Obadiah - A Prophesy Against Edom

This is a transcription of a lecture or lesson about the minor prophet Obadiah. It discusses the background and context of the book, including the history of Edom and its relationship with Jacob and Judah. It also explores the conflicts between Edom and Judah throughout the Bible and the prophecies of judgment against Edom. The lesson highlights the sovereignty of God and the importance of righteousness and accountability. It ends with a message of hope for the Jews and the ultimate victory of God's kingdom. I am Julie Callio, your host, and thanks so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to tune in with me today. If by chance you want to contact me, you can do that at vav.bc.pc at gmail.com. Today we are covering the minor prophet of Obadiah. Chapter 1 verse 1a starts, The vision of Obadiah, this is what the sovereign Lord says about Edom. This tells us he is a prophet of the Lord, and the word sovereign means that the Lord God is authority over all people and nations. See Hasselblad in his book, An Introduction to the Old Testament Prophetic Books, places Obadiah in the Neo-Babylonian period, and he believes it is after Babylon comes and destroys Jerusalem and Judah. The problem is scripture doesn't say that. What the book does say is why this prophecy is against Edom, and that's found in verses 10-15 which reads, Because of the violence against your brother Jacob, you will be covered with shame. You will be destroyed forever. 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. You should not look down on 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. You should not march through the gates of my people in the day of their disaster, nor look down on them in their calamity in the day of their disaster, nor seize their wealth in the day of their disaster. You should not wait at the crossroads to cut down their fugitives, nor hand over their survivors in the day of their trouble. 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. In other words, what we know is that when Jerusalem was down, that was when Edom attacked them and rejoiced in it. The reason the passage says against your brother Jacob is because the Edomites were descendants of Esau, the brother of Jacob, the twin sons of Isaac and Rebekah. Their birth story is found in Genesis chapter 25. The Lord told Rebekah when the twins were in her womb, two nations are in your womb and two people from within you will be separated. One people will be stronger than the other and the older will serve the younger. Verse 23 also found in Genesis 25 is the story of how Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of stew and afterwards he despised his birthright. Then right before Isaac died in chapter 27, Rebekah overheard Isaac tell Esau to make him some tasty wild game food so he would bless him, his firstborn, before he died. Rebekah dressed up Jacob in Esau's clothes, made him hairy like Esau, made some food and then they tricked Isaac because his eyesight was bad. Jacob received Esau's blessing. Isaac said, ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the Lord has blessed. May God give you of heaven's dew and of earth's richness and abundance of grain and new wine. May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you. Be Lord over your brothers and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed and those who bless you be blessed. Genesis chapter 27 verses 27 through 29. When Esau arrived with his wild game meal, his father realized he was conned. One thing about the words of people in the Bible is they cannot be undone. The blessing stayed with Jacob. Esau cried out, don't you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me too, my father. Then Esau wept aloud. His father Isaac answered him, your dwelling will be away from the earth's riches, away from the dew of heaven above. You will live by the sword and you will serve your brother. But when you grow restless, you will throw his yoke from off your neck. Genesis 27 verses 39 to 40. Esau vowed to kill his brother once his dad died and Rebecca heard that too. So she talked to Isaac into sending Jacob away to find a wife among her family. While Jacob was away, he was conned and ended up with two wives and two servant women and had his 12 sons. By the time he arrived back home in Genesis chapter 33, Esau was also blessed by the Lord and it seemed he had forgiven his brother and that yoke that once was on his neck was now thrown away. Now Jacob did not want to risk it, so he made sure he did not live near Esau. But when time came for Abraham to die, the brothers buried him together. Chapter 35 verse 29. Chapter 36 of Genesis goes into the descendants of Esau and the kings that came from the Edomites. Now there are a few more incidences between Judah and Edom that would be helpful to mention. The land of Edom contained a roadway called the King's Highway which connected Africa to Mesopotamia from Egypt to the Euphrates River. When the Israelites left Egypt after being enslaved for years, they asked Edom to let them pass on the roadway. But not only did Edom refuse, but they brought out heavy forces to make sure Israel went on their way a different route. This is found in Numbers chapter 20 verses 14 through 21. During