Deliverance on Mount Zion - Obadiah

                    

Obadiah is one of the minor prophets found near the end of the Old Testament. Minor’s not about a lesser message from God; it’s like the difference between a short story and a novel, each telling part of God’s story, each speaking the word of the Lord to the people, often messages of judgment and restoration, helping us understand God’s plan a little better. The message this morning leans more into Israel’s history, helping us when we read the other prophets.

Obadiah’s writing to the people of Edom, condemning them for their role in the destruction of Israel by foreign nations. It’s not exactly clear when Obadiah gives his message; it could be as early as the time of Elisha, but it’s more likely during the time of Jeremiah after Israel’s taken into exile in Babylon. We see similarities between Obadiah 1-9 and Jeremiah 49 that suggest they come from the same time. Israel’s been devastated, and Edom helped Israel’s enemies defeat them. This angers the Lord because Edom comes from the line of Esau, twin brother of Jacob. This is family going up against family and this offends the Lord. Not only has Edom gone up against Israel, they’re also boastful about it and believe that no one’s powerful enough to go up against them.

Edom’s south of the Dead Sea, a mountainous area. You can still visit one of its most famous fortresses, Petra. Petra’s about 80 kilometres south of the Dead Sea in a valley plateau that’s only accessible through a narrow ravine about a mile long and ends at an enormous bluff. It’s easy to defend and Edom believed that no one would ever be able to defeat them here. When you think you’re safe and secure and others are unable to hurt you, it’s easy to become proud and cruel. This happens to Edom, and they find themselves able to take advantage of Israel and get back for perceived historical wrongs dating back to Jacob and Esau. The people of the Middle East have long memories.

The Lord comes to Obadiah with a message of judgment for Edom, but a message of hope and restoration to Israel. The Lord sees Israel’s and reassures them that he will restore them back into their land. We hear an echo back to Abraham and the Lord’s promise to bless Abram and to curse those who curse him. The Lord tells Obadiah an envoy is being sent to the nations to call them to rise up against Edom. The Lord tells Edom that he’s going to make them small and despised, that the nations are going to humiliate them for what they’ve done to Israel. There are consequences to their acts against God’s people. Edom should consider Israel family since their ancestors where the twin brothers of Isaac and Rebekah, protecting Israel instead of going up against her.

The Lord’s message is to the point, Edom thinks they’re invincible and safe, but they’re only fooling themselves. “The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rocks and make your home on the heights, you who say to yourself, ‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’ Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down,” declares the Lord.” They’ve forgotten that the Lord’s more powerful than any kingdom on earth. If might is right, then the Lord is the most right. Edom’s cruelty was worse than thieves, even thieves wouldn’t take everything. “If thieves came to you, if robbers in the night— oh, what a disaster awaits you! — would they not steal only as much as they wanted? If grape pickers came to you, would they not leave a few grapes?” Even thieves leave a few grapes for the poor. It takes a special kind of hate to completely strip all the food from someone. There are consequences from the Lord, “But how Esau will be ransacked, his hidden treasures pillaged!” Edom kept their treasure in caves in the cliffs; and the nations the Lord’s going to use to destroy them are going to hunt out the wealth they’ve accumulated. Edom’s pride made them trust in themselves; but to the Lord, their location, wealth, and human wisdom are nothing. Edom is going to be punished for participating in the destruction of Israel; they’ll be cast down from their heights and Israel will come home again from exile.

“All your allies will force you to the border; your friends will deceive and overpower you; those who eat your bread will set a trap for you, but you will not detect it.” This refers to people they thought were friends, “those who eat your bread,” were those Edom trusted. Sharing meals is a sign of friendship and acceptance, which is why years later the religious leaders got so angry at Jesus for the kinds of people he’s willing to share a meal with, sitting with the undesirables and those seen as unclean and unacceptable. The wisemen of Edom don’t see this betrayal coming at all. The defeat of Edom probably happens in the late sixth or early fifth century B.C. The Nabateans went to the Edomites for a banquet. Once they were welcomed into the territory of Edom, the Nabateans turned against their ally and killed the guards.

 

The Nabateans were descended from Nebaioth, son of Ishmael and brother-in-law of Esau. They’re all related to each other. Their territory was south and east of the river Jordan, along the trade routes from the Far East to the Mediterranean, and their capital became Petra, after they defeated Edom. Antigonus, who gained power in Syria after Alexander’s death, sent two expeditions to Petra in 312 B.C to subdue the Nabataeans and control trade. Both were unsuccessful. Most Middle eastern peoples are related through the patriarchs of Israel, which makes these betrayals worse. This is why peace between Israel and Gaza is so hard to achieve; the anger and hatred run deep and gives a feeling of strength. The same thing happens with us too on smaller scales, some people hang onto anger rather than working towards forgiveness and reconciliation.

 

This message from the Lord is all about holding Edom accountable for their pride, lack of forgiveness; treating Israel as the “other.”  There’s a lack of trust in the other, always assuming the worst about them. We focus on differences: of skin colour, faith, in seeing and understanding the world around us differently. It’s often fuelled by politics or faith and ends in demonizing the other. We saw it happen during the pandemic, accusing the “others” of bad motives and intents rather than offering grace and understanding that each person was trying to do what they thought was best for their family. We’re influenced by the world to think in terms of the “other” instead of recognizing that we’re all created in God’s image, and that God desires that no one be lost.

 

Edom and Israel, also thought like this, leading to hatred and gloating when the other is hurt, allowing them to treat the “other” in horrible ways and justifying it because they’re not like us, creating brokenness. Jesus comes to bring reconciliation between us and God by taking our sin in himself, washing us clean from our sin. Jesus comes to destroy the power of sin that brings brokenness, and to draw us to himself. On Mount Zion, Jesus prays for unity among his followers, Jesus is then sacrificed to bring in the kingdom of heaven. Jesus is revealed as the King of kings before whom all the nations will bend their knee. Jesus is returning on the Day of the Lord to hold the nations, and each one of us, accountable for our actions. God’s people don’t need fear this day of accountability as Jesus has stood in our place before the judge of the universe and paid the price for our role in creating brokenness in the world. There’s this beautiful picture of all humanity coming together in Psalm 86:9, “All the nations You have made will come and bow before you, O Lord, and they will glorify your name.”

We’re called to this ministry of reconciliation, calling the world to believe in Jesus as their Lord, working towards reconciliation here on earth. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:14–20, “For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.”

Reconciliation needs the willingness to confess our role in broken relationships, personally and as nations; to forgive as Jesus forgives us; and to do the hard work of healing that reconciliation brings, as Jesus brings us healing through reconciling us with God. We’re unable to do this on our own, we need the help of the Holy Spirit to grow the fruit of the Spirit in us. It takes courage and a reliance on Jesus to move towards others to build the unity Jesus prays for in John 17. Are we willing to be such a church?