Obadiah 1:15-21 – Missionary Work Amidst Challenges

SPEAKER 02 : 0:03

The foundation, ye saints of the Lord, is laid for your faith in his excellence.

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Should Christians be involved in politics? Well, our teacher, Dr. J. Vernon McGee, gives us his answer to this question in just a few moments. And no matter where you stand on the issue, I’m sure that we can all agree that this world can use more genuine Bible-believing influences in every sphere of life. Welcome to Through the Bible. I’m Steve Schwetz, welcoming you aboard the Bible bus for another great adventure in God’s Word. We’re in the book of Obadiah, which Dr. McGee called an atom bomb of the Old Testament, a small thing with a potent message. Before we begin, though, I asked Greg Harris to join us in the studio today to talk about what’s new here at Through the Bible.

SPEAKER 03 : 0:55

Well, and actually, I’m going to flip that back to you, Steve, because not long ago you were in Liberia, and earlier this month you shared some of your experiences, but we could all tell you were just getting warmed up. Yeah, there’s so much more. You were so excited when you came back from this trip.

SPEAKER 04 : 1:11

Yeah, and if I had a theme of what’s new in Liberia, in a sense I would say what’s old is what’s new.

SPEAKER 03 : 1:18

Oh, very clever.

SPEAKER 04 : 1:19

I know. It’s kind of a twist there. And what I mean by that is a long time ago we were on a very powerful station in Liberia out of Monrovia called Radio Elwha.

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Eternal Love Winning Africa. That’s what it stands for.

SPEAKER 04 : 1:31

I did not know that. Big, massive tower. We were actually there to meet with somebody else. They have a hospital that’s associated with that. We spent some time on the beach. That was kind of interesting. And it was really a missionary compound. And in the middle of this compound is a big, tall tower. I mean, a big missionary style. Welcome to big radio tower. And we ended up through Ray Allery, who’s on staff with us now and a career missionary there. meeting some folks that he had known over the years in Africa. Long story short, we ended up getting back on that station again. I don’t even know why we went off that station.

SPEAKER 03 : 2:04

It was actually destroyed more than once during earlier civil wars. That’s right. Yeah, because actually back in 1985, they were part of the original what was called the World by 2000. So that’s how far back this goes. And then they dropped out of that group. That’s how I knew of them. Yeah. But the point is the station was destroyed at least twice during Civil War, but we’re back on the air.

SPEAKER 04 : 2:27

Yeah. And, you know, in a lot of places we talk about this, particularly in the West, radio is making a little less sense than it was 30 years ago. But in places like Liberia, where I mentioned before, do they have the Internet? Sure. Does it work past 3 a.m.

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in the morning? Not really.

SPEAKER 04 : 2:42

Not so much.

SPEAKER 03 : 2:43

Yeah.

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And so people are still listening to radio and radio is very effective. And if I had to take one place in the world, the continent of Africa is one where radio makes a ton of sense.

SPEAKER 03 : 2:53

Yes, it does.

SPEAKER 04 : 2:54

So getting back on such a high powered station in Monrovia, Liberia is significant. And then the second thing is in that theme of what is old is new is we met with The main contact for, and you have to listen from a couple weeks ago, but we were with this group of people that have both an orphanage and a school, and they’re building radio home groups. They’ve got a clinic. They’re doing a lot of outreach. And the thing I love about it is they’re not just doing outreach for the sake of making people healthier. They are giving them the gospel at the same time that they’re ministering to their physical needs, which I think is the ultimate motivation that so quickly gets lost. Yes, yes. In ministries like that. And we all know of ministries that really become just food distribution networks for NGOs.

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It’s so hard to maintain a balance between helping people with their physical needs and ministering to their eternal spiritual needs.

SPEAKER 04 : 3:45

Yeah, and this particular ministry that has already got the clinic going on, the orphanage, the school, the radio home groups, wants to do a radio station. And I’m thinking, there’s no way. It’s like… And I’ve said this before, and I’ve got to flip the other way when I think that it’s impossible. It’s like maybe God wants this to happen.

SPEAKER 03 : 4:02

There’s a pattern. The more I hear you say it’s impossible, then God does it.

