Today is the day that the Lord has made. So let us rejoice and be glad in it. And everyone said with all your hearts, Amen. The election is over. Praise be to the Lord on high. I will be completely honest with you.

I was getting real tired of it. I'll get real sick of it. I did not become a minister of the gospel of Jesus to talk about that. I became a pastor to preach Jesus and His kingdom come. And yes, to talk about the kingdom and how it works in this world, you have to talk about the affairs of this world and what is going on.

And we do not get to choose the time that we live in. We don't get to choose the world events that are happening around us. We just choose to speak into them or not. And many Christians, many Christians spoke up during this previous election. But I have to wonder if we sent the right message. I say that because it wasn't the best week of my life, to be honest with you. Got a lot of messages online from people who are hurting. And the old saying is, hurt people hurt people.

Let hurt people lash out. And got a lot of that. And I'll kind of summarize it with what one person said. I'm kind of synthesizing, but I'll use language they said. One person said, this election showed me that Christians actually can get motivated by what they believe in. I've never seen them do it for Jesus like I've seen them do it for Donald Trump. I guess I know where their faith truly lies. Now listen, you can debate that and push back on that all the live long day. But here's what I'll say to you. If you'll put a Trump sign in your yard, but not a join us for Easter sign. If you will share a political post on social media, but not one from the church. If you know how to defend Trump's civil cases, but you don't know how to defend the historicity of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, then all I'm saying is that

maybe those people aren't completely off their rocker for saying these things. So let me say this to us, Christians in the house. Do we live our faith by the love of God? Amen. Say amen if you believe that.

Do you believe that we are to live our faith out in a holy fear before God's reverence? Say amen if so. Say amen if you also believe that we are to live out our faith with immense hope in what is to come. Amen. And I say amen to that too.

And one of the places we see all three of those coalesce is in this little book called Obadiah. Now, I call it little because if you were here with us last week, then you'll know that it is not little. It is the shortest book of all the Old Testament. So, please turn in your Bibles to the book of Obadiah. If you want to use the Bibles we provided, please do that. That's on page 891. Now to clarify, Obadiah is so short it has no chapters. It only has verses. And we're going to be looking at verses 10 to 18 today. Now, there's an incredible context in history going around this prophet. Can't get into all of it. Go back and listen to last week's message if you want to know more about that.

But let me just try to summarize what's going on here with this prophet. So Obadiah is a prophet, gets a message from God that he is to share with a specific nation, the kingdom of Edom.

See, God calls them out for what they've become and what they've done. Last week we saw and talked about what they've become. They became a prideful nation. And you know what pride is? Pride is saying to God, I don't need you. Pride is saying to God, my ways are better than your ways. That's what this nation had become. They had become prideful. And if that wasn't enough, there was actual an event. There was a thing that happened. They did something that was the catalyst for this prophecy to be given. As we look at this simple theme here today, the warning of justice. Now what's justice? Justice is setting things right. We say in America that we long for justice.

I just wonder, do we know what we're actually asking for? So here's the story, what happened? So they became prideful, but what have they done? Here's the context, here's the quick story. Jerusalem has been conquered by Babylon. Babylon has come in, decimated the kingdom, decimated the city, and they brought the people into exile, and they were forcing them to live now as Babylonians in Babylon. This is a world history event. You can look this up. This happened in 586 BC, and all the while that's happening all the while that Babylon is coming in and decimating God's people Edom does two things. Edom as a reminder is a neighboring country to Israel. Edom is also the ancestral brothers of the Israelites. They have a special lineage together but Edom does is nothing. They stand by and they watch what's happening. But then, then they do something else. Then after the devastation happens, then Edom goes in and like crows, they pick and they steal the leftovers, and if that wasn't enough, the other thing they do is they find any of the survivors of Jerusalem and Judah, and they round them up and they bring them and give them over to Babylon. And God is saying, that's it, I've had enough, and he brings the hammer down on Edom. And so with that, we're going to read verses 10 to 18 today. If you are able, would you please stand for the reading of God's word. Would you hear the word of the Lord, the prophet Obadiah, verses 10 to 18.

