Hope for the Oppressed & the Proud

Today we have the privilege of being able to go through an entire book of the Bible.

If you ever got tired of sitting in church and go, we're just looking at one verse today.

! I want to get into this.

Well, we get our entire book this morning.

And it is not just a lesson of history or a lesson of just trying to understand what it means.

Today is a moment for meaning.

Discovering the meaning of Obadiah for those who first heard it,

but also for us and what God has to say.

Because Obadiah is relevant for us in Chatswood in 2026.

Let me pray.

Lord God, would you speak to us these words of judgment and comfort,

just like you did at first through Obadiah.

And by your Holy Spirit, would you cut us to the heart

so that we may follow you as your people, saved by grace.

Amen.

Amen.

Donald Glover is a musician.

And he, one day, was in a music studio.

And he'd been there for weeks.

And he had nothing to show for it.

He was stuck.

He had writer's block.

And in a moment of clarity and rejection of his anxieties and his pride,

he wrote on the walls of probably not his music studio.

So I wonder if it had to get taken down later.

He literally scrawled on the wall of that studio,

make the best sandcastle.

Make the best sandcastle.

If he could agree that his work was just a sandcastle,

here for the moment and then swept away by the tide of time,

then he could let go of his fears over his legacy, over his fame,

and just make art that he liked.

Seeing that his castle was temporary, his castle, it set him free.

Ever heard a wise saying that helps you live your life?

You might hear it in advertising.

You might hear it in a movie.

You might hear it in a random place.

But when I heard make the best sandcastle,

I've got to tell you, that really helped me.

Not only in my creative past life writing music,

but for every single day,

because I forget how fragile my existence is,

how fragile my nature is.

I spent years trying to build a castle for myself,

a castle of reputation or a castle for my family

or a castle of a place in this world.

And when I live this way,

I'm the worst version of myself towards me

and the worst version of myself towards those around me.

We all, in some ways,

tend to build castles out of our own lives.

They're built from the blueprints of our desires

and our understanding.

They're not visible.

They're invisible castles.

They're made of accounts.

They're made of a title,

a house,

a spouse,

a number and photos of children,

a reputation.

The pride that we have in our castle

shapes the priorities of our daily life,

our character,

how we treat people.

We become little kings over our own lives,

ready to attack anyone coming for our own castle.

And in Obadiah,

we see that the strongest castles built by man

are just sandcastles.

before the tide of the sovereign Lord.

No little kingdom is outside of his rule,

reach and wrath.

Obadiah is, in fact,

a message of comfort,

comfort to those oppressed

by those who are stronger.

And it is one of judgment

against the proud.

Now,

you might be thinking,

all right,

tell me about Obadiah.

We know almost nothing about him.

Not only do we know that his name is Obadiah,

but we also know that the name Obadiah

just means servant.

It's almost a name,

like if,

for instance,

I'll take my friend Merle here.

If Merle was a servant of the time,

I'd take her name Merle away

and I'd call her an Obadiah

or Obadiah.

So he's completely irrelevant

to this message.

Almost as if the prophet's job

is to just be unseen,

translucent,

compared to how important

this message is

against Edom.

Edom was a nation

that was descended

from the elder brother of Jacob,

Esau.

Now, Esau was the firstborn

to Isaac,

the son of Abraham.

Esau despised

being the firstborn,

despised

having the birthright,

which also meant

he was the one

through whom God's plan

would come about.

And what he did one day

when he was so hungry

is he traded

God's covenant promises

and his birthright

to his younger brother, Jacob,

who had been cooking up a stew.

As Jacob's family grew,

they became the nation of Israel.

As Esau's family grew,

they became the nation of Edom,

Israel's fierce enemies

who lived high in the mountains

south of Judah.

All the way through Obadiah,

God swaps the names.

And it might have been dislocating

as you were listening

to Sarah Regis then.

God swaps the names out

of brother and nation

to remind us of this old,

broken family bond.

It's really likely

that Obadiah prophesied

right after

when Judah was forcibly

exiled,

defeated,

and removed

from their kingdom

by Babylon

in 597 BC.

So,

we've got 1200 years

before then

of brotherly hatred.

And with all of that history

hanging over that moment

of destruction,

Edom

helped

Babylon

exile Judah

from their land.

And it's that moment

of betrayal

that inspires

the sovereign Lord

to declare the message

of Obadiah

that Edom

is going to be

annihilated.

The message

of Obadiah

wasn't heard

though

by Edom.

It was for

the last Israelites

left.

It was for Judah.

Obadiah

was assurance

and hope

to them

that the sovereign Lord

judges with power

bringing justice

and gracious

salvation.

They're the three

movements

of Obadiah

and my three

points this morning.

