God Has a Day
Scripture: Obadiah
I. God will judge on the day of the LORD.
A. On the day of the LORD God will judge His people’s enemies. He was going to judge Edom (vs. 1). The people of Edom were the descendants of Esau (vs. 6, 8, 9). Esau was the twin brother of Jacob who was the ancestor of all the Israelites. How did the people of Edom treat the people of Israel when Jerusalem was flattened and the temple destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 BC? “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” (vs. 11).
B. Edom took some of Israel’s land as they waved goodbye to their brothers and gloated over their loss (vs. 12). Edom acted like vultures who entered the gates of Jerusalem in the day of their calamity (vs. 13). Edom was violent (vs. 10) toward their brothers. So, God would bring violent judgment on Edom (vs. 15).
II. God will be faithful to His promises on the day of the LORD.
A. The day of the LORD is not just a day of judgment on God’s enemies. The day of the LORD is also a day of salvation for you as God’s people. God told Moses His name I Am in Exodus 3:13-15. He makes and keeps promises to His people forever. One promise He made to Israel was to give them their own land (Exodus 3:17). But Israel sinned. God, however, would still keep His promise to Israel and bring them back to Israel from exile in Babylon.
B. God forgave His people and gave them a second chance in the Promised Land (Obadiah 17, 20). Israel would return and be restored to their God and to their land. On the day of the LORD God would keep His promises to Israel. And God will forgive you when you turn to Him in repentance and faith after you sin. Psalm 103:12: “As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.”
III. God will be king on the day of the LORD.
A. “Saviors shall go up to Mount Zion to rule Mount Esau, and the kingdom shall be the LORD’s” (vs. 21). Jerusalem will again be a safe place and a place of prosperity for God’s people. Jerusalem will be in control of the enemies of God’s people, Edom. The LORD will be acknowledged as the only God and king. Jesus is that king. Acts 2:36: “Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
Application:
Look forward to the day of the LORD when King Jesus returns for His children.
Sources:
The Bible
Commentaries by Daniel Block, Douglas Stuart, David Baker, and Daniel Timmer.
Sermon Outline Questions
1) In what way is God’s judgment good news? Why should the nation of Edom have treated the people of Israel better?
2) What promises had God made and kept to Israel? Did God still keep those promises even after Israel had sinned against God?
3) Who is the king who will rule over all on the day of the LORD? What does it mean for you today that the day of the LORD is coming?