered into his gates and cast
lots upon Jerusalem, even thou wast as one of them. But thou
shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother in the
day that he became a stranger, taken off into another country
as a captive. Neither shouldest thou have rejoiced
over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction.
Neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress. Thou shouldest not have entered
into the gate of thy people in the day of their calamity. Yea,
thou shouldest have looked on their affliction in the day of
their calamity, laid hands on their substance in the day of
their calamity, neither shouldst thou have stood in the crossways
to cut off those of his that did escape, neither shouldst
thou have delivered up those of his that did remain in the
day of distress." What the Lord is saying to Edom. When the people
of God were overrun, back in this actual event that took place,
overrun by their enemies, according to the Lord's chastening mercy,
that God Almighty sent chastening mercy. Whom the Lord loveth,
He chasteneth. When Almighty God sent chastisement
to Israel because He loved them, Edom, Ignored Israel. Ignored Jacob. Ignored God's
people. And turned over to the enemy,
those that tried to escape and spoiled the goods of God's people
along with the invading forces. When the invading forces came
in, they cast lots, the Scripture says. What they were doing is
they were just rolling the dice. Let's see who we're going to
hit first. What are we going to take first?
He said, whenever the people of God were trying to escape
through the crossroads, and you stopped them and turned them
over to the enemy. Likewise today, insensitivity. Now listen, insensitivity. I want to make this statement
so you can understand what I'm saying. Jacob and Esau were brothers,
physical brothers. I heard Brother Scott a lot of
times would call one brother, Brother so-and-so, Brother so-and-so.
Somebody asked him one time, he said, you know what, I don't
think this guy professes to be a believer. Why do you call him
brother? Scott said, well, he's either my brother in Christ or
my brother in Adam, one of the two. But he's one. One or the
other. We're born in this world and
we're cut out of the same lump as everybody else. People who just passed by here,
we're brothers or sisters to them as being born in Adam, for
sure. We're still out of humanity. And insensitivity to the people
of God that are suffering. In this world today, right now,
people that are insensitive, people that have contempt and
hatred for God's people. Another human being, one that
does not know Christ, that hates God's people. Those that withhold
mercy against the Lord's people, against God's elect, because
of their love for Christ. That's why the Lord told His
people, He said, that's why they hate you, because I've chosen
you out of the world. I'm telling you, people hate
God's electing grace. They hate it. They hate it. But
I'm telling you that people that resent God's people for what
they are, who they are, what they believe, who they trust,
for God's sovereign mercy toward them, God will not hold them
guiltless. That's what he was getting on
to eat them for right here. He said, when my people were
overrun, You should have helped them. You should have stood with
them. You aligned yourself with the enemy. And when the enemy
came in, Edom never did actually go against Israel. What they
did was they joined hands with the enemy. And the Lord says,
you're guilty. That was the condemnation. He
said, you did that against Me. You did it against Me. Verse
15-16, For the day of the Lord is near upon all the heathen.
As thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee. Thy reward shall
return upon thine own head. For as ye have drunk upon my
holy mountain, so shall all the heathen drink continually. Yea,
they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall
be as though they had not been." Here's what he said, God is not
mocked. Whatsoever a man sows, that's
what he's going to reap, he says, those that stood against you. All that stand against God's
people, God's going to stand against them. All that mock God's
people, God's going to mock them. All that resist the Lord's people,
God's going to resist them. That's what he said. For the
day of the Lord is near upon the heathen as thou hast done.
It shall be done unto thee. Thy reward shall return upon
thine own head. The Scripture says that judgment
must begin at the house of God. God's going to try His people.
Chase them. Prove them. But I'm telling you
that judgment, judgment in wrath, is for the rebel. Chastisement
is according to God's love. And as the people, verse 16,
for as ye have drunk upon my holy hill, as the people of God
have drunk, the scripture says, for upon the holy mountain, the
cup of affliction, the cup of trials, so shall the heathen
drink in punishment. because of their hatred of God's
people. Thou hast drunk upon my holy
mountain in affliction, so shall all the heathen drink continually
in wrath. They shall drink. They shall
swallow down. They shall be as though they
had not been. You know, the cup of affliction is going to be
for a while in this world for God's people. We are going to
be here for just this life, but the cup of God's wrath is forever. That is my first point. God is just in wrath against
the rebel. This second point is going to
be pretty quick. God is just in mercy toward his people for
Christ's sake. Verse 17 to the end of the chapter,
But upon Mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall
be holiness. And the house of Jacob shall
possess their possessions. And the house of Jacob shall
be afire, the house of Joseph aflame, the house of Esau for
stubble. They shall kindle in them, shall
devour them. There shall not be any remaining
of the house of Esau, for the Lord has spoken it. And they
of the south shall possess the mount of Esau, and they of the
plain the Philistines. They shall possess the fields
of Ephraim, the fields of Samaria, and Benjamin shall possess Gilead.