Today,

Obadiah calls us

to rest

with Judah

in the hope

that God

will bring

ultimate justice

to the oppressed

and bring salvation

even

for the sinful.

And while

the message

of annihilation

seems awful

to our modern ears,

there is no denying

the need for justice

in our world.

But can we hope

that God

is able

to judge

and that

he can do it

fairly?

Well,

let's see if he's

able to judge

powerfully.

Point one.

We might expect

God's judgment

to unfold

as if he is

a judge

over a modern

courtroom.

I don't know

if you've ever

seen a TV show

of a courtroom

scene

or been to court,

been in one

of the positions

in a courtroom,

but usually

the courtroom

begins with

reading out

of the charges

and then some

evidence,

maybe even

some discussion

or challenging

of evidence,

and then

comes the judgment.

However,

everything is

backwards here

in Obadiah.

Obadiah begins

with God's

already decided

verdict

over Edom.

Let's have a look.

Have a look

at verse 2

of Obadiah.

The sovereign

Lord,

who was the one

speaking,

when the quotes

start in verse 1,

go all the way

to the end.

The sovereign

Lord reveals

his plans.

He's first

going to make

Edom small

and utterly

despised.

Edom's highly

valued reputation

among all

the other nations

is the first

thing to go.

The second

thing Edom

valued

was their

rocky

stronghold

home on

the heights,

boasting,

who can bring

me down

to the ground

in verse 4?

God asks

his hearers

to imagine

that the highest

living animal

they know.

The cliff

nesting eagle.

Edom

imagined

themselves

high up

on that

ledge,

beyond the

reach of

God.

But Obadiah

says in verse 4

that not even

the stars

are beyond

the reach

for God

to bring

them down.

Everyone

here this

morning should

consider

how you

are clinging

to your

reputation

and your

security

as your

hope

for the

future.

But has

the pride

of your

heart

deceived you?

As it

says in

verse 3,

is your

mighty tower

made of

sand before

the sovereign

Lord?

God compares

himself to

great pickers

and thieves.

They are those

who take

and steal,

but they leave

behind what

they don't

need or

they don't

want.

However,

God is

coming for

Edom's

cities,

verse 3

and 4,

their wisest

in verse 8,

and their

mightiest

in verse 9,

leaving Edom

walls,

wisdom,

and warriorless.

He's taking

everything.

God will

leave nothing

behind in

Edom after

he is

finished.

And perhaps

what God

says most

forcefully,

we actually

miss out in

the NIV

translation.

The original

Hebrew language

is even

stronger in

verse 7

than it

appears.

So,

have a look

on the

screen or

in your

Bible if

you have

an NIV

English

translation.

And I'm

going to

read the

ESV,

which has

a slightly

more accurate

translation

of the

tense.

So,

have a look

at verse

7 and

see what

is different.

all your

allies have

driven you

to your

border.

Those at

peace with

you have

deceived you.

They have

prevailed

against you.

Those who

eat your

bread have

set a

trap beneath

you.

You have

no

understanding.

In the

original language,

what God is

saying is,

this prophecy

is as good

as already

happened.

as soon

as it

leaves the

Lord's

lips.

We're

meant to

experience

the force

and the

power of

God here.

Especially

as we

don't even

know yet

what Edom's

done wrong.

We don't

know their

crimes.

Everything's

out of

order for

us.

Humans

can

sometimes

be really

poor

judges.

We might

try our

best.

We get

all the

information.

We try

and make

a good

decision.

Or maybe

you've

been in

a jury

and had

to balance

the evidence

and the

crime and

how you

process it

and then

agree together

to try and

figure it

out.

We might

make our

best effort

at it.

But often

we dismiss

what should

be punished.

Especially

when it has

something to

do with

what we've

done.

We want

to get

that punishment

as far

away from

us as

possible.

Or away

from those

we care

about.

But what

about when

we enjoy

seeing wrath

poured out

on those

we dislike?

Even if

there's no

evidence.

Who would

you like to

see God

bring down?

I remember

a scene

in an old

TV show

that my

wife Sam

and I

watched many

years ago

called

Boston

legal.

And an

attorney

gave this

case

clinching

defense

by

challenging

the jury

on their

schadenfreude.

You might

not be a

German speaker

in the room

and many

weren't in

the jury

I'm sure.

So the

character

defined it

for them.

He challenged

them on how

they were

taking spiteful

malicious

delight in

the misfortune

of others.

I'm told

and I'm

going to

ruin the

pronunciation

of this

but I'm

told in

Mandarin

carries a

similar

meaning.

Now I've

seen people

laugh.

That means

I've got it

terribly wrong

but at least

it's on the

screen.

We don't

have a

word for

that in

English.

