Obadiah 8-14: Third Declaration
LIFE University Class
Teaching Notes
Outline
Obadiah 1-4 - First Declaration
Obadiah 5-7 - Second Declaration
Obadiah 8-14 - Third Declaration
Purpose of Obadiah
Announce the destruction of Edom & encourage the Judahites
Obadiah 8-10 - Edom’s Destruction
Will I not on that day, declares the LORD, destroy the wisemen out of Edom, and understanding out of Mount Esau?
utterance, declaration of י׳ (prophet citing divine word given through him)
1. Yahweh — the name the God of Israel gives to the Israelites through Moses.
1. to destroy (damage) — to destroy completely; damage irreparably
1. wise man — a wise and trusted guide and advisor.
1. understanding (capacity) — the capacity for rational thought or inference or discrimination.
And your mighty men shall be dismayed, O Teman, so that every man from Mount Esau will be cut off by slaughter.
2. mighty one (physical) — a person noted for physical strength; often related to fighting ability.
3. to be appalled (fear) — to be in a state of being struck with dread, fear, or consternation.
7. to kill ⇔ cut off — to kill, conceived of as cutting someone’s life off.
1. slaughter (people) — the killing of many people.
Because of the violence done to your brother Jacob, shame shall cover you, and you shall be cut off forever.
1. violence (act) — an act of aggression; especially involving physical contact.
1. shame (state) — a state of dishonor.
8. to overwhelm — to overcome, as with emotions or perceptual stimuli; almost always negative.
9. to be separated ⇔ be cut off — to be separated from someone or something socially or relationally, conceived of as being cut off from someone.
1. forever (future) — an indeterminate and unending time going on into the future.
Obadiah 11-14 - Edom’s Crimes Against Judah
Obadiah 11 - Edom Guilty
On the day that you stood aloof, on the day that strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were like one of them.
1. stranger — a person who does not belong in the environment in which they are found; often of those from another region or country.
1. to capture (by force) — to take possession of by force, as after an invasion.
8. possession ⇔ wealth — the possessions of a person considered as their wealth as a whole.
1. foreigner — a person who comes from a foreign country who does not owe allegiance to your country; frequently of someone who does not speak one’s native tongue.
1. to cast — to choose at random.
2. lot (object) — any kind of small object (such as a stick, pebble, or shard) used for making decisions by a random outcome or for determining the will of God.
Obadiah 12-14 - Edom’s Violations of Jacob
But do not gloat over the day of your brother in the day of his misfortune; do not rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their ruin; do not boast in the day of their distress.
57 tn In vv. 12–14 there are eight prohibitions which summarize the nature of the Lord’s complaint against Edom. Each prohibition alludes to something that Edom did to Judah that should not have been done by one “brother” to another. It is because of these violations that the Lord has initiated judgment against Edom.
25. to gloat — to gaze at or think about something with great self-satisfaction, gratification, or joy.
1. calamity (event) — an event resulting in great loss and misfortune.
1. to rejoice (feeling) — to feel happiness or joy.
3. to be destroyed — to be or become destroyed or damaged irreparably.
7. to grow — to become larger, greater, or bigger.
1. distress (state) — an oppressive state of physical, mental, social, or economic adversity.
Do not enter the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; do not gloat over his disaster in the day of his calamity; do not loot his wealth in the day of his calamity.
1. calamity (event) — an event resulting in great loss and misfortune.
25. to gloat — to gaze at or think about something with great self-satisfaction, gratification, or joy.
2. calamity (event) — an event resulting in great loss and misfortune.
1. calamity (event) — an event resulting in great loss and misfortune.
22. to seize ⇔ extend one’s hands — to seize, conceived of as stretching out one’s hands to lay hold of someone.
8. possession ⇔ wealth — the possessions of a person considered as their wealth as a whole.
1. calamity (event) — an event resulting in great loss and misfortune.
Do not stand at the crossroads to cut off his fugitives; do not hand over his survivors in the day of distress.
This verse continues the catalog of Edom’s misdeeds, which here reach a terrible climax. The Edomites not only joined in plundering Jerusalem, but they even helped to catch those people who had escaped from the city, and handed them over to the Babylonians or perhaps even killed some themselves.
2. crossroads — a place where one road crosses another.
7. to kill ⇔ cut off — to kill, conceived of as cutting someone’s life off.
1. fugitive — someone who flees from an uncongenial situation.
1. to deliver — to surrender someone or something to another; especially to an authority
1. survivor — one who lives through affliction; sometimes referred to collectively as a remnant or group of survivors.
1. distress (state) — an oppressive state of physical, mental, social, or economic adversity