Obadiah 1:2,3,4

No nation is an island to themselves. How we treat others is how we will be treated. Because God shows partially to no one, all nations will be judged on the mercy and compassion that they extend to others. 

God hates pride and arrogance.

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.

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.

God would bring about a reversal of Edom’s inflated self-importance. Some of the mountain peaks of Edom reach over six thousand feet; Jerusalem is about 2,300 feet above sea level. Edom’s presumed physical safety led the Edomites to become haughty; this would be their downfall. Trusting in its high places and mountainous strongholds, Edom reckoned that no one could bring it to account for its actions.

 Obadiah 1:2-4

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?’

⁴ Though you ascend as high as the eagle,

And though you set your nest among the stars,

From there I will bring you down,” says the Lord.

¹⁶ Your fierceness has deceived you, The pride of your heart, O you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, Who hold the height of the hill! Though you make your nest as high as the eagle, I will bring you down from there,” says the Lord. 

Jeremiah 49:16

⁷ In the measure that she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, in the same measure give her torment and sorrow; for she says in her heart, ‘I sit as queen, and am no widow, and will not see sorrow.’ 

Revelation 18:7