The Book of Obadiah, Verse by Verse

We want to take you through the book of Obadiah. In our Amos study we saw God judge Edom because “he did pursue his brother with the sword, and did cast off all pity” (Amos 1:11). Now we come to a whole book about Edom. Obadiah is the shortest book in the Old Testament. Only 1 chapter. Only 21 verses. So instead of going chapter by chapter we will go through it verse by verse. We will tell you what each part is about and how it fits into the message of the book. And how it points us to the one God that is revealed in Jesus Christ.

Obadiah is about two brothers. Jacob and Esau. Their fight started in their mother’s womb. And it went on for over 1000 years. Israel came from Jacob. Edom came from Esau. When Babylon came to destroy Jerusalem Edom stood by and cheered. Then they helped. They caught the people running away and handed them over. So God sent Obadiah with a message. Edom would fall. And Zion would rise.

There are three things we want you to take away from this study. Obadiah is about pride. “The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee” (v.3). Obadiah is about how God sees the way we treat our brother. “For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee” (v.10). And Obadiah points to Jesus Christ. The one through whom “upon mount Zion shall be deliverance” (v.17). And the King of the kingdom that “shall be the LORD’s” (v.21). We will explain these points as we go through the book. But we want you to keep them in mind as we begin.

“The vision of Obadiah” (v.1). That is all we know about him. His name means servant of the LORD. It was a common name. There are about a dozen men named Obadiah in the Old Testament. One of them was the man in Ahab’s house who hid 100 prophets from Jezebel (1 Kings 18:4). We saw him in our 1 Kings study. But most do not believe he is the same man.

Obadiah does not name a king. So we do not know for sure when he wrote. But verses 11 to 14 sound like the day Babylon destroyed Jerusalem in 586 BC. Most believe he wrote soon after that.¹ We saw in our Lamentations and Ezekiel studies how Edom acted on that day. And Psalm 137 says “Remember, O LORD, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; who said, Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof” (Psalm 137:7). Obadiah is God’s answer to that prayer. Also notice that verses 1 to 9 are almost the same as Jeremiah 49:7–22.² God gave the same message to both prophets.

We will break the book down like this. The pride of thine heart (vv.1–9). Thy violence against thy brother (vv.10–14). The day of the LORD (vv.15–16). And the kingdom shall be the LORD’s (vv.17–21). Then we will look at the story of Jacob and Esau behind the book. Then we will put together what Obadiah teaches about the one God. Just like in our other studies we will be using the KJV for our scripture quotations. And we will let you know where you can find the work of the scholars we reference.

“Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning Edom; We have heard a rumour from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent among the heathen, Arise ye, and let us rise up against her in battle” (v.1). God was stirring up the nations against Edom. “Behold, I have made thee small among the heathen: thou art greatly despised” (v.2). Edom thought it was big. God said you are small.

Edom lived in the mountains south and east of the Dead Sea. Their cities were cut into high red rock cliffs. One of them was called Sela. Which means rock.³ The only way in was through narrow canyons. A few men could hold off an army. So Edom said in his heart who shall bring me down. They felt safe. But notice the first words. “The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee.” Pride lies to you. It tells you nobody can touch you. That is the same thing the king of Babylon said in Isaiah 14. “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God” (Isaiah 14:13). We covered that in our Isaiah study. And God said the same thing to both of them. I will bring thee down. “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18). “God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5).

Then God says how complete it would be. If thieves came at night they would only take what they wanted. If grape pickers came they would leave a few grapes. But Edom would be stripped clean. “How are the things of Esau searched out! how are his hidden things sought up!” (vv.5–6). All the treasure hidden in the rocks would be found.

“All the men of thy confederacy have brought thee even to the border: the men that were at peace with thee have deceived thee, and prevailed against thee; they that eat thy bread have laid a wound under thee” (v.7). Edom’s own friends would turn on them. The ones who ate at their table. Edom betrayed his brother. Now his friends would betray him. Jesus knew what it was like to be betrayed by one who ate his bread. “He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me” (John 13:18).

