Obadiah

Part One: Introduction to Obadiah

The Book

Obadiah is the shortest book in the Old Testament: one chapter of just 21 verses. It is a single prophecy against Edom, the nation descended from Esau, for its pride and its cruelty toward its brother nation, Israel (Jacob), in the day of Jerusalem's destruction. Though brief, it carries the whole sweep of biblical prophecy: God's judgment on human pride, the principle that what nations sow they will reap, the coming Day of the LORD, the deliverance of God's people on Mount Zion, and the final triumph of God's kingdom.

The Prophet

Obadiah means "servant" or "worshipper of the LORD." It was a common name; about a dozen men in the Old Testament are called Obadiah, including King Ahab's God-fearing steward (1 Kings 18:3-16). Nothing is known of this prophet except his name and his message.

Date

There are two main views:

• After the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC. Verses 11-14 describe foreigners entering Jerusalem's gates, casting lots for the city, and carrying away its people, while Edom gloated, plundered and handed over fugitives. This fits the Babylonian destruction, when Edom's behaviour was remembered with bitterness: "Remember, O LORD, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; who said, Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof" (Psalm 137:7; compare Lamentations 4:21-22; Ezekiel 25:12-14; 35:1-15). Many scholars hold this view.
• During the reign of Jehoram of Judah (around 845 BC), when Edom revolted and the Philistines and Arabians plundered Jerusalem and carried away the king's household (2 Kings 8:20-22; 2 Chronicles 21:8-10, 16-17). Some conservative scholars prefer this earlier date, which would place Obadiah among the earliest writing prophets.

Obadiah 1-9 closely parallels Jeremiah 49:7-22, either because one prophet drew on the other or both drew on an earlier oracle.

Who Was Edom?

Edom's homeland was a rugged, mountainous region of red sandstone cliffs, with cities built high among the rocks. The Edomites believed their mountain strongholds made them invincible. They were also famed for wisdom; Eliphaz, Job's friend, came from Teman in Edom (Job 2:11; Jeremiah 49:7).

Purpose and Theme

Obadiah declares that God will judge Edom for its pride and for its violence against its brother, and that the Day of the LORD will bring judgment on all nations and deliverance to God's people. Its key principles are:

• Pride goes before a fall: "The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee... thence will I bring thee down, saith the LORD" (3-4).
• God repays nations according to their deeds: "as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee" (15).
• God's kingdom will triumph: "and the kingdom shall be the LORD'S" (21).

For the day of the LORD is near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head.

Obadiah 15

Outline of Obadiah

Part Two: Verse-by-Verse Analysis

Section I: Edom's Destruction Announced (Verses 1-9)

Verses 1-2 — The Nations Summoned

The vision of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning Edom; We have heard a rumour from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent among the heathen, Arise ye, and let us rise up against her in battle.

Obadiah 1

God was stirring the nations to attack Edom. The God of Israel directs the movements of foreign armies (Isaiah 10:5-6; Jeremiah 25:9). "Behold, I have made thee small among the heathen: thou art greatly despised" (2). The proud nation would be reduced to insignificance.

Verses 3-4 — The Deception of Pride

The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground? Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the LORD.

Obadiah 3-4

Edom's mountain fortresses gave it a sense of total security. But pride is self-deception: it makes people believe they are beyond the reach of judgment. The language echoes the fall of the proud king of Babylon, "I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God... Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell" (Isaiah 14:13-15). "Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall" (Proverbs 16:18). "God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble" (James 4:6).

Verses 5-7 — Total Plunder and Betrayal

Even thieves take only what they want, and grape-gatherers leave some gleanings, but Edom would be stripped completely (5). "How are the things of Esau searched out! how are his hidden things sought up!" (6). Its hidden treasures, stored in rock caves, would be found and taken.

All the men of thy confederacy have brought thee even to the border: the men that were at peace with thee have deceived thee, and prevailed against thee; they that eat thy bread have laid a wound under thee: there is none understanding in him.

Obadiah 7

Edom's own allies would betray it. Historically, the Nabataean Arabs, once Edom's trading partners, gradually took over its homeland, and the Edomites were pushed out into southern Judah. Those who betray their brother will themselves be betrayed.

