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Bob Davis: It's peculiar that we don' believe that our pride could ever deceive us. You know, James says be doers of the word, not just hearers only, deceiving your own selves. And you say, well, I couldn't fool me. Well, that's what the word means. That's why we're fooled. We're deceived and we don' realize it. Someone has to come up and point out, man, you really think you're humble. You really think you got it together. You're deceived. And then you say, you're not my best friend anymore. I'm offended. I'm leaving.

Guest (Male): Welcome to Apply Within, a verse by verse study of the word of God with Pastor Bob Davis of North Country Chapel. We invite you to join with us as we by the power of God's Holy Spirit apply his word in our own hearts as we study line upon line, precept upon precept, verse by verse through the Bible. As we begin the book of Obadiah, God declares his coming judgment against Edom because of their pride. Here's Pastor Bob.

Bob Davis: All right. Just a little bit about Obadiah. Let me tell you everything that is known about Obadiah. Nothing. I just wanted to make that simple so that you know that. Nothing. Uh there's just not much known about the guy. Uh he doesn't talk about himself any. He just goes right on into uh what the Lord showed him. And so although there are some Obadiahs mentioned in scripture, nobody's quite sure which one's which, but here is an Obadiah who wrote this book, written although that's up for debate as well in approximately the the most of the scholars would say approximately 587 BC, uh which means that at at right around that time, the ministry of Jeremiah was also taking place, happening.

Now the word Obadiah itself means servant of Jehovah, servant of God, servant of the Lord, Obadiah. Now this book is the shortest book in the Old Testament. Shortest book in the Old Testament. Background of the book. Uh you already know it, but it's important to know it, important to remember the background of the book. It helps you to uh get a feel or or really kind of understand what's being said, what's going on. Edom, e d o m, the Edomites. They are called the land of Edom. It is southeast of Israel. Probably you know this, but I'll just get it on tape anyway.

They are the the descendants of a man called Edom. Well, we first met him. When we first met him, his name was Esau. He was the twin brother of Jacob. And they were both the sons of Isaac, who was the son of Abraham. I'm sure you remember all that, but Esau, when he was born, the Bible says that he was red and hairy. Means his skin was really a bright red or a reddish color, and he was very hairy. They named him Esau. But uh you recall that the fighting between he and his brother began while they were still in the womb.

While their mom was still pregnant with these twins, there was fighting going on. Uh Genesis chapter 25, if you get some time uh tonight or sometime, read through it and you you see that uh mom is really confused, doesn't understand what's going on. Praise to the Lord. What's happening? Uh something This is kind of uh They're wiggly. I'm re- paraphrasing. God says you've got two nations in your womb, and they are warring. So these guys were at war before they were born. Years later, you know the story, but years later, Esau had been out hunting.

He came back so hungry that Jacob, who was kind of uh I don't know, he stayed home and cooked a lot. That's what Jacob did. He kind of hung around his mother. He felt safer there. Esau was the man. Jacob was turkey. And Jacob was cooking, cooking some soup, some red bean soup, red bean soup. And Esau had been hunting. He was so hungry. He said, Give me some of that soup. And Jacob, who was a weasel, you remember Jacob means he'll catch her. He was holding on to his brother's heel as his brother was born first.

Jacob still He wanted to be the first born, and he still hasn't lost that desire. And so he says, I'm not going to give you starve for all I care. No, I'm starving. I'm really hungry. All right, I'll sell you this soup for your birthright. Okay. Now that's where the story leaves the physical and goes into the spiritual. But most people don't take it that way. You see, the birthright wasn't something really physical. It was more of a spiritual thing. And when Esau said, I don't care about a stupid birthright. I'm I'm going to die.

Who needs to be first born if you're starving to death? I'd rather have food. You know what he was doing. He was forgetting the spiritual and just taking part in the physical. The physical took all importance. And he despised, the Bible says, his birthright. The things that would be important for the Lord to do in his life, he's he was saying, I don't care. I want to eat. And so it was there or a little after there, you notice that Esau was called Edom. Remember that? Which means red. He was born reddish. Later, in Genesis 38 we we see that Esau He went He moved down to the land of Seir, s e i r.

