14th September 2024

14th September 2024


Pray (ACts)


Read (Obadiah 1v10-14)


Message (Scott Woodburn)


Edom was to be judged because her arrogance had led her to believe that she was untouchable. As far as the descendants of Esau were concerned, no one could bring them down from their lofty mountain position. Furthermore, as Jerusalem burned, Edom “stood aloof” (v11). As we have seen, Judah and Edom were cousins who should have enjoyed a “special relationship”. Tragically this relationship lay in the gutter and as strangers carried off Jerusalem’s wealth (v11a) and gambled for ownership of the great city, Edom didn’t lift a finger to help.


There is much discussion as to when Jerusalem was attacked. Some argue for 850BC when the Philistines and Arabs rose against Judah (2 Chronicles 21v16-17). Others point to the more famous episode in 587BC when Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the city, her temple and carried many off into Babylonian exile. If we can’t be sure exactly when Obadiah was writing, we can be sure that in both cases Edom did nothing to help. Theirs was a sin of “omission” which simply means that they did not do what was required by the Lord.


This would have been bad enough but the Edomites moved from a sin of “omission” to a sin of “commission” which, as you can imagine, means that they got off their backsides and acted in a sinful manner. How so? They began to gloat over the fall of Jerusalem (v12a), they rejoiced that Judah lay ruined (v12b) and they boasted in the face of Judah’s distress (v12c).


But as the Edomites celebrated, they moved slowly and surely to Jerusalem. Like a vulture picking the bones of a corpse, the Edomites entered the city gloating over the remaining inhabitants and taking for themselves any leftover loot (v13). Then as some of their cousins attempted to flee, the Edomites cut them off at the crossroads and handed them over to the enemy (v14).


Can you imagine being at your lowest ebb and someone close to you coming to rub your face in the dirt? Equally have you ever been in a position of strength and gloated that your enemy was “only getting what he deserved”?


You have perhaps seen the famous photo which allegedly shows August Landmasser refusing to raise his arm in a Nazi salute. Landmasser’s wife was Jewish and their relationship was illegal under the laws imposed by Hitler and his regime. In a crowd of shipyard workers, Landmasser was the only one with the courage to resist. We might say that to raise his arm would have been a sin of commission and so Landmasser stood in opposition.


Landmasser choose the lesser walked road and lost his life as a result. How many of us prefer silence when God requires us to speak? How many of us act at the whim of the crowd even though the Christ honouring path is silence? Brothers and sisters, the Edomites failed in both sins of omission and commission. May the Lord give us the wisdom to know when to act and when to stand still. May the crowd not cause our arm to rise when it should stay by our side. Equally may we know the peace of the Gospel especially when our conscience condemns.


Jesus didn’t stay at home but died to free us from our sins of omission and commission - His blood covers them all, thanks be to God!


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC


Q90 How is the Word to be read and heard, that it may become effectual to salvation? That the Word may become effectual to salvation, we must attend thereunto with diligence, preparation, and prayer; receive it with faith and love, lay it up in our hearts, and practice it in our lives.
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