The short prophecy of Obadiah
contrasts Esau and the people whom Esau represents with Jacob
and the people whom Jacob represents. God's hatred and judgement of
Esau and God's love of Jacob. And in verse 15 the Lord has
this to say, 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. 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, and the house of Joseph aflame, and the house of Esau
for stubble. And they shall kindle in them,
and devour them, And there shall not be any remaining of the house
of Esau, for the Lord hath spoken it. And they of the south shall
possess the mount of Esau, and they of the plain the Philistines,
and they shall possess the fields of Ephraim, and 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. and the captivity of Jerusalem
which is in Sepharad shall possess the cities of the south and saviours
shall come up upon mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau and
the kingdom shall be the Lord's but upon mount Zion shall be
deliverance and there shall be holiness and the house of Jacob
shall possess their possessions. Yea, Jacob have I loved, but
Esau have I hated, saith the Lord. Here is a book which shouts
out the message of election. God's sovereign choice of his
people His choosing a people, his choice to save Jacob and
his spiritual descendants, his choice to choose a people whom
he would deliver upon Mount Zion and his anger and wrath against
the wicked whom Esau represents. God's sovereign choice of his
people and his jealousy over them, his jealousy over his bride,
his church, his loved one, the one for whom God suffered as
the Son of God, as Jesus Christ. God sent his Son, his only begotten
Son, to enter into this world of darkness, this world of sin,
this world of corruption, this world of a children of wrath. He sent his son to go to a cross,
to go to a place of execution, to go to that place called Golgotha,
the place of a skull, to be nailed to the tree, to be judged, to
be crucified, to be slain, to suffer under the outpouring of
God's wrath and fury against the sins of his people. The sins
and the corruption of Jacob and his descendants. God sent his son because he loved
Jacob. because he loved his bride, the
church, and gave himself for her, because he would take her
corruptions as though they were his. As her husband, Christ took
the corruptions and the sin of his bride, and though she was
the one who committed those sins, and though he himself was sinless
pure spotless a lamb without blemish as her husband he owned
them all as his as her husband he owned her guilt as his and
he gave himself for her he gave himself for those whom he loved
he gave himself for Jacob and his people of whom Jacob is a
picture. Yes, God loves Jacob. God loves his own. God loves
that people whom he's chosen, elected by grace unto salvation. and it's because he's chosen
a people that that people are saved and should he have not
chosen to save that people then all would have been slain for
all have earned his condemnation including Jacob and yet Jacob
was loved of God God is jealous over his church
he's jealous over Jacob he's jealous over his church his bride
and woe betide any who fights against her woe betide any woe
betide any who lays a finger on one of God's little ones Esau
warred against his brother Jacob and God's anger was kindled against
Esau. This is a small book, but it
has a big message. Salvation is of the Lord. It's not of him that willeth,
not of him that runneth, but of God. It's of God. Christ the true light came into
the world the world was made by him and the world knew him
not he came unto his own and his own received him not but
as many as received him to them gave he power to become the sons
of God even to them that believe on his name which were born not
of blood not of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man
but of God and the word was made flesh and dwelt among us and
we beheld his glory the glory as of the only begotten of the
Father full of grace and truth John bare witness of him and
cried saying this was he of whom I spake he that cometh after
me is preferred before me for he was before me and of his fullness
have all we received and grace for grace for the law was given
by Moses but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ no man have
seen God at any time the only begotten son which is in the
bosom of the father he have declared him yes salvation and the new
birth where dead sinners are brought to life by God to believe
on Him and to believe on His Son is not brought about by the
will of the flesh nor of the will of man but of God for God
has chosen to save a people in Christ His Son not by their works
and not by their will but through Christ, by grace, by his sovereign
electing choice of them. For the law was given by Moses
which demanded that we work, which demanded that we will,
which demanded that we do, and all it did was slay us and condemn
us and leave us in the grave. but grace and truth came by Jesus
Christ who came to save his people from their sins because he loved
that people whom his father gave unto him that people whom his
father chose before the foundations of this world before ever they
were born before ever they lived before ever they went astray
before ever they turned against God before ever they rebelled
God chose a people and he gave that people to his son and he
laid their names upon his heart and Christ came into this world
born at Bethlehem growing to a man in Nazareth heading for
Jerusalem heading to the cross with those names engraved upon
his heart those names of Jacob and his descendants those names
of his election of grace engraved upon his heart that he should
go to the cross to take the sins of all those names upon himself
and bear them away in death Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I
hated. As Paul quotes in Romans 9 and
as the prophet Malachi tells us in the opening words of his
prophecy. I have loved you, saith the Lord,
yet ye say wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's
brother, saith the Lord? yet I loved Jacob. And I hated
Esau and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons
of the wilderness wherein have thou loved us. I hated Esau but
I loved Jacob. If you ever know or come to know
the love of God as was set upon Jacob you will wonder that God
should love you you will wonder that God should love you because
you will know in your heart that you are corrupt that you are
fallen that you are a rebel against God and have been since the day
you were born and you will know the corruption of sin in your
flesh and you will know the justice of God and the righteousness,
the rightness with which He would justly condemn you and slay you. If you ever know His love, if
you ever know the love of Christ shed abroad in your heart, you
will wonder that He loves you. Because you will know that you
are unlovely. You will know that you deserve
His wrath and His anger. Logic would dictate that he would
be as furious with you as he is with anyone else and yet you
come to know with wonder that he spared you from the wrath
to come that he's washed you in the blood of his Son that
he set his love upon you as he set it upon Jacob Oh the love
of God It's past all understanding. Past all understanding. As Paul said in Romans 8, I'm
persuaded that neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities
nor powers nor things present nor things to come nor height
nor depth nor any other creature shall be able to separate us
from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Not only has God set this love
upon His own, upon Jacob, not only is this love so undeserved,
so unmerited, but there's nothing, no power on earth or heaven that
can take it away. When God loves His own, He loves
him with an everlasting love. And he's jealous over his bride. He's jealous over his people.