It's the land southeast of Israel, southeast of the Dead Sea a little bit. And of course, if you've been there, the the sand and the sand dunes, it's kind of desert-y. And the sand and the sand dunes have a reddish color to them. So even though we know him as Esau, you start seeing even talked about in Genesis as Edom, red. And the land that he settled in called Edom. And so the people, his descendants, were called Edomites. That's pretty easy to understand, isn't it? Trying to make it simple. Now when the children of Israel left Egypt, remember God led them out using Moses.

Children of Israel left Egypt and they were out there in the wilderness. Remember the Edomites as you as you read through Genesis, remember the Edomites would not let them pass through their land. Moses sent people on and said, We won't take anything from you or will purchase things from you. We won't hurt anything. We're asking for permission to just walk across your land because it it would be a shorter route to the Promised Land. And uh the Edomites refused and wouldn't let them. Now remember, these are brothers, the Israelites and the Edomites. They're their brothers.

The Israelites are descendants of Jacob. The Edomites are descendants of Esau. God is going to give us the answer to the question that seems to plague people because God makes some statements about Edom at the very end of the Old Testament. He waited till then to make them. But he mentions that he hates Edom. And we'll talk about that. I don't want to get ahead of myself. God told the children when they were refused passage through the Edomites' territory, their land, God told the children of Israel not to be angry because they are your brothers.

You're related. God said, I'll take care of it myself. It was in approximately 586 BC that Edom encouraged Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon, to completely destroy Jerusalem. The Edomites encouraged the Babylonians to completely not just to take it, but to completely destroy it. Notice that those two warring nations were warring in the womb, fighting then and are still fighting when we come to the book of Obadiah, still fighting. The Edomites were very very violent and cruel to the children of Israel. So now we can begin the shortest book in the Old Testament. Here we go. Verse one. The vision of Obadiah.

Thus saith the Lord God concerning Edom. We have heard a rumor from the Lord. And an ambassador is sent among the heathen. Arise ye and let us rise up against her in battle. First we're told right away by Obadiah that this vision is a vision directly from the Lord himself. Thus saith the Lord. The Lord gave him a vision. The vision of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord. And he says, this is concerning Edom. Here's the verse. Genesis 36 verse one. I just want to make sure that you know what the scripture says so that it'll be clear to you.

Genesis 36 one. Now these are the generations of Esau who is Edom. All right. Also Genesis 36 again, verses six through eight. Thus dwelt Esau in Mount Seir. Esau is Edom. And these are the generations of Esau, the father of the Edomites in Mount Seir. And what I want you to know and understand is what we are talking about here. We are talking about the descendants of Esau. He and his brother continued to fight even after they were gone, dead and gone. The nations were warlike toward one another. Now in case you hadn't caught it, in case you missed that study in Genesis and you go back and you read it again, Esau or Edom, as he's called, represents the flesh.

See, Esau didn't care about spiritual things. He wanted food. That's what he wanted. He didn't care about any birthright. The physical was what was all important to him. The need of the moment was what Esau was all about. That's what our flesh is all about, the need of the moment. The reason that you are rude to someone is because the need of the moment was something different than what you thought they had. Maybe you don't like the way they said what they said. Maybe you just don't like them. Maybe See, that's your flesh. That's nothing but flesh.

That's how we are. That's Esau. The need of the moment supersedes anything. I don't care about the birthright. I'm hungry now. That's our flesh. That will destroy us, of course, we know it. And it was in uh Malachi. I told you at the end of the New Testament. So God waited a long time to say this to us. But here's what he said. Malachi chapter one, verses two and three. I have loved you, saith the Lord, speaking to the children of Israel. Yet you say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother, saith the Lord?

Yet I loved Jacob and I hated Esau and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness. I loved Jacob and I hated Esau. Who said that? God said that. But he didn't say it when Esau was born. When did he say it? A whole long time, thousands of years after Esau was born. You see, there's a misunderstanding because of this verse, Romans chapter nine uh nine verse 13. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. Christians struggle with that. Young man came to the his college professor and said, I read Romans 9:13 and I've read Malachi chapter one verses two and three.

Says as it is written, Jacob have I loved, Esau have I hated. He says, I have a problem with that verse. And the professor said, You know, I have a problem with it too because I can't believe God loved Jacob. See, the young man was thinking, I can't believe God hated Esau. Listen, you're going to see the sins of Edom, Esau. He's going to show you what they are in Obadiah. That's where we learn why God had nothing to do with them. Why God loved him, of course, but he turned from God. That nation became a godless nation.