Obadiah 10-18

10 Because of the violence done to your brother Jacob,

shame shall cover you,

mand you shall be cut off forever.

11 On the day that you stood aloof,

on the day that strangers carried off his wealth

and foreigners entered his gates

and cast lots for Jerusalem,

you were like one of them.

12 But do not gloat over the day of your brother

in the day of his misfortune;

rdo not rejoice over the people of Judah

in the day of their ruin;

do not boast

in the day of distress.

13 Do not enter the gate of my people

in the day of their calamity;

do not gloat over his disaster

in the day of his calamity;

udo not loot his wealth

in the day of his calamity.

14 Do not stand at the crossroads

to cut off his fugitives;

do not hand over his survivors

in the day of distress.

The Day of the Lord Is Near

15 For the day of the LORD is near upon all the nations.

As you have done, it shall be done to you;

your deeds shall return on your own head.

16 For as you have drunk on my holy mountain,

so all the nations shall drink continually;

they shall drink and swallow,

and shall be as though they had never been.

17 But in Mount Zion there shall be those who escape,

and it shall be holy,

and the house of Jacob shall possess their own possessions.

18 The house of Jacob shall be a fire,

and the house of Joseph a flame,

and the house of Esau stubble;

they shall burn them and consume them,

and there shall be no survivor for the house of Esau,

for the LORD has spoken.

Amen.

This is God's Word. Who's ready for some fire and brimstone today? Let's pray and we'll continue. Let's pray together first. Father, would you please send us your Holy Spirit to illuminate these words for us, words that have echoed throughout the ages, may they be a warning and a hope, for that these words may in some beautiful way drive us to know and love Jesus Christ all the more. For it is in His precious, perfect, and powerful name that we pray. And everyone said, Amen. Amen.

Go ahead and have a seat. So church, this probably feels like a foreign passage with a foreign context, and there's no way that it can relate to any of us here today. But here's what I'd say to you.

This is where we have to look beyond the surface, and when we do, we're going to find an eternal truth. And you know what eternal truth is? It's something beautiful that speaks to us not just right now, but in our own future. I'll just be honest with you for a moment. I became a Christian when I was 18 years old. I felt called to go to Bible college when I was 26. So from 18 to 26, I tried to figure out what God wanted me to do with my life, but I became a Christian, so during that time I looked for a church to attend, both in Michigan and I lived in Tennessee for a while as well, and I was looking for a church, but I'll tell you, one thing I really wanted, there's two things I was looking for in a church, and no, it wasn't good music. I wanted a church that I knew was gonna preach the gospel, but also teach the Bible. I wanted to know what the Bible actually meant, what it said. I definitely wanted to hear that my ultimate hope is in Jesus Christ, but I wanted to know how to read the Bible. Like, because I think what happens is we come to books like Obadiah, and we have no idea what's being said.

And so we skip over books like that. And it's to our massive detriment because what is revealed in these books is so beautiful and profound. If we would just take a moment to understand the context. This is my big way of saying to you, we're gonna do some Bible teaching here today. Some of you are like, oh no. Some of you, hopefully, will appreciate this because I want you to understand what's going on here, what's being said. Obadiah is a prophetic poem and I understand sometimes the wording can be a little confusing but if we are patient, lean in, I think you'll see it's actually life-changing and very challenging. So we're gonna look at four things in this passage. Let's break it down into bite-sized pieces. As we look at this one main idea here today, it's this. God's justice is found in his judgments. So as we look at this notion, we're going to pick up four things as we dive into this text.

God's justice is found in his judgments. First thing we'll look at is how God judges sin of omission. Then we're going to look at how God judges the sin of commission. Then we'll see how God judges sin to bring justice. And we'll wrap it up by looking at how God judges sin to bring restoration. So we're already behind, let's try to catch up. First thing, God judges sin of omission.

So let's just clarify what we're talking about here. Omission is defined as a failure to do something, especially something that has a moral or legal obligation to do. Let me say it again, omission is defined as a failure to do something, especially something that has a moral or legal obligation to do. So here's what's happening. Jerusalem and the kingdom of Judah is attacked and Edom does nothing.

