Obadiah

Book Outhne

Key theme: Nations and individuals reap what they sow

Key verse:

I. God’s Message to Edom’s Neighbors (v. )

A. A call to arms against their old ally

II. God’s Message to Edom (vv. )

A. Divine judgment declared (vv. )

1. Edom’s pride brought down (vv. )

2. Edom’s wealth plundered (vv. , )

3. Edom’s alliances broken (v. )

4. Edom’s wisdom destroyed (v. )

5. Edom’s army defeated (v. )

B. Divine judgment defended (vv. )

1. Violence against the Jews (vv. , )

2. Rejoicing at the Jew’s plight (v. )

3. Assisting the enemy (vv. , )

4. Ignoring God’s wrath (vv. , )

III. God’s Message to the Jewish People (vv. )

A. God will deliver them (vv. , )

B. God will defeat their enemies (vv. , )

C. God will establish their kingdom (v. )

Book Overview

Of all human conflict, the most painful and difficult to resolve are those between blood relatives. But if family feuds are tragic, national feuds are even worse. Almost every nation has experienced a civil war, with brother killing brother in order to perpetuate a long-standing disagreement that nobody fully understands or wants to settle. History records that the roots of these disputes are bitter, long, and deep, and that every attempt to pull them up and destroy them usually meets with failure.

Students aren’t even agreed as to when the events occurred that are described in Obadiah, verses through . The traditional view is that Obadiah was referring to the Babylonian invasion of Judah and the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. The psalm writer states that the Edomites encouraged the Babylonians as the army razed the city (), but we have no evidence that the Edomites actually entered Jerusalem at that time or tried to stop the Jews from escaping.

Some Old Testament scholars think that Obadiah’s reference is to an earlier invasion of Jerusalem by the Philistines and Arabians, at which time Edom assisted the invaders and broke free from Judah’s control (, , ). This would have been during the reign of weak King Jehoram (853–841 B.C.), who had married King Ahab’s daughter and led Judah into sin. God permitted the invasion of the land and the plundering of Jerusalem as a punishment for the king’s disobedience.

Obadiah’s themes are: (1) the evil of long-standing family feuds, (2) the certainty that people eventually suffer for the way they treat others, and (3) the assurance that Israel’s enemies will be defeated and the kingdom established in the land.

“Be Transformed”

We know very little about the prophet Obadiah except that he wrote the prophecy bearing his name (the shortest book in the Old Testament) and that his name means “one who worships God” or “servant of the Lord.” At least twelve other men in Scripture had this name, four of whom were connected in some way with the ministry at the temple (; ; ; ).

Like other prophets before and after him, Obadiah reminds us that God holds nations as well as individuals accountable for their actions. Individuals are called to repentance, but so are peoples and nations: “if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land” (). At times we may feel helpless in the ebb and flow of societal choices about the value of life or the insignificance of faith, but we can’t be faithful to God if we merely go along with the crowd. Our personal lives, and our public lives, when God provides opportunities, must represent Him and His values.

In comparison with some of the longer writings of other prophets, Obadiah seems to have barely got his fifteen minutes on the stage of history, but he made his moments count. He left a mark that God included in His Word. Will our lives leave a mark that will turn out to be a small but significant moment in God’s plan?

The Coming Judgment on Edom

The vision of Obadiah.

Thus says the Lord GOD concerning Edom

(We have heard a report from the LORD,

And a messenger has been sent among the nations, saying,

“Arise, and let us rise up against her for battle”):

“Behold, I will make you small among the nations;

You shall be greatly despised.

3The pride of your heart has deceived you,

You who dwell in the clefts of the rock,

Whose habitation is high;

You who say in your heart,

‘Who will bring me down to the ground?’

4Though you ascend as high as the eagle,

And though you set your nest among the stars,

From there I will bring you down,” says the LORD.

“If thieves had come to you,

If robbers by night—

Oh, how you will be cut off!—

Would they not have stolen till they had enough?

If grape-gatherers had come to you,

Would they not have left some gleanings?

6“Oh, how Esau shall be searched out!

How his hidden treasures shall be sought after!