If you read the New Testament, Edomites were still around. And there was a big very important one who was an Edomite, and he was Can anybody remember? He was king. And when the wise men came and said, Where is he that's born king of the Jews? That king thought, I'm going to kill this guy. So go find him and tell me where he is, and I like to go and and pay homage to him also. Who was that? Herod. Remember he was an Edomite who had warred and been warring with Israel. And how did he get to be king?

Yeah, it had nothing to do with him. It was Rome, and he was a puppet. And we we know all that. But so you think about that. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, Esau have I hated. Why? You'll see what Esau has done to turn his back on God. It became uh Edom The Edomites became a godless nation just like many nations today. Verse two. Behold, I have made thee small among the heathen. Thou art greatly despised. And all God's saying is I've cut you down. I've cut you down to size. Though it was a large nation, the Edomites uh they they did prosper and they became a very large nation, but he made them small.

Why? Look at verse three. The pride of your heart has deceived you. Thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high, that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground? Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the Lord. Or from there, even from that height, will I tear you down. Pride. It was the pride of Edom. The pride of your heart has deceived you. Now the thing about being deceived and maybe we mark it down or remember it.

Remember hard. Ask the Holy Spirit to continue to remind you. The thing about being deceived is you do not know you are deceived. That's why it 's called being deceived. The last one to know what's wrong with me, the last one to know what's wrong with you. If it's me, I'm the last one to know. If it's you, you're the last one to know. Everybody else sees clearly that you're a mess, but you and I don't see it. Why? Well, I hate to say it, but there's pride there. And God says, I hate pride. You remember that from Proverbs.

Remember Proverbs six 16 through 19. God hates pride. These six things doth the Lord hate. Yea, seven are an abomination to him. Pride is an abomination. A proud look, there's a pride. A lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked imaginations, feet that are swift in running to mischief, a false witness that speaks lies, and he that sows discord among the brethren. Not only does God hate that, but it makes him sick. It's an abomination. God hates pride. What does he say to Edom, the Edomites? The pride of your heart has deceived you.

First John chapter two verse 16. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is not of the father, but is of the world. God hates it. He makes no distinction among people. He hates pride wherever it's found. And while pride according to scripture, that's what all flesh is really about. Esau said, I don't care about spiritual things. I don't care about my birthright and being able to oversee my family and pronounce the blessings. I don't care about that stuff. I want lunch.

Flesh says, I want now what I want. You're not making me happy. I don't like your looks. I don't like you questioning me. I don't I don't I don't Pride. And we're deceived. We're proud of ourselves. We see ourselves as being right. Come on, don't we? Oh, we don't brag about it. That would be prideful. So we keep it a secret, but we know we're right. You ever listen to Christians get start discussing scripture? They both know they're right. Man or woman, doesn't matter. Doesn't matter. They just know they're right. And of course, that's what it's all about, isn't it?

Being right. That's what pride is. That's why you see Jesus not having to really argue. If you're the son of God, uh what do what do you say about this? What do you say about that? Jesus said, Let me ask you a question. There's no need for me to fight with you. Let me ask you a question. You know, pride is seeing yourself as being solid. Oh, I'm not a Bible scholar, but I know I know. Sure. I'm humble and lovable. Remember underdog? That's what pride is. Our problem is we have it, but too many can't admit that they do.

Well, you know why? Cuz we're deceived. See, the pride of your heart has deceived you. And what amazes us, all of us, usually without exception, it's peculiar that we don't believe that our pride could ever deceive us. It couldn't fool me. And you probably think the same thing. Couldn't fool me. You know, James says be doers of the word, not just hearers only, deceiving your own selves. And you say, well, I couldn't fool me. Well, that's what the word means. That's why we're fooled. We're deceived and we don't realize it. Someone has to come up and point out, man, you are deceived.

