Obadiah Intro

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Intro:

Well I pivoted a little as I was preparing for our time in Obadiah and while I was planning on trying to cover the book in one message I decided that it would probably do us well to spend two weeks here.

Obadiah is the smallest of the OT books and even by NT standards it is pretty short, just 21 verses and no chapters. If we had a show of hands on how many sermons we as a collective group had heard on this book it would likely yield pretty low numbers, we might even expand this out to how many time you have heard this book referenced and the number still would likely be pretty low, outside of maybe singing a books of the Bible song or reciting them to learn the order we just don't hear much from this little OT prophet. You have at least read it if you have worked your way through a yearly Bible reading plan but if you have never done that you likely haven't even read Obadiah.

The book is not quoted in the NT, at least not directly, but as we will see the themes in the book are certainly present in the NT. The book does share some material in common with other prophets and we will see today references to Ezekiel and Jeremiah so it is not as though these brief 21 verses don't make any splash at all in the pool of God’s Word.

Now I would also say that I get it. I wouldn't say that it should come as a surprise that we don't spend much time in Obadiah. It is a small book and the primary themes that it develops are more fully fleshed out at other places in God’s word. However, just because a book is small and just because it doesn't have the theological depth that others have does not make it any less the word of God and so while I wouldn't say that there is a need to preach through Obadiah on a yearly basis there is certainly warrant to take time to understand this prophet and the message that He carried from God to God’s people. This is a message that we will take more time in our next message to unpack but it is a message that still has the power to speak into the lives of God’s people today.

So with that being said, lets take a moment to pray and then read these 21 verses from the prophet Obadiah.

PRAY & READ

We see there at the beginning that the book is the vision of Obadiah. In Hebrew this is only two words, vision and the prophets name. A short intro for a short book which makes sense but I think that what Obadiah does is to get himself out of the way, there is no lingering here on who he is, under what kings, if any, he prophesied, what his occupation was, or any other details besides his name, Obadiah, which is a super common name in the OT, maybe something like John in our day. Obadiah means servant of Yahweh, or maybe also worshiper of Yahweh. You can see why the name would have been popular. The most famous Obadiah isn't even this prophet, the most famous Obadiah is the servant of Ahab who hid the prophets of God during the days of Elijah. However, as we have seen before we must take care not to seek to draw significance from names unless the text directs us to do so. Here the name is simply given to tell us who it was that had recieved this revelation from God. Again, the main point here is not who Obadiah was but that he quickly lets himself pass out of the way and presents what comes afterward as a vision or a revelation from God and indeed we see immediately after vision that wonderfully potent prophetic phrase “Thus says the Lord!”

This is above all things God’s message and the ears of God’s people ought to perk up immediately when we here that phrase and though they are often unmoved, the heart of sinful men ought to shake in terror when they hear it!

However, we are not going to wade far into the message today. Our goal today is to set the historical frame work for understanding this book and take a look at some of the relevant passages in the OT to help us understand what takes place in History that has now occasioned these 21 verses from this prophet.

This opening actually causes some troubles in this regard because of its lack of historical setting. Because of this we have to draw context clues from the book itself and its content and seek to match it to what we learn from history.

Edom

A quick skim of the book or maybe even just the introductory paragraph, if your Bible has one, ought to let you know that this book is a prophecy concerning the people of Edom.

Now, quickly, before we dive into the people of Edom, it is an important hermenutical tool (bible study tool) to understand that though this book is directed at Edom, Obadiah was not a prophet to Edom, this book was very much written down for and delivered to the people of Israel. This is the case with all of the prophets, when we read prophecies issued against other nations these things are written and delivered, not to the nations but rather to the people of God. The only sort of exception to this may be Jonah who was literally sent to Nineveh but even then the book of Jonah was recorded not for the people of Nineveh but for the people of Israel, the book is purposed for God’s people and the same is true of Obadiah! This is a prophecy against Edom delivered not to Edom but to God’s own people. That will become important as we study the meaning of the message of the book.

Now back to Edom.

Many of you will hopefully know that the people of Edom were the people of Esau.

