Obadiah, Jonah And Nahum Series

August 14, 2021

Today we are going to do the “Minor Prophet Shuffle”. We are skipping over Micah and will come back to it next week.

1 Peter 4:17 reminds us that “Judgment Begins in the House of God…”, therefore, the overwhelming focus of the Old Testament is on the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – The Chosen People of God. Their stories of Fidelity and Infidelity, Faithfulness and Unfaithfulness, Rebellion, Judgment and Restoration.

It would be easy to assume, then, that the nations who do not acknowledge God or His right to rule over them are off the hook.

However, 1 Peter 4:17 also says, “…if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?”

Which brings us to My Favorite Thing About OBADIAH, JONAH and NAHUM – The Sovereignty of God Over the Whole Earth.

These are not the only books in the Old Testament that document God’s dealings with the nations that surround Israel, but our three books today are unique in that they are addressed EXCLUSIVELY to Edom and/or Assyria.

OBADIAH

Obadiah is the shortest book in the Old Testament – just 21 verses – and speaks directly to Edom {located South of Judah and the Dead Sea}.

As direct descendants of Abraham and Isaac, the Edomites, would have been included in the covenant God made with their forefathers, but they rejected it. Despite their shared ancestry, Edom and Israel lived in almost perpetual conflict and there are more than 120 references to these descendants of Esau in the Old Testament:

• They refused to allow Israel to pass through their territory enroute to the Promised Land - Numbers 20:14-21

• David successfully defeated them - 2 Samuel 8:13-14.

• They rebelled against King Jehoram - 2 Kings 8:20-22 and 2 Chronicles 21:8.

• King Amaziah made a successful raid into their territory - 2 Chronicles 25:11-12.

“This is what the Sovereign LORD says about Edom”

Through Obadiah, God was calling Edom to account for 2 issues:

1 - Pride {vv. 3-9} – “The pride of your heart has deceived you….”

This pride was much more than just self-importance/self-absorption — it was the sense of complete independence from God.

• They had PRIDE in their SECURITY - vv. 3-4

• They had PRIDE in their WEALTH - vv. 5-6

• They had PRIDE in their ALLIES - vv. 7

• They had PRIDE in their WISDOM - vv. 8

• They had PRIDE in their MILITARY - vv.9

They felt no need for the God of their fathers.

2 - Their treatment of Israel {vv. 10-14} – “Because of the violence against your brother Jacob….”

Not only did Edom flex their military muscle against Israel, they stood by and did nothing as other nations attacked and pillaged Israel.

• “You should not have looked down on your brother in the day of his misfortune”- vv. 12

• “You should not have marched through the gates of my people in the day of their disaster”- vv. 13.

• “You should not have waited at the crossroads to cut down their fugitives”- vv. 14

It was for their PRIDE and CRUELTY that Edom was being judged.

“Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down," declares the LORD. – vv. 4

“The Day of the Lord is near – as you have done, it shall be done to you; your deeds will return upon your own head.”- vv. 15

If you look at a current map of Palestine you will note that Edom no longer exists.

Question: Do you think if Edom had turned around that their threatened destruction might have been delayed or even withdrawn?

• Ezekiel 18:23 - Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign LORD. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?

I believe our next book will also help answer that question.

JONAH

Jonah lived in the Northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of Jeroboam II {see 2 Kings 14:23-25}.

On the surface, Jonah’s book is about a reluctant prophet, but in reality, its pages reveal the heart of God and His desire to save the people of Nineveh {the capital of Assyria} – even though they did not acknowledge Him as God. Because He desires to save as many people as possible, God put in a call to Jonah:

• Jonah 1:1 - The word of the LORD came to Jonah, son of Amittai: 2 "Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me."

At the peak of her power, Assyria stretched from Egypt to Persian Gulf. They built their vast empire by terror and violence and were well known for their cruelty: amputating hands and feet, gouging out eyes, pulling out tongues, decapitations, skinning and impaling their captives, sacking cities and exiling entire populations. Note the following quote from a relief found in the palace of Sennacherib: “Mr. Mannu-ki-ahhe and Mr. Nabuusalli spoke great insults against Assur, the god, my creator. Their tongues I tore out, their skins I flayed”