You really think you're humble. You really think you got it together. You're deceived. And then you say, you're not my best friend anymore. I'm I'm offended. I'm leaving. You've hurt my I don't like the way you said it personally. I think you're the sinner. As a matter of fact, your attitude is no better than mine. Therefore you What do we call that? Well, pride. It's what it is. Pride. Got the devil kicked out of heaven. You remember that? Isaiah 14. Got the devil kicked out of heaven. It doesn't work. God hates it. The devil was the anointed cherub that has a pretty high position to hold.

And God kicked him out of heaven. Why? Pride. And of course, Proverbs 16:18 the verse says, Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. Pride goes before destruction. From the verse verses three and four that I read you, you learned something about the Edomites that you probably knew, but maybe, excuse me, you didn't know that you knew it. There was a city, a rock city over there in Jordan, down south, south of the southeast of the Dead Sea. That city is called Petra. Maybe you've heard about it. I understand that all of Israel is going to go hide there.

That's what some Bible prophet teachers say. They're all going to hide in Petra. Well, if they're going to hide there and you're announcing it, they're not hiding, are they? Hello. It's like we're going to do a surprise attack and we're going to do it Thursday at 3:00. It's called Petra. The Edomites did that. That's where the Edomites lived. And of course, they felt that uh no one could get to them. They couldn't be attacked. If you've seen the city, it's an amazing city carved in side the canyons and the rock walls, the red rocks. And that's what they said.

The pride of your heart is deceived you. That you that dwell in the clefts of the rock They They dwell inside the rocks in that city of Petra. Whose habitation is high. You say in your heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground? Though you shall exalt yourself as the eagle. And though you set your nest among the stars, I'll bring you down from there, saith the Lord. They exalted themselves. The Edomites figured for sure that they were safe and secure in that city that they had built called Petra. But God says what? I'm going to take you down.

As high as you are, as high as you think you can get, I'll take you down from there. Verse five. If thieves came to you for robbers by night, how are they cut off? How are thou cut off? Would they not have stolen till they had enough? If the grape gatherers came to you, would they not leave some grapes? Okay. He's He's asking questions and And if you look at the language, here's what he's saying. You know, if a thief came to steal from you, he'd want to get in, grab what he could get and get out.

I mean, it wasn't that what a thief would do? Usually uh when when thieves break in the people's homes or in the businesses, they break in, they hurry, grab what they think they're after or grab what they can find and then run. God says if a thief comes in, he's not going to take everything you've got. He'll take what he can carry and get out. If a If a a grape thief comes in, he's going to grab as many grapes as he can before you get him and go. What God is saying is I won't be that way.

I'll take absolutely everything you've got. It'll be gone. That's That's his point. How are the things of Esau searched out? How are his hidden things sought up? Literally. How are the things of Esau, which is Edom, How are the things of Esau stripped bare? It's what the literal language says. How are the things of Edom searched out or stripped bare? What does it mean? He's saying you can take a good close look at Esau and see what he's really all about. I'll take them down. You'll be able to see clearly that they are a godless people.

The Edomites, you'll see what they're really all about. They're still over in that area today, some. And you see there many of them Muslim. And basically they're stripped down. You uh unless you're really believing some of the talk that's going on on the radio, you basically know what these people are about. They're a violent people. You know what they're after, the destruction of others. That's what they've always been after, and especially the Jews, the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Esau wanted to destroy them. The The The They've been fighting ever since. They're still fighting today, by the way.

Edomites and and some of the descendants of Jacob's first son of the flesh.

Guest (Male): Thank you for listening to Apply Within with Pastor Bob Davis. Apply Within is a radio outreach ministry of North Country Chapel. Our Sunday morning Bible studies are at 9:00 and 11:00 a.m. We also have a Friday evening Bible study at 7:00 p.m. and a Monday evening Bible study at 7:00 p.m. You can download today's message in its entirety at northcountrychapel.com/studies. That's northcountrychapel.com/studies. If you would like a copy of today's message, write to us and ask for the message with today's date. The address is Apply Within, 2281 West Seltice, Post Falls, Idaho 83854. Or call us at 1-800-572-8851.

That number again, 1-800-572-8851. Our mobile app is available for iPhone and Android. Download it to listen to full-length studies, watch the live stream of our services, or to find out more about church events. If you have been blessed by the teaching or have prayer requests that you would like to share with us, write, email, or call us as well. Please join with us every Monday through Friday as we study together verse by verse on Apply Within, sponsored by North Country Chapel. God bless you.