“Shall I not in that day, saith the LORD, even destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of the mount of Esau?” (v.8). Edom was known for its wise men. Eliphaz the Temanite in the book of Job was from Edom. Teman was one of their main towns. We met him in our Job study. But their wisdom would not save them. “And thy mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed” (v.9).

Notice the word brother. That is what made it so bad. Babylon was a stranger. But Edom was family. And in the day of trouble Edom stood on the other side. Just watched. “Even thou wast as one of them.” When you stand by and do nothing while your brother is destroyed God counts you with the ones doing it.

Then 8 times God says thou shouldest not.⁴ It is like a list of steps going from bad to worse. “But thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day that he became a stranger; neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress” (v.12). First they looked. Then they rejoiced. Then they bragged. “Thou shouldest not have entered into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; yea, thou shouldest not have looked on their affliction in the day of their calamity, nor have laid hands on their substance in the day of their calamity” (v.13). Then they went in. And they stole. “Neither shouldest thou have stood in the crossway, to cut off those of his that did escape; neither shouldest thou have delivered up those of his that did remain in the day of distress” (v.14). Then they stood at the crossroads. And they caught the ones running for their lives and handed them over to Babylon.

That is how sin grows. You look. You enjoy it. You talk about it. You go in. You take. And then you hurt people. It starts with looking. James says “when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death” (James 1:15). Notice also. God calls them “my people” (v.13). Judah had sinned. God was punishing them. But they were still his. And woe to anyone who kicks God’s people when they are down. “He that is glad at calamities shall not be unpunished” (Proverbs 17:5). John says “He that loveth not his brother abideth in death” (1 John 3:14).

Now the book gets bigger. Not just Edom. All the heathen. The day of the LORD. We saw in our Joel and Amos studies that the day of the LORD is the day God steps in to judge. And here is the rule of that day. “As thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee.” What you do comes back on your own head. Edom watched Jerusalem fall. Now Edom would fall. Jesus said “with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again” (Matthew 7:2). Paul said “whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Galatians 6:7).

“As ye have drunk upon my holy mountain.” Edom celebrated on the mountain where the temple was burned. Drinking. Partying. So the nations would drink the cup of God’s wrath. We saw in our Jeremiah study that God gave Jeremiah a cup to make the nations drink (Jeremiah 25:15). Edom was on that list (Jeremiah 25:21). They would drink until they were “as though they had not been.” And that is what happened. Edom is gone. There is no Edomite people today.⁵

But. Edom will be as though it had not been. But Zion. The mountain where Edom partied would be the place of deliverance. And holiness. Notice the same words in Joel. “For in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance” (Joel 2:32). We saw in our Joel study that this comes right after “whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered.” And Peter preached that on the day of Pentecost. In Jerusalem. On mount Zion. And about 3000 souls were added that day. Hebrews says “ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem … And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant” (Hebrews 12:22, 24). Deliverance on mount Zion is in Jesus.

“And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them, and devour them; and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau; for the LORD hath spoken it” (v.18). Jacob would be the fire. Esau the dry straw. Then God names the lands his people would take back. The south. The mount of Esau. The Philistines. Ephraim and Samaria. Gilead. All the way to Zarephath in the north. And the captives in Sepharad would come home (vv.19–20). Everything that was lost would be returned. Then the last verse.

Saviours. The Hebrew word is the one used for the judges God raised up. “The LORD raised up a deliverer to the children of Israel, who delivered them” (Judges 3:9).⁶ We saw that in our Judges study. Men that God used to rescue his people. But notice the end of the verse. “The kingdom shall be the LORD’s.” The saviours do not own the kingdom. The LORD does. And there is only one true Saviour. “Thou shalt know no god but me: for there is no saviour beside me” (Hosea 13:4). We covered that in our Hosea study.

The kingdom shall be the LORD’s. That is how the book ends. Not with Edom. Not with Babylon. With the LORD as King. Now listen to Revelation. “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever” (Revelation 11:15). Notice. Our Lord and his Christ. And then he shall reign. Not they. He. One King. The Lord and his Christ are not two kings on two thrones. The Lord reigns in Christ. The kingdom that Obadiah said would be the LORD’s is the kingdom of Jesus Christ.

