Once there were two cocks living in the same farmyard, but they couldn’t stand the sight of each other. At last one day they flew up to fight it out, beak and claw. They fought until one of them was beaten and crawled off to a corner to hide.
The Cock that had won the battle flew to the top of the hen-house, and, proudly flapping his wings, crowed with all his might to tell the world about his victory. But an Eagle, circling overhead, heard the cock’s brash boasting. He swooped down and carried him off to the eagle’s nest for a delicious chicken dinner.
His rival saw the deed, and coming out of his corner, took his place as master of the farmyard. Thus, pride goes before a fall!
This moral is a prominent theme in Aesop’s Fables. We see it here in the story of the Cock and the Eagle and also in Aesop’s more famous fable about the Hare and the Tortoise. Do you remember that story? The tortoise teaches us that “slow and steady wins the race,” but the haughty hare exemplifies how “pride goes before a fall.”
The Bible affirms this old adage in Proverbs 16:18-19—“Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. Better to be lowly in spirit and among the oppressed than to share plunder with the proud.” This principle is also expressed in many of the great biblical stories. Do you remember how the mighty Samson underestimated deceptive Delilah? He lost his hair, his strength, his eyes, and eventually, his life! Do you remember how the Philistine giant Goliath beat his breast and ridiculed the Israelite army? His ego swelled his head, and then he lost his head to a little shepherd boy with a slingshot. Do you remember how King David’s pride led to his sexual misconduct with Bathsheba? It cost him his family and then his whole kingdom! Do you remember how the Apostle Peter puffed out his chest and told Jesus that he would follow him to his death? But a few hours later he denied his relationship with the Lord to a lowly servant girl.
Yes, we see the maxim “pride goes before a fall” all through the Bible, and we see it again here in the Book of Obadiah. Most people don’t know much about this little Old Testament book. If you had known that Obadiah is the shortest book in the Old Testament, you could have won $20,000 on Jeopardy a few weeks ago. (I kept shouting the answer to the contestants on the television screen, but I guess they couldn’t hear me over the Final Jeopardy music.) Even though Obadiah pales in comparison to the popularity of other Old Testament prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, he may be described as a minor prophet with a major message.
Obadiah was commissioned by God to prophecy divine judgment against the nation of Edom, Israel’s rival on their southeastern border. The rivalry between these two nations went all the way back to the twin brothers Jacob and Esau in the Book of Genesis. They first fought as boys and then adults, and later as Jacob became the father of Israel and Esau became the father of Edom, their nations clashed against each other for hundreds of years.
This prophecy is the result Edom not only not coming to Israel’s aid when they were being pillaged by another nation, but Edom actually took part in the plunder. In essence, they kicked their brothers while they were down. But now God was about to hold them accountable for their arrogance and injustice. As Obadiah pronounces God’s judgment on Edom, he reiterates the lesson for all who will listen—pride goes before a fall!
Edom’s Arrogance (2-9)
Obadiah begins his prophecy against Edom with a direct denunciation of its arrogance. In verse 2, God says he will make Edom small and despised among the nations. He is basically saying, “Edom, you think you are so tough. You better get ready because I am going to knock you down! You think you are big and bad; I’ll show you how small you really are!” Obadiah outlines the sources of Edom’s arrogance for us in verses 3-9. In verse 3-4, he points to how pride deceived their hearts into thinking that they were invincible due to their impenetrable defenses. The nation of Edom had settled among the high mountain crags and crevices east of the Jordan river. Its rocky and rugged topography provided a powerful natural defense against their enemies. Experts say that the narrow rock formations made it possible for a dozen men to hold Edom’s capital city from an invading army. Edom literally took pride in its high position, but God was the one who made those mountains and he was going to completely destroy the Edomites.
Likewise, verse 7 shows how Edom took pride in its strong allies. Because the people of Edom did not sufficiently understand the deception that exists in the hearts of men and women, they did not foresee how their friends would betray them to their enemies.
Edom also trusted in its vast national wisdom, as described in verse 8. Since they had so many wise men, they thought they were the smartest people in the world. They believed that their superior knowledge would be able to deliver them from any threat. But God says he will destroy these wise men and squeeze every drop of knowledge out of Edom.
And finally, in verse 9, we see how they took pride in their physical strength. They boasted about their mighty men, but God informs them that they will be cut off by slaughter.
Whether it is a whole nation or an individual person, it is easy to fall into the pit of pride when you possess great physical strength, vast wisdom, strong friendships, and endless natural resources, but God reminds us that we should never trust in any of these things because they can betray us. Cancer can strip our strength! Dementia can decimate our wisdom! Friends turn their backs on friends! And money cannot buy true peace or joy!
Nationally, we must remember that God has ways of humbling the proud. The Roman Empire was reduced to a pile of rubble by a wild band of barbarians. The Soviet Union was dissolved because of internal disunity. And I wonder what will become of America if we continue to climb the ark of arrogance? Remember, pride goes before a fall!
