Obadiah is the shortest book in the
Old Testament being one chapter long. Although it is only twenty-one verses
long, Obadiah does not lack in message or impact for its readers in the time it
was written or now. Obadiah was from the southern kingdom whose name meant “the
servant of the Lord.”[1]
Obadiah is a vision given to him from the Lord to show the future of a place
called Edom. Edom was city with a history dating back to the beginning of the
history of God’s chosen people. Edom came from a man named Esau. Esau was the
older brother of Jacob who was the son of Isaac. According to tradition, Esau
was the oldest and therefore was supposed to be given the blessing from his
father because of his birthright. Genesis 27 describes how Esau came back from
hunting one day and was famished and Jacob had stew, but Jacob made him give
him his birthright in order to have the stew. Esau accepted and then Jacob
tricked his father in giving him Esau’s blessing as well. This created a feud
between Esau and Jacob that lasted almost their entire lives. Genesis 36
accounts the generations of Esau and how they came to be in Edom. Obadiah
speaks of the condemnation of Edom for their grudge they have held for all
those years since Esau and Jacob.
The
purpose of the one chapter prophecy of Obadiah is “wholly taken up with the
condemnation of Edom for its treachery toward Judah, with a prophecy of its
utter destruction and Judah’s salvation in the Day of the Lord.”[2]
Edom was a city just south east of Judah; the inhabitants lived in caves and up
in the hills and mountains. Verse 3 of Obadiah describes how they are those,
“who live in the clefts of the rock, in the loftiness of your dwelling place.”
(NASB) Edom had neglected Israel when God’s people were in trials or in danger
and needed assistance. They hated the Israelites and thought that they deserved
everything they got towards them. God thought differently and Obadiah shows the
revenge God will have on Edom. God does not waste any time in telling what will
happen to Edom for verse 2 says, “Behold, I will make you small among the
nations; you are greatly despised.” (NASB)
Obadiah’s
date of authorship is not exactly known because there is no mention of kings to
set the date in the book. Obadiah 11-14 is the only reference to any type of historical
context in the book. Obadiah 11 says, “On the day that you stood aloof, on the
day that strangers carried off his wealth, and foreigners entered his gate and
cast lots for Jerusalem- you too were as one of them.” (NASB) However, even
these verses do not give a specific time in which the book is known to be
written. There are four possibilities to when the book was written: in 926
B.C., 848-841 B.C., 790 B.C., or 586 B.C..[3]
The two dates that are the most likely are 848-841 B.C. and 586 B.C. The first
because “during the reign of Jehoram (848-841 B.C.), the Philistines and
Arabians invaded Judah and looted the palace. Edom revolted during the reign of
Jehoram and became a bitter antagonist.”[4]
The best way to determine the date is to look back into the books of 1 and 2
Chronicles and 1 and 2 Kings to determine relationships between countries,
reigning kings, and wars. The other possibility of date is 586 B.C. because it
is when Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon sacked and destroyed Jerusalem. The first date
is more likely because verse 10-14 “does not indicate the total destruction of
the city, which took place when Nebuchadnezzar burned the palace and temple and
razed the walls.”[5]
The most logical date for the authorship of Obadiah is 840 B.C.
God’s
proclaiming of Edom’s destruction comes in 11 of the 21 verses in Obadiah.
Verse 3 says that Edom “will be cut off!” and “searched out!” (verse 5). They
“shall be dismayed” (verse 6) and again, will be “cut off forever!” (verse 10).
God will not have any mercy on Edom for all the things they have done to the
Israelites. The structure of Obadiah is broken up into 4 parts: Edom’s
presumption and pride in verses 1-9, Edom’s resulting sins in verses 10-14,
God’s judgment upon the nations in verses 15-16, and God’s promise of blessing
for Israel in verses 17-21. Verses 2-4 depicts that the pride of Edom reflects
the pride of Esau and that they will be brought down for the Lord declares it.
Verses 5-6 depicts that there will be nothing left of Edom for all will be
taken. Verse 7 tells Edom that their allies will join in against them to
destroy them. Verse 8 tells them that the wise men of Edom will need rescue.
Verses 9-10 says that Edom watched Jacob who stands for Israel be taken into
exile while they did nothing to help. Verses 11-14 tells how Edom helped sack
Israel and did horrible things against them. Verses 15-16 talks about the Day
of the Lord and how it is coming and the unholy will be judged. Verses 17-18
talks about how Israel will be a positive flame and Edom will be stubble that
is burned up. Verse 19 says that the land of Edom will be taken over and
occupied by the tribes of Israel. Finally, the book ends with verses 20-21
saying that the Lord’s coming to judge and the kingdom will be the Lord’s.
The
main theme of Obadiah is God’s judgment of the self righteous and arrogant.
Verse 3 describes the exact theme of the book, “The arrogance of your heart has
deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rock, in the loftiness of your
dwelling place, who say in your heart, ‘who will bring me down to earth?’”