And the captivity of this host of the children of Israel shall
possess that of the Canaanites, even unto Zarephath. The captivity
of Jerusalem, which is in Sepharad, shall possess the cities of the
south, and saviors shall come up on Mount Zion to judge the
Mount Esau, and the kingdom shall be the Lord's." The church, he
said, Mount Zion, shall be delivered from eternal judgment. That is
absolutely due. The rebels of this world The
reason that Mount Zion is going to be delivered is because the
Lord Jesus Christ has borne her guilt and has atoned for her
sins. So there's deliverance for the
people of God. They're rescued. They're saved
from the sin. And there's holiness. That's
what it said in verse 17. But upon Mount Zion shall be
deliverance and there shall be holiness. Where there is deliverance,
Where God has delivered, where God has saved, there is holiness
there. That's the foundation of the
deliverance. The righteousness of God imputed
to God's people. Where someone is delivered from
the wrath of Almighty God, where God's people have never been
under God's wrath. You know that. But where there
is no wrath, where there is deliverance, holiness is found there. Be ye
holy, for I am holy. That's the commandment. How am
I going to be holy? Only in Christ. Only in my Redeemer. There's holiness there. The law
of God has been honored by Christ. Imputed, the guilt of sin has
been put away by His blood. There is holiness there, deliverance
there. Romans 11.26 says, and so all
Israel, all spiritual Israel, you know the Scripture says that
they are not all of Israel, but are of Israel. Not just because
somebody is a Jew. They are not a spiritual Jew.
All of Israel, spiritual Israel, shall be saved. As it is written,
there shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn
away ungodliness from Judah. The house of Judah shall possess,
that's what verse 17 says, the house of Jacob shall possess
their possessions. What possessions? All that has
been promised them in covenant mercy with Christ. What is that? Everything. Heirs of God. Joint heirs with the Lord Jesus
Christ. He is our God and we are His
people. The house of Jacob shall be afire. The house of Joseph,
aflame. The house of Esau, stubble. It
shall kindle in them, devour them. There shall not be any
remaining of the house of Esau. The Lord has spoken. The Lord
shall conquer His people by the word of His power in saving grace. In the day of His power, when
He speaks, they come. He walks up to Matthew. What
does He say? The Scripture says He left everything
sitting right there. He was at the receipt of customs.
The Scripture says He left all and followed Christ. Follow me. When God calls, they come. His Word is power, but that same
Word is a consuming fire and wrath, and it devours all rebellion
and sin, and none is going to remain outside of the Lord Jesus
Christ who said it. The Lord, the Scripture says,
last part of 18, has spoken it. Jehovah has spoken it. And they of the south shall possess
the Mount of Esau. They of the plain, the Philistines.
They shall possess the fields of Ephraim, fields of Samaria.
Benjamin shall possess Gilead. Captivity of this host of the
children of Israel shall possess that of the Canaanites, even
unto Zarephath. Captivity of Jerusalem, which
is in Sephard, shall possess the cities of the south. God's
people are going to possess all in the Lord Jesus Christ that
they lost Unite them. The Lord said, I restored that
which I took not away. Man fell, Christ redeemed. What
did he lose? What did he lose in the fall? Well, he lost life. He said, in the day you eat thereof,
you're going to die. You're going to die. He lost
peace. He lost fellowship with God. He lost. Now naturally speaking,
Israel, natural Israel I'm talking about, the nation of Israel was
promised the land of Canaan. But what happened to many of
them because of their rebellion and sin and ingratitude? They
didn't enter in. They entered not in because of
what? Unbelief. Unbelief. Many of them
perished. Many of them never possessed
what they would have had, had they obeyed God, but in Christ. He's naming all
these things. They're going to possess the
Mount Esau. Everything that they lost in
Adam's fall, they have in the Lord Jesus Christ. God's people
are going to possess the spiritual kingdom. They're going to have
presence with God in heaven. And how shall we know of our
inheritance? How are we going to know about
it? And saviors, preachers, proclaimers, those that herald The gospel
of God's grace, saviors shall come upon Mount Zion to judge
the Mount of Esau, to set the distinguishing difference between,
according to God's word. And the kingdom shall be the
Lord's. Ministers of the gospel sent
by God. I'll send pastors, the Lord said. According to my heart, they'll
come on Mount Zion to judge the Mount of Esau to declare that
whosoever believes in the Lord Jesus Christ are going to be
saved. And whosoever believeth not shall
be damned. And the kingdom shall be the
Lord's. Not that the kingdom of God is not His already, But
it's going to be openly shown to be so. God is calling out
His people. They openly declare. That's what
baptism is. It's an open declaration. How do we know? How do we know
whose are the Lord's? He calls them out of darkness.
He gives them a heart. They acknowledge Him. In obedience,
they confess it. They love His Word. They love
His people. They love the assembly where God's Word is preached.
Oh, the blessed message of Obadiah. One chapter. Boy, what a message. I pray the Lord bless these words
to our heart for Christ's sake.