He argued

this lawyer

argued that

the jury's

attitude

towards his

unlikable

guilty

looking

client

was not

enough

evidence

for them

to convict.

The only

evidence they

had was

their

schadenfreude.

And so

with Obadiah

ordered in

this way

for us

the right

to sit

as jury

and judge

over

Edom

is taken

away.

As if

God knows

about our

schadenfreude

already

our pride

or our

limits

and our

right

or even

our power

to judge.

Instead

the Lord

God

alone

is the

judge.

And so

when he

pronounces a

sentence

our

modern

reaction

might be

let me

see why

let me

see if

that's

fair.

Instead

we're

actually

invited

to sit

amongst

the

crowd

and

trust

the

judge.

But the

original

hearers of

Obadiah

they didn't

need the

evidence.

They'd

experienced

the evidence

of

Edom's

crimes

as their

victims.

It is

a comfort

to Judah

that God

is a

prosecutor

and judge

over

Edom

for what

was done

to them.

He alone

can bring

justice.

He makes

sure

that the

voiceless

have their

day

in court.

Point two

the Lord

brings

justice.

So verses

10 to

14

we get

to see

that the

Lord's

justice

is in

fact

fair.

The

summary of

God's

evidence

against

Edom

is there

in verse

10.

Because

of the

violence

between

brothers

a lack

of

brotherly

love

care

or

defense

of the

other

standing

aloof

which means

being

intentionally

uninvolved

while

Babylon

plundered

Israel.

This is

not violence

like we

might expect

like Babylon

did to

Judah

but Esau

is still

charged

like an

oppressor

a

co-conspirator

like

one of

them.

In

verses

12 to

14

I encourage

you to

have that

open in

front of

you

because

it's

the

least

compelling

bit

of

writing

in

English

in

the

whole

of

Obadiah

and

it's

because

it

looks

like

it

just

repeats

itself

over

and

over

again

the

structure

of

the

sentences

is

the

same

and

the

reason

why

is

it's

in

the

original

language

like

a

poem

we

can't

really

grasp

that

unless

you're

ancient

Hebrew

speaking

or

understand

that

here

today

so

I

want

to

imagine

I

want

you

to

imagine

that

these

the

list

there

of

what

this

evidence

is

are

like

files

of

charges

being

stacked

up

on

a

desk

by

a

prosecutor

as

if

he's

making

these

opening

remarks

it

is

as

if

Eden

cheered

from

the

grandstands

they

gloated

and

rejoiced

and

boasted

in

Judah's

day

of

trouble

from

high

in

their

towers

they

taunted

traumatized

Jerusalem

then

Eden

came

down

and

joined

in

the

celebrations

they

marched

through

the

gates

of

Judah's

city

they

took

their

treasures

they

even

rounded

up

those

who

fled

to

bring

them

back

to

their

captors

around

the

globe

in

reported

or

often

unseen

places

perhaps

in

your

experience

or in

the

experience

of

your

family

there

is

war

and

conflict

and

persecution

and

oppression

it's

often

baseless

it's

always

senseless

allies

stand

idle

and

defenders

sit

still

silent

some

cheer

on

the

others

destructive

conquest

and

behind

the

podiums

of

power

leaders

lie

and

at

their

word

and

whim

people

die

lives

are

irreparably

broken

and

justice

is

often

and

usually

far

from

the

powerless

and

vulnerable

in

our

world

but

Obadiah

should

shock

us

and

challenge

us

who

believe

in

this

God

that

it

is

not

so

with

him

there

is

a

powerful

judge

who

will

bring

justice

to

the

oppressed

!

He

sees

and

will

punish

even

those

who

are

accessories

to

murderous

oppression

God

brings

justice

that

is

final

and

right

against

anyone

who

thinks

they

can

get

away

with

it

and

the

good

news

is

we

get

to

look

back

on

history

and

see

if

God

did

what

he

said

he

would

to

give

us

hope

that

he

can

judge

and

that

he

can

judge

fairly

because

a few

centuries

later

even

600

years

later

during

the

time

of

Jesus

Edom

was

no

longer

a

nation

surrounding

nations

ruled

over

their

lands

their

cities

had

been

renamed

and

those

from

the

region

weren't

from

the

land

of

Edom

anymore

they

were

from

the

land

of

Idumea

or

Idumean

for

those

beaten

down

and

oppressed

in

our

day

Obadiah

is a

comfort

that

God

can

and

will

bring

fair

justice

against

oppressing

nations

and

peoples

across

centuries

or

at least

once

for all

in a

future

day

to

come

it's

an

astonishing

message

for

Judah

as

it is

for

us

that

the

God

who

brings

just

judges

with

power

and

brings

justice

will

also

bring

a

gracious

salvation

he

won't

just

beat

down

on

their

enemies

he's

actually

going

to

restore

those

who

have

been

oppressed

!