We read in Genesis 36 the genealogy of the people of Esau who was the first born son of Isaac the promised son of Abraham and he was the twin (fraternal) of Jacob the father of the 12 tribes of Israel.

We read there in Genesis 36:9

Genesis 36:9 ESV

These are the generations of Esau the father of the Edomites in the hill country of Seir.

We read of the birth of Esau and Isaac in 11 chapters earlier in Genesis 25:19-28

Genesis 25:19–28 ESV

These are the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham fathered Isaac, and Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean, to be his wife. And Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren. And the Lord granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived. The children struggled together within her, and she said, “If it is thus, why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. And the Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger.” When her days to give birth were completed, behold, there were twins in her womb. The first came out red, all his body like a hairy cloak, so they called his name Esau. Afterward his brother came out with his hand holding Esau’s heel, so his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them. When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents. Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

We see that there was, even in the womb a seeming natural animosity between the brothers and indeed it would be Jacob the younger through whom God would decree the line of promise to pass.

Now you are likely familiar with many of these stories of these boys lives. Unlike Obadiah we hear plenty about them. It doesn't take long for Esau to despise his birthright and for Jacob to swindle it away from him for a bowl of stew. This is actually where we learn that the people of Edom got their name. The stew was red and Edom sounds like the word for red. (Genesis 25:30)

Eventually these events culminate with Jacob outright stealing the birthright of the first born from Esau by tricking his near blind father at the instance of his mother into thinking he was Esau and having his father bless him. We see there that right after Jacob leaves the tent Esau enters and is infuriated to learn that there is no blessing remaining for him. He is so angry in fact that he begins to plot to murder his brother and as a result Jacob is sent away to Rebecca’s family to live for a time.

During that time that Jacob is away we learn that Esau also begins to grow into a people group of his own.

We read in Genesis 32 of Jacob’s return to the land of his father and of Esau coming to meet him with 400 men which rightly scares Jacob. However, Esau does not come to murder his brother now.

We read of that interaction in Genesis 33: 4-11

Genesis 33:4–11 ESV

But Esau ran to meet him and embraced him and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept. And when Esau lifted up his eyes and saw the women and children, he said, “Who are these with you?” Jacob said, “The children whom God has graciously given your servant.” Then the servants drew near, they and their children, and bowed down. Leah likewise and her children drew near and bowed down. And last Joseph and Rachel drew near, and they bowed down. Esau said, “What do you mean by all this company that I met?” Jacob answered, “To find favor in the sight of my lord.” But Esau said, “I have enough, my brother; keep what you have for yourself.” Jacob said, “No, please, if I have found favor in your sight, then accept my present from my hand. For I have seen your face, which is like seeing the face of God, and you have accepted me. Please accept my blessing that is brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough.” Thus he urged him, and he took it.

But even in that aftermath of that meeting we find that Jacob and Esau don't settle down together as family they live in their own separate areas and we only read of them together again when they have to bury their father in Genesis 35.

From this point forward we don't read anything about Edom for over 400 years until the people of Israel are on their way to the promised land.

We don't know much about what happened in those years with Edom. They are not God’s chosen people and so they don't have their history divinely preserved for us in an inspired and authoritative book. Interestingly enough it is actually from the Bible that we learn much of what we know about these people. There is some other literature from the ancient world that mentions them and there have been some archeological discoveries made that reference them but most of hat we know comes from the pages of God’s word.

We know that they settled in the land to the south and east of the dead sea. This is an area that fits the personality of Esau. It is rugged, mainly desert territory with mountains and cliffs and lots and lots of rock. This area is today part of the country of Jordan. There are in this area structures built directly into the rocks where people dwelt, most famously Petra is in the land of Edom.

We dot know much about the political structure of the people of Edom. Like Israel they seem to have been led by a collective of warlike chiefs for a time, much like the Judges, before being brought together under some sort of a monarchy. They appear to have kept themselves pretty secluded in their territory and relied on the natural defense that the area provided them for safety. It seems as though they were a relatively wealthy people, it could be that mining played a part in their economy and their nation sat right on one of the main trade routes of the day. The Bible makes reference to the fact that they seemed to be a wise people, at least wise in their own eyes.