(NASB) The inhabitants of Edom were arrogant because they thought no one could
harm them with their homes in the mountainside. Little did they know that God
thought differently and consequences were coming to them. There is another,
secondary theme in Obadiah towards the end of the one chapter. Verse 17-21
tells the “future restoration of Israel and faithfulness of Yahweh to His
covenant promises. God’s justice will ultimately prevail.”[6]
Verse 17 says, “But on Mount Zion there will be those who escape, and it will
be holy. And the house of Jacob will possess their possessions.” (NASB) A major
hope at the end of many of the Minor Prophet books is a promise that God will
preserve a remnant of His people. In Obadiah, God promises that a remnant of
the house of Jacob will be saved on Mount Zion. Matthew Henry’s commentary
says,
“Christ
said, ‘Salvation is of the Jews’, (John 4:22). God wrought deliverances for the
Jews, typical of our redemption by
Christ. But Mount Zion is the gospel-church, from which the New Testament law went forth, (Isaiah 2:3). There
salvation shall be preached and prayed
for; to the gospel-church those are added who shall be saved; and for those who come in faith and hope to this Mount
Zion deliverance shall be wrought from wrath and
from curse, from sin, and death, and hell, while those who continue afar off
shall be left to perish.”[7]
Mount Zion was not just a random
place that God said He would save His remnant, but also a historic place that
is “My holy mountain.” (Obadiah 16) (NASB) Verses 18-20 go back to how Edom
will be destroyed and how the house of Jacob will “be like a flame and Edom
like a stubble burned up” (NASB) and continues saying that Negev will possess
the mountain of Edom. Verse 21 ends the book going back to Mount Zion and how
“the deliverers will ascend Mount Zion to judge the mountain of Esau, and the
kingdom will be the Lord’s.” (NASB) Edom will be taken over and Israel will be
delivered and as always in the end the kingdom will be the Lord’s.
Obadiah
is only one chapter long, but there are many key verses and metaphors to the
book itself. Almost every verse is a key verse, but there are a few that stand
out among the rest. Verses 3-4 stand out because they describe the theme of the
book and how Edom is arrogant and thinks they are safe up on their mountain;
“‘From there I will bring you down,’ declares the Lord.” (NASB) Verse 10
describes the specific reasoning for Edom’s destruction, “Because of violence
of your brother Jacob, you will be covered with shame, and you will be cut off
forever.” (NASB) They neglected Israel and the house of Jacob and would pay for
such a crime. Verse 15 describes the day of the Lord; “For the day of the Lord draws
near on all nations.” (NASB) The day of the Lord is mentioned in a few Minor
Prophet books and means the judgment of the Lord that is coming. The Lord will
come and “all nations will be judged as to their treatment of Israel, as Edom
was (Matthew 25:31-46, Revelations 16:13-16, Joel 3:1-14)”[8]
Finally, verse 21 is the last key verse in Obadiah for the Lord declares that
the kingdom will be His. There are few metaphors in Obadiah. Verse 4 describes
how Edom builds “high like the eagle, though you set your nest among the stars”
(NASB). Verse 16 says that “Because just as you drank on My holy mountain, all
the nations will drink continually” (NASB) Verse 18 describes a metaphor for
Jacob and Edom saying, “Then the house of Jacob will be a fire and the house of
Joseph a flame; but the house of Esau will be as stubble. And they will set
them on fire and consume them” (NASB).
There
is no mention of Obadiah in the New Testament. Therefore, there is no New
Testament Resonance. Obadiah is an interesting book because the date is not
confirmed and there is no mention of the book in later parts of the Bible, but
it is still in the Bible. Obadiah is only one chapter long, but it was
supernaturally inspired and preserved for a purpose. The message of hope for
Obadiah is that regardless of the oppression by others, God will deliver the
righteous out of their hands!
I thought that Obadiah was a great book to read. First,
it was short and sweet and I can see how it is easy to just read and move on
because you may think it isn't important because it is just one chapter and never
mentioned of again. However, Obadiah is in the Bible and that makes it
significant because God preserved it for a reason. I think that Obadiah is a
great reminder for holding grudges. Edom had held a grudge against Israel and
Judah because of something that happened hundreds of years ago. It was a big
impact on their history, but they held a grudge way to long! Israel even gets
taken over and they even helped. They came from the brother of Jacob, but there
was no brotherly love found anymore. I find this troubling to read about that a
group of people could be this angry. It makes me think about any grudges I have
held onto in my life that I need to let go before God judges me for it. I need
to learn to forgive and move on and not hold onto the past that is not
important anymore. Edom needed to move on from their past and than they could
of looked to their future instead of hearing their future from Obadiah. I love
the message of hope from this book that God will always save the righteous from
the oppressed. It is something that I will hold onto, to make me turn the other
cheek and just move on because I know that I have no reason to judge someone,
but I know that God, the ultimate judge, will judge them. I have to take the
high road unlike Edom because I do not want to end up like they did in
Obadiah's vision. The Minor Prophets show many attributes of God and from
Obadiah I have learned that God is a righteous and just God. He will deliver
the righteous from the hands of the wicked and that is a promise from the Lord
of Hosts.
Bibliography
Merrill F. Unger, Gary N. Larson, The New Unger’s Bible Handbook, Chicago,
Illinois: The Moody Bible
Institute of Chicago, 1966 updated 1984.
Bruce Wilkinson, Kenneth Boa, Talk Thru The Old Testament, Nashville,
Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Publishers,
1983.
Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible, (Peabody,
Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers,
1991.
[1]
Merrill F. Unger, Gary N. Larson, The New
Unger’s Bible Handbook, (Chicago, Illinois: The Moody Bible Institute of
Chicago, 1966 updated 1984), 319.
[2]
Ibid.
[3]
Bruce Wilkinson, Kenneth Boa, Talk Thru
The Old Testament, (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1983),
251.
[4]
Ibid.
[5]
Ibid.
[6]
Ibid., 252.
[7]
Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary
on the Whole Bible, (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 1991),
1521.
[8]
Unger, Larson, 320.
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