Obadiah 10-14
When Pride Is Fleshed Out
Introduction
Before we get started in our study tonight, let’s do a little review.
· What did the Lord say in Malachi 1:1-27? And why did He use such strong language?
· What was God going to do to Edom according to what we have studied so far in Obadiah?
· What were the three beliefs that Edom held about their nation that God found to be a false and an abomination to Him?
Pride is a terrible thing, and the Lord hates it. He hated it in Esau. He hated it in the nation that would develop from Esau, and He still hates it just as much today. You remember that we agreed that if I were to say, “Our deacon is a good man but he is a whoremonger,” you’d have a problem with that. But if I said, “Our deacon is a good man but is full of pride,” we’d hardly wink at it. It just shows us how different our views of sin are from God’s views. In our little book of Obadiah God wants us to see that He is completely sovereign, wonderfully holy, and full of love for mankind. These are what we refer to as some of God’s immutable traits, that is, He will never change in these things.
God gave us this book to study so we’d come to grips with pride in our own lives and remove it where we see it. Remember last week when I prayed? I asked God to deal with our pride, and because pride is so deceptive, I asked God to begin to reveal to each of us the pride we each struggle with. Let me ask you a personal question here – have you honestly allowed God to search you and show you your own pride?
· What have you seen in yourself so far?
When I prayed that, and as I have studied God has been answering my prayer. On Monday I went to the gym to work out. Now you know that it has been quite a number of years since I have lifted weights, so I have become very weak, not that I was ever all that muscled up. As I was working out these two younger guys came in and started hitting the weights pretty hard. They were doing the bench press, which I had just finished, and I felt very intimidated by how much more they were lifting than I had. As I was doing my next lift, I decided to add more weight to my bar so I wouldn’t look so wimpy next to those guys. I got a couple of lifts done and on the third attempt I just couldn’t move the weight, so there I was with this weight on me that I couldn’t get off. Fortunately for me, another guy was watching me and he ran over and got the weight off of me. I was very embarrassed and ashamed. What was all that about? Why was I so willing to put myself in such a position? Pride. That’s it. Pride. We men think we’ve go to outdo every other man at what we do, and your preacher is subject to that too. I am thankful that God revealed that bit of pride in me that I hadn’t thought about before.
Now maybe you don’t struggle with that sort of pride, but pride may still be there. In Edom there existed an attitude of superiority that led to their eventual destruction – but it didn’t have to be that way. The pride that swept their little nation caused great hatred for Israel, a nation that although they wouldn’t have admitted it, they were very envious of. Esau had been envious of Jacob, which led to Edom’s envy of Israel.
What is pride? It is above all an attitude, but it never stops with an attitude. It never stops in the mind or in the heart of a person or a people. Look up James 1:14-15 and notice the progression there. How does James say that things progress?
The attitude of pride is no different – once pride exists then you will either deal with it or it will flesh itself out in your life. That’s the law of the harvest that you find in Galatians 5. Whatever you sow you will reap. That’s how it worked in Edom. Look with me at Obadiah 10-14 and I want you to notice how Edom’s pride was fleshed out, and then notice four things the Edomites did to Israel as the result, and for which God was especially harsh on them. The Lord sums up all their actions in verse 10 by saying,
“For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off forever.”
Now they were violent against their brother Jacob, or Israel, and that violence was the expression of their pride. But how was their violence expressed?
They stood by when Judah was raided.
Verse 11 says,
“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.”
Now there were a couple of invasions on the city of Jerusalem that these verses may be referring to. One may have been the invasion of the Philistines and Arabs during the reign of Jehoram, about 850 B.C., but it may also be referring to the overthrow of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 587 B.C. Both views are quite interesting to study and consider. At this point I lean toward the Babylonian captivity.
“Consider what was happening. It was a dark hour for the Jewish people. About one hundred years earlier the Assyrians had carried the northern tribes into captivity and ravished Judah right down to the wall of Jerusalem. But now Jerusalem and the temple lay in ruins.
The northern tribes had never truly represented God’s truth. They had worshipped the golden calf, and all their kings and been evil. So the northern kingdom had come to an end, while the preaching of Isaiah and the prayers of godly King Hezekiah had saved Jerusalem and the temple from the Assyrians. But now it looked as though the light of the knowledge of the glory of God had gone out forever. It hadn’t, of course. There was still a Jeremiah, an Ezekiel, and a Daniel.”
But here, while Nebuchadnezzar brought his armies against the city, Judah stood alone. Where was Edom then? Did they rally around to help fight a common enemy? Of course not! They acted just like the priest and the Levite in the story of the good Samaritan, for when they saw their brother in need, they refused to lend a hand.
Now, you might be thinking, these nations were enemies, but that was never God’s desire. Look up Deuteronomy 23:7 and see what the Lord had told Israel.
“Thou shalt not abhor and Edomite; for he is thy brother…”
This should have worked both ways. God’s desire for the Israelites to treat Edom with brotherliness was just as much his desire for Edom to treat Israel in the same manner. Instead of attempting to befriend and help the people of Israel, to whom they were related by blood, they went over to the side of the brutal enemy which had invaded the land and did nothing to help. In fact, they did more than stand by. Psalm 137:7 lets us know that they were crying out for the destruction of Jerusalem, shouting “Raze it, raze it!”
Do you stand aloof when a brother stumbles? That’s what the people of Edom did. When enemies threatened Jerusalem, the people of Edom said, “This is no business of ours. We’re not their keepers. Whatever happens happens; if they fall, it’s only what serves them right. We’re going to mind our own business.”
