We're standing on almost the top of Mount
Hor, h-o-r. It's in the territory of Edom,
and we're looking west toward the Mediterranean
Sea. But right in our foreground, there's
a long, wide valley that runs north and south,
and that is the Aravah, A-r-a-v-a-h. On the
opposite side of the Aravah, beginning at
that kibbutz and going southwest is another
valley, and that is the Desert of Paran, P-a-r-a-n,
that the Bible talks about. It was right after
Moses struck the rock the second time and
the water came out that it says that, "From
Kadesh, Moses sent messengers to the king
of Edom, they say..." and this is in Numbers
chapter 20, verse 14. And in verse 15, it
says, "'Behold, we are at Kadesh, a town on
the edge of your territory. Please let us
pass through your land. We will not pass through
a field or a vineyard. We won't even drink the
water from your well until we have passed
through your territory and left.' And Edom
said, 'No, you can't pass.'" It was at this
time, still in Numbers chapter 20, that we
hear, "The Lord spoke to Moses," verse 23,
"and to Aaron at Mount Hor..." which is right
behind us. "by the border of the land of Edom
saying, 'Aaron shall be gathered to his people.
He will not enter the land that I have given
to the sons of Israel because you rebelled
against My commandment at the waters of Meribah.'"
Verse 25, "'Take Aaron and his son, Eleazar,
and bring them up to Mount Hor. And strip
Aaron of his garments and put them on his
son, Eleazar. So Aaron will be gathered to
his people, and there he will die.'" Verse
28, "And so Aaron died there on the mountaintop.
And then Moses and Eleazar came down from
the mountain. When the congregation had seen
that Aaron had died, then all of the people
of Israel wept for Aaron for thirty days."
So, from the Aravah Valley and the Wilderness
of Paran, the Israelites crossed over here.
Moses, his brother, and his brother's son,
Eleazar, ascended this mountain, Mount Hor,
which the Talmud describes as "a mountain...an
apple on top of a mountain." We've just come
from the top there where there is a 14th-century
AD mosque commemorating that death of Aaron,
and spent time worshiping and also studying
Scripture on top of the mountain. Who said
that this is where Aaron was buried? If I
said it, it's not good enough. If a number
of us will say it, it's still not good enough.
But if the Bible gives us at least a hint that this
is the place, now we're talking. And so, we'll
soon read from the Bible, but I just want
to point out, okay, that this is the land
of Edom. And right where we're staying is
where the King's Highway was going through, still
going through to this day. The official name
of the road that passes through the village
where we're staying is the King's Way, which
in Hebrew, [Hebrew phrase], became like a
nickname for anything that you do that follows
the main path that is main stream. Let's
"[Hebrew phrase]," even if it's no road that
we're talking about at all. And so, why do
people think that this is up here? Because
this is the land of Edom, and the Israelites—600,000
of them, let's say— have had to walk along
a major road. They couldn't go uphill like
we did. Even the Bible tells you that Aaron
and his assistant, Eleazar, came up here.
Pretty much just them and maybe a few other
assistants, and that's it. You couldn't bring
a whole nation up here, but they could take
the King...but they were able to take the
King's Highway, and actually follow the main
trunk route that brings them from where we
came yesterday all the way to Mount Nebo,
where Moses will die, where he will get a
different view of the land of Israel than
Aaron had. And then Joshua will take over
and they will enter, cross the Jordan River
and get to take Jericho. But before that,
how do we know that this is the place? The
Bible tells us a number of times—in Numbers
20, in Numbers 34, and somewhere else—that
Moses and Eleazar, for the sins they committed,
right? Not Moses—Aaron and Eleazar went
up to a place called, in your English translation,
Mount H-o-r. Please note that in the Hebrew
version of the Bible, which is what counts—with
your permission, no offense taken—this mountain
has no name at all. There's no name for this
mountain. At all. In Hebrew, when you want
to say a name of a mountain, you first say
the word "Mount" and then you say the name
of it, like Mount McKinley. Like Mount Everest.
Like Mount Carmel. Like Mount Hermon. Mount
of Olives. When you want to give a name to
certain a mountain, you first—and for most—mention
the word "mount" and then you give the name.
But when you go back to Numbers 20 and Numbers
34, you hear the word "mount" coming after
the word that is connected with it, which
in Hebrew is hor harar, which actually means
that that mountain doesn't have a specific
name. But the one translating this term, "hor harar," 
into Hebrew, did not know Hebrew—into other
languages—did not know Hebrew that well.
And he assumed that when he heard the name,
harar, everything connected to it must
be the name of that mountain. No. Hor harar
will be translated later on by Jewish rabbis
to be a term describing apple on top of an
apple, or a mountain on top of another mountain.
And so you guys climbed up and then everything
became flat and then you climbed up again!
