OBADIAH

1. OBADIAH Obadiah means: Servant or worshiper of the Lord The title of this Book, in the Hebrew copies, is usually "Sepher Obadiah", THE BOOK OF OBADIAH. The Vulgate Latin version calls it the PROPHECY OF OBADIAH; as does the Arabic version. The Syriac version calls it the PROPHECY OF THE PROPHET OBADIAH.

2. OBADIAH

3. OBADIAH • Obadiah • Occurs 20 times in the Old Testament referring to at least 20 different people! • It’s the shortest book in the Old Testament • It’s not quoted in the New Testament • His frequent referencing of Jerusalem, Judah, and Zion implies he belonged to the Southern Kingdom • Probably a contemporary of Elijah and Elisha

4. OBADIAH • Two possible dates between 848-841 B.C. or 586 B.C. • The first is most likely because Obadiah does not indicate total destruction of the city which took place under Nebuchadnezzar's attack, also Obadiah does not mention the Babylonians by name, also there is no mention to the destruction of the temple or deportation of the people also captives appear to be taken SW not east to Babylon

5. Edomites • Originated from Esau who fought with Jacob in the womb. Israel and Edom have always been enemies. • Esau means hairy • Edom means red • Esau settled in the rugged mountains S of the Dead Sea called Mount Seir which is a mountain range from S of the dead sea to the Gulf of Akabah • It was named Seir after Seir the Horite (Gen 6:20) • Horite means rock dweller and were displaced by the Edomites in Deut. 2:12 • Capital city Sela or Petra • The Kings Highway linking N Africa with Europe and Asia passes along the Eastern plateau

6. Edomites • When Israel left Egypt, Edom denied Jacob passage, but God instructed Israel to be kind to Edom • Obadiah was sent to describe Edom’s Crimes and pronounce judgment and total destruction against them because of the way they treated Israel • Edomites opposed King Saul 1043-1011 B.C.

7. Edomites • Edom was subdued under King David 1011-971 B.C. and Solomon 971-931 B.C. • They fought against Jehoshaphat 873-848 B.C. • They successfully rebelled against Jehoram 853-841 B.C. • They were conquered by Judah under Amaziah 796-767 B.C.

8. Edomites • They regained their freedom under the reign of Ahaz 735-715 B.C. • Edom was latter controlled by Assyria and Babylon in the 5th century B.C. • Edomites were forced by the Nabateans to leave their territory • The moved to southern Palestine and became known as the Idumeans

9. Edomites • Herod the Great was a Idumean and became king of Judea under Rome in 37 B.C. • The Idumeans participated in the rebellion of Jerusalem against Rome and with the Jews were defeated by Titus in A.D. 70 • The Edomites applauded the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. but died trying to defend it in A.D. 70 and were never heard of after that as Obadiah predicted, no survivor shall remain in the house of Esau

10. Edom’s Sins • The underlying sin: violence to his "brother" Judah (10) • The specific actions: (11 - 1 4) • Indifference to Judah's troubles (11) • Rejoicing over Judah's troubles (12). • Looting Judah's possessions (13). • Oppressing Judah's people (14).

11. Hampton Keathley IV, Th.M. hamptonk@bible.org

12. Gods Judgment on Edom • More than any other nation in the Old Testament Edom is the supreme object of Gods wrath • Pss. 83:5-18, 137:7 • Is. 11:14; 21:11, 12; 34:5; 63:1-6 • Jer. 49:7-22 • Lam. 4:21,22 • Ezk. 25:12-14; 35:1-15 • Joel 3:19 • Amos 1:11-12; 9:11-12 • Mal. 1:2-5

13. Psalms • Psa 83:5 For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee: • Psa 83:6 The tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites; of Moab, and the Hagarenes; • Psa 83:7 Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre; • Psa 83:8 Assur also is joined with them: they have holpen the children of Lot. Selah. • Psa 83:9 Do unto them as unto the Midianites; as to Sisera, as to Jabin, at the brook of Kison: • Psa 83:10 Which perished at Endor: they became as dung for the earth. • Psa 83:11 Make their nobles like Oreb, and like Zeeb: yea, all their princes as Zebah, and as Zalmunna: • Psa 83:12 Who said, Let us take to ourselves the houses of God in possession. • Psa 83:13 O my God, make them like a wheel; as the stubble before the wind. • Psa 83:14 As the fire burneth a wood, and as the flame setteth the mountains on fire; • Psa 83:15 So persecute them with thy tempest, and make them afraid with thy storm. • Psa 83:16 Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek thy name, O LORD. • Psa 83:17 Let them be confounded and troubled for ever; yea, let them be put to shame, and perish: • Psa 83:18 That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth. Psa 137:7 Remember, O LORD, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; who said, Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof.