We do know that by the time Israel was getting ready to head to the promised land after the Exodus the people of Edom were formidable enough to prevent them from passing through their territory.

We read in Numbers 20:14-21

Numbers 20:14–21 ESV

Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom: “Thus says your brother Israel: You know all the hardship that we have met: how our fathers went down to Egypt, and we lived in Egypt a long time. And the Egyptians dealt harshly with us and our fathers. And when we cried to the Lord, he heard our voice and sent an angel and brought us out of Egypt. And here we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your territory. Please let us pass through your land. We will not pass through field or vineyard, or drink water from a well. We will go along the King’s Highway. We will not turn aside to the right hand or to the left until we have passed through your territory.” But Edom said to him, “You shall not pass through, lest I come out with the sword against you.” And the people of Israel said to him, “We will go up by the highway, and if we drink of your water, I and my livestock, then I will pay for it. Let me only pass through on foot, nothing more.” But he said, “You shall not pass through.” And Edom came out against them with a large army and with a strong force. Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his territory, so Israel turned away from him.

From this point forward there is always animosity between the people of Edom and the people of Israel. At the height of their power under king David we read that David put garrisons all throughout the land of Edom, he had subdued them. He even includes his victory over the Edomites in Psalm 60 after striking down 12,000 Edomites in battle.

Edom’s Wrong Against Israel

The culmination of this hostility comes at the lowest moment for Israel and this is the moment when many of the prophecies, including the prophecy of Obadiah seem to be pointing to. In 587 BC as the Babylonians conquered Israel and destroyed Jerusalem it seems as though the Edomites did everything they could do to pitch in and destroy and harass the people of Israel at their darkest moment.

In our next time together we will look specifically at what Obadiah says that Edom has done but as we have said this morning, Obadiah is not the only prophet who referenced these atrocities committed by Edom against the people if Israel.

We read in Ezekiel 35

Ezekiel 35 ESV

The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, set your face against Mount Seir, and prophesy against it, and say to it, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, Mount Seir, and I will stretch out my hand against you, and I will make you a desolation and a waste. I will lay your cities waste, and you shall become a desolation, and you shall know that I am the Lord. Because you cherished perpetual enmity and gave over the people of Israel to the power of the sword at the time of their calamity, at the time of their final punishment, therefore, as I live, declares the Lord God, I will prepare you for blood, and blood shall pursue you; because you did not hate bloodshed, therefore blood shall pursue you. I will make Mount Seir a waste and a desolation, and I will cut off from it all who come and go. And I will fill its mountains with the slain. On your hills and in your valleys and in all your ravines those slain with the sword shall fall. I will make you a perpetual desolation, and your cities shall not be inhabited. Then you will know that I am the Lord. “Because you said, ‘These two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will take possession of them’—although the Lord was there— therefore, as I live, declares the Lord God, I will deal with you according to the anger and envy that you showed because of your hatred against them. And I will make myself known among them, when I judge you. And you shall know that I am the Lord. “I have heard all the revilings that you uttered against the mountains of Israel, saying, ‘They are laid desolate; they are given us to devour.’ And you magnified yourselves against me with your mouth, and multiplied your words against me; I heard it. Thus says the Lord God: While the whole earth rejoices, I will make you desolate. As you rejoiced over the inheritance of the house of Israel, because it was desolate, so I will deal with you; you shall be desolate, Mount Seir, and all Edom, all of it. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

At Israel’s darkest moment as they were being laid waste by the Babylonians the people of Edom saw it as an opportunity to profit and expand their own territory at the expense of God’s own people. These people who would not let the people of Israel step foot in their territory as they were journeying to the land that God had given them now took an active role in adding insult to injury as God’s people were placed under his rod of discipline. Obadiah will flesh out for us some of the details of what it is that Edom had done as they “reviled the mountains of Israel.”

Jeremiah also a prophet of the exile prophesies against Edom as well: 49:7-11 & 14-16

English Standard Version Chapter 49

7 Concerning Edom.

Thus says the LORD of hosts:

“Is wisdom no more in Teman?