My friends, listen to me. We think that we are safe from sin by not taking a side, and by trying to play some peacemaker that actually doesn't bring peace between two opposing sides. We need to know that God judges sin of omission. Listen here, God lays down a hard judgment upon the nation. Look at verse 10. Because of the violence done to your brother Jacob, remember, remember, Edom is the ancestral brother to Jacob. Jacob is the ancestral name of the Israelites

So clarify because of the violence done to your brother Jacob the Israelites shame shall cover you and you shall be cut off forever I Became the lead pastor of Peace Church in 2020 I Wouldn't blame you if you've put that year out of your memory. Wonderful time for all of us, I'm sure you remember. I became the lead pastor during that time.

And my very first lesson on day one was, welcome to a world where you cannot make a decision that will make everyone happy. Oh, I'm sorry, every leader already knows that. That's leadership. What we learned, especially during that time, was not only can you not make a decision that will make everyone happy, no matter what decision you make, there will be large groups of people who will be viscerally upset at you. That's the world that I became a leader in. And so when we look back at what's happening, what just happened, for me, I was like, yeah, this is the world. You can't make a decision without making an incredible swath of people vehemently upset with you.

And that was proven true this past week when I got a number of messages sent to me personally that were everywhere from not kind to less than kind, put it that way, where people were very, very angry about the ways that we engaged the last number of months. And a lot of judgment, a lot of how dare you, a lot of I never want to see you again and I'm gonna block you. And we looked at this this moment that we were in and I'll just tell you I looked at the moment we're gonna speak into. We don't know the future. We're gonna learn from our mistakes because we made some, but I looked back and I said I don't want to I don't want to commit the sin of omission. There's too much going on here. Thank you. So we come to verses like this, you don't get off the hook just by speaking into it. You don't get off the hook just by not committing the sin of omission. So let's continue. This hopefully will make more sense in a moment. Jerusalem is attacked and Edom stands by and does nothing and God says to them, you shall be cut off forever. Here's the lesson. Here's the great hard lesson. did nothing and it cost them everything. And I'd rather speak into the moments and have to learn from our mistakes than not. James chapter four verse 17 says, whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. God judges sin, even the sin of omission. I didn't feel like we could sit this one out.

I don't ever necessarily feel like that. We have to speak up, we have a message to share, we have a part to play, and we need to play that part. Verse 11 goes on to say, this is where God really presses in, He says, On that day you stood aloof. You stood there like clowns, you stood there like bozos not doing anything.

On the day that strangers carried off his wealth, meaning Babylon came in and carried off everything. His wealth is just using personal pronouns to talk about the kingdom of Judah and Jerusalem. The Babylon stole everything. God goes on to say,

and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem. Meaning foreign invaders came in and decimated them. And if that wasn't enough, they sat there and played games to see who would get the plunder.

And then God says to Edom, and this is the thing that's, I think, probably the hardest phrase in this entire passage. And then God says to Edom, you were like one of them. This is hard. This is hard when we think that we are innocent when we stand by and do nothing. It's hard when we think that we'll stand by and do nothing, we can keep our hands clean,

but God is like, if you don't get into the fight when evil abounds, then you are just as evil. This forces us to ask, what are we doing? What are we doing, how are we responding? Even more than just this political moment that we are in that will come and go,

do you understand the great evil that's happening in this world? How are we responding? Little girls right now are being trafficked in Thailand with unspeakable things happening. What are we doing? Christians all over the world, let's just look at Africa, Christians are being slaughtered for simply bearing the name of Christ. What are we doing?

Fighting over who's going to be president of our wonderful country? Now listen, this is not to pit this against things like proclaim and us expanding the building. I understand there are very cynical people out there that say, oh, you're just spending money on sticks and bricks. No, we're not. We're creating a space where we can be more effective in our ministry so that more people can know and love Jesus and so that more people can be part of His gospel redemptive work in this world. That's why we're doing this, because we want to see more people engaged in the fight. But we have to ask ourselves, what are you doing? When evil abounds, how can we just stand by? God says, you were like one of them.