SPEAKER 04 : 4:08

So I’m like, okay, this isn’t going to happen. This is Africa. Nothing ever happens in Africa in any kind of time. And this thing is moving. They’re putting a new station up about four and a half hours, which probably means it’s about 50 miles. It takes you four and a half hours on the roads to get there. Anyway, to put the station up, and it is going to be, it’s on, there’s not a lot of hills there, but it’s going to be up on a hill, and it is going to cover a major portion of Liberia, and it’s also going to go into Guinea and Sierra Leone.

SPEAKER 03 : 4:36

Sierra Leone, I believe. Sierra Leone, yeah, those are the stations.

SPEAKER 04 : 4:39

And so it is in this tri-area that is going to be very effective. There will be other ministries involved there. Through the Bible is participating financially, but in part, partially, those countries and it is exciting and you and i received a copy of a video made by the president of the country the president of liberia i’m like okay ray sends me a video what is this oh it’s a yes pomp and circumstance thing and he’s speaking into the camera going we need this radio station to be in our country and we thank god for ttb he says yeah that’s the president of the country so god is god is at work yeah the way he opens doors so hopefully you’re encouraged by this greg we’re ahead of time pray for us

SPEAKER 03 : 5:21

Oh, Father, thank you. Steve’s passion just shows how much you’re at work. And I thank you that we get to see these things with our own eyes. And we pray you’d continue to work powerfully in Liberia and all across the continent of Africa. In Jesus’ name, amen.

SPEAKER 04 : 5:40

Now here’s Dr. McGee to conclude our study of Obadiah on Through the Bible.