He's jealous over the house of Jacob. Jealous. As Matthew records for us the
Lord's words with respect to his people, to his little ones. Whoso shall receive one such
little child in my name receiveth me. But whoso shall offend one
of these little ones which believe in me. It were better for him
that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were
drowned in the depth of the sea. It were better for him that a
millstone were hanged about his neck and that he were drowned
in the depth of the sea than that he should stand before Almighty
God and have to give an answer for why he has offended one of
God's little ones for whom Christ died. Because Christ loves his
church, he loves Jacob with a jealousy which will be vented and poured
out upon Esau and the enemies of his people with an eternal
vengeance. You cannot offend one of God's
little ones, one of his people and think you will get away with
it. God loves the church and though many rage against the
church today and though many will seek to persecute it and
trample it underfoot and though many will despise it and pour
scorn upon the followers of Jesus Christ and mock them and laugh
at them and cause their hurt and seek to shame them and to
ridicule them and to hound them from city to city and put them
to death if they could though they hate them as they hate their
master the Lord Jesus Christ though the world rages against
God's church God is jealous over her and he will defend her he
will watch over his people to the end and any in history who
have offended any one of those little ones in his church, in
his company, in Jacob. It is better for them that a
millstone were hanged about his neck and that he were drowned
in the depth of the sea. Oh don't raise a hand against
God's people. Don't raise a hand against God's
people. And believer don't raise a hand
against your brother. There's the flesh in all of us.
There's corruption and sin in all of us that we carry to our
grave. But Christ has taken away the
sins of his own and he's judged them and they are forgiven and
if he has forgiven them then we are to forgive our brethren.
How good we are to see the moats in other's eyes and to not see
the beams in our own. How good we are, how clever we
are at finding the faults of our brethren and pointing this
out and that out. How easily we seek to divide
and to cause schism when God says these are my little ones. Do not offend, I have loved them. and I have paid the price for
their sins there is none in themselves who are perfect and there is
none in this world who don't carry the flesh to their grave
and if you expect perfection of your brethren in the church
you will be sorely disappointed but God knows they are perfect
in Christ they are his little ones, he has loved them and he's
jealous over them and they're called to walk together before
him looking not upon the outwards looking not upon the flesh looking
not upon the faults and the failings but looking upon Christ and their
brethren as they are in Christ for we are all united and one
in Christ and our righteousness is not in us but in Him and our
salvation is not in our deeds or our wisdom or our works but
in Him in Him in He who has loved us with
an everlasting love Whoso shall receive one of these
little children full of faults and failings but little children
who know Christ and who love Christ and His Gospel and who
serve Christ. Whoso receives one of these little
children receiveth me. You may speak of Christ you may
speak of following Him you may speak of receiving Him but if
you don't receive His people you don't receive Him. The child
of God loves Christ and his people even though naturally speaking
they are unlovely. Jacob have I loved but Esau have
I hated. Who is Jacob? What was Jacob? Was Esau a rogue and Jacob the
perfect son? Was Jacob a man of upstanding? Did Jacob merit God's love when
Esau merited his anger? No, Jacob was a schemer, a deceiver,
corrupt, wily. Jacob sought his own advantage
at the expense of his brother. He deceived his father in order
to gain the birthright. He sought his own end and his
own glory. Jacob was a liar, a deceiver. and not just before he came to
know God but he was full of sin as we are full of sin and there
was everything in Jacob to deserve the rejection of God to deserve
God's judgment and God's wrath everything which made him unlovable
full of every fault which would cause you and I to condemn him
and to reject him. If Jacob stood here today, we'd
never stop seeing that which we could find fault with. Would
we receive Jacob? Or would we cast him out? Get
out of here, you liar! You schemer! You lack integrity, you lack
faithfulness. We'd cast him out like the Pharisees
cast out. Stand not by me for I'm holier
than thou. I thank thee Lord that I'm not
as this man, this man Jacob, a sinner. Oh how they thought that God
should love them. because they were not Jacob's they weren't spotted like Jacob yet God loved Jacob and hated
Esau and God did not love Jacob because of the good that was
in Jacob and God did not love Jacob because Jacob decided to
follow God God did not love Jacob because Jacob worked well, because
Jacob was a good man, because Jacob made the right decisions.
