Obadiah 1:1-21

     Obadiah opens with a message from God against the Edomites, Israel’s longstanding enemy since the days of Jacob and Esau. God had been patient with them for nearly 900 hundred years (1445 B.C. to 586 B.C.), but finally rendered retributive judgment upon them. The judgment upon Edom is a demonstration of God’s promise to curse those who curse Israel (Gen 12:3). The Edomites in Obadiah’s day were arrogant and thought they were untouchable, but God declares that He will bring the nation down in judgment (Oba 1:1-4). Unlike thieves and grape-gatherers who leave something behind, God will not leave any Edomites after He brings judgment (Oba 1:5-6). The Edomites enjoyed close relations with her allies, but those allies would become her enemies (Oba 1:7), and Edom could not rely on their wise men (Oba 1:8), nor their mighty soldiers to protect them from the Lord’s judgment (Oba 1:9). God gives the reason for His judgment on Edom, saying, “Because of violence to your brother Jacob, you will be covered with shame, and you will be cut off forever” (Oba 1:10). Edom stood at a distance and watched the destruction of Judah, “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” (Oba 1:11). Not only did Edom do nothing to help Israel, they actually rejoiced at their destruction and apparently entered the city and helped plunder their wealth (Oba 1:12-13). Furthermore, they attacked and imprisoned fleeing Israelites and turned them over to the Babylonians (Oba 1:14). Obadiah then refers to the day of the Lord, which has both a historical and eschatological meaning in which God intervenes as a Warrior who judges Israel’s enemies. In the immediate sense, the Lord will judge Edom, declaring, “As you have done, it will be done to you. Your dealings will return on your own head” (Oba 1:15). In the future sense, God will judge all the nations of the world during the Tribulation and the Second Coming of Christ. Just as Edom had participated in a drunken celebration in Jerusalem, so they, and all the nations who are hostile toward Israel, will become drunk with God’s wrath and eventually be destroyed (Oba 1:16). But God promises to restore Israel and their blessings (Oba 1:17), and to destroy Edom (Oba 1:18). In the future, Israel will possess territories that had been promised to her (Oba 1:19-20), and “The deliverers will ascend Mount Zion to judge the mountain of Esau, and the kingdom will be the LORD’S” (Oba 1:21). In the future, Israel will be restored to her land, her enemies judged, and the kingdom established on earth. In all this, God is faithful to His Word and to His people, to judge and bless.