So we're now in week four of our Chesed, right?
The Hebrew, getting that back in the throat.
That very phlegmy understanding of the everlasting
love of God. We actually saw the word in Exodus
chapter 20. So we see Chesed throughout the Old
Testament. The embodiment of that, obviously,
being Christ. Smallest book of the Bible. That
we are in Obadiah, the minor prophet today, talking
about a Chesed that defends his people. Okay?
And now there's no chapters in Obadiah. It's
only one chapter, so we're going to read a variety
of verses. But I want to ask the question, not
just for you to think about it or reflect on
it. Is there someone in your life, maybe it's
you, and again, this isn't a time to nudge the
person next to you or push the person in front
of you. Don't make it weird. But do you have
people in your life that tend to take things
very personally, very quickly? Just kind of think
about that. Again, don't nod. I've already seen
some people look at each other. That's on you.
But understand that we have kind of a gauge sometimes
in our spirit of when we take things personally.
And some of us, it's kind of a slow cooker. It
takes a lot for us to really get offended. And
sometimes we don't even get up here. We just
kind of keep it low. Some of us wake up offended.
and everywhere in between. I saw way more of
this after I said it last time, so we should
probably just pray, but I will later. But have
we ever thought about God taking stuff personally?
Yeah, the conversation sure changes, doesn't
it? That if God is steadfast and slow to anger,
abounding in steadfast love, the Psalms tell
us that. That's chesed. Does God take things
personally? Well, we just read that I, your God,
am a jealous God, visiting the iniquities. So,
wait, I thought God wasn't supposed to remember
our sins. It's a very interesting conversation,
isn't it? But I want you to look back at the
last week of your life. Would God have taken
something that you thought, something you did,
something you posted, or said? Do you think God
would have taken anything you did personally
this week? The conversation sure changes, right?
Because that is sin. Sin is missing the mark
of what God has intended us to do. God can take
everything that we do wrong personally. And now
I'm going to change the question. When you maybe
get offended by somebody, how quick are you to
forgive them? How quick are you to judge them?
How quick are you to kind of swat that and really
make it a bigger issue, a bigger deal? I'm not
saying that it's not a big deal. I'm not saying
it's a conflict you should avoid. But it's an
interesting take when we talk about God taking
something personally. Because there are moments
in life when injustice, things that we think,
things that offend us, when injustice tends to
feel unbearable in life. Maybe a moment like
someone wronging you. Again, when someone wrongs
you, there's a kind of subjective filter that
that goes through. What might wrong somebody
else might not wrong me or vice versa. How about
when someone takes advantage of you? Interesting
kind of filter for that, engage for that as well.
How about when someone celebrates your pain?
I think that's something I'd probably get offended
by, right? We even saw that in the baptism, right?
Two of the three promised to not beat on Carter
too much, right? But there's that one, right?
That middle born. You know who you are. Or someone
maybe stands by while you suffer. Maybe you're
going through the thick of it and someone just
tends to do nothing. We can take that stuff personally.
The hardest part isn't always the pain itself,
but it's the feeling that no one sees or no one
cares or no one will ever make it right. We see
that a lot in the Holland Donor House in the
sense of brothers that do tend to beat on each
other and do things just to get rise out of each
other. And, you know, they understand if we try
to make everything right, that would be our full
-time job. But how does that feel? When you believe,
no one's going to make the wrongs against you
right. It can be a very hopeless, a very lonely,
very angry place. But here we have Obadiah, the
shortest book in the Old Testament, but it carries
one of the most powerful truths in Scripture.
And it's about God's chesed. That God's chesed
does not just comfort his people, God's chesed
defends his people. Ashley, keep that one up
there. The word that I think we're all going
to disagree on at times is that word defend.
Because if we're being honest and someone wrongs
us, my guess is we go through a little bit of
maybe the five phases of that offense. And a
lot of us like to stay in the anger mode. Right?
I'll liken it because it's easy. Maybe driving
in a car. Someone cuts you off, and if we're
being honest, there's a little part of you that
wishes that God would be more like Zeus and just
annihilate that person with a lightning bolt.
How many want to raise their hand and own that?
Wow, we actually have people. Let me write those
names down. But we kind of want that ultimate
judgment, right? Even if maybe they didn't cut
you off, but they got in your lane 200 yards
in front of you, but you took that as cut off,
and you go, God, take them anyway. We kind of
have our own filter for that. That's not the
kind of defending we're talking about. Because
Hosea taught us that God pursues us when we wander.
Joel taught us that God restores us after devastation.
Amos last week taught us that God reshapes our
lives with... But Obadiah teaches us something
new today. God does not ignore those who harm
his covenant family. He takes it personally.
