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Brotherhood

Brotherhood. Obadiah. Pre-natal Jacob and Esau. “The LORD said to her, ‘Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger’” (Genesis 25.23). . Brotherly Skirmishes. Personal

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Brotherhood

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  1. Brotherhood Obadiah

  2. Pre-natal Jacob and Esau • “The LORD said to her, ‘Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger’” (Genesis 25.23).

  3. Brotherly Skirmishes • Personal • Re: Birthright • “‘May God give you of heaven’s dew and of earth’s richness—an abundance of grain and new wine. May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed and those who bless you be blessed’” (Genesis 27.28-29).

  4. Brotherly Skirmishes • National • Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom saying: ‘This is what your brother Israel says: You know about all the hardships that have come upon us. Our forefathers went down into Egypt, and we lived there many years. The Egyptians mistreated us and our fathers, but when we cried out to the LORD, he heard our cry and sent an angel and brought us out of Egypt. Now we are here at Kadesh, a town on the edge of your territory. Please let us pass through your country. We will not go through any field or vineyard, or drink water from any well.

  5. Brotherly Skirmishes • National • We will travel along the king’s highway and not turn to the right or to the left until we have passed through your territory.’ But Edom answered: ‘You may not pass through here; if you try, we will march out and attack you with the sword.’ …Then Edom came out against them with a large and powerful army. Since Edom refused to let them go through their territory, Israel turned away from them (Num 20.14-18, 20b-21). • “Do not abhor an Edomite for he is your brother” (Deuteronomy 23.7a).

  6. Destruction of Judah • “[I]t was a serious blow to Jerusalem when, as the Babylonian peril came closer, Edom preferred to withdraw to its rocky terrain south of the Dead Sea and east of the Arabah…rather than to hasten to Jerusalem’s help” (Wolff 1986: 43). • The “average difference in height of more that 5000 feet has to be surmounted in a distance of 15 to 25 miles. The rugged cliffs with their many caves offered natural protection to the Edomites living there” (Wolff 1986: 48; cf. Obad 3).

  7. Lament • “Obadiah condemns personified Edom for standing directly in front of Jacob as an indifferent or hostile observer instead of coming to the side of its brother Jacob when strangers and foreigners attacked” (Raabe 1996: 172; cf. Obad 10-14). • “Remember, O LORD, what the Edomites did on the day Jerusalem fell. ‘Tear it down,’ they cried, ‘tear it down to its foundations!’” (Psalm 137.7).

  8. Restribution • “‘The day of the Lord is near for all nations. As you have done, it will be done to you; you deeds will return upon your own head” (Obad 15). • “the form of the oracle is dramatically presented as a direct communication from God to the nation concerned, although in fact Obadiah is not confronting the Edomites face to face but delivering the oracle among his own nation. Its implicit aim is to encourage and reassure God’s people, reminding them of his purpose and power to cut down to size their high and mighty rivals” (Allen 1976: 147)

  9. Divine Turning of the Tables

  10. Deliverers and Deliverance

  11. Deliverers and Deliverance • “Obadiah portrays Israel’s future situation as in some respects a repetition of the period of the judges: just as Israel had mighty deliverers in the past, so it will have such heroes in the future” (Raabe 1996: 269). • “‘The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever’” (Rev 11.15)

  12. Projecting into the New Testament

  13. Wicked and Righteous • Esau • “See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. He could bring about no change of mind, though he sought the blessing with tears” (Hebrews 12.16-17). • Jacob • “Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad—in order that God’s purpose in election might stand: not by works but by him who calls—she was told, ‘The older will serve the younger.’ Just as it is written: ‘Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated’” (Romans 9.11-13).

  14. Stronger Brother Weaker Brother • “We who are strong [Christians] ought to bear with the failings of the weak [Christian] and not to please ourselves” (Romans 15.1). • “Accept him whose faith is weak without passing judgment on disputable matters” of religion and culture (Romans 14.1). • “You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat” (14.10)

  15. “Whoever loves God must also love his brother” (1 John 4.21b).

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