The Fire of God

​Obadiah 1:18 ~ “The house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau stubble; they shall burn them and consume them, and there shall be no survivor for the house of Esau, for the LORD has spoken.”
 
The great wars between Jacob (Israel) and Esau (Edom) began in the womb and was perpetuated upon the day that Herod attempted to kill the LORD Jesus. Herod was a descendant of Esau, and that same fervor of hatred and fear waxed within the heart of the puppet king of Judea (see Matthew 2:13-18). The slaughter of innocent children was an attempt by Herod to destroy the infant, Jesus. I share this with you so that you can see the great enmity that existed from the days of Jacob and Esau. In Genesis 27:41 we see the rage of the elder brother, “Now Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him, and Esau said to himself, ‘The days of mourning for my father are approaching; then I will kill my brother Jacob.’” The fire of hatred burned in Esau against Jacob, raged between Edom and Israel, and moved Herod to try and kill Jesus.
 
But there is a greater fire to come, a fiery judgment of the LORD Almighty that will ultimately consume the enemies of God. Consider what Hebrews 10:26-27 warns, “For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.” The deliberate and willful sin that the text speaks of is the rejection of Christ, the refusal of God’s grace and the consideration of the sacrifice of Christ as unholy (see Hebrews 10:29). And those who are the adversaries against the LORD Jesus are those who, like Esau, have chosen the world rather than the LORD.
 
So, as we consider our text today, look at what is spoken concerning the people of God. “The house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame.” The burning wrath of God Almighty is lit and the people of God are the torch that God will use to consume them. The Apostle Paul references this in 1 Corinthians 6:2, “Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases?” And though the apostle was using this as a rebuke against the church for their going to the world against one another, he makes a rather stark point. Saints—that is, the people of Christ—will judge the world. Daniel prophesied concerning this in Daniel 7:21-22, “As I looked, this horn made war with the saints and prevailed over them, until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom.” As Edom made war against Israel, so the world will make war against the people of God, but the LORD has purposed to use the saints to light the fires of His judgment.
 
Consider what our text today says about the nation of Edom: “and the house of Esau stubble.” As darkness cannot defeat light, so stubble cannot defeat the flame of God’s wrath kindled through His people. Does this mean, however, that God’s people are to be the firebrands of anger and vengeance? By no means! We need to take to heart the words of Romans 12:20, “To the contrary, ‘if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.’” The LORD is storing up wrath against the day of wrath for all who reject His mercy (see Romans 2:4-5). And so, beloved, we are to be the ones who offer the kindness and mercy of Christ, and those who reject us do not truly reject us but the LORD who sent us (see Luke 10:16).
 
But I want you to be sure of this, not one person who despises the LORD, who rejects His mercy, who is hostile to His people and despises those who trust in Jesus will escape the flames. Though we see this world in rebellion against the LORD even now, it will not always be so. For God will unleash His wrath against all who reject Him. Those who trust in the LORD will be there as a rebuke and a reminder that they had, through us, the opportunity to know the LORD Jesus and be saved. Esau could have humbly received God’s command that the older would serve the younger (see Genesis 25:23). Instead, in arrogance, he sold his birthright, rejected the LORD, went to war against God’s people and tried to kill the Messiah.
 
As the flood consumed the earth in the days of Noah, so the fires of God’s wrath will consume this world. However, even now, there is hope for those who are outside of Christ. Even now those who are like Edom can humble themselves and flee to the LORD Jesus and receive mercy before it’s too late.
 
In His Grace,
Pastor Michael
 

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