All the men in your confederacy

Shall force you to the border;

The men at peace with you

Shall deceive you and prevail against you.

Those who eat your bread shall lay a trap for you.

No one is aware of it.

“Will I not in that day,” says the LORD,

“Even destroy the wise men from Edom,

And understanding from the mountains of Esau?

Then your mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed,

To the end that everyone from the mountains of Esau

May be cut off by slaughter.

Edom Mistreated His Brother

“For violence against your brother Jacob,

Shame shall cover you,

And you shall be cut off forever.

11In the day that you stood on the other side—

In the day that strangers carried captive his forces,

When foreigners entered his gates

And cast lots for Jerusalem—

Even you were as one of them.

“But you should not have gazed on the day of your brother

In the day of his captivity;

Nor should you have rejoiced over the children of Judah

In the day of their destruction;

Nor should you have spoken proudly

In the day of distress.

You should not have entered the gate of My people

In the day of their calamity.

Indeed, you should not have gazed on their affliction

In the day of their calamity,

Nor laid hands on their substance

In the day of their calamity.

14You should not have stood at the crossroads

To cut off those among them who escaped;

Nor should you have delivered up those among them who remained

In the day of distress.

“For the day of the LORD upon all the nations is near;

As you have done, it shall be done to you;

Your reprisal shall return upon your own head.

16For as you drank on My holy mountain,

So shall all the nations drink continually;

Yes, they shall drink, and swallow,

And they shall be as though they had never been.

Israel’s Final Triumph

“But on Mount Zion there shall be deliverance,

And there shall be holiness;

The house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.

18The house of Jacob shall be a fire,

And the house of Joseph a flame;

But the house of Esau shall be stubble;

They shall kindle them and devour them,

And no survivor shall remain of the house of Esau,”

For the LORD has spoken.

The South shall possess the mountains of Esau,

And the Lowland shall possess Philistia.

They shall possess the fields of Ephraim

And the fields of Samaria.

Benjamin shall possess Gilead.

20And the captives of this host of the children of Israel

Shall possess the land of the Canaanites

As far as Zarephath.

The captives of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad

Shall possess the cities of the South.

Then saviors shall come to Mount Zion

To judge the mountains of Esau,

And the kingdom shall be the LORD’s.

Annotations for Obadiah

The Lord enabled Obadiah to know what was going on among the nations that were allied with Edom against Judah. Thanks to today’s international media coverage and the instant transmission of information, very little can happen in political and diplomatic arenas without the world knowing about it. But in Obadiah’s day, the travels of national leaders and their political discussions were secret. No newspapers or press conferences spread the word.

God told his servant that an ambassador from a nation allied with Edom was visiting the other nations to convince their leaders to join forces and attack Edom. Actually, the Lord was the one who had ordained this change in policy, and what appeared to be just another diplomatic visit was actually the working out of the Lord’s judgments against Edom. This was the beginning of the fulfillment of the prophecy in , “All the men in your confederacy shall force you to the border.”

This message has two parts. First, the prophet declared that God would judge Edom and take away everything the nation boasted about and depended on for security (vv. ). Second, Obadiah explained why God would be judging Edom and named four ways in which the Edomites had sinned against the Jews and the Lord (vv. ).

God said He would humble the Edomites. Like the eagles, the Edomites lived on the rocks and looked down from the heights with disdain upon the nations around them. The Edomites thought they were a great people, but God said He would make them small, or paltry. “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” ().

Knowing that God reigns over all things ought to encourage His people as we watch world events and grieve over the decay of people and nations. The sovereignty of God isn’t an excuse for believers to be indifferent to evil in the world, nor is it an encouragement to slumber carelessly and do nothing. The Lord’s ways are hidden and mysterious, and we sometimes wonder why He permits certain things to happen, but we must still pray “Your will be done” () and then be available to obey whatever He tells us to do.

, God also said that their wealth would be plundered. Located on several major trade routes, Edom could amass the riches of other nations; and out of their mountains, they could dig copper and other minerals. Because of Edom’s isolation, they didn’t have to worry about making treaties with the larger nations or helping to finance expensive wars. But their wealth would be no more.