God loved Jacob because God would love Jacob, because he set his
love upon him, because he chose him. Jacob have I loved, but
Esau have I hated. yes we would despise and reject
him but he was loved of God he's mine and upon Mount Zion
he shall be delivered and there shall be holiness and the house
of Jacob shall possess their possessions Jacob's mine and
his descendants are mine the house of Jacob shall be a fire
it shall burn a blaze of glory and the house of Joseph a flame
and the house of Esau for stubble and they shall kindle in them
and devour them and there shall not be any remaining of the house
of Esau for the Lord hath spoken it. In which house are you? Are you in the house of Jacob
or the house of Esau? It won't be your works or your
righteousness that makes the difference if you know the love that Jacob
knew it won't be because you are better than Esau and yet if you are in the house
of Esau if you know not God and his love then you shall be stubble and
kindle for the burning of the fire of Jacob and Joseph. Their glory will be displayed
in the judgment of God against their sins and against your sin. In the judgment of God against
all the sins of all mankind. which in those in the house of
Esau will be poured out upon them for eternity. You will pay
for your sins and your rebellion of God and your rejection of
his gospel and his son and your hatred and despising of Jesus
Christ and his ways. You will pay as stubble and kindle
upon which a fire burns. but if God has set his love upon
you then the display of his judgement and justice against your sins
shall not be meted out upon you but they were meted out upon
his own son the Lord Jesus Christ who on Mount Zion upon a cross
outside the city of Jerusalem showed forth the glory of God,
burning in a blaze for Jacob and his house. On that cross,
Christ took the sins of Jacob and the sin of Jacob and delivered
him, delivered upon Mount Sion, delivered him in righteousness,
delivered him in holiness, separated him unto the glory of God, that
Jacob should have an inheritance, that Jacob shall possess his
possessions, that Jacob should enter into an everlasting kingdom
with his God forevermore, that Jacob should have all the riches
of God's grace in Jesus Christ. Upon Mount Zion shall be deliverance Oh God's glory is seen here the
wonderful wondrous glory of God in the salvation of his people
and in the display of judgment in the flames and the fires which
were poured out upon Christ on Zion and upon Jacob Israel in
Christ as both Christ and his people plunged into the grave to rise again on the third day. Jacob have I loved, but Esau
have I hated. Wherein is God's love for Jacob
displayed? He poured out His fury, His wrath,
His justice, His holiness upon Jesus Christ, His Son, upon Mount
Zion. And having poured it out, there
was no more sin, no more corruption, no more rebellion, no more hatred,
not one blemish or spot in Jacob to be seen. so that his people
Jacob, the house of Jacob should rise with Christ in righteousness
rise with their saviour rise with their saviour to rule in
a kingdom they should rise up upon Mount Zion as this prophecy
concludes and saviours shall come up on Mount Zion to judge
the mount of Esau and the kingdom shall be the Lord's. Well there was one saviour who
died upon a cross on Mount Zion for his own, but all his people
in him are raised up with him as princes, as saviours in the
kingdom of God. As saviours on Mount Zion to
judge the Mount of Esau, they in Christ judged the wicked. And the kingdom shall be the
Lord, because Christ has died, Christ has suffered, and Christ
has risen again. Praise His name. He's risen. Oh, do you know him? Have you
seen him upon Mount Zion? Have you seen his deliverance? Have you seen his salvation? Have you seen his love for Jacob,
for the schemer, for the deceiver, for the child of wrath? Have you seen that and thought
that's not me? Have you set yourself apart from
it? Do you look upon your own sin
and your own rebellion and think you're a far off, you're an Esau? Well it's not the depth of your
sin that separates you from God. Jacob was a schemer. greater than you jacob was a
deceiver worse than you jacob was a sinner just like you and
if god could love jacob he can love you and if god could deliver
jacob he can deliver you and if god should love jacob he can
love you it's not your sin that will make the difference it's
god's choice Either he will save you or he won't save you. It's
not what you are or what you can do or how you can improve
yourself that will make a difference. But if you know you're that sinner,
if you know you're that deceiver, if you know you're that schemer,
if you know you're that rebel and you know that deliverance
is on Mount Zion, and you know that God's glory is seen in judgment
and you know that you deserve judgment but fear it then fall
down upon your knees before a holy and an almighty God who loved
a sinner like you and who loves sinners like you fall down upon
your knees before the God of Jacob, who chose and loved Jacob
despite all his sin, and cry out unto him to have mercy upon
you. For all who cry unto him, knowing
they are sinners like Jacob, know his deliverance. Because Esau never truly cried
unto God. he never believed like Jacob