14. Isaiah • Isa 34:5 For my sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment.

15. Isaiah • Isa 63:1 Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. • Isa 63:2 Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat? • Isa 63:3 I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment. • Isa 63:4 For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come. • Isa 63:5 And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my fury, it upheld me. • Isa 63:6 And I will tread down the people in mine anger, and make them drunk in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to the earth.

16. Jer 49:7 Concerning Edom, thus saith the LORD of hosts; Is wisdom no more in Teman? is counsel perished from the prudent? is their wisdom vanished? • Jer 49:8 Flee ye, turn back, dwell deep, O inhabitants of Dedan; for I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him, the time that I will visit him. • Jer 49:9 If grapegatherers come to thee, would they not leave some gleaning grapes? if thieves by night, they will destroy till they have enough. • Jer 49:10 But I have made Esau bare, I have uncovered his secret places, and he shall not be able to hide himself: his seed is spoiled, and his brethren, and his neighbours, and he is not. • Jer 49:11 Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; and let thy widows trust in me. • Jer 49:12 For thus saith the LORD; Behold, they whose judgment was not to drink of the cup have assuredly drunken; and art thou he that shall altogether go unpunished? thou shalt not go unpunished, but thou shalt surely drink of it. • Jer 49:13 For I have sworn by myself, saith the LORD, that Bozrah shall become a desolation, a reproach, a waste, and a curse; and all the cities thereof shall be perpetual wastes. • Jer 49:14 I have heard a rumour from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent unto the heathen, saying, Gather ye together, and come against her, and rise up to the battle. • Jer 49:15 For, lo, I will make thee small among the heathen, and despised among men. • Jer 49:16 Thy terribleness hath deceived thee, and the pride of thine heart, O thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, that holdest the height of the hill: though thou shouldest make thy nest as high as the eagle, I will bring thee down from thence, saith the LORD. • Jer 49:17 Also Edom shall be a desolation: every one that goeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss at all the plagues thereof. • Jer 49:18 As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith the LORD, no man shall abide there, neither shall a son of man dwell in it. • Jer 49:19 Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan against the habitation of the strong: but I will suddenly make him run away from her: and who is a chosen man, that I may appoint over her? for who is like me? and who will appoint me the time? and who is that shepherd that will stand before me? • Jer 49:20 Therefore hear the counsel of the LORD, that he hath taken against Edom; and his purposes, that he hath purposed against the inhabitants of Teman: Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out: surely he shall make their habitations desolate with them. • Jer 49:21 The earth is moved at the noise of their fall, at the cry the noise thereof was heard in the Red sea. • Jer 49:22 Behold, he shall come up and fly as the eagle, and spread his wings over Bozrah: and at that day shall the heart of the mighty men of Edom be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.

17. Lamentations • Lam 4:21 Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom, that dwellest in the land of Uz; the cup also shall pass through unto thee: thou shalt be drunken, and shalt make thyself naked. • Lam 4:22 The punishment of thine iniquity is accomplished, O daughter of Zion; he will no more carry thee away into captivity: he will visit thine iniquity, O daughter of Edom; he will discover thy sins.

18. Ezekiel • Eze 25:12 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because that Edom hath dealt against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and hath greatly offended, and revenged himself upon them; • Eze 25:13 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also stretch out mine hand upon Edom, and will cut off man and beast from it; and I will make it desolate from Teman; and they of Dedan shall fall by the sword. • Eze 25:14 And I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel: and they shall do in Edom according to mine anger and according to my fury; and they shall know my vengeance, saith the Lord GOD.