God does not ignore those who harm his covenant
family. He takes it personally. So let's dive
in to kind of this. Quick story of Obadiah, right?
The back story, these brothers turned enemies.
To understand Obadiah, we must go back to Genesis,
but let's go to Obadiah 10 and 11. Again, there's
no chapters. Yeah, so harm is coming, he takes
it personally. And so that first point is kind
of the back story, brothers that turned enemies.
Again, it's all in chapter one because there's
only one chapter. Obadiah 10 and 11. 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. So a little bit of
kind of historical context. Obadiah's prophecy
is directed at Edom, E -D -O -M, the nation descended
from Esau, Jacob's twin brother. So we're going
back to Genesis. This is not just political conflict.
This is family betrayal. Now I say that, and
I know that there's a handful of families in
this church that have felt that directly. Some
that are still within this church. Some that
they know that all too well. You see, for centuries,
Edom refused Israel's passage through their land.
Edom allied with Israel's enemies. Edom harbored
resentment and pride. And Edom awaited for Israel's
downfall. This is history. The breaking point
comes when Jerusalem falls, roughly, we believe,
586 B .C. But instead of helping these related
nations, instead of helping, Edom rejoices, Edom
loots, Edom captures fleeing refugees, and Edom
hands them over to their enemies. Obadiah describes
this with chilling clarity. We just read it,
but Obadiah 11. On the day that you stood aloof,
you were like one of them. This is not just me.
Okay? This is cruel indifference. And what do
we hear God say? God says, I saw it, I remember
it, and I will deal with it. So let's pause there.
It's a pretty big kind of setup there. There's
a lot of hurt, a lot of pain, a lot of rejection,
a lot of breaking of relationship ties. And for
some of us, we know what that feels like. Maybe
not in a grand nation against nation way, but
maybe interpersonally. Maybe in a marriage. Maybe
in a relationship with family. Maybe in a job.
That some of these feelings have been done to
us. Before we get to the restoration, we need
to point out the sin one more time. The sin of
Edom, which was pride, violence, and the very,
very dangerous apathy. And so we see this in
Obadiah verse 3. The pride of your heart has
deceived you, you who live in the clefts on the
rock, in your lofty dwellings who say in your
heart, who will bring me down to the ground?
Edom's downfall begins with pride. It says it
in Proverbs. We believe it even today. Pride
cometh before the? They lived in rocky mountain
fortresses. They believed they were untouchable.
Pride makes people think they are immune to accountability,
that they are beyond judgment, and they are self
-sufficient. Now, some of you are going, time
out, Pastor. Being self -sufficient is a good
thing. Absolutely it is, right? Being tenacious,
being a self -starter, entrepreneur, all of that
good stuff. What this self -sufficiency was is
placing their self -sufficiency over others.
My self -sufficiency is going to be over you
even if it causes you pain. But pride always
produces fruit. The question today is, is it
good fruit or is it bad fruit? So let's look
at the threefold sin of Edom. So the threefold
sin. First, prideful self -trust. They trusted
geographically instead of on God. They trusted
their surroundings. They trusted what they built
up over their trust in Yahweh. Their second sin,
violent participation. They didn't just watch
Israel fall. They joined in on the destruction.
Guilty by association, we hear in our lifetime,
right? Whether that was you as a kid making fun
of the other kid, or being in the group that
made fun of the other kid at school, or... Some
kind of silent coup that goes on at your job
that you don't speak against, even though it's
wrong. Prideful self -trust, violent participation,
and heartless indifference. Church, this is a
tough one. This is a tough one. They exploited
suffering instead of showing mercy. Obadiah lists
their sins in verses 12 to 14, but I'm just going
to give it to you now. Gloating, looting, cutting
off escape routes, and handing survivors over
to enemies. God sees all of this. God knows all
of this. God is offended by it. And he is not
vague about this injustice. We see this in our
next point, Obadiah 15. As you have done, it
shall be done to you. I title this God's Justice.
Obadiah 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
head. Unfortunately, for Edom and for us, we
hear this at times after we've done something.
What Obadiah, speaking then to now, 2026, is
if you're about to do something, you can stop
and not do it. And this won't apply. But for
a lot of us, you know, growing up, it could be
as small as... Five years old, right? Five years
old in the, let's say, the Venice house, right?
Which one out of the two of you were the cookie
eater that really loved the cookies? Yeah, okay.