the time of the judges, after Israel had conquered the promised land, there seemed to be peace between the two nations. And that may be due to the verse in Deuteronomy chapter 23 verse 7a when the Lord said to the Israelites, You shall not detest an Edomite, for he is your brother. Once Israel had their first king Saul, he invaded Edom. First Samuel chapter 14 verse 47. And when King David reigned, he defeated the Edomites in the Valley of Salt. In Second Samuel chapter 8 verses 13 and 14. When the kingdom divided, the conflicts continued. In First Kings chapter 11 verses 14 through 25, Joab tried to kill all the males in Edom. In First Kings chapter 22 verse 47, Israel was strong enough to place a deputy governor over Edom. When Doram became king in Second Kings chapter 8 verses 16 through 22, the Edomites revolted against Judah and set up their own king. Verse 22a says, To this day Edom has been in rebellion against Judah. Then in Second Chronicles chapter 28 verses 16 through 27, when the northern ten tribes of Israel were attacking Judah from the north, Edom attacked Judah from the south and took captives. Some scholars think this was when Obadiah was written. Even though the Bible does not say this, historically speaking it is said that when Babylon attacked Judah from the north, then once again Edom attacked from the south. Bullock thinks that the description of devastation about Jerusalem found in the passage I read from Obadiah makes it clear that it happened after Jerusalem was destroyed by Babylon. Since neither Second Kings nor Second Chronicles mentioned Edom attacking Jerusalem and Judah during the Babylonian attack, I decided to go ahead and place Obadiah after Zephaniah since he also prophesied against other nations about the great day of the Lord, which was coming against Judah as well as Philistia to their west, Moab to their east, Ammon to their northeast, Cush in Egypt, and Assyria to the north who had wiped out Israel in the north. Since Edom is on the southern border of Judah, the judgments of the nations now cover all the borders of Judah. One thing to notice about this prophecy is there is no call to repentance. It is judgment for Edom because they oppressed Judah, the Lord's people. Verse 3 says, The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clusts of the rock and make your home on the heights, you who say to yourself, Who can bring me down to the ground? Though you soar like the eagles and make your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down, declares the Lord. If you have ever seen the great temple of Petra, which is carved in the rocks, this is located in the area of Edom. It was also their pride that brought them down. Just like in Zephaniah the Lord says, In that day, so Edom also will be destroyed. Let me re-read verse 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. This is called you reap what you sow, the retribution principle, or lex talionis, which means eye for eye and tooth for tooth. They are getting what they deserve. Even though Edom does not get a call to repentance, there is a word of hope for the Jews. It tells them that the Lord has not forgotten his covenant with them, and the Lord sees what their enemies have done to them. The book ends with hope that there will be deliverance on Mount Zion, verse 17. Verse 18 compares the house of Jacob and Joseph as a house of flames, while Esau will be stubble with no survivors, and their land will be inhabited by others. The last line says, And the kingdom will be the Lord's. And ladies, it happened in the Lord's perfect timing. So what are some highlights from this lesson? The first is that the Lord God Almighty is sovereign. He rules over all people and all nations, and He alone is God. Paul the Apostle mentions this in Romans chapter 9 as to how both Jacob and Esau had the same father, but why was Jacob chosen and not Esau? If you remember back in Genesis that the Lord made that declaration before the twins were even born. As Paul said in Romans chapter 9, verses 14-16, what then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all. For he says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. It does not therefore depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy. But keep in mind ladies, that also in Romans chapter 10, verse 13, Paul also quotes another minor prophet, Joel chapter 2, verse 32, and he says, For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. And Paul uses that to say that anyone from any nation can be saved, but they must acknowledge the Lord. God is sovereign, yes, but we are also held accountable for our actions. Dr. Betz, my Old Testament professor said, Obadiah is a reminder of one's responsibility for righteousness, even when dealing with our enemies. Point number two. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said we are to love and pray for our enemies, not hurt them when they are down. And the final point for today, number three, the Lord loves his children and he fights for them and keeps his word to them, and because of that we always have hope. So ladies, if you have heard his voice today, please don't harden your heart like the Edomites, instead let's hold on to hope like Obadiah. Until next time, and thanks so very much for listening.