This month, we look a one of the shortest books of the Bible: Obadiah. Though brief at only twenty-one verses, it packs a punch.
We know very little about Obadiah. His name means – depending upon which set of vowel points you rely – “worshiper of Yahweh” or “servant of Yahweh.” (Hebrew was written in all consonants; the vowels were added much, much later. The vowel pointing makes a difference like comparing the names Betty and Beth, Burt and Bert). Obadiah was a common name and the writings do not offer any other background clues or personal details about the author.
Reading Obadiah is like reading a flaming e-mail or a screed blog. It is a blast against Edom for the things Edom has done to Judah. The reason for the blast is sounded in verses 11-14: “On the day you stood aloof while strangers carried off [Jacob’s] wealth and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were like one of them. You should not look down on your brother in the day of his misfortune, nor rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their destruction, nor boast so much in the day of their trouble. You should not march through the gates of my people in the day of their disaster, nor look down on them in their calamity in the day of their disaster, nor seize their wealth in the day of their disaster. You should not wait at the crossroads to cut down their fugitives, nor hand over their survivors in the day of their trouble.”
One commentator explained the book as follows, “In Obadiah the Edomites, who have seized Judean lands in the wake of Babylon’s elimination of Judean military and political powers, are excoriated for their enmity to Yahweh and his people.” In other words Yahweh takes it personally when the Edomites piled onto the misery of the Judean people in the wake of the Babylonian conquering.
The Edomites lived north of Judah. They were descendants of Esau, Jacob’s older twin brother, who sold his birthrite to Jacob for a pot of porridge. Then, when Jacob took advantage of Isaac’s poor eyesight to claim the blessing, enmity between the two was inevitable. That enmity persisted even to Obadiah’s time many generations later.
The northern kingdom, Israel, had been taken captive by Assyrian in 722. The Babylonian empire followed Assyria. Judah, the southern kingdom, had been existing as a buffer between the growing Babylonian empire and Egypt. Scripture contains the prophetic condemnations of Judah’s kings who struck political deals with Egypt (instead of loyalty and faithfulness to Yahweh) to protect it against Babylonian invasion; finally, Babylon’s Nebuchadnezzar ended the suspense by sacking Jerusalem in 587 and ordering several waves of deportations of its citizens. Edom, which did not have the military power to either conquer Judah – much less Babylon – piled onto the misery.
Obadiah prophetically utters Edom’s doom for their actions. “The day of the LORD is near for all nations. As you have done, it will be done to you; your deeds will return upon your own head” (verse 15).
So, why is Obadiah part of the canon of Holy Scripture? There are several reasons.
First, Obadiah highlights that all nations live under the sovereignty of the one holy God. No nation or military power exists outside of the authority of Yahweh. Edom acted opportunistically by profiting from the conquest. They were foolishly confident in their superiority and security because they lived in the rocks of the mountains. They had made agreements with those who would ultimately turn against them. “All your allies will force you to the border; your friends will deceive and overpower you; those who eat your bread will set a trap for you, but you will not detect it” (verse 7). They trusted the earthly powers and did not respect Yahweh; always a foolish thing to do.
Second, Obadiah demonstrates that actions of nations have national consequences. Certainly not every single Edomite directly participated and rejoiced in the downfall of Judah and Jerusalem; yet, as a nation, they did. The consequences are not distinguished among the bad Edomites and the good Edomites. “The house of Jacob will be a fire and the house of Joseph a flame; the house of Esau will be stubble and they will set it on fire and consume it. There will be no survivors from the house of Esau.” The LORD has spoken” (verse 18). God deals with nations just as he deals with individuals.
Third, it is a book of hope for those who have been carried off into captivity. If Yahweh is faithful and will return his people to Zion, if God is simply using Babylon and Edom to punish them for breaking the covenant, then there is reason to live in hope. ““This company of Israelite exiles who are in Canaan will possess [the land] as far as Zarephath; the exiles from Jerusalem who are in Sepharad will possess the towns of the Negev. Deliverers will go up on Mount Zion to govern the mountains of Esau. And the kingdom will be the LORD’s.” Temporary circumstances should not be mistaken for God’s eternal favor. Just as the Jews took license because of the presence of the temple in their midst and forsook loyalty to God in favor of earthly pleasure; so also the Edomites would experience a great fall from their naïve pride in their plush circumstances. Loyalty to Yahweh is what is important; in the end, that is all that is important.
For Christians, the message of loyalty to Jesus and trusting in him in all circumstances is important to repeat. As Americans, we can be prideful that our military will protect us, our wealth will secure us, and our position is certain forever. However, Obadiah makes clear that trusting our souls to anyone but God is foolish. Should God remove his hand from this land or declare judgment for unfaithfulness, our current circumstances would change rapidly.
Let us pray for our nation to be faithful, to be filled with a desire to be obedient to God’s call, and for the strength to be a witness to all nations for God’s grace and salvation through the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
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