So Taylor really loves the cookies. Mom makes
the cookies. Mom says, Taylor, do not eat these
until a certain time. Did Taylor eat the cookies
prior to that time? I appreciate your honesty,
right? You don't know that Riley's the one that
told on you, but understand that that could be
as small as that. You're being told something
to do, you do the opposite, right? Or it could
be someone, another household or another job
as we get older. You hear bad things at the water
cooler, you do nothing about it. Because you
have this weird understanding that snitches get,
wow. That is not at all in the Bible, yet 90
% of you knew what that was. The other 10%, you've
fallen asleep. Why do we live by prison code
in life? Because I'm pretty sure that's where
that comes from. Snitches get stitches, settle
out in the holland on our house, also prison.
Okay? We should not abide by that. What God is
saying here is because of your actions, there
are consequences. I could laundry list, and this
is not me getting high and mighty. My sins can
be in there too, of Christian leaders. Known
Christian leaders in our community that fall
and fall horribly. And there are consequences.
But yet some of us like to think that if I confess
my sins. Pastor, you say it all the time. He
is faithful. He is just. He'll forgive us my
sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Absolutely. But friends, there's still consequences.
There are still consequences. This is the moral
center of this book. God's judgment is not random.
He's not like, and you get the punishment. It's
not like a weird Oprah, okay? It is measured.
It is fitting. It is just. This isn't revenge.
This is righteous reckoning. Here's the thing.
God gets to do the reckoning, not us. And for
a lot of you, you don't like that I just said
that because you want to be the reckoning doer.
But vengeance belongs to the Lord, never us.
God's justice is not opposed to his chesed. God's
justice flows from his chesed. And for some of
us, we can't reconcile that because we want this
hippie -loving Jesus that is never going to have
us go through consequences for our wrongdoings,
for our sin. That's never how it works. That
is never what's in here. That is not how it started
in the Old Testament. God just doesn't look away
through Jesus. No. Is there forgiveness? Absolutely.
Is there restoration? Absolutely. Is there cleansing?
Absolutely. But there are also consequences.
Why is this? Because God loves his people, because
God cares about righteousness, and God refuses
to normalize cruelty. Chesed does not mean God
looks the other way. Chesed means that God steps
in. If you're a parent here this morning, or
an aunt or an uncle, and you know when people
are just going at it, Right? When my boys were
younger, it worked a lot more that all of a sudden
when they were going at it and dad stepped into
the room, things stopped. Right? Now that my
oldest is almost as tall as me, I have to get
on my heels and then I have to enter the room.
And hopefully that stature stops it or the voice
stops it. This is where I wish I was like Dan
Arzma. Right? Dan's got a foot on me. I would
love to walk in a room. How tall are you? What?
He's got a foot and an inch over me. And so I
would love to be able to walk into the room.
But if I walk in on stilts, are you going to
take me seriously? No. You answer that way too
quick, Jack. God steps in. Because why? Next
point. God defends his people and restores their
futures. Obadiah 17. But in Mount Zion there
shall be those who escape, and it shall be holy,
and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.
After judgment comes hope. God does not only
punish Edom, but he promises restoration to Israel.
The restoration promises here are huge. It's
deliverance for the remnant, the remnant, always
in the Old Testament being Christ, but this is
the remnant of that temple, of the relationship
with Yahweh. Returning to the land that God gave
them, renewal of the covenant blessing, and future
victory over oppressors. But then the book ends
with a triumphant declaration. And I love this.
Obadiah 21. The kingdom shall be the Lord's.
It is a wonderful reminder that even though we
sin and even though there are consequences for
us that mourn that sin, turn the 180 and follow
after Christ, that there is restoration, that
it all belongs to God. It's all in his kingdom.
That is a good thing for us. Yet for some of
us, when we go through that restoration, we really
want part of that to be, oh, but God, I really
want that pound of flesh. That person really
wronged me. I'll forgive them, but I will never
forget. Forgive and forget, that's not what we're
talking about, right? Because you're also not
called to be a doormat. And so if someone does
something to you and that trust breaks, It may
take a long time to trust that person again.
And that's okay. That's you protecting yourself.
I get that. But holding that on and when that
person does it again, you re -bank that stuff
onto that person. That is not forgiveness. The
kingdom shall be the Lord's, not ours. This is
church language. This is revelation language.
This points beyond Edom to Israel. It points
beyond Israel to the final triumphant of God's
reign. You ever think about that? The new heavens
and the new earth? Who gets the glory in that?
Though we're going to be in our glorified bodies,
and I don't know what that means for some of
you. I don't know what that means for me. Maybe
my glorified body, I am 6 '8". I have no idea.
But the glory becomes God's because it's always
been God's. It's never been ours. Because the
chesed that God gives us preserves us and vindicates
us the way God desires, not ours. Right? Vindication,
we have certain ways we want to be vindicated.
