OBADIAH EXPOSES EDOM’S PRIDE

OBADIAH

While many people were either fleeing to Egypt or being deported to Babylon, the Edomites were adding to Judah’s misery by taking advantage of their national crisis.11 God’s response to Edom comes in the book of Obadiah. Its inspired writer was aware of the significance of the geographic setting of the events of which he spoke. Edom’s exceeding pride, its cruel treatment of the Hebrew people, and its coming judgment all had a connection to where its citizens lived.

The Edomites were related to the Israelites through Abraham’s grandson Esau.12 While the Lord had given the Promised Land to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, he had also given Edom to Esau. The Lord’s land gift to Esau was one the Israelites were instructed to respect (Deut. 2:2–6). This homeland God had given the Edomites offered strong security and lucrative trade. Their homes were nestled in the mountains of Edom that stretch 110 miles from the Zered River to the Gulf of Aqaba. Looking upward and eastward from the Arabah (i.e., the valley that extends from the southern end of the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba), our eyes see the mountains of Edom rise from the plain, reaching elevations that exceed 5,600 feet. From the perspective of those who lived below, these were people who made their homes with the eagles (Jer. 49:16). In antiquity, those who held the high ground had a strategic advantage, particularly when the high ground stretched miles and miles in either direction.13 When its residents wished to deny access to the interior of Edom, their decision was nearly impossible to challenge (Num. 20:14–21). The homeland of Edom also connected to the markets of the world since the King’s Highway traveled along its central ridge.14 As owners of this land, the Edomites were able to tax and/or market with the traders following various caravan routes over the mountain passes.

The area of Petra in the region of Edom.

The mountains of Edom.

Due to their geographic setting, the Edomites had developed a false confidence. We see this as Obadiah began his prophecy against Edom:

The pride of your heart has deceived you,

you who live in the clefts of the rocks

and make your home on the heights,

you who say to yourself,

“Who can bring me down to the ground?”

Obadiah 1:3

The Edomites had been treating their extended family, the Israelites (Num. 20:14), with contempt. They “stood aloof” while Jerusalem was plundered by the Babylonians; they looked down on her misfortune and on her calamity (Obad. 1:11–13).

In the context of the Babylonian invasion, these highlanders celebrated Judah’s demise, seized the assets they could carry off, and even blocked the roads on which refugees were trying to flee (Obad. 1:11–14). These attitudes and actions did not go unnoticed by the Lord. Earlier Edomites had denied Moses passage through their land during the Exodus (Num. 20:18). Now the Israelites were being attacked by Babylon, but that did not mean the Lord had invited Edom to participate in the process! So the Edomites’ behavior would result in their destruction (Ezek. 25:12–14; 35:15).

The Lord gave Obadiah a message for the Edomites, who lived in their secure mountain fortress for a reason. This high-living people were reminded that the Lord held an even higher position. God’s message was clear:

Though you soar like the eagle

and make your nest among the stars,

from there I will bring you down.

Obadiah 1:4

And he would do so by giving support to those living at lower elevations so they might find success against those living above. “People from the Negev will occupy the mountains of Esau” (Obad. 1:19; see also v. 21).

Wadi Rum in the region of Edom.

Edom at the time of Obadiah