Obadiah: Obadiah 14-The Eighth and Ninth Indictments Against Edom Lesson # 14

Obadiah 14 Do not stand at the crossroads to cut off his fugitives; do not hand over his survivors in the day of distress. (ESV)

“Do not stand at the crossroads to cut off his fugitives” is another emphatic declaration guilt which not only is an addition to the previous declarations of guilt in verses 10-13 but also advances upon the previous emphatic declarations of guilt.

This indictment accuses the Edomites of standing at the crossroads in order to kill Judean refugees fleeing the Babylonian hordes in the sense that they occupied this geographical location to do this.

This is an emphatic declaration of guilt expressing the idea that the Edomites should have never stood at the crossroads in order to kill Judean refugees fleeing from the Babylonian army during the Nebuchadnezzar’s final invasion of Judah in 586 B.C.

“Do not hand over his survivors in the day of distress” is another emphatic declaration of guilt which is in addition to the previous one.

This indictment accuses the Edomites of causing those Jews who survived Babylon’s attack on their country to be handed over to the Babylonians as prisoners of war.

This emphatic declaration of guilt expresses the idea that the Edomites should have never handed over to the custody of the Babylonians those Jews who escaped the Babylonians’ attack on their country.

“In the day of distress” refers to the period of time in which the Babylonian armies attacked the southern kingdom of Judah in 605, 597 and 586 B.C.

Obadiah 14 Indeed, you should have never stood at the fork in the road in order to slaughter his refugees. Furthermore, you should have never caused his survivors to be handed over as prisoners of war during the period of distress. (My translation)

Obadiah 14 contains two more emphatic declarations of guilt as related to the kingdom of Edom’s cruel treatment of the kingdom of Judah, which are in addition to the ones listed in verses 10-13.

Therefore, verse 14 concludes the listing of indictments presented by the God of Israel through the prophet Obadiah against the kingdom of Edom.

The first asserts that the Edomites should have never stood at the fork in the road in order to slaughter Judean refugees who were fleeing their cities and towns from the Babylonian army.

The second indictment asserts that the Edomites should have never caused the Judean survivors to be handed over to their enemies as prisoners of war during their period of distress as a people.

All of the indictments presented in Obadiah 10-14 were the result of the sinful behavior of the Edomites during Judah’s destruction by Babylon in 586 B.C.

Nebuchadnezzar’s armies attacked Judah and her capital city three times with the first taking place in 605 B.C., the second in 597 B.C. and the third in 586 B.C.

During each of these invasions, a portion of the population of Judah was deported to Babylon and during the last invasion, the city of Jerusalem and its temple were destroyed.

Second Chronicles 36:1-21 records the destruction of Judah and the city of Jerusalem and its temple by Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylon.

Obadiah 10-14 is describing the action of the people of Edom during this final invasion.

This period in which Judah was attacked by Babylon and other nations such as Edom is referred to by the prepositional phrases bĕyôm nokrōw (בְּי֣וֹם נָכְרֹ֔ו), “during your relative’s disastrous day” (first declaration of guilt in verse 12), bĕyôm ʾobdām (בְּי֣וֹם אָבְדָ֑ם), “during the period when they suffered destruction” (second declaration of guilt in verse 12), bĕyôm ṣārâ (בְּי֥וֹם צָרָֽה), “during the period of distress” (third declaration in verse 12 and second declaration in verse 14), bĕyôm ʾêdām (בְּי֣וֹם אֵידָ֔ם), “during their disastrous period” (first declaration in verse 13), bĕrāʿātô (בְּרָעָתוֹ), “during his misery” (second declaration in verse 13), and bĕyôm ʾêdōw (בְּי֥וֹם אֵידֹֽו), “during his disastrous period” (second and third declarations in verse 13).

Obadiah 10-14 is describing Edom’s conduct during Nebuchadnezzar’s final invasion of Judah and her capital city Jerusalem in 586 B.C. which is indicated by the Scriptures.

