Obadiah 3-9
Pride Goes Before A Fall
Introduction
Before we look at our text in Obadiah, I want us to consider some of what the Proverbs have to say about pride.
Proverbs 11:2 When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom.
Proverbs 15:25 The Lord will destroy the house of the proud: but he will establish the border of the widow.
Proverbs 16:5 Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.
Proverbs 16:18 Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.
Proverbs 29:23 A man’s pride shall bring him low: but honor shall uphold the humble in spirit.
There are plenty of other verses where God expresses what He thinks about pride, but I think we all get the point – He hates it: He hates it on every level, whether it is in a individual’s life, in a family, in a church or in a nation as we find in the book of Obadiah. Though we’ll be dealing primarily with expressions of national pride in this message, remember that any collective body, such as a church or a nation, is an expression of the individuals who make it up. The nation of Edom was proud because the citizens of that nation were proud, and thought they enjoyed many good things, thinks that were in some cases better than those of other neighboring nations, they were wring in thinking themselves to be responsible for what they had.
The Lord said that the Edomites were deceived. “The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee…” The Edomites believed some things about their nation or about themselves that God found to be false. Let’s read out test, verses 3-8, and then consider these beliefs. As we do let’s try to be honest with ourselves as to whether we hold these same beliefs.
“The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground? Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the Lord. If thieves came to thee, if robbers by night, (how art thou cut off!) would they not have stolen till they had enough: If the grapegatherers came to thee, would they not leave some grapes: How are the things of Esau searched out! How are his hidden things sought up! All the men of thy confederacy have brought thee ever to the border: the men that were at peace with thee have deceived thee, and prevailed against thee; they that eat thy bread have laid a wound under thee: there is none understanding in him. Shall I not in that day, saith the Lord, even destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of the mount of Esau? And thy might men, O Teman, shall be dismayed, to the end that every one of the mount of Esau may be cut off by slaughter.”
They Had Superior Defenses
Last week as I talked about the geography of Edom, I told you about how difficult it was to get to their capital city of Petra. Little of the land was suitable for attacking the nation, but Petra was the pinnacle of their great defense system. From the mountain tops in the region, there is no hint of civilian life in the area, but nestled down in the valley of that land is a gorge that today is known as the valley of Moses.
This gorge is about a mile long and is on average only about 15 feet wide. In some places two horsemen can barely ride next to each other. The sun is shut out from the place because of the high sandstone cliffs that rise hundreds of feet on both sides of the gorge. At times the sun is blocked out to the extent that it gets dark at noon.
Once you travel through the gorge, it opens up into a level valley of slightly less than one square mile surrounded by many mountains. There are no freestanding homes of buildings here, because everything is carved right out of the rock. The great temple Al-Khazneh is one such building. It is carved right into the face of the cliff and runs about 130 feet high. It has doors that are 25-30 feet high. Now think about an invading army coming into that city. It would be extremely difficult to launch an attack, assuming they could even find the city, and if they did, their entrance into it would be so slow that they could be slaughtered as they entered.
What did the Edomites think about their great city and defenses? Look at verse 3.
“You that dwell in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, who shall bring me down to the ground? Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars…”
Perched on top of this natural fortress, the Edomites developed a superior attitude about their defenses. From a human perspective it is hard to imagine a safer spot than Edom and its capital city of Petra. It is understandable that these men might say, “Who can bring me down to the ground?”
Were they proud? You Bet! They exalted themselves as the eagle, representing soaring pride, and they set their nest among the stars, expressing settled pride.
The eagle builds its nest in high places almost inaccessible to man. The Edomites were a race of eagles; they imagined themselves to be as secure as the stars. But what did the Lord say about their great boasts? He said He would bring them down. So what if they had great defenses? So what if their little city was in a great location to fend off would be attackers? What difference did rocks and mountains make to the One who made the canyon? Armies, already commissioned by the Almighty to humble Edom, were being summoned from afar according to verse 1.
