New Spirit-Filled Life Bible

Background

Relations between Israel and Edom were marked by animosity throughout the Old Testament period. The bitterness began when the twin brothers Esau and Jacob parted company in dispute (see Gen. 27; 32; 33). Esau’s descendants eventually settled in the area called Edom, south of the Dead Sea, while Jacob’s descendants continued the promised line, inhabited Canaan, and grew into the people of Israel. Over the years, numerous conflicts between the Edomites and Israelites developed. The events recorded in Numbers 20:14–21 are an example of this hostility.

This bitter rivalry forms the background to Obadiah’s prophecy. Over a period of some twenty years (605–586 B.C.), the Babylonians invaded the southern kingdom of Judah and of Israel and made repeated attacks on the sacred city of Jerusalem, which was finally devastated in 586 B.C. The Edomites saw these incursions as an opportunity to quench their bitter thirst against God’s people. So the Edomites joined with the Babylonians against their distant relatives and helped to desecrate the land of Judah. Psalm 137:7, Lamentations 4:21, 22, and Ezekiel 25:12–14 decry the participation of the Edomites in the destruction of Jerusalem.

Date

The background of Jerusalem’s destruction places the date of Obadiah’s prophecy shortly after 586 B.C., the year in which the sacred city fell to the Babylonians. The message likely was given during the period of Judah’s exile, as Obadiah warns Edom of God’s impending vengeance and assures Judah of the Lord’s continued concern.

Author

The prophet through whom the denunciation comes is known only as Obadiah, “Servant/Worshiper of Yahweh.” No additional information is available about him. More than ten men bear the name Obadiah in the Old Testament. However, there is no known connection between any of these men and this book’s author.

Purpose

Obadiah’s prophecy speaks to people mourning over the ruin of their beloved city of Jerusalem and the deaths of family, friends, and relatives. The inhabitants of Judah who had not been carried off into captivity were few in number and confined to a fragment of the territory they once had claimed as their country. They subsisted on a virtual rubbish heap that once had been their sacred city. The Book of Lamentations rehearses the grief experienced by the people of Judah.

Into this setting, Obadiah brings his message of assurance that God has neither forgotten His people nor overlooked the wickedness of the Edomites. He will intervene to redress the situation, to punish Edom, and to restore His people. His message confronts Edom as a severe word of condemnation, but comforts the people of Judah with the promise of God’s continued care, His victory, and their eventual restoration.

Content

Obadiah is the shortest book in the Old Testament. It begins with a heading identifying the prophecy as “the vision of Obadiah” and attributing the pronouncement to the Lord God (v. 1).

The body of the book divides into two major sections. The first (vv. 1–14) is addressed to Edom and announces her inevitable fall. From her position of pride and false security, God will bring her down (vv. 2–4). The land and the people will be pillaged and plundered, the destruction complete and final (vv. 5–9). Why? Because of the violence Edom undertook against his brother Jacob (v. 10), because Edom rejoiced over the suffering of Judah and joined with her attackers to rob and rape Jerusalem in the day of her calamity (vv. 11–13), and because the Edomites prevented the escape of the people of Judah and handed them over to the invaders (v. 14).

The second major section of the prophecy contemplates the Day of the Lord (vv. 15–21). This Day will be a time of retribution, of reaping what has been sown. For Edom, this is a pronouncement of doom (vv. 15, 16), but for Judah, a proclamation of deliverance (vv. 17–20). Edom will be judged severely, but the people of God will experience blessing and glorious restoration to their land. Mount Zion will rule the mountains of Esau, and the kingdom will belong to the Lord (v. 21). See also the footnote on v. 15.