God

will

restore

the

fortunes

of

his

exiled

beaten

beloved

people

but

not

even

Judah

know

how

wide

and

graciously

the

sovereign

lord

graciously

saves

third

point

the

lord

finishes

Obadiah

by

contrasting

his

plans

for

Judah

with

his

plans

for

all

the

nations

around

them

God

started

with

the

prosecuting

and

sentencing

of

Edom

but

this

judge

has

other

nations

on

his

docket

as

well

in

verse

15

the

lord

sets

a

judgment

day

to

come

when

all

the

nations

will

have

their

deeds

return

on

their

own

head

we

see

that

Edom

and

their

allies

celebrated

after

the

destruction

and

exile

of

Judah

by

drinking

perhaps

in a

ceremonial

or

worshipping

of an

alternate

god

right

there

on

the

lord's

holy

hill

in

Jerusalem

these

nations

will

be

forced

verse

16

says

to

come

together

again

and

drink

again

but

this

time

from

a

cup

of

wrath

from

verse

19

we see

that

the

nations

some

of

the

nations

who

will

join

Edom

Samaria

Canaan

Philistia

Gilead

their

lands

will

one

day

not

just

be

taken

away

but

be

given

to

Judah

Judah's

borders

will

be

stretched

and

take

note

this

is

before

Judah

have

done

a

single

thing

to

earn

it

they

haven't

done

anything

to

deserve

this

blessing

but

God's

plan

to

restore

Judah

is

a

plan

of

unearned

grace

the

pride

of

our

hearts

often

appears

most

forcefully

in us

in

our

self

saving

in

times

of

suffering

or

loss

or

failure

you

reach

out

for

help

in

Chatswood

in

2026

or

do

you

try

and

solve

your

problem

even

before

those

problems

happen

do

you

look

into

the

future

and

build

security

build

wealth

for

yourself

and

make

sure

none

of

what

could

go

wrong

will

ever

go

wrong

and

when

it

does

we

become

overactive

and

our

anxieties

are

screaming

in our

head

save

yourself

and

even

if

we

have

help

so

often

we

choose

to

go

it

alone

but

unlike

us

in

our

comparatively

safe

and

affluent

city

Judah

had

just

had

everything

torn

away

their

only

option

was

God's

grace

they

haven't

even

called

out

to

him

yet

and

yet

he

is

defending

them

and

seeking

to

bless

them

their

exile

itself

was a

consequence

of

their

own

sin

they

had

rejected

God

they

had

rejected

his

rule

over

them

and

yet

he

still

seeks

to

save

them

Judah

desperately

needed

the

promises

that

Esau

had

traded

away

for

a

bowl

of

stew

they

needed

those

promises

that

God

had

made

with

Jacob

that

from

a

far

off

land

God

would

make

them

his

nation

once

again

verse

17

but on

Mount

Zion

there

will

be

deliverance

it

will

be

holy

and

Jacob

will

possess

his

inheritance

and

then in

verse 21

it even

says

even

the

mountains

of

Esau

will

be

given

to

Judah

the

oppressed

are to be

restored

as a

kingdom

who

will

belong

to the

sovereign

Lord

I

imagine

the

exiles

who

heard

Obadiah

who

had

nothing

except

trauma

grief

and

shame

I

imagine

them

being

so

comforted

that

one

day

maybe

in the

next

generation

or the

one

after

or the

one

after

that

they

would

return

to

their

land

and

they

did

they

did

return

but

the

geopolitical

outcomes

of this

prophecy

never

came

about

Edom

did

fall

and

never

recovered

that

happened

that

the

kingdom

that

Obadiah

promised

Judah

here

is

still

a

future

hope

even

today

if

you

look up

the

maps

Judah

is

not

in the

same

place

exactly

anymore

and they

certainly

do not

have

the

land

around

them

and

then

think

of those

in

Judah

more

generations

later

in

Jesus

day

in

Jesus

day

Judah

was under

Roman

rule

they

didn't

run

their

own

country

and

the

Romans

had

given

them

a

ruler

to

a

bit

like

a

puppet

king

to

kind

of

oversee

under

their

authority

and

they

laughingly

even

mockingly

called

this

guy

the

king

of

the

Jews

as

if

he

had

any

power

at

all

his

name

was

Herod

in

Matthew

2

we

hear

about

this

historically

accurate

person

and

his

reputation

in the

Bible

is

the

guy

who

killed

all

the

infant

boys

in

his

kingdom

in

Bethlehem

he's

the

reason

Jesus

family

fled

to

Egypt

as