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Now we have come in this little book of Obadiah down to verse 15. There are actually not but 21 verses in the entire book, by the way. And that means that there are actually not very many verses at all in the book. It is, as we’ve indicated, the briefest book in the Old Testament. Now, we’ve seen that this is the judgment of Edom, destruction of the nation in the first 16 verses here. And we saw in the first nine verses God’s charge against Edom. The charge against Edom was pride of heart, an attitude of life that declared its ability to live without God. And God says he hates that. Then the crime of Edom in verses 10 to 14, because an attitude of life leads to actions. And you have a catalog of actions from verses 10 through 14. And we looked at those last time. Now we come today first to see the catastrophe that came to Edom in verses 15 and 16. Now, will you note this? Because this, I think, is a rather important section and just a little difficult It says, “…for the day of the Lord is upon all nations.” Now, this looks forward to the day of the Lord. And again, this is, as we have attempted to show from the Word of God, is a technical expression that covers a period of time beginning with the great tribulation period. We are living today in the day of grace or the day of Christ. And the emphasis today is where the Holy Spirit takes the things of Christ and shows them unto us. Now, after the church is removed, the day of the Lord begins. He begins to move in judgment. God’s day begins with the night, always. The evening and the morning were the first day, the second day, and so on. So that it begins with the darkness and the judgment of the great tribulation period. And then finally, the son of righteousness rises with healing in his wings. And that’s the coming of the Lord Jesus to the earth to establish his kingdom here upon the earth. And at that time, there will be certain nations that are going to enter into the kingdom. You remember in the Olivet Discourse that we’re told all nations will be gathered before him. Now, very frankly, I want to say that It’s not quite clear to me whether these ancient nations of the past that have long since disappeared, whether they will be raised for a judgment as a nation at that time, or will it be at the judgment of the great white throne? Now, very frankly, I find that commentators, I have one book before me, and it’s a very fine book. And it says in one place that Edom is to be utterly destroyed. And then again, he says that it will again be raised up in the last days of world history. And it speaks of Edom. Well, I believe that Edom will become a nation. And this is now my private viewpoint, my private interpretation. And I’m sure you’ve discovered by now that anything that I go out on a limb on, you better not go out with me because it may break off. But I’m of the opinion that when he mentions here, the day of the Lord is near upon all nations, that it means that Edom will become a nation during the end times. They have now disappeared as a nation. Well, somebody says, could that happen? Well, it sure happened to the nation Israel for 2,500 years. They were not a nation. And now they’ve become a nation. They’ve had problems, but they’ve become a nation. Now, for the day of the Lord is near upon all the nation. And how are you going to interpret all the nations? Well, I interpret it as meaning all the nations. And that the day of the Lord is the day that many of these ancient nations are going to come back into existence again. I think that is something that the Word of God, I believe, makes rather clear to us. And you see, a nation is responsible to God and the people of a nation. Now, many of you who’ve been with us from the beginning, you will recall that when we were in the book of Deuteronomy, in the 21st chapter there, God gave a very unusual law. He said that when a man has been found slain out on the highways, then you are to measure what city is closest to that slain man. And that city is responsible for the man there to take over the case, attempt to find out who did it. In other words, that city is responsible. Now, I think that is a great principle that God has put down, that you and I today as Christians, we can talk about our citizenship is in heaven. And the head of the church is there, that’s true. But the feet of the church is right down here where we live today. And we do have a responsibility as a citizen of the nation that we are members of. And we should exert that influence for God as much as we possibly can. And I don’t mean to say by that that the Christian is to jump into politics. But I am of the opinion that God could use a great many more real born-again Christians in politics today. Someone has said it’s become so dirty that no Christian could get involved in it. Well, I think you could. I believe that you could do that if a man like Lot could get involved in the politics of Sodom, which he did. He was a judge sitting in the gate. I’m of the opinion that a real born-again Christian who’s willing to stand on his two feet and be counted could be used to God today in government. And therefore, nations are responsible to God. Now, this doesn’t mean that he’s judging nations on the basis of whether they accept or reject Christ as a nation, because there’s never been a nation yet that has accepted Christ wholeheartedly. I think it’s always been a mistake to speak of certain nations as being Christian nations. It’s quite true that the church has had a great influence on a nation like England, and on our nation today. But there never was a time when it could be said that either one of these nations were Christian nations, and certainly both are very far from God today. So the day of the Lord is near upon all the nations. And I believe that this nation that God destroyed, they’re out of business today. I mean, that prophecy has been literally fulfilled. The question is, are they going to come back during the day of the Lord? I think so. As thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee. Thy reward will return upon thine own head. Now, actually, what happened to this nation was this. Edom, as we have indicated in this study, was finally captured by Babylon. They did it by getting spies on the inside of that very impregnable fortress city. And they were taken about the same time that Israel was taken. And actually, in the end time, we are going to find that Edom will again be on the scene in the end times. And there are certain references to that. And I’m not going to turn to them today. But Isaiah 63, 1 and 6, for instance, which definitely refers to the future. That is a reference to it, that they will be around. And they were, of course, destroyed by Babylon. But the Maccabees also subjugated them. And then finally, the Romans. came and when they destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD, why, at that time, Edom disappeared from the world scene as a nation and has not been heard of since then. But they are to be brought back again. And we find that by the time, though, you get to the millennium, it looks as if they have not yet made the world scene. but they will be again on the scene of world history. Now, let me read on from there. As you can see, this is a debatable point, and I would not care to debate it or argue it with anyone because it is one of the many points that are in the Scripture that we can’t be too clear on because, after all, what is the importance of this to you