Personal Application

Obadiah forcefully addresses the matter of relationships. How easy it is for those we know best to become the objects of our most bitter resentment. Logically, Edom should have sided with Judah against Babylonia, but years of hatred caused emotions to override good sense. Such fractured relationships almost inevitably result from personal pride, pride that prevents our seeing the error of our own ways, pride that builds barriers to block the way to reconciliation. The Book of Obadiah calls us to confront the incredible cost of pride, and to realize that the importance of preserving our pride fades into oblivion when we must stand face-to-face with an angry God and try to justify our arrogance. The book calls us to repent of our pride, to seek reconciliation in broken relationships, and to model a life-style of forgiveness and acceptance. See Matthew 5:21–26.

The prevailing theme of Obadiah is well stated by Paul in Galatians 6:7: “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” Or, in the words of Obadiah himself, “As you have done, it shall be done to you” (v. 15). Retribution is a reality. God is just, and He will punish injustices perpetrated against other people, both individuals and nations. The Lord takes very seriously the covenant promises He makes. In Genesis 12:1–3 He had promised to bless those who bless His people and curse those who curse them. The Lord so closely identifies Himself with His people, that to curse His people is to curse Him, to reject them is to reject Him. Edom’s end then foreshadows the fate of all who abuse the people of God. The Lord is determined to keep faith with His people, even when His people are faithless and disobedient.

And He will keep faith—in spite of appearances. The desecration of Jerusalem and the people of Judah sent a message to the world of Obadiah’s day: The God of Israel had been defeated by the gods of Babylon, Edom, and the other oppressing nations. But that was a false message, because appearances can be deceiving. In His sovereignty God uses circumstances to accomplish His purposes, to purify and protect His people. As Lord of all the Earth He was already masterminding Edom’s doom, announcing victory in the face of smoldering defeat, and controlling the course of the future in order to accomplish His plan. The Lord who did all that for Israel is the Lord who still works for His people today.

Christ Revealed

The final verse of Obadiah makes reference to “saviors” through whom God would exercise His dominion over the mountains of Esau. They would function as “judges” or “deliverers” from their center at Mount Zion or Jerusalem. Hebrew judges were “saviors” for the people. They liberated them from the oppression of foreigners, provided help for the widows and orphans, and executed justice in disputes among men. These saviors foreshadow God’s ultimate Deliverer, Jesus Christ Himself, the Messiah who comes as the final Judge, both to be and to bring God’s most glorious Word concerning the kingdom. Through Jesus, God offers His lordship and His dominion to all mankind. Especially to the downtrodden and oppressed does He carry the message of deliverance (see Luke 4:16–21).

The “day of the LORD” (v. 15) and the kingdom of God (v. 21) proclaimed by Obadiah anticipate the entry of Jesus Christ into the world. The prophet’s announcement that “the kingdom shall be the LORD’s” (v. 21) is a theme that occupied much of the teaching of Jesus Christ. Time and again He spoke of the “kingdom of God” (see Luke 6:20; 9:27; 13:18–21) or the “kingdom of heaven” (see Matt. 5:3; 13:1–52). The nature of that kingdom and the manner of its coming are different from the image of Obadiah. Jesus ushers in a quiet kingdom of peace, a spiritual kingdom entered by faith in the Person of Christ. But truly, the “day of the LORD” and the coming of His kingdom are inseparable from Jesus Christ. The Second Coming of Jesus will conform more closely to the picture painted in the prophecy of Obadiah than did His first coming. See the note on verse 15.

The Holy Spirit at Work

Nowhere in Obadiah is there specific reference to the Holy Spirit or the Spirit of God. His working, however, must be assumed. He serves as Obadiah’s source of inspiration, as the One who imparts the “vision” (v. 1) that constitutes Obadiah’s message. In addition, although not specifically identified as such, He functions as the One who instigates the judgment of Edom, calling forth the nations to rise up against the enemy of God’s people. Though God uses human agents to carry out His justice, behind it all is the working of His Spirit, pushing, prompting, and punishing according to the plan of God.