In 586, the wealth of Jerusalem was plundered and a great portion of the population deported to Babylon (2 Kings 24:13-16; 2 Chron. 36:18, 20).

The city was very nearly burned to the ground including the temple (2 Kings 25:9-10; 2 Chron. 36:19) and many of her citizens were slaughtered (2 Kings 25:8-21; 2 Chron. 36:17; cf. Jer. 6:1-9:22; Ezek. 4:1-7:27).

Also, there is mentioned in 2 Kings 24:4-5 the account of the king’s unsuccessful attempted escape with a small band of soldiers.

There are many historical accounts of Edom’s terrible conduct during this time.

They joined a coalition of nations to fight with Nebuchadnezzar (cf. Jer. 27:3; 40:11) and they were accused of taking its revenge out on Judah (cf. Ezek. 25:12) and were condemned by Ezekiel for delivering over the people of Judah to Babylon as prisoners of war (Ezek. 35:5-6; cf. Lam. 1:17).

They were guilty of rejoicing over Judah’s defeat and Jerusalem’s destruction (cf. Ps. 137:7; Lam. 2:15-17; 4:21; Ezek. 35:11-15; 36:2-6).

The prophetic declarations of judgment against Edom reached their climax during this invasion (Jer. 9:26; 25:21; Lam. 4:21-22; Ezek. 25:13; 32:29; 35:3-4, 7-9, 11, 14-15; 36:7).

Lastly, Jeremiah 49:7-22 and Ezekiel 35-36 are echoed by Obadiah 10-14.

Therefore, Obadiah 10-14 is describing the day of the Lord in relation to the southern kingdom of Judah.

The day of the Lord or specifically the period in which the Lord judged the kingdom of Judah for their idolatry and rebellion took place in the sixth century B.C.

The God of Israel employed Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylon to destroy the southern kingdom of Judah as well as other Gentiles nations in the Mediterranean region of the world.

These indictments presented by the God of Israel through the prophet Obadiah in verse 14 are the reason for the God of Israel declaring judgment against the people of Edom in Obadiah 7-10.

Therefore, a comparison of Obadiah 7-10 with Obadiah 10-14 reveals that God would judge Edom by causing her people to be slaughtered by her enemies because they slaughtered the citizens of Judah who were fleeing the Babylonians.

This is an example of lex telionis which means that the judgments Edom eventually suffered fit the crimes they committed against Judah.

Their punishment corresponded to the crimes they committed against the people of Judah.

In other words, Edom’s punishment fit their crimes they committed against the Jews.

These prophetic declarations recorded in Obadiah 7-10, like all of the prophecies recorded in Obadiah, were fulfilled in history since Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylon was able to capture the city of Petra and take the citizens of Edom into captivity as they did the citizens of the southern kingdom of Judah.

Arabian tribes moved into Edom during the sixth century B.C., which forced the remnant of Edomites to migrate west.

They became a province of the Persian Empire.

They were no longer a national entity.

They were ultimately reduced by John Hyrcanus of the Maccabean dynasty and lost their national existence under the Romans.

They were cut off forever as a nation, though the land would again be populated.

The indictments listed in Obadiah 10-14 are therefore, the basis for the prophetic declarations in Obadiah 7-10.

The list of indictments or crimes committed by the Edomite people against the people of Judah during the Babylonian invasions which are presented in Obadiah 10-14 serve as the basis for the prophetic declarations recorded in Obadiah 7-10.

In other words, verses 10-14 present the reason why God declares that He will judge the nation of Edom in verses 7-10.

The prophetic declarations recorded in Obadiah 7-10 and the indictments presented in Obadiah 10-14 are expressing God’s wrath or righteous indignation of unrepentant sinful behavior of the Edomite people in relation to their blood relatives the people of Judah.

Obadiah 7-14 also teaches that the God of Israel exercises His prerogative as judge of all mankind (Obad. 15-18).

Obadiah 7-14 reveals that God intervenes in the affairs of men.

Here he is intervening on behalf of the kingdom of Judah and against the Edomite people, which is called the “immanency” of God.