Obadiah

Obadiah NKJV

1 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”): 2 “Behold, I will make you small among the nations; You shall be greatly despised. 3 The 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?’ 4 Though 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. 5 “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! 7 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. 8 “Will 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 mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed, To the end that everyone from the mountains of Esau May be cut off by slaughter. 10 “For violence against your brother Jacob, Shame shall cover you, And you shall be cut off forever. 11 In 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. 12 “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. 13 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. 14 You 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. 15 “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. 16 For 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. 17 “But on Mount Zion there shall be deliverance, 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 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. 19 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. 20 And 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. 21 Then saviors shall come to Mount Zion To judge the mountains of Esau, And the kingdom shall be the Lord’s.

Amos, Obadiah, Jonah 1. Title (v. 1a)

In Hebrew the title is two words, ḥăzôn ʿōbadĕyâ (cf.

Dates:

There is no personal history of Obadiah so an exact date is almost impossible. About the only source of dating the book comes from the reference to the invasion of Jerusalem.

When were Obadiah’s prophecies against Edom fulfilled (Obadiah 1:18-20)?

ANSWER A major factor in determining when Obadiah’s prophecies against Edom were fulfilled rests on when the book was written. The prophet mentions a recent invasion of Jerusalem (1:10-11), which helps to narrow down the date of writing. Jerusalem experienced four different invasions in Old Testament times, yet only two fit the time period under discussion in Obadiah. The early date would be about 841 B.C., when the Philistines and Arabians attacked Jerusalem during the reign of King Jehoram (2 Chronicles 21:16-17). The later date would be approximately 586 B.C., following the invasion of Babylon (2 Kings 24-25). If the earlier date is correct, Obadiah would be the earliest of the prophetic books in the Old Testament. Those who hold this position refer to 2 Kings 8:20, which mentions Edom setting up its own king: “In his days Edom revolted from the rule of Judah and set up a king of their own.” Also used to support this date are comparisons of 2 Chronicles 21:16-17 with Joel 3:3-6 and Obadiah 1:11-12; as well as similarities between Obadiah 1:1-9 and Jeremiah 49:7-22. If the later date is correct, the prophecy of Obadiah regarding Edom’s doom is more dramatic. Babylon completed its invasion of Jerusalem under King Nebuchadnezzar in 586 B.C. In the fifth century B.C., a people called the Nabateans defeated the Edomites and forced them from the city of Petra. The interval between prediction and fulfillment would, therefore, have been very short. Regardless of the exact date, the predictions against Edom have already been fulfilled. Edom was removed from its land in the fifth century B.C., and there are no survivors of Edom today. This fulfilled the prediction in Obadiah 1:18: “They shall burn them and consume them, and there shall be no survivor for the house of Esau.” Some first-century leaders, such as Herod the Great, still traced their ancestry to Edom, but all mention of Edomites fades after the Jewish Wars of that era. At the end of the 4th century, Jerome referenced the land of Idumea (Edom), but the people of the region had long since disappeared.

Verse 12 says, “you should not have looked.” However, the correct translation should be “Do not look.” Thus, the events prophesied had not yet occured and the book was written before the fall of Jerusalem.

Characteristics:

The nation was fractured, there was fractions within the nation. Fierce passions divided the people and evil prevailed. The whole nation was heading towards conflict and catastrophe. So, Obadiah prophesied against Edom in a way that Israel could hear, and turn from their wickedness.

Messages:

The prominent message is that god has not forsaken, nor will He ever, His people Israel. The nations that add to their calamity or laugh in the day of it will face divine judgment.

IN the words of G. Campbell Morgan, “A doom of the nation is sealed, if in its capacity, it oppresses the ancient people.

A secondary message is one against greed and cruelty, and hatefulness.

Obadiah 21 NKJV

21 Then saviors shall come to Mount Zion To judge the mountains of Esau, And the kingdom shall be the Lord’s.