19. Ezekiel • Eze 35:1 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, • Eze 35:2 Son of man, set thy face against mount Seir, and prophesy against it, • Eze 35:3 And say unto it, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O mount Seir, I am against thee, and I will stretch out mine hand against thee, and I will make thee most desolate. • Eze 35:4 I will lay thy cities waste, and thou shalt be desolate, and thou shalt know that I am the LORD. • Eze 35:5 Because thou hast had a perpetual hatred, and hast shed the blood of the children of Israel by the force of the sword in the time of their calamity, in the time that their iniquity had an end:

20. Joel • Joe 3:19 Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness, for the violence against the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land.

21. Isaiah • Isa 11:4 But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.

22. Amos • Amo 1:11 Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he did pursue his brother with the sword, and did cast off all pity, and his anger did tear perpetually, and he kept his wrath for ever: • Amo 1:12 But I will send a fire upon Teman, which shall devour the palaces of Bozrah.

23. Amos • Amo 9:11 In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old: • Amo 9:12 That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by my name, saith the LORD that doeth this.

24. Malachi • Mal 1:2 I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob, • Mal 1:3 And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness. • Mal 1:4 Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places; thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall call them, The border of wickedness, and, The people against whom the LORD hath indignation for ever. • Mal 1:5 And your eyes shall see, and ye shall say, The LORD will be magnified from the border of Israel.

25. Outline • Gods judgment on Edom 1-14 • Edom’s Punishment 1-9 • Edom’s Crimes 10-14 • Gods Judgment On the Nations 15-16 • Gods Restoration of Israel 17-21

26. Obadiah Follows The Covenant Lawsuit Form Of Address Many competent commentators believed that the Book of Obadiah follows the covenant lawsuit form of address that was common in the ancient Near East. This type of message, which many of the other writing prophets also used, there are certain formulaic sections. These are, most basically, a description of the scene of judgment and then the speech by the judge. This speech typically includes an address to the defendant (including reproach based on an accusation and a statement that the accused has no defense), the pronouncement of guilt, and the sentence. • I. Title (1a) • II. Description of the scene of judgment (nations arise for battle, 1b) • III. Speech by the Judge (2-21) • A. Three sentences (2-9) • 1. First sentence (2-4) • 2. Second sentence (5-7) • 3. Third sentence (8-9) • B. Three pronouncements of guilt (10-14) • 1. First pronouncement (10) • 2. Second pronouncement (11) • 3. Third pronouncement (12-14) • C. Sentence on the nations (15-16) • D. Promise of restoration (17-21) Niehaus, Jeffrey. "Obadiah." In The Minor Prophets: An Exegetical and Expositional Commentary, 2:495-541. 3 vols. Edited by Thomas Edward McComiskey. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1992, 1993, and 1998.

27. Key Verse Everyone in Esau’s mountains will be cut down in the slaughter. Because of the violence against your brother Jacob, you will be covered with shame; you will be destroyed forever. On the day you stood aloof while strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were like one of them. The Holy Bible : New International Version, electronic ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996, c1984). Ob 9-11.

28. Why Do I Care Themes • Obedience • (Faithfulness) Doing the hard thing by delivering the truth to those that wont receive it. • Are you being obedient and doing the same? • Pride • Trusting in ones own strength and resourcefulness leads to a downfall • Who are you trusting in, If your trusting in the Lord for your eternity, are you trusting Him now in all areas of your life? • God will not let the wicked go unpunished • Grace & the Gospel, are you letting go of sins against you, and extending the same grace that God has extend towards you? Are you letting it to God be the judge, and to administer the punishment? • God will punish any person or nation consumed with pride. Proverbs 16:18

29. Why Do I Care • God keeps his word • His promises may not be immediate, but are trustworthy and true. • We see examples of this from the beginning to the end of scripture. PERHAPS YOU KNOW THESE LYRICS? • 2. Standing on the promises that cannot fail, when the howling storms of doubt and fear assail, by the living Word of God I shall prevail, standing on the promises of God. • 3. Standing on the promises of Christ the Lord, bound to him eternally by love's strong cord, overcoming daily with the Spirit's sword, standing on the promises of God. • 4. Standing on the promises I cannot fall, listening every moment to the Spirit's call, resting in my Savior as my all in all, standing on the promises of God. • Are You Standing on the Promises of God?

30. Conclusion and Application • Pride deceives and leads to more sin. • Sin follows a downward path. • God will keep His word. • God will punish sin. • God will protect His own.