Verses 8-9 — Wisdom and Strength Fail

"Shall I not in that day, saith the LORD, even destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of the mount of Esau?" (8). Edom's famed wisdom could not save it (1 Corinthians 1:19-20). Its "mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed" (9). Neither human wisdom nor military strength can stand when God acts.

Section II: Edom's Crimes Exposed (Verses 10-14)

For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever.

Obadiah 10

Edom's sin was all the worse because Israel was its brother. Esau and Jacob were twins; God had commanded Israel, "Thou shalt not abhor an Edomite; for he is thy brother" (Deuteronomy 23:7). Edom should have helped. Instead:

In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, in the day that the strangers carried away captive his forces, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even thou wast as one of them.

Obadiah 11

To stand aside and do nothing while a brother suffers is to take part in the crime. Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan condemns those who "passed by on the other side" (Luke 10:31-32). Then come eight solemn statements of what Edom "shouldest not" have done, a downward progression from attitude to action:

Sin rarely begins with violence. It often starts with indifference, grows into secret pleasure at another's trouble, finds expression in proud words, and ends in active cruelty. "Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth" (Proverbs 24:17). "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer" (1 John 3:15).

Section III: The Day of the LORD (Verses 15-21)

Verses 15-16 — Judgment on All Nations

For the day of the LORD is near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head.

Obadiah 15

Edom's judgment was part of a larger day of judgment on all nations. The principle of God's justice is reciprocal: what Edom did to Judah would be done to Edom. "For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again" (Matthew 7:2). "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap" (Galatians 6:7). "For as ye have drunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the heathen drink continually... and they shall be as though they had not been" (16). The nations who celebrated on God's mountain would drink the cup of His wrath (Jeremiah 25:15-29; Revelation 14:10).

Verses 17-20 — Deliverance and Possession

But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.

Obadiah 17

In contrast to Edom's destruction, Zion would see deliverance, holiness and restoration (compare Joel 2:32). "And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble... and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau; for the LORD hath spoken it" (18). Israel, both Judah ("Jacob") and the northern tribes ("Joseph"), would be reunited and consume Edom like fire in dry straw.

Verses 19-20 describe Israel reclaiming land on every side: the people of the south (the Negev) would possess the mountain of Esau; those of the lowlands would take Philistia; they would possess Ephraim, Samaria, Benjamin and Gilead; the exiles of Israel would possess land as far as Zarephath in Phoenicia; and the exiles of Jerusalem in "Sepharad" (an unknown place, perhaps Sardis in Asia Minor; later Jewish tradition used the name for Spain) would possess the cities of the south. God's people, scattered and despised, would inherit the land.

Verse 21 — The Kingdom Shall Be the LORD'S

And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD'S.

Obadiah 21

The book ends with deliverers ruling from Zion and the final, universal reign of God. Edom, the proud mountain, is judged; Zion, the holy mountain, is exalted. Every human kingdom built on pride will fall, and God's kingdom will stand for ever (Daniel 2:44; Revelation 11:15).

Part Three: Christ in Obadiah

Jacob and Esau, Christ and Herod

The ancient conflict between Jacob and Esau reached a remarkable climax in the New Testament. Herod the Great, king of Judea when Jesus was born, was an Idumean, a descendant of Edom. He tried to kill the newborn King of the Jews (Matthew 2:13-16). His son Herod Antipas, also of Idumean descent, mocked Jesus before His crucifixion (Luke 23:8-11). Esau's house stood against Jacob's greatest Son. But Herod's line vanished, and Christ's kingdom endures for ever.

Pictures and Prophecies of Christ

The Conqueror from Edom

Isaiah pictured the Messiah returning from Edom after defeating God's enemies: "Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah?... I have trodden the winepress alone... and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments" (Isaiah 63:1-6). Revelation shows Christ returning "clothed with a vesture dipped in blood," treading "the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God" (Revelation 19:13-15). Edom stands for all God's proud enemies, whom Christ will finally overthrow.

Part Four: Fulfilled Prophecies

Edom's complete disappearance stands in striking contrast to the survival of the Jewish people, scattered across the world for two thousand years yet still preserved. God's word to the two brothers came true.