Third, God said their alliances would be broken. Though protected by their lofty heights, the Edomites were smart enough to know that they needed friends to help them stand against the great empires that frequently threatened the smaller Eastern nations. Edom would also want allies to assist them in their constant feud with Israel (see ). But God would turn these friends into enemies, and those who had eaten with them and made covenants of peace would break those covenants. While pretending to be friends, their allies would turn into traitors, set a trap, and catch Edom by surprise.

God also warned that “the wise men from Edom” would be destroyed. The people of the East were known for their wisdom (), and this included the Edomites. Without wisdom, the leaders of Edom couldn’t make the right decisions, and the result would be confusion.

God declared that Edom’s army would be defeated. Without wisdom, the military leaders wouldn’t know how to command their troops, and their mighty men would be defeated. This may have happened when the Babylonians took Jerusalem, or this promise may have been fulfilled when the Arabs invaded Edom and took over their cities, driving the Edomites to the west. The Greeks and Romans called these Edomites “Idumea” (), and from them came Herod the Great.

Obadiah then proceeded to defend God’s judgment of the nation. The Edomites were guilty of at least four abominable sins, the first of which was using violence against their brothers, the Jews (vv. , ).

The Edomites also rejoiced at what the enemy was doing to Judah (see ; ). For the Jews, this was a day of destruction and distress; but for the Edomites, it was a day of delight and rejoicing. In their pride, Edom looked down on the Jews and gloated over their misfortune.

, The Edomites assisted the enemy in attacking the Jews. Doing nothing to help the Jews and rejoicing at their relatives’ calamities was bad enough, but aiding the enemy was carrying their ancient family feud too far. The Edomites entered the city and divided the spoils with the invaders, thus robbing their Jewish brothers and sisters of their wealth.

, The Edomites ignored the impending wrath of God. “The day of the LORD upon all the nations” was near, and that included Edom—but Edom was proud and didn’t care about what the Lord might do to them.

Edom had drunk in joyful celebration at Jerusalem’s fall, but all the nations would one day drink the cup of wrath that God would hand them—a cup they would not be able to refuse (see , ; ). No matter how discouraging the day may be for God’s people, God is just, and He pays sinners back in kind: what they did to others ultimately will be done to them.

Now that the prophecy about Edom had been delivered, Obadiah turned to his own people and announced three divine promises.

, God had delivered His people from Babylonian captivity, and He would again deliver them in the last days and establish His kingdom. Mount Zion would be consecrated to the Lord and all defilement removed. “Israel” refers to the southern kingdom and “Joseph” the northern kingdom. They would be united into one nation and enter the messianic kingdom together, possessing the inheritance promised to them.

, Israel would reclaim the land formerly inhabited by the Edomites (the Negev), the Philistines, and the Samaritans (Ephraim). The Jews have been struggling to possess their inheritance for centuries, but other powers have always stood in the way. The Jews would “possess” their lands without the help of any nation, but only through the help of the Lord their God.

The Lord will reign from Mount Zion, where His temple will stand, and “all nations shall flow to it” (). Interestingly, the King will have those who have been rescued assist Him in His rule over the nations. This fact should be studied with reference to our Lord’s promises to His apostles () and those who are faithful to Him today (; ; ). Jesus teaches that faithfulness to Him today will mean reigning with Him in the kingdom.

All of God’s children look forward to the day when the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdom of our Lord, and He shall reign forever and ever (see ). Then every knee will bow to Him and every tongue will confess that He is Lord of all. Meanwhile, God’s people must do all they can to get the gospel out to the billions of people in this world who have never had the opportunity to hear the name of Jesus or learn how to trust Him and be saved. When the great and terrible day of the Lord dawns, the nations of the world will be judged for the way they have treated one another and the nation of Israel. Until that day dawns, God’s church must keep praying “your kingdom come” () and seek to obey His command to take the gospel to the whole world.

Obadiah 1

7 Or wound, or plot

8 []

12 ;

12 []

12 Literally On the day he became a foreigner

19 Hebrew Negev

20 Hebrew Negev

21 []

21 Or deliverers

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