Pride and arrogance are epitomized in the attitude that says, “I don’t need God. I can do this all by myself. I’m strong enough, smart enough, and have enough friends and resources. I don’t need God!” I hope none of us will make the same mistake Edom did!
Edom’s Injustice (10-14)
It is interesting to observe throughout history how often arrogance leads to injustice. When a person or nation is so fixated on themselves, its hard for them to love the people around them. In his book Ego is the Enemy, Ryan Holiday describes the isolation that pride creates amongst humans, saying, “Pride leads to arrogance and then away from humility and connection with fellow man.” He explains that, “Pride dulls our ability to learn, to adapt, to be flexible, and to build relationships.”
Such was the case with Edom! In verses 10-14, we see how their self-confidence and arrogance caused them to abuse their brother Israel. In verse 10-11, God tells Edom that they should be ashamed of themselves for their violence against Jacob. When they should have stepped up and defended their brother, they echoed Cain’s conceited question: Am I my brother’s keeper? Edom should have come to Israel’s rescue in their time of need, but instead, like cowards they stood idly by and watched foreigners pillage Jerusalem’s gates and plundered their wealth, but it would only be a matter of time before God restored justice. A day would come when Edom would pay for its sins, reckon with its injustice, and be cut off from the land forever!
Look at Obadiah’s litany of warnings against arrogance and injustice! Eight times, in verses 12-14, he cautions Edom from gloating over their brother during their day of misfortune and taking advantage of them during their day of calamity. Why? Because pride goes before a fall! God was about to make sure Edom would fall from its high perch in the mountain
Isn’t this exactly what we have seen in our own country of late? This connection between arrogance and injustice has played out right before our eyes in our most recent sex abuse scandals. Harvey Weinstein, Al Franken, Matt Laurer, and other men in influential positions have abused their power by taking advantage of women in positions below them. Now they have all lost their position and are reviled in the public eye.
Arrogance almost always leads to injustice! Ego and abuse walk hand in hand! Arrogant attitudes are exposed by bad behavior! Humble men don’t hit their wives! Humble women don’t wreck other women’s homes! Humble kids don’t rebel against their parents! Humble bosses don’t take advantage their employees! Humble employees don’t cheat their employers! Wherever you are and whatever your position in life, heed Obadiah’s warning: Pride goes before a fall!
God’s Righteous Judgment (15-18)
After making his accusation against Edom, Obadiah declares God’s righteous judgment in verses 15-21. He announces that the day of the Lord is near when their fortunes would be reversed, and Edom’s evil deeds would be turned on their heads. God would use the houses of Jacob and Joseph, references to the nation of Israel, as a flame and fire that would consume Edom altogether.
It is interesting to note that sometime after Obadiah’s prophecy, the nation of Edom disappeared from the history books. No one knows what happened to them. Today, there is no trace of this nation or its heritage. Its people have been completely expunged; nothing remains! Even the land where they once resided is nothing but a rocky wasteland.
But we must remember that God’s judgment on Edom was a foreshadowing of the great Day of the Lord that will come upon the whole world when Jesus returns. He will judge those who have responded in pride and arrogance to his gospel. And everyone who has refused to humble themselves before God in repentance for their sins and has rejected Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior will be consumed in the fires of hell!
God’s Kingdom Restored (19-21)
But thank God there is still hope for us! There is hope for America! There would have been hope for Edom too if they had repented from their sins like the Israelites did. Israel had fallen on hard times—their wealth had been stolen and their land confiscated. But in his righteous judgment on Edom, God was going to restore the fortunes of his people Israel. Listen to the good news Obadiah proclaims in verses 19-21. The land that had been promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, would be returned to Israel and they would experience peace and prosperity.
Just as God’s judgment on Edom was a foreshadowing to the great judgment that will happen when Jesus returns, the prophecy of Israel’s restoration to the Promised Land is a foreshadowing of eternal peace and prosperity in heaven—the place where sin no longer exists. No more pride and arrogance! No more injustice or abuse! No more disease or death! No more tears of any kind! This is what awaits those who humble themselves before the Lord!
Isn’t it interesting how Obadiah ends his little book. In verse 21, it says: “Saviors shall go up to Mount Zion to rule Mount Esau, and the kingdom shall be the Lords.” God, indeed, sent human saviors to liberate Mount Zion and restore the Lord’s kingdom.
But just a few hundreds of years later, God would raise up another Savior would ascend Mount Zion. This Savior would be God’s own Son. Jesus would be treated with the utmost arrogance, abuse, and injustice. He would feel the crack of the whip on his back, the thorns pressed into his skull, and the nails pierce his hands. Then he would be hung on a tree to die for your sins and mine and would be laid in a stone-cold tomb. But he burst forth on the third day and conquered death itself! And now he offers us the opportunity live in God’s kingdom forever!
Pride goes before a fall! But if we humble ourselves before the Lord, he will lift us up!