And when you look at this mountain from afar,
you get an even better understanding of what
a mountain on top of the mountain is. And
what word means that? Hor hahar. H-o-r. And
then a new word, but connected to the first
one, h-a-h-a-r. Hor hahar is not Mount Hor
at all. It's just a description of how the
mountain looks like from afar. And please
note that this is the only mountain in the
area where we're at that actually looks like
that. So it's a mistaken translation that
brought people to think that this mountain
even has a name. It doesn't. That's number
one. Number two, we hear that this is on the
verge, or the border of the land of Edom.
Go figure what were the borders of Edom back
then and where the Israelites were going through.
But assuming they had to go along the King's
Highway, which is very close to where we are,
and assuming that Aaron, at the age of 123,
couldn't go from the King's Highway that far
off, and that we are not that far off from
the King's Highway, it could make sense that
this would be the place from which he actually
departed with Eleazar his assistant to go
up to and to die. But the question you ask yourself, Aaron died at the age of
123. That detail that he died at the age of
123 helps us to understand that he was in
a good physical shape, if he actually made
it up here before he died. And that help us
to understand that it wasn't the uphill that
made him die, but rather God's decision that
he will die. It wasn't the physical effort
that made him die; it was a decision that
he will die. And someone else took it, not
Aaron. We'll allude to that when we get to
talk about Moses later on as well. Because
it's the same correlation between the age
of Aaron and how much he had to climb and
the age of Moses and how much he had to climb.
And so the Bible gives us details that already
hint towards this location. Now fast forward
to a person called Yosef ben Matityah that
later on was renamed Josephus Flavius. He
wrote four books. One of them is called "Antiquities
of the Jews." Mr. Josephus Flavius—nevermind
his character, now—was someone who actually
started writing down 800 years of Jewish history
before his day and age. In that book, "Antiquities
of the Jews," he's dialing back to the 8th
century BC. That's how early he goes. Is this
true, Wave? He goes back to Moses. He goes
back even to Moses. And so everything he writes
in that book is suspected to be borrowed from
traditions that go way before his day and
age. No—he goes back to Abraham. And so,
if Mr. Josephus Flavius in "Antiquities of
the Jews," writes that the tomb of Aaron is
next to Petra, which existed as a huge metropolis
in his day and age. And he's expecting people
to know where Petra is. And he's expecting
to understand that the tomb of Aaron is somewhere
near Petra. And that could be a tradition
that dials back hundreds, if not over a thousand
years before Josephus Flavius, which brings
us to the days of Moses and Aaron. So what
are you saying? Can you make it a little plainer?
Josephus locates Aaron's tomb in this area. Next to Petra.
So the Bible gives you a general understanding.
Does it also give us a history of how long
Petra was here? He's describing Petra. But
because there's no doubt that that is Petra,
and that we are close to Petra, we're suspecting
again that this is the place. Because of the
shape. Because of the biblical description.
Because of the Josephus Flavius. Now the Byzantines
are coming along. So Josephus also describes
the tomb of Aaron. Yes. Next to Petra. That's
almost an X marking the spot. But then you
have the Byzantine tradition, which, if it
stands by itself, is not always that good.
But when you add it to everything we've discussed
so far, and you see the remains of the Byzantine
church that back down there, that the Finnish
excavation team has excavated over 20 years
ago. They built it up here, because they had
a good reason for it. Who builds a church
up here unless you have a really good reason
for it? And they built it in honor of Aaron.
You know, it's not like it's a tourist trap.
It doesn't cost any money to come up here.
[laughter] You've gotta be a little bit mentally
ill to come up here or live up here. And then
you go to Jewish sources, one that's called
the Talmud. And in the Talmud, it's described...in
the Talmud, it's described that the tomb of
Aaron is on a mountain that has no name, but
is described by its physical features, and
it's like an apple on top of another apple.
It's like a mountain on top of another mountain.
[Speaking Hebrew] That's when they're talking
about how stupid we are. [laughter] These
stupid tourists followed us up here. Alright
guys, we're going to do a whole book in the
Bible in fifteen minutes. Everybody give Wave
your attention. Thanks. So, if you didn't
have your stuff tied down tight before, you'll
have it tied down tight when we get finished
with this...a whole book of the Bible in fifteen
minutes. So, if you ca—if you've got it
digital or you got a hard copy—go to the
book of the prophecy of Obadiah. This is a
book you've probably never read before anyway,
so we'll be cutting new ground...on new ground.
If you've been going to New Hope long enough,
you have, because I've preached through it.
Obadiah. Have you? Open to chapter 1. So,
Pastor's preached on through it, that means
you probably have visited Obadiah before.
Obadiah, it means "the servant of Yahweh."
And that's what the prophets were anyway,
so this works pretty well. From the title
of the book. So, Obadiah—I'll give you a
real quick historical overview—Obadiah's
living as more or less a contemporary of Jeremiah
and Ezekiel. And he is actually observing,
he's an eye witness of the destruction of
Jerusalem in 587 BC by the Babylonian forces
of King Nebuchadnezzar. And he is an eye witness
then to the destruction of the Temple, the
demolition of Jerusalem, and the exile of
God's people to begin a seventy-year period
of absence from the country in exile in Babylon.