Just how complete was God’s destruction going to be? Verses 5 & 6 tell us: If thieves came to thee, if robbers by night, (how art thou cut off!) would they not have stolen till they had enough? If the grapegatherers came to thee, would they not leave some grapes? How are the things of Esau searched out! How are his hidden things sought up!
The raiders are represented first as burglars who raid a house and leave nothing of value. These are thieves – they have no regard for ownership – they are there to plunder and loot the city, and their work would be completely devastating. Edom was to know no mercy, just as they had shown no mercy. They were to be exposed ruthlessly to the greedy hands of enemy looters. The warehouses of his trading center, crammed with valuable goods, were to be broken open, and the safes of its wealthy merchants were to be left empty.
The Edomites had crossed the boundary between God’s merciful patience and His wrath. They had gone too far, deceiving themselves in their pride, lifting up their hands and their hearts against God and His people, so now the enemy would harvest their accumulated riches and not leave even the leanest pickings.
In the King James, verse 6 read, “How are the things of Esau searched out! How are his hidden things sought up!” The NIV states it this way: “But how Esau will be ransacked, his hidden treasures pillaged!” The message has an interesting paraphrase. “Oh, they’ll take Esau apart, piece by piece, empty his purse and pockets.”
If you were to go to Petra today, you would find it I the same shape that those thieves and robbers left it. When they marched on that city under the unknown hand of God, they destroyed it in such a way that there was no room left for any amount of pride in their defenses. When they thought themselves to be mighty – they learned that they were nothing compared to the omnipotent God.
Look at verse 9. It says,
“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.”
These mighty men are Edomite soldiers, and it says that when God came against them with these invading armies they were dismayed. They had never had to encounter these kinds of attacks before, so they were bewildered and in that bewilderment grew incompetent. The nation’s army lost its sense of moral and fled, but the same gorge that sheltered them and the same mountains that protected them soon became the slaughterhouse that God had decreed it would become. Obadiah could see it all: the marching troops, the crumbling defenses, and the cowering soldiers – and why? Because they were a people who had raised their fists against the people of God and thus God Himself in great pride.
They Had Strong Allies
The Edomites were very proud of the allies with which they had surrounded themselves. They thought they were secure and invincible, first because of their national defenses, and now because of their strong alliances with other nations. Verse 7 says,
“All the men of thy confederacy have brought thee even to the border: the men that were at peace with thee have deceived thee, and prevailed against thee; they that eat thy bread have laid a wound under thee: there is none understanding in him.”
There is an interesting statement about our Lord you’ll find in John 2:23-25. John said,
“Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did. But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, and needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.”
The Edomites, unlike our Lord, did not sufficiently understand the hearts of men and women, nor did they foresee the possibility of these allies turning on them and betraying them to their enemies. The worst kind of treachery in the East is to betray a man whose bread one has eaten, and this is exactly what has happened in Edom.
Through the years Edom had persecuted his brother Jacob, with whom he should have had friendly, peaceful relations. Now Edom’s unbrotherly, unnatural hatred was to be returned to him. His friends and allies (probably Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon) with whom he had united were now going to be the very nations God would use to destroy him. They failed to recognize that their hostility toward God had sown the seeds of his destruction.
The emphasis on deception is not by accident. They were deceived by their pride, and now in their pride they had been deceived. How is it that they were deceived by these neighboring nations? It was because of the third belief they held found in verse 8.
They Had Exceptional Wisdom
Verse 8 says,
“Shall I not in that day, saith the Lord, even destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of the mount of Esau?”
“The Edomites’ belief that their wisdom was superior to the rest of the world became a great factor in building their pride. According to this verse, the people were as much as saying, “No matter what comes, we can handle it; we know how to get around in this world; we’re smarter than anyone.
