seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Obadiah 1:1 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[a]
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.
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,[b]
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.
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.
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.
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.
21 Deliverers will go up on[c] Mount Zion
to govern the mountains of Esau.
And the kingdom will be the Lord’s.
a. Obadiah 1:3 Or of Sela
b. Obadiah 1:7 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.
c. Obadiah 1:21 Or from
This is from enduringword.com.
You who dwell in the clefts of the rock: The Edomites didn’t have all that much to be proud about. They were a small, relatively poor and insignificant nation. Yet what they could be proud about, they were – they lived in an area of great natural fortifications and strength, so they boasted in the clefts of the rock around them.
Though you exalt yourself as high as the eagle: And boast they did! Pride is so ingrained in fallen human nature that even if we don’t have much to be proud about, we’ll find something to exalt our self. This also reminds us that we don’t have to be rich or powerful or great to be filled will pride. Sometimes those who have the least reason for pride have the most of it.
The Edomites boasted in their natural defenses. The ancient city of Petra – once the capital city of Edom, known as Sela – had amazing defenses. It is a city carved into the rock, accessible by a narrow canyon almost a mile long. At the end of the canyon there is a spectacular city carved in stone, and seemingly incapable of being conquered by any army.
The Edomites boasted in their wisdom. The men of Edom – especially of the city Teman – were noted for their wisdom. The phrase men of the East in the Old Testament often refers to men from Edom, and passages like 1 Kings 4:30 declare the great wisdom of the men of the East. As well, Jeremiah 49:7 says of Edom: Is wisdom no more in Teman? Has counsel perished from the prudent? Has their wisdom vanished? This was another source of pride for the Edomites.
The Edomites boasted in their alliances and trusted in their allies – their confederacy, the men at peace with you (Obadiah 1:7). They thought that their alliances made them strong, and they were proud because of that strength.
From there I will bring you down: The sobering truth about our pride is that God can bring us down anytime. He can shatter our proud deception and bring us low.
Would they not have stolen till they had enough? Obadiah says that the judgment coming upon Edom will be far worse than what happens when robbers come and steal, because they usually stop when they have enough. The judgment coming against Edom will be far more complete (everyone from the mountains of Esau may be cut off by slaughter).
The Edomites were proud of their great natural defenses, but God would break their pride and bring them low.
Men at peace with you shall deceive you: When God brings judgment against Edom, they will know the sting of treachery against them. The alliances they once trusted in would come to nothing, and they would be double-crossed by their former friends.
The Edomites were proud of their political alliances, but God would break their pride and bring them low.
Destroy the wise men from Edom, and understanding from the mountains of Esau: The Edomites were renowned for their great wisdom, but God would bring such great judgment that even their wise men would be destroyed.
The Edomites were proud of their reputation for wisdom, but God would break their pride and bring them low.
In that day you stood on the other side: What did Edom do when strangers attacked Judah and foreigners entered his gates? Nothing. They stood by and cheered for Judah’s misery (nor should you have rejoiced).
Sometimes doing nothing is a great sin. Numbers 32:23 speaks of the sin that will find you out, and the sin it speaks of is the sin of doing nothing.
Edom actually did worse than nothing; they rejoiced over another’s misfortune and suffering and used it as an occasion to exalt themselves (nor should you have spoken proudly in the day of distress).
Nor laid hands on their substance: Edom’s sin started with doing nothing, then progressed to pride over Judah’s distress. Soon, they took advantage of their brother Judah’s misfortune and laid hands on their substance.
You should not have stood at the crossroads to cut off those among them who escaped: The final progression of Edom’s sin was worst of all – they joined in the attack against vulnerable Judah. When they encountered people from Judah fleeing southward from the attacking army, they killed them (cut off) or gave them over to the enemy as prisoners (delivered up those among them who remained).
The South shall possess the mountains of Esau: Obadiah looks forward to a coming day when Israel will occupy and possess the land that once belonged to Esau. Though the modern borders of Israel do not encompass the ancient lands of Edom, we can trust that they one day will, either in this age or in the age to come.
The house of Jacob shall possess their possessions: Possessing these other lands can only happen when we first possess what is ours. God has given us a rich heritage of every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 1:3), but how much do we actually possess? God wants His people to possess their possessions.
This prophecy has taken place. It says that the Babylonians took care of the Edomites. The Edomites had a city carved out of stone.... at the end of mile long canyon. They were sure they could not be taken. On top of that.... they were "friends" with the countries around them.... and they all shared a general dislike for Judah. The Edomites saw what was going on when the Babylonians took Israel. The Edomites saw the murder, rape, castration and enslavement. They sat in their high place and laughed.... when one of the descendants of Jacob got loose.... the Edomites captured them and handed them back to their enemy. They thought they were so wise.... sitting up on that mountain in their fortified city..... they thought they had it made in the shade. Obadiah warned them.... their day was coming. To understand the book.... the people have to be identified. Jacob [the brother all of Israel and Judah was descended from] had inhabited Israel and Judah. Esau [the older brother of Jacob by minutes] had moved into his own land. These two brothers were twins.... Rebekah, their mother, said they even fought in the womb. One was hairy.... one was not.... so they had differences right from the getgo. Jacob stole Esau's birthright. Jacob stole Esau's blessing. Esau's descendants had absolutely no use for Jacob's family.
I am the oldest of five kids. I have a couple of sisters who haven't talked to me since my mom died. I shared a room with one of them until I moved out.... and I carried the other on my hip. My parents used a switch to keep us in line..... if one of us misbehaved.... we got the switch. Getting switched was public.... that is all the kids had to watch.... that way we would know what the other did wrong and the consequence so we would not do the same.
Now my baby sister would dance when she was getting switched.... she would give my mom a horrible time. It was really really really hard not to laugh.... I mean the poor baby was getting a whipping and that was sad.... but her jumping around and the look on mom's face was hysterical. BUT if we laughed.... we got the whipping and more..... so we did not laugh..... no matter what.