How often does a brother or sister in Christ stumble and the rest of us stand off and just watch? We choose not to get involved or come to their aid. Do we think we are superior to them? Are we afraid of something? Are there attitudes that need to be thought through and repented of? We’re told in the Scriptures to “bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” We’re told to be like that good Samaritan, who at his own personal cost went the extra mile to care for a man who was in great need.”
Listen, you have a responsibility to other men and women and a special responsibility to those within your immediate family and the family of God. God holds you accountable! Where you can help, you must help. Where you can encourage, you must encourage. Where you can defend, you must defend.
They looked down on Judah when they fell.
Verse 12 says,
“But thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother in the duty that he became a stranger…”
The phrase “looked on” carries the idea of showing a special curiosity. It means that while the Edomites stood by during the defeat of Judah, they could have been at home in their own nation, but they chose instead to come out and watch. They progressed from standing by to an improper curiosity about their brother’s tragedy.
Do you look down on your brothers when they fall? Some professing Christians are like the Edomites. Instead of helping a brother when he falls, they delight in digging out the details and spreading the news. Feeling smug, they do not hesitate to add an extra kick or two to a man who is down. Obadiah warned against such wicked behavior.
Do you know Christians like that? They don’t kelp others, but they don’t mind finding out the details of some other Christian’s failure. Have you heard of someone who has fallen into some sin, and have you been tempted for curiosity’s sake to see what the trouble is?
They rejoiced in Judah’s defeat.
Verse 12 continues by saying,
“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 their distress.”
As they watched Israel fall to the Babylonians, the Edomites rejoiced over the calamity that had come to Judah. For centuries God had given Israel the upper hand. Jacob prevailed and prospered while Esau took the back seat. When Israel marched up to the Promised Land and was denied passage time and time again, God made sure they got where He wanted them. When previous enemies came against them, they gained the victory. Now here they were, God’s chosen people falling to an enemy they could not handle, and Edom thought it a great thing.
Do you rejoice when a brother falls? That is always an action of pride. When you hear someone rejoicing over the trouble that another individual is having, you may be sure that you are listening to someone who is very proud. Pride is something that God says He hates. It is a shame that Christian people can talk about other Christians, and can even be happy that the other has fallen or sinned. Somehow it makes them feel better about themselves. How repulsive that must seem to God! If we saw ourselves the way God sees us, there wouldn’t be any room for boasting or rejoicing when others fall. Instead of boasting that you are stronger than that person or that you’ve not fallen like they have, remember that it is only by the grace of God that you haven’t and even though you may not struggle in the area they do, you’ve got your own problems.
They took advantage of Judah after they were weakened.
Verse 13 reveals that after Edom was satisfied of Israel’s defeat and Babylon no threat, they moved in to plunder what was left.
“Thou shouldest not have entered into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; yea, thou shouldest not have looked on their affliction in the day of their calamity, nor have laid hands on their substance in the day of their calamity.”
Edom’s violence against their brother only grew worse. Not only did they join with the enemy against Israel, but they actually moved into loot and plunder after the enemy had taken Israel away into captivity. How sorry can you get? They didn’t fight Israel for the goods. They didn’t help Babylon for a part in the spoils. They only stood back like hungry vultures coming in after the kill.
Do you take advantage of brothers who fall? Do we prey on them with our works and behavior? Do we move in and gather the spoils? What are some ways that believers can take advantage of other believers when they fall?
They turned the escapees over to their enemies.
I think this is the worse part of all. Read verse 14.
“Neither shouldest thou have stood in the crossway, to cut off those of his that did escape; neither shouldest thou have delivered up those of his that did remain in the day of distress.”
You can picture what has happened. As Edom moved in to plunder the city, they encountered stragglers, men and women, or lone women with their children, perhaps whole families who had fled the city to escape the destruction and certain death or captivity. If they could only take refuge in the rugged country south of the Dead Sea – but on their way they met up with these Edomite brothers who had no sympathy for their plight – the Bible says that they turned them over to the Babylonians, gave them up to their enemies for who knows what future. Did they care? Certainly not, for they were the lowest sort of people, thriving on the defeats of others, even their own kinsmen.
Do you stand in the way of brothers who are hurting? Now figuratively speaking, God’s people can be guilty of this very think. They serve Satan, our enemy by treating Christians who have sinned or erred with an unbrotherly love. Some Christians spend more time delivering fellow believers into the hands of unbelievers than they do serving God. Our duty is to build up, to edify our brothers and restore them, not to turn them over to the enemy every time they fall.
Conclusion
I suppose that if you or I knew a people like the Edomites, a people so violent toward their kinsmen that they would do these things we might shun them. But listen, all too often it is we, believers in Jesus Christ who behave like the Edomites. We can behave very hurtful, we say things we ought not say, we do things we ought not do, and sometimes, perhaps more often than not, we refuse to get involved when we should. There is a Bible verse that says, “A man that hath friends must show himself friendly; and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.” We have such a friend in Jesus. When we had fallen to sin and death, Jesus didn’t just stand by. He didn’t look on with contempt or with indifference. When we were helpless and hopeless, Jesus didn’t rejoice or boast of His own perfection, though He was. He didn’t move in and exploit us, nor did He turn us over to the enemy – He didn’t do any of these things. Because He loved us, He chose to get involved and do something about it – His love drove Him to the cross, and because He was lifted up, we too can be lifted up.
Isn’t it fascinating that long after Edom mocked and scorned Jacob, a child of Edom named Herod condemned a child of Jacob to die? That child of Jacob went to the cross and took upon Himself all the sin of all the world, even the sin of pride. He wants that sin to be crucified in your life, but just like you had to empty yourself to come to Him in salvation, you’ve got to empty yourself in this thing and offer it up to God, the only One who can help you gain the victory.
