Obadiah

God will not always tolerate mans ways. There will be a day of reckoning. All power, all honor and all glory to God. All things, in the earth and in heaven, are in His hands. God hates pride and arrogance, mine or yours. Remember, we are our brother's keeper!

1 The vision of Obadiah.

Thus says the Lord God concerning Edom

We have heard a report from the Lord,

And a messenger has been sent among the nations, saying,

"Arise, and let us rise up against her for battle"

2 "Behold, I will make you small among the nations;

You shall be greatly despised.

3 The pride of your heart has deceived you,

You who dwell in the clefts of the rock,

Whose habitation is high;

You who say in your heart, 'Who will bring me down to the ground?'

6 "Oh, how Esau shall be searched out!

How his hidden treasures shall be sought after!

7 All the men in your confederacy

Shall force you to the border;

The men at peace with you

Shall deceive you and prevail against you.

Those who eat your bread shall lay a trap for you.

No one is aware of it.

8 "Will I not in that day," says the Lord,

"Even destroy the wise men from Edom,

And understanding from the mountains of Esau?

10 "For violence against your brother Jacob,

Shame shall cover you,

And you shall be cut off forever.

11 In the day that you stood on the other side—

In the day that strangers carried captive his forces,

When foreigners entered his gates

And cast lots for Jerusalem—

Even you were as one of them.

12 "But you should not have gazed on the day of your brother

In the day of his captivity;

Nor should you have rejoiced over the children of Judah

In the day of their destruction;

Nor should you have spoken proudly

In the day of distress.

13 You should not have entered the gate of My people

In the day of their calamity.

Indeed, you should not have gazed on their affliction

In the day of their calamity,

Nor laid hands on their substance

In the day of their calamity.

14 You should not have stood at the crossroads

To cut off those among them who escaped;

Nor should you have delivered up those among them who remained

In the day of distress.

15 "For the day of the Lord upon all the nations is near;

As you have done, it shall be done to you;

Your reprisal shall return upon your own head.

17 "But on Mount Zion there shall be deliverance,

And there shall be holiness;

The house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.

18 The house of Jacob shall be a fire,

And the house of Joseph a flame;

But the house of Esau shall be stubble;

They shall kindle them and devour them,

And no survivor shall remain of the house of Esau,"

For the Lord has spoken.     

21 Then saviors shall come to Mount Zion

To judge the mountains of Esau,

And the kingdom shall be the Lord's.

The NKJV Study Bible says this: The Book of Obadiah is one of only two minor prophets that is addressed entirely to a nation other than Israel or Judah. It deals with the ancient feud between Israel and the nation of Edom, between the descendants of Jacob and those of his brother Esau. Through the prophet Obadiah, the Lord expressed His indignation at the nation of Edom. When they should have been helping their relatives, they were gloating over the Israelites' problems and raiding their homes. A day was coming—the day of the Lord—when all these wrongs would be righted. The Lord would bring justice to the world. In 586 b.c. Nebuchadnezzar's army crushed Judah and destroyed Jerusalem and Solomon's temple, ending Judah's existence as an independent nation. Edom, as a closely related nation, should have helped Judah's refugees. But instead of offering sympathy and help, Edom handed Judeans over to the conquering Babylonians. The Edomites even murdered some of the refugees. Such treachery to a related nation could not be overlooked. God gave Obadiah a stern message for Edom, a warning of God's judgment on them for their callous treatment of the fleeing Judeans. The Edomites' pride and presumed self-sufficiency became their downfall.
In the grand scheme of the biblical message of God's redemption of fallen humanity, the Book of Obadiah may seem to be of little importance. But its portion of that message is tremendously vital. God is sovereign over all nations, whether they acknowledge His sovereignty or not. God desires that we show mercy and favor to our neighbors in their time of distress. Treachery against a relative is never justified and will be judged by the God of justice. The defining characteristic of the nation of Edom was pride. Pride incites insolence and rebellion toward God, and it brings shame and destruction. The "pride of your heart" of which Jeremiah speaks is "presumptuous godlessness," the arrogance of those who think that they can thrive without their Creator. It was one thing for the Babylonians to attack Judah; for a nation like Edom to join the Babylonians against their own brothers was unthinkable. The Edomites had captured those who were attempting to escape the Babylonian army and then had turned them over to their pursuers. These were Obadiah's last words against all human arrogance, pride, and rebellion. Edom had thought itself indestructible; but the Lord humbled that nation and restored the fallen Judah. Many people are tempted to consider themselves beyond the reach of God. But God will bring them low, just as He will lift those who humble themselves before Him. And one great day, He will establish His just rule over all.