and me today? If I find out that Edom is going to be around during the millennium while I’ll be happy, if they’re not around, I’m still going to be happy because I know God is working this out according to his own plan and purpose. Now, will you notice? He says here, verse 16, “‘For as ye have drunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the nations drink continually.'” Yea, they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not been. In other words, God says that as you have done, it’s going to be done to you. You’ll be rewarded the same way. This is called today poetic justice. This is something that seems to work out in human history today. Lex talionis, I think, is the law of retaliation. The Lord Jesus put it like this. As you judge, so shall you be judged. And whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap. So that what you have here could be called poetic justice. The way this nation acted is the way that this nation is to be judged. And I very frankly shudder for the fact that we were the first nation that dropped an atom bomb. and that we have been a warlike nation. I don’t think that God lets any nation get by with it. The history of all nations is that as they’ve dealt it out, that’s the way it’s come back to them. And that is something that has worked out in the history of the world. Now, I want to move down to the last major division, actually, of the book. And it’s only a few verses, and it concerns the nation Israel. And as Edom was destruction, Israel is restoration. Now, in verse 17, we have the condition of Israel. In verse 18, we have the calling of Israel. And then in verses 19 through 21, we have the consummation of all things. In other words, this little nation and this little book that concerns that little nation. How does it fit in to the program of Almighty God? And everything fits into the program of Almighty God. Every individual, I don’t care who you are today, the interesting thing is God thought of you or you wouldn’t be around, friends. You were in the mind of God. The great question is, are you going to get in step with him? Are you going to move into eternity with him or into eternity against him? Because his plan and program will be carried out. Now, notice how this fits in here. And you have now the nation Israel brought before us and the role that they are to play in the future. Although God judged them, they were not to be destroyed as a nation. But upon Mount Zion shall be deliverance. In other words, salvation is to be offered there for the world. And that’s where it’s offered to you and me today. The Lord Jesus came and died on Golgotha for you and me today. Now he’s coming back to this earth. And I take it that although his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives, he’ll be coming into Jerusalem again. And he will be, I think, ruling on top of Mount Zion. But upon Mount Zion shall be deliverance. And there shall be holiness. And there’s no holiness there today. I’ve been on. Top of Mount Zion a half a dozen times, friend. And I never found any holiness there. They’re burning candles all over the place there. They’re just as far from God there as they are over in the Arab section, where the Arabs are in the old city. There’s no holiness there. There shall be holiness when the Lord Jesus reigns. And the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions. Now, I like that expression. They are not possessing their possessions today. They are in the land. It’s true. They have a nation. That’s all true. They’ve returned to the land, but they haven’t returned to God. And as a result, they do not possess their possessions. There’s a lot of difference in having a possession and then possessing your possession. Now, verse 18 says, And here you have the calling of Israel. And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble. And they shall kennel in them and devour them, and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau, for the Lord hath spoken it. Now, there will be an ultimate final judgment of Esau. I take it that this is a kingdom that will not enter into the eternal kingdoms of this earth that will become the kingdoms of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. What is it that keeps them from being there? Well, pride of heart. That attitude of a life that declares its ability to live without God. And friends, if that’s your decision to live without God, that’s what you’re going to do, live without him. Now, will you notice verse 19, And they of the Negev shall possess the mount of Esau, and they of the Shephielah, the Philistines. And they shall possess the fields of Ephraim, and the fields of Samaria, and Benjamin shall possess Gilead.” Gilead is on the east bank of the Jordan River. And in other words, for the first time they will occupy all the land that God vouchsafed to them. You see, he promised to Abraham a land that contains about 300,000 square miles. Even in their zenith, they only occupied 30,000 square miles. Now, will you notice? And the captives of his host of the children of Israel shall possess that of the Canaanites, even unto Zarephath. And Zarephath is way up between Tyre and Sidon in Lebanon. And the captives of Jerusalem, which is in Shepharad, shall possess the cities of the Negev. And the Negev is the southern part, actually, the Sinaitic Peninsula. And I’m reading the last verse, and here you have the consummation of all things in this section, friends. And saviors… that its deliverers shall come up on Mount Zion to judge the Mount of Esau, and the kingdom shall be the Lord. In other words, God is moving forward today undeviatingly, unhesitatingly toward the accomplishment of his purpose. That is of putting his king on Mount Zion. And he’ll turn and turn and overturn as he says. And he will do that until he comes who’s right it is to rule. Now, today… The Lord Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. He’s not the king today, but he is the Savior. And men and women are walking through life with their heads down like animals. You see, only man looks up. Animals look down. There’s only one who can lift them. Evolution has not lifted mankind one inch. Look at our world that has been schooled in this godless philosophy. The deadly poison of godless materialism and humanism will bring upon us the judgment of God. God says, though you be lifted up, little man, I’ll bring you down. But the Lord Jesus said, if I be lifted up from the earth, I’ll draw all men unto him. May we look to him today and be saved. Until next time, may God richly bless you, my beloved.

SPEAKER 04 : 24:39

If you feel a tug on your heart when Dr. McGee talks about the salvation that we’re offered through Jesus Christ, well, we’d like to invite you to learn more. It’s really easy. You can click on How Can I Know God in our app or at ttb.org and you’ll find direction on how to begin a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. It really is the best decision that you can ever make. If you’d rather receive a few of these free resources by mail, well, we can help you that way, too. Just call 1-800-65-BIBLE. You can also write to us at Box 7100, Pasadena, California, 91109. In Canada, Box 25325, London, Ontario, N6C 6B1. I’m Steve Schwetz, and I look forward to spending more time with you in the powerful, wonderful Word of God. See you next time.

SPEAKER 02 : 25:29

Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain, he washed it white as snow.

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