The book of Obadiah is the shortest book in the entire bible. It was written by Obadiah and probably written around 605 - 586 BC. The book is a prophecy against the people of Edom, the Edomites, who were the descendants of Esau. Esau was the brother of Jacob and the child to Issac and Rebekah (Genesis 25:19-34). Abraham was his grandfather. Esau gave up his birthright to Jacob for red stew, which ultimately made him known as “red”, which translates to Edom. The conniving Jacob not only stole Esau’s birthright but also the blessing of Isaac, telling him he would become the lord over his brother (Genesis 25:29). When Esau discovered this, he pleaded with his father but as rebuked (Genesis 25:40), and Esau would eventually revolt against the descendent’s (Israel) of Jacob (2 Kings 8:20). Because of this longstanding feud the Edomites and Israelites were sworn enemies (2 Chronicles 28:17, 2 Kings 8:16-22, 2 Kings 14:9-11). The biggest reason they never reconciled as nations (even thought the brothers did in Genesis 33:4), was because of two divergent paths. The Israelites followed God and the Edomites remained pagans.
1 The vision of Obadiah. This is what the Sovereign Lord says about Edom-- We have heard a message from the Lord: An envoy was sent to the nations to say, “Rise, let us go against her for battle”-- 2 “See, I will make you small among the nations; you will be utterly despised. 3 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?’ 4 Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down,” declares the Lord.
Obadiah (meaning Servant of Yahweh), was a common name for the time period this book was written in. There are over a dozen Obadiah’s in scripture, and only a handful could be the Obadiah writing here.
It could be the Obadiah that Elijah meets. In 1 Kings 18:3, Obadiah and Ahab are out looking for water in the wilderness. This is because Elijah’s prediction that there will be no rain in the land for a few years (I Kings 17:1). Obadiah, an officer in Ahab’s employ, is secretly a follower of God and has hidden God’s prophets in a cave to thwart the deadly Jezebel and her edict kill all of God’s prophets.
In Nehemiah’s day, there was a priest named Obadiah (Nehemiah 10:5)
It could be the Obadiah who assisted in repairing the temple during the kingship of Josiah. (2 Chronicles 17:7).
In this beginning passage of this tiny book, we see that the Lord has given Obadiah a message: it is time to go to battle against Edom. Why? Edom is being judged for their pride. The pride is nuanced. Edom did not claim giant palaces and fortifications; they made their homes among the rocks and clefts above Petra, which is an almost impenetrable place. It is basically carved into a mountain. To get to the city of Petra (known as Sela to the ancient people), one must travel through a nearly mile-long gorge called the Siq. The city is renowned for its water control via cisterns and dams, which created an oasis in the desert and allowed the Edomites and other people to thrive there for 7000 years.
The pride of the people, though, is what God is concerned with. God allows a people a long time to return to Him, if they ever will, and the Edomites are no exception to this rule. Even in this oasis-like setting, in a place that doesn’t seem likely to be captured, God is at work.
5 “If thieves came to you, if robbers in the night-- oh, what a disaster awaits you!-- would they not steal only as much as they wanted? If grape pickers came to you, would they not leave a few grapes? 6 But how Esau will be ransacked, his hidden treasures pillaged! 7 All your allies will force you to the border; your friends will deceive and overpower you; those who eat your bread will set a trap for you, but you will not detect it. 8 “In that day,” declares the Lord, “will I not destroy the wise men of Edom, those of understanding in the mountains of Esau? 9 Your warriors, Teman, will be terrified, and everyone in Esau’s mountains will be cut down in the slaughter.
God’s justice is long-standing. From Genesis to this point, God has allowed Edom to stand. But now, as justice is to be dispensed, there is an accounting the Edomites must adhere to. Thieves come in the night, but thieves take only what they can carry. The judgment God deals will be far more than a thief; He will take everything because the pagan Edomites have put their faith in their defenses and not God.
10 Because of the violence against your brother Jacob, you will be covered with shame; you will be destroyed forever. 11 On the day you stood aloof while strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were like one of them. 12 You should not gloat over your brother in the day of his misfortune, nor rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their destruction, nor boast so much in the day of their trouble. 13 You should not march through the gates of my people in the day of their disaster, nor gloat over them in their calamity in the day of their disaster, nor seize their wealth in the day of their disaster. 14 You should not wait at the crossroads to cut down their fugitives, nor hand over their survivors in the day of their trouble.
The judgment of Edom is an answer to the violence against Jacob (Israel). The Edomites are in judgment not only for their pride but for their inaction. They did nothing while Judah was ransacked by Nebuchadnezzar. In fact, according to Obadiah, they “gloated over them in their calamity”.
15 “The day of the Lord is near for all nations. As you have done, it will be done to you; your deeds will return upon your own head. 16 Just as you drank on my holy hill, so all the nations will drink continually; they will drink and drink and be as if they had never been.
The Edomites will experience the destruction and chaos that fell on Judah for themselves. This justice is fitting. It is the exact fitting justice they deserve. “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to the flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.“ Galatians 6:7-8).
17 But on Mount Zion will be deliverance; it will be holy, and Jacob will possess his inheritance. 18 Jacob will be a fire and Joseph a flame; Esau will be stubble, and they will set him on fire and destroy him. There will be no survivors from Esau.” The Lord has spoken. 19 People from the Negev will occupy the mountains of Esau, and people from the foothills will possess the land of the Philistines. They will occupy the fields of Ephraim and Samaria, and Benjamin will possess Gilead. 20 This company of Israelite exiles who are in Canaan will possess the land as far as Zarephath; the exiles from Jerusalem who are in Sepharad will possess the towns of the Negev.
The Lord’s voice is clear: Edom will suffer at the hands of Israel.
21 Deliverers will go up on Mount Zion to govern the mountains of Esau. And the kingdom will be the Lord’s.
The encouragement to the people of Judah is the purpose of this letter. Even through the hardships of their time, through the desperation of losing their kingdom and most of the population being deported to Babylon, for those still in Judah there is hope.