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<v SPEAKER_00>Good morning, First Baptist Wimberly.

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<v SPEAKER_00>This is Mike Gibbons.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Welcome to Monday.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Hey, I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but when you prepare a sermon, you always have some leftover nuggets that you just don't have time to get to.

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<v SPEAKER_00>I mentioned the importance of mountains in Scripture yesterday, but didn't really have time to expand on that.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Mountains and hills are referenced over 500 times in Scripture.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Their biblical meaning is often contradictory.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Sometimes they're a symbol of refuge and security, and sometimes they're a place of military conquest and slaughter.

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<v SPEAKER_00>At times they are described as inaccessible, barren, and uninhabited, yet mountains are places where God's people will dwell in abundance.

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<v SPEAKER_00>And mountains are a central symbol in Obadiah.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Edom's territory centered on Mount Seir, a mountainous region south of the Dead Sea.

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<v SPEAKER_00>It had fertile valleys and it had the capital city of Petra, which was nestled within towering mountain walls that were indeed formidable.

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<v SPEAKER_00>The city itself was surrounded by a high ring of mountains with rough, rocky heights reaching as high as 4,700 feet above sea level.

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<v SPEAKER_00>And residents lived in homes that were carved into the rock itself.

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<v SPEAKER_00>But this geographic reality bred spiritual danger.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Because the Edomites lived in the mountains, they trusted in those mountains and in their own strength and power to keep them safe rather than trusting in God.

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<v SPEAKER_00>The seemingly impenetrable mountains and heights of Edom served as an emblem of their pride.

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<v SPEAKER_00>The boast recorded in Obadiah 3, Who Can Bring Me Down to the Ground, reflects a confidence that's rooted entirely in geography rather than faith.

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<v SPEAKER_00>These mountains that they depended upon became the stage for a little divine irony, if you will.

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<v SPEAKER_00>The geography that seemed to guarantee Edom's security becomes the very terrain where God's judgment executes itself.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Mountains thus represent not merely physical elevation, but spiritual deception, the false assurance that human fortifications can withstand divine judgment.

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<v SPEAKER_00>The reversal from Edom's mountain-based pride to Mount Zion's mountain-based deliverance underscores Obadiah's central message: trust in God, not in earthly strongholds.

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<v SPEAKER_00>God alone provides genuine security.

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<v SPEAKER_00>So I'm asking myself today: Am I hiding behind a mountain of pride, self righteousness, or some other sin today?

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<v SPEAKER_00>Confess it now and run to the safety of Mount Zion.

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<v SPEAKER_00>This is Mike Gibbons, and I love being your pastor.