So this is the historical context of Obadiah,
the servant of Yahweh. So, he's a contemporary
of Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Yah. And saw the
destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. So,
the vision of Obadiah. "Thus says Yahweh God
concerning Edom, 'We have heard a...'" Edom. 
That puts us right where we are right now. Chapter
1, verse 1. Yah. So, "we have heard a report
from Yahweh. An envoy has been sent among
the nations saying, 'Arise and let us go against
her for battle. Behold, I will make you small
among the nations. You are greatly despised.
The arrogance of your heart has decieved you.'"
These guys had allied with the Babylonians.
And the Babylonians were agents of God's destruction,
for sure, of His judgment of His own people.
But these guys piled on. So, the Edomites
and the Babylonians...allied...they were allies?
Right. And you'll see the way that the Edomites
helped strengthen the hands of the Babylonians.
The Babylonians are hundreds of miles from
home, but the Edomites join forces with them,
and then make the destruction even worse than
what God had decreed. They went...and in the
second Temple period, the Nabteans are helping
the Romans to destroy the Temple again. Right.
Which is an interesting historical echo, kind
of history repeating itself. Not the same
people group, but living in the same area.
So the Edomites ended up helping the Babylonians
in the destruction of Israel. Right. Yah.
Alright. So, he continues this description
in verse 8 of Edom's destruction, "Will I
not on that day..." [Hebrew]. When it says
that in the Prophets, it means "in the prophetic
future, at the time of, kind of, almost like,
end-time judgment." "'On that day,' declares
Yahweh, "destroy the wise men from Edom...'"
So, all the way back as far as the Book of
Job, these...Edom has been viewed as, kind
of a seat of wisdom. Some kind of a place
of great learning and a place of, the origin
of wise men and wise teaching from back in
the mists of time. So this is what Obadiah's
tapping into here. But their wisdom, their
riches is going to be carried off, and their wisdom
is going to be destroyed. "Destroy the wise
men from Edom." Alright. So, now we're hearing
this talked about in verse 1, it's called
"Edom." In verse 6, it's called "Esau." In
verse 8, it's called "Esau" and "Edom." And
then in verse 9, "then your mighty men will
be dismayed oh, Teman." There's another way
that Edom or Esau—this area—is described.
There's yet another way in the Bible—I don't
think that it shows up in Obadiah—but it's
sometimes called Seir, S-e-i-r, or Mount Seir. Seir. Seir.
Seir. Seir. S-i-e-r? S-e-i-r. Yah. And... Teman? Teman,
yah. T-i-m-o-n. T-i-m-a-n in verse 9. So,
you got the same area called by about a half-a-dozen
different names. "Then your mighty men will
be dismayed oh, Teman, in order that everyone
might be cut off from the mountain of Esau..."
Do you see the Teman and Esau, it's the same
thing. "by slaughter. Because"—listen to
this. Now, he's really getting down to...here's
what the offense of Edom, Esau, Teman, Seir
is, and that is—"Because of your violence
to your brother Jacob. You will be covered
with shame." I have a question for you, real
quick. What was the primary cause of the judgment
that God brought on the whole world in the
days of Noah? There's only one place, one
thing in the Bible that the Bible buttonholes,
says specifically this. There's evil, you
know, there's...godlessness? It's even more
specific than that. It's because violence
increased on the face of earth. That is, guys,
one of the primary markers of the time right
before cataclysmic judgment falls. And so
here again, "Because of the violence that
you did to your brother Jacob, you will be
covered with shame and cut off forever. On
that day, you stood aloof"—there's again
that reference to a high altitude. Remember
the rocky peaks? Okay. "You stood aloof and
on that"—in other words, they needed your
help. Your brother by blood. Related by Abraham
needed your help, and instead what you did
was you piled on. "As you have done it will
be done to you. Your dealings will return
on your own head." Now, this is not all doom
and gloom. Look at verse 17. "But on Mount
Zion, there will be those who escape." And
somebody used the word—when we got up here—we
are the remnant. We're the only ones that
made it to the top of the mountain. We're
the remnant. Obadiah's following people like
Jeremiah and Isaiah, and they're saying, "Yes.
[Hebrew phrase.] A remnant will return." Boy,
have they. Here's one of them right there.
Sitting right in front of you. One of the
remnant. "Then the house of Jacob will be
like a fire." Like a light. Like a signal
fire. "And the house of Joseph a flame. But
the house of Esau will be like stubble." They're
going to be burned up by that fire. "So that
there will be no survivor"—at the end of
verse 18—"among the house of Esau." In verse
21, "and the kingdom will be Yahweh's." The
kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms
of our God and of His Christ. And He will
reign forever and ever. Book of Revelation,
chapter 11. That's the way that this all ends.