Whether it's that person that caught us off 200
yards away. Whether it's that spouse that really
hurt us. Whether it's the job that was taken
away from us. Whether the fact that we're the
last person to have our driveway plowed by the
company we bought or that we paid for. Whatever
it is, that point really didn't land when I can't
say it out loud. But understand that we want
vindication our way. We want to prescribe it.
Why in the world would the vindication of the
Lord be prescribed through a sinful person? It
has to go through the holiness of God. Never
us. Never us. Chesed that preserves and vindicates.
Not only does Obadiah show us, but the Canons
of Dort shows us as well. Grace 101. God's love
is not neutral. Canons 1, 7. God's love flows
from his sovereign, gracious election. That God
pursues, that God's love flows for his people.
That's why his vindication is the right one,
never ours. Because God's vindication doesn't
flow through sinful ideology like ours does.
It flows from who he is. God does not stand in
the distance and watch injustice. He is a covenant
God. He chooses his people and he binds himself
to them. Canons 1 -7 reminds us again God's love
flows from a sovereign, gracious election. God
defends those he has chosen, not because they
are perfect, but because he is faithful. Well,
God, I really wanted them to be more hurt. I
really wanted them to have things taken away
like I did. That might not be how God does it.
And as followers of God, we need to be okay with
that. Grace 201, God preserves his people through
oppression. Canons 5, 3, God preserves believers
so they never fully fall away. Even when Israel
was exiled, humiliated, scattered, and wounded,
God never abandons his covenant people. Remember
the remnant? That remnant is huge. Obadiah reminds
us, you may have been wounded, you may have been
shaken, you may have been outnumbered. but you
are never forgotten. All right, but let's be
honest. There are times that we sit there with
all this other junk going on around us, and we
go, I have been forgotten. God does not see me.
He's not helping me the way I want his help.
I'm sorry. Do you think when I have to reprimand
or punish one of my sons, I look to my other
sons to give me like the Roman emperor thumbs
up or thumbs down? No, because a lot of them
would be like this, and I don't know what to
do with that, okay? No, it's on me and Carrie
as the parents to decide. It is. That's the same
thing with God. Why? Grace 301, God will vindicate
his people. Canons 510, the canons teach that
God renews confidence, restores hope, and assures
believer of the final victory. Obadiah's closing
vision points to Christ. The kingdom belongs
to the Lord. Guess what? His justice will win.
His grace will reign. And God will make all things
right the way God has defined it. Why in the
world would God look through our right? He wouldn't.
He has the right all along. So let's land this
plane. What does Obadiah teach us about living
out Chesed today? First, that God sees every
injustice done to you. All is fair. And every
injustice you have done. That's the flip side.
But the point is, God sees every injustice done
to you. Nothing you suffered has ever been ignored,
wasted, or never has been ignored, wasted, or
forgiven. Right? Nothing you have suffered. It
all is seen by God. God knows it. God's hesed
means to you that your pain matters. That we're
going to have perspective in pain. We should
find perspective in pain and in disappointment.
Your pain matters to God. Second, we must refuse
the sins of Edom. Obadiah is not just about Edom's
sin, but it's about our temptation to gloat.
over others' failures, benefit from someone else's
pain, remain silent when injustice happens, and
choose comfort over compassion. Chesed calls
us to intervene, not speculate. To intervene
the way God would call you to intervene. How
do I know how God's calling me? Read the good
book. Read his word. It will help you. Third,
the church must be a safe place for the wounded.
If God defends his people, then his church must,
must reflect that same heart. Munster Church
must be a place where victims are believed, the
vulnerable are protected, the hurting are embraced,
and injustice is not minimalized. I know, that's
a big set of phrases. But that, if we're going
to say we're a hospital for the sick and a lighthouse
for wayward ships, that's a recognition that
we sit in that as well. Victims are believed,
the vulnerable are protected, the hurting are
embraced, and injustice is not minimized. And
don't you dare make that political, because then
that's your ideology. It is not mine. It is not
this church's. Four, Jesus is the fulfillment
of Obadiah's promise. Where Edom crushed God's
people, Jesus was crushed for God's people. Where
Edom gloated over suffering, Jesus absorbed suffering
to save sinners. Where Edom trusted pride, Jesus
humbled himself unto death. And because of Jesus,
the kingdom has always and will always belong
to the Lord. So friends, in this week, remember
that Chesed fights for you. Hosea showed us a
God who pursues us. Joel showed us a God who
restores us. Amos showed us a God who reshapes
us. And Obadiah shows us a God who defends us.
If you forget anything else, remember this last
slide. God's Chesed means you are never alone
in your suffering. God's hesed means injustice
will not win. And God's hesed means God himself
will fight for you. The final word over your
life is not betrayal. It's not injustice. Not
even loss. Because the kingdom shall be the Lord's.
Let's pray.