We cannot understand Obadiah without the story of the two brothers. We covered it in our Genesis study. But basically it goes like this. Rebekah had twins. They fought inside her. God told her “Two nations are in thy womb … and the elder shall serve the younger” (Genesis 25:23). Esau was born first. Jacob came out holding his heel. Esau grew up and sold his birthright for a bowl of stew. Then Jacob took the blessing by tricking his father. Esau hated him and planned to kill him (Genesis 27:41). Years later they made peace (Genesis 33). But their children did not.

When Israel came out of Egypt they asked Edom to let them pass through. Edom said no and came out against them with an army (Numbers 20:14–21). We saw that in our Numbers study. Even so God told Israel “Thou shalt not abhor an Edomite; for he is thy brother” (Deuteronomy 23:7). But Edom never stopped. They fought Saul. David conquered them. They rebelled again and again. And when Jerusalem fell they cheered.

And the story did not end with Obadiah. In the time between the testaments the Edomites were called Idumeans. And the Jewish leader John Hyrcanus forced them to become Jews.⁷ Then a man from Idumea became king of the Jews. Herod the Great. Notice what happened. When Jesus was born Herod tried to kill him. He killed the babies of Bethlehem (Matthew 2:16). Esau was trying to kill Jacob again. Then his son Herod Antipas mocked Jesus at his trial and dressed him in a gorgeous robe (Luke 23:11). Then his grandson Herod Agrippa killed James the brother of John (Acts 12:1–2). The spirit of Edom fought the son of David from his birth.

The New Testament uses Esau as a warning. “Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected” (Hebrews 12:16–17). Esau traded something eternal for something he wanted right now. That is the spirit of Edom. Pride. Living for now. Hating your brother. And it always ends the same way. As though it had not been.

Obadiah is short. But it shows us a God who rules over all the nations. Before we finish we want to put it all together. There are three things we want to point out.

First the one God brings down the proud. Edom set his nest among the stars. God said “thence will I bring thee down, saith the LORD” (v.4). No mountain is high enough to hide from him. No wisdom is deep enough to fool him. He sees how we treat our brother. And “as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee” (v.15). There is one judge over all the earth.

Second deliverance is on mount Zion. Not in the rocks of Edom. Not in the wisdom of Teman. “Upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness” (v.17). Joel said the same and tied it to calling on the name of the LORD (Joel 2:32). And on mount Zion on the day of Pentecost Peter told the people to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38). The deliverance on Zion is in his name.

Third the kingdom shall be the LORD’s. God raised up saviours like the judges. But there is no Saviour beside him (Hosea 13:4). And Revelation says the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ. “And he shall reign for ever and ever” (Revelation 11:15). He. Not they. The LORD reigns in Christ. One God. One King. Revealed in Jesus Christ. “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily” (Colossians 2:9).

We have gone through Obadiah verse by verse. Here is what we can conclude. First Obadiah is about pride. Edom lived high in the rocks and said who shall bring me down. Their pride deceived them. Their friends betrayed them. Their wise men failed them. And God brought them down. Pride still lies to people today. It tells you that you are safe without God. You are not.

Second Obadiah is about how we treat our brother. Edom looked. Rejoiced. Bragged. Went in. Took. Caught the ones running for their lives. God saw every step. And he said thou shouldest not 8 times. What you do to your brother will come back on your own head. Do not stand on the other side when your brother is in trouble.

Third Obadiah points to Jesus Christ. Deliverance came to mount Zion when Jesus died and rose again in Jerusalem and poured out his Spirit there. The house of Esau tried to kill him as a baby and mocked him at his trial. But Edom is gone. And the kingdom is the LORD’s. Jesus shall reign forever and ever.

Obadiah was sent to tell a proud nation it would be destroyed. The next prophet was sent to a proud nation too. The great city of Nineveh. But he did not want to go. Because he was afraid God would forgive them. So he ran the other way. That is where Jonah begins.