And then God says this because God judges the sin of omission. That may be a surprise to us, but this next one surely isn't. God judges the sin of commission. So if omission is the act of not doing what you should, then commission is the act of doing what you should not. So let me I want to point something out. I want to say something. We're going to pin it against the wall.

We're going to do a Bible study and we're going to come back to it. OK, so here, hear me. God judges Edom not simply for failure to live according to a moral code or or some vague sense of love. God judges them not just on principle but on particulars. Okay? Now let's pin that to the wall. We'll come back to it in a second. Let's look at verses 12 to 14. In verses 12 to 14 we have three verses but eight charges against Edom's actions. These statements may seem like prohibitions when we read them but you have to understand this is a prophetic poem that Obadiah is reciting and so these are not just future things, these are indictments of things that Edom has actually done. Look at verse 12. "'Do not gloat over the day of your brother, and the day of his misfortune.'"

Again, pointing to the ancestral brotherhood between Edom and the Israelites. Edom was the descendants of Esau, the Israelites were descendants of Jacob, Jacob and Esau were twins. That's why God says, "'Your brother.'" He's saying, you have tied, you have a hot shared history together. How could you not stand up when they were being attacked? Our verse continues. Do not rejoice over the people of Judah. Again, Judah was the Israelites of the Southern kingdom. Do not rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their ruin. Do not boast in the day of their distress. There is no boasting or gloating to more specific acts they've done. Look at verse 13. Do not enter the gate of my people in the day of their calamity. Do not gloat over his disaster in the day of his calamity. Do not loot his wealth in the day of his calamity. As we mentioned, Babylon comes in, destroys the kingdom, but Edom, like a bunch of rats, goes in after the dust has settled, picks up the leftovers, and then their evil goes to the next level. Look at verse 14. Do not stand at the crossroads to cut off his fugitives. Again, his fugitives, meaning the remnant of Judah that had escaped from Babylon. It continues, do not hand over his survivors in the day of distress.

Because here's what was happening. Edom had rounded up the remaining people and then gave them over to Babylon. This is just wicked stuff. Do you know what this is? This is tried and true, old-fashioned human trafficking, among the most evil things that humans can take part of.

And so, there's a lesson being here that I really want to make sure that we're clear on. I think it's very, very important, not just for our day and age, but for our cultural moment that we are in right now. It's that thing I pinned up against the wall. Let's bring it down and let's talk about this. Earlier I had said, God judges Edom, not simply for the failure to live according to a moral

code or some vague sense of love. God judges them, not just on principle, but on particulars. This is important, and I think many of us are missing this right now. We forget this. Right now, right now especially, I hear a lot of calls to love your neighbor and a lot of calls saying we just have to love.

Here's the danger in this, because there is a danger. Here's the danger in this. We can't take that principle to just love and then live that out however we want, thinking that we are all good as long as it's done in the quote-unquote name of love. God has given us clear mandates in a biblical morality and he has prohibited certain behaviors and lifestyles and practices and we can't ignore this and just go around saying, well, we're just supposed to love one another.

We can't do that and then think that we are safe from God's judgments. Why? Because we can't live just by principle. We have to live by particulars. Hear me clearly.

We cannot live just by compassion. We have to live by God's commandments.

Because what we do with compassion is we kind of redefine it to make it culturally appropriate for our day and age. When God has given us a standard that surpasses all human culture, society, and opinion. And this is because, let me remind you, God's vision for the world and for our lives is better than our vision and hope for the world. The reason God judges sin is not because he's mean, bigoted, or hateful. God judges it in order to bring about his justice, which is the third point.

God judges sin to bring justice. So God brings judgment upon Edom, but not just Edom, but to all nations. Verse 15, for the day of the Lord is near upon all the nations. So the day of the Lord is a great day of reckoning. Israel had theirs. Judah had theirs, Edom will soon have theirs, and actually history shows us Babylon will have theirs. Because we must remember, it does not matter if you believe in God or not, there is a God in heaven who is working out his plan in this world and he will execute judgment. Why? And why is this good? Because this reminds us that there is a standard of right and wrong that goes beyond human opinion, beyond human culture, or beyond popular vote. It's His judgment and His justice we are going to face. And God warns us in a very unique way.