believed he never saw like Jacob saw and God's anger was kindled
against him don't be an Esau seek the God who loves sinners
like Jacob all the Pharisees came to Christ and they were
there and they found so much to condemn in the people whom
Christ loved. Oh, they saw the disciples and
condemned them. They saw the adulterers. They
saw Mary Magdalene. They saw the sinners with whom
Christ ate and drank. This man receiveth sinners. This man eats and drinks with
sinners. How can he? They're corrupt. How can you walk with the ungodly? They found stones to stone him
with. They found fault in everything
he did and said. He claims to be the son of God. He's a winebibber. He mixes and
drinks with sinners. How can he? Their self-righteous
indignation was stirred. Their condemnation of the wicked
was kindled. How can he mix with these? But Christ came, not to call
the righteous, but sinners to repentance. He didn't come to
save the self-righteous. He didn't come to save those
who've got it all right and all sewn up. He didn't come to save
those who've studied the scriptures and formed all the right doctrine,
who see everything right and practice it right, who are unspotted
from the flesh, who are unspotted from the sins of their neighbours.
He didn't come to save those who'd separated themselves. He
came to save sinners who were helpless and hopeless, who were
full of sin, who couldn't stop sinning, who had no wisdom, who
didn't see things right, who couldn't mend their ways, who
were so addicted to the pathway in which they walked they couldn't
do anything about it, like the drug addicts, like the alcoholics,
sin had a grip on them as it may have a grip on you and though
you may hear the truth and though you may hear the gospel and though
you may hear the demands of the law and though you may know what
you should be like and want to be like that and try to be like
that and strive to be like that the more you strive the more
you fail and you don't get any better you get worse and worse
and worse and you know it and you feel the condemnation and
wrath of God upon your head and you feel yourself falling and
sinking deeper and deeper into hell and deeper and deeper under
the wrath of God and you feel like you're afar off and without
hope yet God comes to you in Christ and says I came not to
call those the righteous over there But I came to call you
the sinking, helpless, hopeless sinner. You who are afar off. You who are failing. You who
are without strength. You who have rebelled against
me. You who not only sins because you can't help it, but sins because
you choose to. I came to call you, not the righteous. Let the righteous be. let them
build their churches and their gatherings let them gather together
and separate from all others in their holy huddles let them
be but I came to call sinners like Jacob whom I loved but Esau have I
hated but upon Mount Zion shall be
for Jacob for sinners like you and I upon Mount Zion shall be
deliverance salvation and there shall be holiness and the house
of Jacob shall possess their possessions and the house of
Jacob shall be afire, and the house of Joseph aflame. The glory
of God will be seen in my people, not for anything that they are
or they have done, but for what I have done by grace for them
in Christ. Christ died and I displayed my
glory in the judgment of their sins in Him. I made him to be
sin that they might be made the righteousness of God in him I
showed forth my glory in a blaze it's not what they've done but
what I've done and it shall be there's my salvation of that
people whom I love and the house of Esau is their stubble and
they shall kindle in them and devour them and there shall not
be any remaining of the house of Esau for the Lord hath spoken
it and saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount
of Esau and the kingdom shall be the Lord's he's building his
kingdom and he's building his kingdom through the preaching
of his gospel. His ecclesia is built and established
through his gospel. His ecclesia is gathered through
his gospel. His people are saved and gathered
in and added through his gospel, the house of Jacob. And he's
preaching that gospel today. It's not in the traditions of
man. It's not in the churches of men. It's not in the practices of
men. But it's in God by grace through
his gospel in Christ. Christ is building his church
upon Mount Zion. And saviours shall come up on
Mount Zion. to judge the mount of Esau and
the kingdom shall be the Lord's. Are you in that kingdom? Are you Jacob or Esau? Can God say of you, Jacob have
I loved but Esau have I hated? Do you know His love wrapping
around you? Taking you through death. Taking you through that valley
of death. Taking away your sin and your
sins. Sparing you the wrath to come. Delivering you. Leading you through
death. Leading you through the grave.
Leading you up. Rising out of the tomb. The stone
rolled away, rising up and ascending in Christ unto glory, sitting
down in glory with Christ upon Mount Zion. Do you know His deliverance?
Are you in His Kingdom? Are you dead, buried, and risen
again in Christ as he loved you with an everlasting love. Did he give himself for you because
he loved you? Upon Mount Zion shall be deliverance
for Jacob whom I love.