Outline of Obadiah

I. Title 1

II. The decree of the Lord 1–14

A. Edom’s condemnation 1–4

B. Edom’s collapse 5–9

C. Edom’s crimes 10–14

III. The Day of the Lord 15–21

A. Day of divine retribution 15, 16

B. Day of divine restitution 17–20

C. Day of divine rule 21

The Coming Judgment on Edom

1 THE ^*vision of Obadiah.

Thus says the Lord GOD ^aconcerning Edom

^b(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”):

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

You shall be greatly despised.

3The ^apride of your heart has deceived you,

You who dwell in the clefts of the rock,

Whose habitation is high;

^bYou who say in your heart,

‘Who will bring me down to the ground?’

4 ^aThough you ascend as high as the eagle,

And though you ^bset your nest among the stars,

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

5 “If ^athieves 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,

^bWould they not have left some gleanings?

6 “Oh, how Esau shall be searched out!

How his hidden treasures shall be sought after!

7All the men in your confederacy

Shall force you to the border;

^aThe men at peace with you

Shall deceive you and prevail against you.

Those who eat your bread shall lay a ¹trap for you.

^bNo² one is aware of it.

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

“Even destroy the wise men from Edom,

And understanding from the mountains of Esau?

9 Then your ^amighty men, O ^bTeman, shall be dismayed,

To the end that everyone from the mountains of Esau

May be cut off by slaughter.

Edom Mistreated His Brother

10 “For ^aviolence against your brother Jacob,

Shame shall cover you,

And ^byou shall be cut off forever.

11 In the day that you ^astood on the other side—

In the day that strangers carried captive his forces,

When foreigners entered his gates

And ^bcast lots for Jerusalem—

Even you were as one of them.

12 “But you should not have ^agazed¹ on the day of your brother

²In the day of his captivity;

Nor should you have ^brejoiced over the children of Judah

In the day of their destruction;

Nor should you have spoken proudly

In the day of distress.

13 You should not have entered the gate of My people

In the day of their calamity.

Indeed, you should not have ¹gazed on their affliction

In the day of their calamity,

Nor laid hands on their substance

In the day of their calamity.

14 You should not have stood at the crossroads

To cut off those among them who escaped;

Nor should you have ¹delivered up those among them who remained

In the day of distress.

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

^bAs you have done, it shall be done to you;

Your ¹reprisal shall return upon your own head.

16 ^aFor 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

17 “But on Mount Zion there ^ashall be ¹deliverance,

And there shall be holiness;

The house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.

18 The house of Jacob shall be a fire,

And the house of Joseph ^aa 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.

19 The ¹South ^ashall possess the mountains of Esau,

^bAnd the Lowland shall possess Philistia.

They shall possess the fields of Ephraim

And the fields of Samaria.

Benjamin shall possess Gilead.

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

Shall possess the land of the Canaanites

As ^afar as Zarephath.

The captives of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad

^bShall possess the cities of the ¹South.

21Then ^asaviors¹ shall come to Mount Zion

To judge the mountains of Esau,

And the ^bkingdom shall be the LORD’s.

1 Vision: A term signifying a divine revelation, especially as delivered to a prophet. Obadiah affirms the divine authority of his message with the assertion thus says the Lord GOD. The prophet speaks neither his own words nor under his own authority. “GOD” translates the name Yahweh, the special covenant name for God. Edom can signify both the geographical area lying to the south of the Dead Sea and the people who occupied that territory, descendants of Esau, the twin brother of Jacob. Edom is also known as Esau, Seir, and Hor. Judah is hearing a report from the Lord GOD through Obadiah. The messenger who will orchestrate God’s use of the nations to punish Edom is an angel. Arise is a typical summons to battle.

2 I will make you small: The manner in which this is stated in Hebrew indicates that God’s judgment is as good as done. Compare the modern expression to “cut someone down to size.” The bubble of Edom’s inflated pride is about to burst.