Look at verse 15. God says, as you have done, it shall be done to you. Your deeds shall return on your own head. This is real simple, my friends. This is real simple. Because Jesus summarizes this so well. Jesus says, do unto others as you'd have them do unto you. We all know that, right? You know the golden rule, do unto others. Do you know why Jesus says that? Is it because he's trying to foster an environment of love and a culture of love? No. Jesus tells us why he says do unto others as you'd have them do unto you. Why? Because with the judgment you used, it will be used upon you. And here's how God puts it in this Obadiah. Let's check out verse 16 and then we'll talk about it because it can be a little confusing if you're not familiar with Old Testament language, but it's really powerful.

Look at verse 16. For as you eat them, for as you have drunk on my holy mountain so all the nations shall drink continually they shall drink and swallow and Shall be as though they have never been All right, let's take this apart. Make sure that we're clear. God says for as you have drunk on my holy mountain What's that? Well, that's that's Jerusalem Jerusalem is 2500 feet above sea level by comparison Grand Rapids is 700 feet. So Jerusalem is very high. Meaning it's like God is saying, Edom, you came in and gloated over the destruction of my people and add to that, you celebrated in my own city. For as you have drunk on my holy mountain, then God says this, so the nations shall drink continually. So now follow this. God poetically takes this imagery of drinking as in a sinful celebration and turns it about how they're going to drink continually. What is going on here?

And this is where we need to understand biblical imagery. To drink in this sense is to drink the cup of God's wrath, His judgments. This is why Jesus says in the garden right before He's crucified, He says, Lord, let this cup pass from me because Jesus was about to drink the cup of God's wrath, the cup that we should have drunk. God is saying this is coming for you, Edom, you and all the nations. And then we see God double down to make it abundantly clear. They shall drink and swallow. What God is saying is you will soon understand what you have done. You will soon taste the wickedness and the bitterness of what you've done, and my wrath will come with you, except you will not be able to spit this out. There will be a point of no return. You will drink it and you will swallow it, because God's judgment and his justice is complete and final. And then we see this, we see where it leads to. They shall drink and swallow and shall be as though they have never been." Because that's where God's wrath ultimately leads, utter destruction. I told you it would be fire and brimstone today.

Historically, we know this happens. Historically, this is prophecy fulfilled. Jerusalem was invaded by Babylon in 586 BC, remember that for your Bible test later. Then Edom comes in for a final looting, turns the survivors over to Babylon, but Edom is soon going to find out that they were just feeding the lion that was going to kill them. Because 30 years after that in 553 AD, Babylon invades and completely destroys Edom. Destroys them to the point where they will never rise again. But remember, this prophecy extends to Babylon as well. For less than 15 years after that, Babylon is destroyed by Persia, led by King Cyrus. And side note, for those of you who went to Sunday school, you may remember biblical history. What we're talking about now all coincided with the time of Daniel. We have to remember the end of this verse, and shall be as though they have never been. This is prophecy fulfilled. Edom is no more. Babylon is no more. But you know from Biblical history and from world history that Persia, after they can't conquer Babylon, they allow the Jews to return home to Jerusalem and rebuild.

It's Edom and Babylon who were wiped away forever, but God's people remain. Edom and Babylon were the ones who were wiped away, and all we have left from them now is some carved out caves and broken pottery. And this is because God is clearing a way for something new to happen. God judges sin to bring about justice. Justice is setting things right because it leads to this. God's justice leads to restoration. So God judges sin to bring about restoration. So after laying out his judgment and his pronouncement upon Edom and the nations, God turns back to his people and reminds them that even in their devastation, there is still hope. Look at verse 17.

But in Mount Zion, there will be those who escape and it shall be holy. So Mount Zion here often refers to Jerusalem, but it could also mean spiritually God's presence. So it could be referring to a future time where Jerusalem is restored, which we know has happened, or Obadiah is simply saying that if you stay in the presence of God, you will find peace and restoration. But here's what I'd say to you, if you kind of got lost in that. The idea here is less about specifics and more about contrast. The other nations nations conquered God's city but will forever be destroyed because of it. Whereas God's people were conquered but they will forever be restored even though this happens. And that's what we see in the next verse here. And the house of Jacob shall possess his own possessions that which was stolen from them will be restored. Remember Jacob is the name, the renaming of Israel who becomes the father of all Israel. So the house of Jacob just means God's people. Those who have been destroyed and their stuff stolen, restoration and reclamation is coming.

