Thesis
Drawing from the often-overlooked book of Obadiah, Pastor Scott Rogers shows that Edom's pride, indifference, and exploitation of a suffering Israel exposes a universal human tendency to forget where we come from and take advantage of the vulnerable. Against that backdrop, the sermon calls followers of Jesus to deliberately choose humility — remembering that Jesus is the hero of our story, not us — and to practice compassion by seeing in others the shared humanity that is in ourselves, just as Jesus modeled in His own life.
Key points
- 1
All scripture, even an obscure 21-verse book like Obadiah, is God-breathed and useful for equipping believers for every good work.
- 2
God defends His covenant people — when you mess with God's kids, you mess with God, as He promised Abraham in Genesis 12.
- 3
Edom's pride, indifference, and exploitation of Israel while Jerusalem was being destroyed illustrates the dark capacity of human nature at its most primal.
- 4
The principle of Obadiah 1:15 — 'as you have done, it will be done to you' — echoes Jesus' Golden Rule and applies to all nations, not just Edom.
- 5
Pride is natural and creeps in when we forget God's role in our story; the antidote is intentionally reminding ourselves that Jesus is the hero, not us.
- 6
Compassion is intentional and means seeing in others the humanity that is in ourselves — just as Jesus had compassion on crowds who were harassed and helpless.
- 7
The Golden Rule of Matthew 7:12 — doing to others what you would have them do to you — is the practical summary of everything Obadiah warns against and Jesus calls us toward.
Outline
Introduction & Series Context
Pastor Scott welcomes the congregation into the ongoing 'Foretold' series on Old Testament prophets and introduces the book of Obadiah as the smallest, most overlooked book in the Bible. He frames three diagnostic questions for reading any scripture: What does it teach about God? About people? About me?
Historical Background: Abraham to Edom
Pastor Scott traces the biblical backstory from Abraham's covenant in Genesis 12 through the sibling rivalry of Jacob and Esau, whose descendants became Israel and Edom respectively — setting up the bitter, generational hostility that frames Obadiah.
Reading Obadiah
The text of Obadiah is read aloud, highlighting God's indictment of Edom for its pride, its indifference while Babylon destroyed Jerusalem, its exploitation of the survivors, and the promise that the 'day of the Lord' will come upon all nations.
What Obadiah Teaches About God
Pastor Scott addresses the charge that the Old Testament portrays a violent God, arguing instead that God's response to Edom is just — a Father defending His children — not blood lust, consistent with His promise to Abraham to curse those who curse His people.
What Obadiah Teaches About People
Edom's behavior reveals how easily people forget where they come from and how capable human beings are of savage, exploitative behavior toward the vulnerable.
What Obadiah Teaches About Us: Pride vs. Humility
Pastor Scott turns inward, showing how pride naturally creeps in as we rewrite our own stories — in marriage, business, and faith — and forget God's role. The practical antidote is the intentional declaration: 'Jesus is the hero of my story, not me,' modeled after Christ's own kenosis in Philippians 2.
What Obadiah Teaches About Us: Compassion vs. Exploitation
Compassion is equally intentional — seeing in others the humanity that is in us. Through the story of a friend who picked the bullied kid first for his basketball team and through the example of Jesus in Matthew 9:36, Pastor Scott calls the church to be agents of compassion in everyday settings: the office, school, and community.
Closing Application & Prayer
Pastor Scott closes with Matthew 7:12, the Golden Rule, as the New Testament echo of Obadiah's warning. He prays for those who have been exploited in their suffering and commissions the congregation to live as agents of compassion wherever they are.
Memorable moments
pride is natural, humility and compassion are intentional
Jesus is the hero of my story, not me
Compassion is seeing in you the humanity that's in me
Let's be careful lest you and I ever find ourselves on this one page in this obscure book called Obadiah. Where you and I would exploit someone else in their suffering
That might better reflect who Jesus is than rambling off some bible verses out of nowhere
I just I picked him out of reflex because I was always the last one picked
Application
Pastor Scott's closing challenge is straightforward: don't be Edom. When pride creeps in — in your marriage, your business, your everyday sense of self-sufficiency — stop and remind yourself out loud that Jesus is the hero of your story, not you. And when someone around you is down, vulnerable, or being overlooked, choose compassion deliberately. That means walking up to the struggling coworker, befriending the kid who always gets picked last, or simply saying, 'I notice something's bothering you — can I help?' That kind of everyday, intentional compassion, rooted in our shared humanity, is what makes faith attractive and points people toward Jesus more powerfully than any rehearsed answer ever could. If you have been exploited in your own suffering, reach out — your church community wants to walk with you, because God sees your pain and He is for you.