3 See section 1 of Truth-In-Action at the end of Obad.

3 Pride is the sin God judges, and it will result in Edom’s fatal miscalculation. She boasts in her high and haughty position, taunting her enemies: Who will bring me down? She reckons herself secure in the clefts of the rock, but her trust in earthly fortifications will prove deadly. Rock translates Hebrew Sela, the name of the capital city of Edom, an almost impregnable fortress hidden in the rocky hills about 50 miles south of the Dead Sea (see 2 Kin. 14:7). It is likely the site of the later city called Petra, which also means “Rock.”

4 The eagle was noted for its strength and powerful flight. But a nest set even among the stars was never out of reach of God’s sovereign power.

5 Robbers and thieves would never have inflicted such massive devastation in Edom as that which God has ordered.

6 Edom will be “cleaned out” totally. Even her hidden treasures, valuables the Edomites had stored in vaults in the rocks, will be plundered. The nation will be ruthlessly vandalized.

7 Edom’s allies likely lured her out of her fortress, then pounced on her troops in the open frontiers. Close friends, those who shared bread with Edom, betrayed her, even as Edom had done to Judah.

8, 9 That day is the Day of the Lord’s judgment and devastation, a Day that foreshadows the destruction of all God’s enemies (see note on v. 15). Edom’s reputation for wisdom was widely known, but, in a twist of irony, her wise men fail her. They are no match for the wisdom and the work of God. Esau and Teman are synonyms for “Edom.”

10–15 See section 2 of Truth-In-Action at the end of Obad.

10, 11 Edom is charged with violence against Jacob, a total disregard for human life. Murder is bad enough, but the killing of one’s brother is disgraceful. Because of her mistreatment of her brother, Edom will be covered with shame. So complete is God’s retribution that Edom will become extinct, cut off forever. Edom was brought under Israelite subjection from 400 to 100 B.C., after which time its history is not accurately known. In this regard, Obadiah is likely speaking not only of the downfall of this particular nation, but is using Edom as a type of the enemies of God’s people. As such they will be destroyed throughout history by the intervention of the Day of the Lord (see note on v. 15).

12–14 See the marginal note on v. 12 for the more appropriate sense of gazed. The haughty, hostile actions of Edom are cataloged as a list of criminal charges committed against God’s people. The general charge of v. 12 is described in greater detail in vv. 13, 14. Edom gloated and rejoiced over Judah’s misfortune. Edom trespassed by entering the gate of the sacred city of Jerusalem and stole from the substance of God’s people by taking part in the looting process. But worst of all, Edom set ambushes and roadblocks at the crossroads to prevent the escape of Jerusalem’s refugees. In 586 B.C., when the wall of Jerusalem fell before the Babylonians, King Zedekiah and his army fled toward the east at night. But they were captured in the plains of Jericho, their escape apparently halted by Edomite roadblocks. These tactics caused God’s people to suffer even greater pain and distress. See Ps. 137 and Ezek. 35:12–15.

15 The word day occurs 11 times in vv. 8–14. Now it becomes the day of the LORD, a season of judgment and divine justice upon all the nations around Israel. The OT looked ever forward to this time.

“The Day of the Lord” is used by the OT prophets to signify a time in the history of mankind when God directly intervenes to bring salvation to His people and punishment to the rebellious. By it God restores His righteous order in the Earth. As noted, the terms “that Day,” or simply “the Day,” are sometimes used as synonyms for the fuller expression “The Day of the Lord.”