Okay, there you go.

That was a whole load of a lot of meat and potatoes, Bible teaching for you there. And you are fair and right, and I want you to ask, okay, 2,500 years later, what does this even mean for us? Who cares? Why did I get out of bed for this?

Pastor, I wanted you to talk about the election today. My friend, I have so much more for you than just a simple cultural moment in the history of America. I have an eternal plan that I want to share with you that God is inviting us to be a part of.

My friends, you are, you know, but Obadiah, you are seeing prophecy fulfilled and there's good news even in this. What this passage reminds us of is that even if your life falls apart, even if your life falls apart to the point where you feel like nothing is left,

if you remain in God, there is always hope.

Never forget this.

Hope for a better day, and though the road may be rough and painful and maybe even evil, remember in Mount Zion, there shall be those who escape and it shall be called holy.

Our Mount Zion is no longer a place that we go to to find God's presence. We now have the true Mount Zion in Jesus Christ, for He is our rock. He came in the power of the Spirit who sends us the Spirit that we might go and share this message with a world that is clearly still broken. And for God's people, we will always bring a contrast. You know you are outside of God's will and outside of God's plan for the church when you no longer bring a contrast to the world. Look at this, verse 18, the house of Jacob shall be a fire and the house of Joseph a flame. Joseph being the son of Jacob just reminds us that God's people have a promise that goes to them and their descendants. But remember, Esau is the father of Edom.

And the house of Esau, so all of Edom, will become stubble. They, meaning the house of Jacob and Joseph, they, God's people, shall burn them and consume them, and there shall be no survivors for the house of Esau, for the Lord has spoken." What's going on here?

So God is saying to Edom, you think you've had the last laugh, but you will come to destruction and Israel will watch They will watch will happen to you because they will survive and you will not and with the words for the Lord has spoken We see God put his final stamp on this The pronouncement and the judgment has been made and while this is calamity for the nations. This means hope for God's people God's judgment upon Edom is a message to Israel that the evil that has been done to you will be undone to you. And the same goes for us. When Christ returns or when we go into his presence, the evil that has been done will be undone. That's the power of Jesus. That's the hope that we long for.

No, we don't have nations that crush us, at least not right now. But what we do have is sin that crushes us. And from this, we should be the ones suffering the wrath of God. But Jesus stepped in and he took the cup of God's wrath from our hands and he drunk it himself so that we wouldn't face God's judgment. And yet so that we could still have God's justice.

Because remember God's justice is found in his judgment. But for us what we understand is that we get God's justice because Jesus took God's judgment. Our Mount Zion isn't something we go to. Our Mount Zion is Christ who came to us. For the wrath was ours to drink, but Jesus drank it for us when he died upon the cross, being crushed for the sins that we have committed, so that we too can long for our hope of full restoration, where everything that is bad will become unbad Everything that is done and evil will be undone

No, our promise is not a land that some at some place on the planet. We have something even better We can be restored not to a piece of property on planet earth. We are restored to God where we will feast forever on Mount Zion, which is in the presence of our Savior." That's the message we need to be longing for. That's the message that we present to the world.

That's why we gather every single Sunday, not so you can hear a pastor spout off about all the wicked things going on in this world and tell you who to vote for. So we can all be reminded that we are to long for and look to Jesus Christ and Him alone. At the end of my days, when you gather for my funeral, please say, he lifted up one name before the world and it was the name Jesus.

But here's a beautiful thing.

While this gives us a shadow of what is yet to come, we can experience part of that now. And we do that here when we gather amongst brothers and sisters in Christ and we lift up songs of praise. So let me leave you with this final reminder. In Mount Zion, there will be those who escape, and it shall be holy. This is what God is making us to be holy, distinct in this world. Because one day, we will forever, truly, and fully be on Mount Zion. And that's when we enter into the presence of our Savior. Finally, fully, forever. Amen.