Part Five: Key Passages in Depth

Obadiah 3-4 — The Deceitfulness of Pride

Pride deceives. It tells us we are secure, self-sufficient, beyond correction and beyond judgment. Edom's high cliffs seemed impregnable, but God said, "thence will I bring thee down." Every form of human pride, whether in wealth, position, intelligence or strength, is vulnerable before God. "Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall" (1 Corinthians 10:12).

Obadiah 10-14 — The Sin of Standing Aside

Edom's sins began with looking on and doing nothing. God holds us responsible not only for the evil we do but for the good we fail to do when others suffer (James 4:17; Proverbs 24:11-12). Gloating over others' misfortune, especially those close to us, is a serious sin.

Obadiah 15 — Reaping What We Sow

The Day of the LORD will bring perfect justice. Nations and individuals will receive according to their deeds. This should both sober us and comfort the oppressed: no injustice escapes God's notice. For the believer, the good news is that Christ bore the judgment our deeds deserved.

Obadiah 17, 21 — Deliverance and the Kingdom

The book that begins with judgment ends with deliverance on Mount Zion and the universal kingdom of God. History is moving toward the reign of God through His Messiah. The proud mountains of this world will fall; the holy mountain of God will stand.

Part Six: The Major Teachings of Obadiah

1. God Judges Pride

He brings down those who exalt themselves (3-4; Luke 14:11).

2. God Holds Nations Accountable

Edom was judged for its treatment of Israel (10-14; Genesis 12:3).

3. The Sin of Indifference and Gloating

Standing aside, rejoicing in others' ruin and taking advantage of their misfortune are serious sins (11-14).

4. Family Ties Increase Responsibility

Edom's violence was worse because Jacob was its brother (10, 12).

5. The Law of Reaping What We Sow

"As thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee" (15).

6. Human Wisdom and Strength Cannot Save

Edom's wise men and warriors failed (8-9).

7. The Day of the LORD

God will judge all nations (15-16).

8. God Preserves and Restores His People

Deliverance and holiness on Mount Zion; Israel will possess its inheritance (17-20).

9. The Final Kingdom Belongs to God

"The kingdom shall be the LORD'S" (21).

Part Seven: Connections — How Obadiah Links to the Rest of the Bible

Obadiah and the New Testament

Obadiah is not quoted directly in the New Testament, but its themes are developed there:

Obadiah in the Old Testament

Themes That Run from Obadiah Through Scripture

Part Eight: Practical Lessons

• Don't let pride deceive you into feeling secure apart from God (3).
• No height of human achievement is beyond God's reach (4).
• Beware of trusting allies and alliances more than God (7).
• Human wisdom and strength cannot save (8-9).
• Treat your brother with love, especially in his trouble (10).
• Don't stand on the other side when others suffer (11).
• Never rejoice over another's downfall (12).
• Guard your words in others' distress (12).
• Don't take advantage of anyone's misfortune (13).
• Help those trying to escape trouble; don't hinder them (14).
• Remember that what you do to others will come back to you (15).
• Look to Mount Zion for deliverance and holiness (17).
• Trust that God's kingdom will prevail (21).

Part Nine: Key Verses to Memorize

Conclusion

Obadiah, the shortest book of the Old Testament, carries a weighty message. Edom, the proud descendants of Esau, lived in rocky fortresses high among the cliffs and believed no one could bring them down. When their brother Jacob was invaded, they stood aside, gloated, mocked, looted and handed fleeing survivors to the enemy. God declared that their pride had deceived them, that their allies would betray them, that their wisdom and strength would fail, and that as they had done, so it would be done to them. History confirmed His word: Edom vanished from the earth, while Jacob's descendants endure. But Obadiah looks beyond Edom to the Day of the LORD on all nations, to deliverance and holiness on Mount Zion, and to the day when "the kingdom shall be the LORD'S." That kingdom belongs to Jesus Christ, the Son of Jacob, whom an Edomite king tried to destroy, who humbled Himself rather than exalting Himself, who did not stand aside but took our judgment on Himself, and who will reign from Zion for ever.

And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD'S.

Obadiah 21