Grace Baptist Church, Nokomis, IL.

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The first section of this book which we read last week dealt with Edom’s major fault: their pride. They had not humbled themselves before God. This was a sin of their heart. But sins of the heart always play themselves out in our lives as well. What did Edom’s pride cause them to do? You might find that you’ve also committed the same sins, resulting from the same prideful heart.

“Because of the violence done to your brother Jacob, shame shall cover you, and you shall be cut off forever. 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. But do not gloat over the day of your brother in the day of his misfortune; do not rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their ruin; do not boast in the day of distress. 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. Do not stand at the crossroads to cut off his fugitives; do not hand over his survivors in the day of distress. 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. 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.” (Obadiah 1:10-16)

Edom’s prideful heart condition was what kept them at a distance from God. They didn’t humble themselves before God (v. 5). But it was the sins that they committed which would bring God’s judgment upon them (v. 10).

When we sin, we often focus on the tangible sins which we commit. But the underlying problem is not in the sins we committed, but why we committed them. It’s usually a result of pride. We need to look inward to find the sin of the heart. This is so important because in order to put off the old self, we need to identify why the old self behaves the way it does. We might just say it’s because we’re sinners, and that would be true. But if we find out the root sins that we cling to, it will help us to make Jesus Lord of every area of our lives. When we identify those things, we are then able to replace those desires with godly ones.

It’s kind of like when you get in trouble and have to write sentences. We need to train our minds to think the way they ought to think, and train our hearts to feel they way they ought to feel.

So we deserve God’s wrath both for the sins of our heart, and the sins which we commit in the flesh. Notice the sins which Edom committed in addition to their prideful hearts. They stood aloof when they should have helped Israel (v. 11). They gloated, rejoiced, and boasted when Isreal was taken captive (v. 12). They participated in looting Israel when they were being exiled (v. 13). They helped Israel’s enemies take them in to exile (v. 14). Have you ever been guilty of these things? Have you ever stood by when someone needed your help?

Studies show that people generally do not step in to help others. They assume someone else will. Jesus pointed out that we need to love our neighbor, and that practically means going out of our way to help them when they’re in need. Have you ever secretly rejoiced when someone experienced pain? This happens so often when it comes to strained relationships with relatives. It often arises from a self-righteous attitude. But we’re no better than others, even if they hurt us. Have you ever tried to get ahead at the expense of someone you knew? This happens so often in high school. Kids make fun of each other all the time. They do this in order to make themselves look good. They do it because they find their worth not in God but in how others see them, at least at that moment.

But it happens in the adult world as well. Because of greed, or selfishness, or some other evil desire, people cheat and steal and lie in the workplace in order to benefit themselves. Unfortunately, this even happens in the church. Churches should not put each other down, but work together to see people come to Christ! Churches should not compete with one another, but work together.

My primary goal in terms of church growth here at Grace is not that we see transfer growth. We don’t want to grow merely by stealing members from other churches. I read an interesting list of reasons yesterday why you shouldn’t join this church. I might start using them as I counsel those who desire to join.

You shouldn’t join this church if you’re looking for the next cool thing in town. Or if you’re a Christian and you don’t like your current church (chances are you eventually won’t like ours either). Or if you have a bad track record at churches of being unteachable and causing problems (You need to grow where you are before carrying those attitudes somewhere else).

No, I desire to see our church grow due to people coming to know Christ as Savior! In order for that to happen, we’ve got to humble ourselves and allow God to use us in this place.

The truth is, these Edomites were no worse than any of us. They would not humble themselves before God. And we often refuse to humble ourselves as well, as this shows in the way we live.

But they would not get away with these things forever (v. 15a). God sees all of the sins that we commit, even if nobody else sees them. And God will leave no sin unpunished (v. 15b). Those who hurt others will themselves be hurt. Those who cause others to suffer will themselves be caused to suffer. Those who trample upon others will themselves be trampled upon. Those who ignore God will reap the penalty of ignoring God (v. 16).

The Edomites rejoiced over Israel’s destruction. As a result, God would repay them. In the end, there will be no trace of them in heaven or earth. The good news for us is that when we trust in Christ, He took the punishment for our sins. For those who trust in Christ, we eagerly look forward to the day of the Lord! Though we have hurt Christ, we will be blessed. Though we have caused Christ to suffer, we will be exalted.

We all deserve the same treatment as Edom, but because the grace of God, we who trust in Christ will not be brought low, but will be raised up to be with God forever and ever.