“From the human perspective this was not just empty arrogance, for the Edomites really were noted for their wisdom. For example, Eliphaz, the foremost of Job’s friends and the chief representative in that book of human wisdom, was a Temanite; that is, he was from Edom. Another of Job’s friends was Shuhite, a name that is still given to a mountain in Edom.”
Now I want you to follow this train of thought with me for just a moment. Have you ever thought about what happens to a people when they grow more and more educated? Generally speaking, people are educated away from God, not to Him.
“The Edomites, like Esau, were essentially irreligious and thoroughly profane. Rarely, if ever, do we read of Edom’s gods in the Old Testament. Doubtless the Edomites had some gods, but religion was not their big preoccupation. Like Esau, they had no spiritual birthright, o faith in the future. They were dead to the unseen world and lived for power and plunder in this one.
“In keeping with their freethinking, the Edomites gained a reputation for shrewdness and worldly wisdom…The Herods – unprincipled statesmen known for cleverness, scheming, and lack of ideals – were Edomites.”
Perhaps you remember what Jesus said about Hero Antipas. He called him “that fox.” They may have been some of the wisest men on earth at the time, but they were destined for the sword.
Conclusion
Well let’s try to wrap this up by asking some questions. I told you when we began that this was going to be more than a dry history lesson. So, what does all of this have to do with us? How are these things related?
As I have thought about our study, my thoughts first turned to our nation. Last week the question came up about national pride. Is there a difference between the national pride that communicates a proper sense of self-worth and national dignity, the kind that causes us to pledge to our flag and fight our wars and defend our homes, and the kind of national pride that says we are better than everyone else, superior in so many ways?
Think about it with me – who boasts of having the greatest defense system in the world today? Who boasts of having the best and most allies in the world today? Who is it that claims to have the greatest minds, the greatest collection of wisdom in the world today? Does not our country make those boasts?
I want you to think about what James Montgomery Boice wrote about national pride.
“God exalts a nation. Those in power see it as a cause for personal pride. They boast that they are better than others and can even do without God. Then God brings that nation down. This has been the case with all the great kingdoms of the world. Historians tell us that the world has seen twenty-one great civilizations. But each has passed away in time to make room for the next. Once there was Egypt, but ancient Egypt was destroyed, and that which is not Egypt is no world power. Once there was Babylon, but it too passed away. So with Greece and Rome. So it will be with the great powers of our day: the Soviet Union and the United States.
“Is the United States destined for destruction? We cannot say. She may recover her godly heritage. She may last until the Lord returns. But we should be warned by God’s judgment on Edom. Do we boast that we are strong? That we have the greatest army, the most missiles, the most effective navy? Do we boast that our technology is superior to that of the rest of the world? If so, we must watch out! God says that he can bring even our nation down.”
I think he makes good sense, but what is the answer? Should we sever our alliances in this age of diplomacy? Is it wrong to seek wisdom? I don’t think so. What we need is a personal and national humility that understands that everything we have and every thing we are is because of the gracious hand of God at work in our nation. Our nation is not great because of who we know, we cannot trust our relationships with others or even trust our ability to solve our own problems. The only thing in which a nation is ever truly secure is a humble and obedient relationship to God.
So there is national pride, but let’s invite these lesions into our homes. Do you struggle with a undue sense of self-sufficiency? That’s what all this is you know – self-sufficiency – an attitude of life that thinks you are where you are and you own what you own and you’ve become what you are today because of your own hard work, your own intellectual ability, your diligence, your decisions, and so forth. Self-sufficiency is that pride of life that may say with words that you trust God and are obedient to him, but it communicates with your attitudes and actions that you don’t need Him, but He’s nice to hang out with on Sundays.
What might happen if Christian people everywhere began to live in deep humility before God? What might happen if we began to really see where our nation is headed and plead with God on her behalf? Could so few of us make a difference? Before you think the answer is no – let’s remember the gracious hand of God when Abraham pleaded with Him for the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Let’s read 2 Chronicles 7:14 as we close and pray that we would be agents of change for our nation in trouble.