Has counsel perished from the prudent?

Has their wisdom vanished?

8 Flee, turn back, dwell in the depths,

O inhabitants of Dedan!

For I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him,

the time when I punish him.

9 If grape gatherers came to you,

would they not leave gleanings?

If thieves came by night,

would they not destroy only enough for themselves?

10 But I have stripped Esau bare;

I have uncovered his hiding places,

and he is not able to conceal himself.

His children are destroyed, and his brothers,

and his neighbors; and he is no more.

11 Leave your fatherless children; I will keep them alive;

and let your widows trust in me.”

English Standard Version Chapter 49

14 I have heard a message from the LORD,

and an envoy has been sent among the nations:

“Gather yourselves together and come against her,

and rise up for battle!

15 For behold, I will make you small among the nations,

despised among mankind.

16 The horror you inspire has deceived you,

and the pride of your heart,

you who live in the clefts of the rock,

who hold the height of the hill.

Though you make your nest as high as the eagle’s,

I will bring you down from there,

declares the LORD.

There are some amazing parallels between Obadiah and Jeremiah, so much so that scholars try and figure out who had access to who. Again we will dive more into the prophecies in Obadiah in our next message but we see that destruction is ordained for these people for the wrongs done to Israel.

So now we see the historical context for the book of Obadiah. The long simmering animosity between these nations who were related to each other, they were brothers, had boiled over as these people of Edom had committed atrocities against Israel during the Babylonian conquest.

Obadiah’s audience would have been well aware of what Edom had done and Obadiah’s prophecy would have served to give them again hope that God would take vengeance on those who had done wrong to them.

We will develop this further but it is a theme that we carry over into Obadiah from Amos and it is one that should come as a great comfort to God’s people of any time. God sees all of the wrong done to his people and He will act to bring justice to the scales of history. For the people of Israel, the very fact that God was preparing to take action against those who had so mistreated them would have served to show them that despite the punishment that God had meted out to them for their own covenant unfaithfulness, He was still their God! He was still acting on their behalf!

Now as we round out this historical context it is probably important to mention that the book of Obadiah is hard to pin down to a specific time. As we have already mentioned there is no chronological data available to us in the two word introduction and the name Obadiah is far to common to be helpful at all. I think a good case can be made for the book being written at some point after the exile as it seems most obvious to connect the descriptions of the wrongs done by Edom to the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 BC.

Some Hermenutical Considerations

Finally as we close out this morning there are a couple of hermenutical principles that we need to be reminded of as we read this book.

We have already seen that we need to remember that though the prophecy is directed against Edom it is recorded and delivered to Israel.

We also will note that the prophecy like that in Joel 3 will widen out beyond the temporal bounds of this specific instance of the mistreatment of God’s people. While Obadiah is responding to s specific instance of mistreatment we must be sure to realize that this does not stop the book from being applicable across the pages of history.

Obadiah will tell us, “The day of the Lord is near upon all nations.” Though he will not do as much to develop this theme of the day of the Lord as some of the other prophets we can take what we have learned about that day in prophets like Joel and apply it here.

That is actually my last hermenutical principle and it comes with an encouragement that we can have here because we aren't going to cover the whole book in one message. We have laid some ground work over the past few months for understanding the day of the Lord and its relation to Jesus as the Messiah and the Kingdom of God and I would encourage you to take what e have learned and see if you can read through the book of Obadiah over the next few weeks and see how those things might help give a deeper understanding to what Obadiah is prophesying.

At the end of the day the book itself is not very difficult to understand, it connects to some of these larger concepts but across the 21 verses that we read here we see mostly a specific prophesy of destruction against a specific people for a specific instance of wrong done against God’s people. The simplicity of the message gives some time to be able to ponder how it is that this simple message plugs int some of these larger overarching themes; the Day of the Lord, the reign of the Messiah, the end of History. If you have some time I would encourage you to try and do that before we are back in the book together again.

Conclusion

Apple of God’s eye!

Grace and the dogs.... they would be dead!

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