The fulfillment of the Day must be seen, however, in four different stages: 1) In the times of the prophets, it was revealed by such events as the invasion of Israel by foreign powers (Amos), the awesome plagues of locusts (Joel), and the return of Israelite exiles from captivity (Ezra-Nehemiah). 2) In that prophetic insight has the quality of merging periods of eschatology so that even the prophets themselves could not always distinguish the various times of the fulfillment of their prophecies, that Day developed into a broad biblical concept. Prophetic fulfillments closest to the prophets’ own day were mingled with those reaching as far as the culmination of all things. Hence, the First Coming of Christ and the church age began another phase of the Day of the Lord. As participants in this aspect of the Day of the Lord, the church can call on the risen Christ to cast down spiritual forces that hinder God’s work in this present world and to bring about innumerable blessings. This is made clear by comparing Is. 61:1, 2 with Luke 4:18, 19, and Joel 2:25–32 with Acts 2:16–21. 3) The Second Coming of Christ will inaugurate the third aspect of the Day of the Lord, during which Christ’s personal, righteous, and universal rule will restore God’s order to the Earth (Is. 11:6–9; Amos 9:13). 4) The ultimate fulfillment of the Day of the Lord awaits the full arrival of the world to come, with its new heaven and new earth. Compare Ezek. 47:1–12 with Rev. 22:1–5.

16 The Edomites who invaded Jerusalem drank and caroused on God’s holy mountain after the city had been plundered, desecrating holy territory. Now all the nations will be forced to drink a bitter cup of divine judgment (see Jer. 25:15, 16). The authority of the Lord cannot be flaunted without dire consequences. They will drink themselves into oblivion, as though they had never been.

17, 18 See section 3 of Truth-In-Action at the end of Obad.

17, 18 The counterpart to judgment on God’s enemies is blessing on God’s elect. The desecrated site, Mount Zion, would be sanctified again. Those who escaped the earlier destruction, a remnant, would gather again in the sacred city to possess their possessions, to claim what was rightfully theirs by God’s decree. Holiness is essential for this remnant to be God’s people and to procure His covenant promises. Their holiness qualifies them to become the instrument of God against Edom. Fire, flame, and stubble refer to divine judgment on the wicked. See Ex. 15:7; Is. 10:17; Matt. 3:12. The house of Jacob refers to the southern kingdom and the house of Joseph refers to the northern kingdom. The restoration of both kingdoms is in view. In v. 1 Obadiah predicted a confederacy of nations rising up to destroy Edom. Here he attributes the destruction to God’s people. The final blow, no doubt, would be delivered by God’s people to an Edom already crippled by other foreign forces.

19–21 See section 4 of Truth-In-Action at the end of Obad.

19, 20 The territory of God’s people will expand to the extent of Israel’s glory days, confirming that God is maintaining His covenant with His people. South translates the Hebrew Negev, the area southwest of the Dead Sea and directly west of Edom. The Israelites living there will move eastward to possess the mountains of Esau. The Lowland is a foothill region between the northern Dead Sea and the Mediterranean. Philistia, the area occupied by the Philistines, was the coastal plain. Ephraim is mountainous terrain between the Jordan River and Mediterranean Sea north of Jerusalem. Samaria was its chief city. Benjamin, named for the tribe who settled there, was a small strip of land north of Jerusalem. Gilead was a rich pasture and wooded area east of the Jordan River. The captives are Israelites returning from exile. Zarephath was a city near the Mediterranean coast, between Tyre and Sidon. See 1 Kin. 17:9–24. Sepharad is of uncertain location, perhaps Sardis (in present-day Turkey) or the Greek city of Sparta. The intent is to affirm that no matter how far away the exiles might be, God would restore them to Jerusalem.

In keeping with the multifaceted aspects of the blessings of the Day of the Lord (see note on v. 15), the restoration prophecies of vv. 17–21 find their fulfillment in part in the return of the exiles and subsequent Israelite history, but more completely in the church age and the world to come. As such, the lands possessed here should not be limited to national Israel, either ancient or restored; rather, they are to be seen as fulfilled in possessing the fullness of our heritage in Christ.

21 Some translate saviors as “those who have been saved.” These are God’s people, reestablished upon the holy mountain, exalted over Edom, and executing judgment as the representatives of God. The apex of the prophecy is reached in the final line: the kingdom shall be the LORD’s. The objective is not merely the exaltation of Israel, nor is it the destruction of Edom. Rather, the objective is that all the world and all mankind come under the dominion of the one true God.