THE BOOK OF
OBADIAH
“Am I my brother’s keeper?” This ancient question, posed by Cain when the Lord inquired about his missing brother Abel, has become a metaphor for sidestepping responsibility. But Cain was in fact guilty of murdering his brother. Even to stand aloof when innocent people are violated is to share in the crime. Edom, a neighbor and relative of Judah, watched in delight and participated as Babylon destroyed Jerusalem. Now the prophet Obadiah would hold Edom accountable. God’s retribution always follows such injustice.
Obadiah is a prophecy against Edom, a people that descended from Jacob’s brother, Esau (see Gen 25:30), and inhabited the highlands east of the Jordan and south of the Dead Sea. The country of Edom was also known as Seir (Gen 32:3; 36:20-21, 30).
Edom existed throughout most of Israel’s monarchy (about 1050–586 BC) and was often a vassal to the southern kingdom of Judah (2 Sam 8:14; 1 Kgs 11:14-16; 2 Kgs 8:20-22; cp. 2 Kgs 3:9-14). Edom was probably infiltrated and supplanted by Arab kingdoms in 600~400 BC. In postexilic and NT times, Edom resurfaced in southern Judah under the Greek name Idumea, whose most infamous citizen was Herod the Great, the self-styled “King of the Jews.”
As a nation, Edom replayed Esau’s original animosity toward Jacob. Edom was, for example, one of the nations that opposed Israel’s exodus from Egypt (Num 20:14-21; 21:4). Much later, when the kingdom of Judah was attacked and taken into exile by the Babylonians, Edom not only rejoiced in the event, but also sided with the Babylonians against Israel, seeking to enrich themselves. This infidelity toward their “brother” Israel (see note on v 10) prompted Obadiah’s prophecy.
Obadiah is built around two related themes: the destruction of Edom, and the vindication and restoration of Judah. In Obadiah’s introduction (vv 1-9), a messenger is sent to call the nations to battle against Edom (v 1), and the forthcoming reality of Edom’s judgment is announced (vv 2-9). The overthrow of Edom would completely destroy the pride of this nation that was secure in its physical location and its intellectual achievements.
The second section (vv 10-14) gives the reasons for Edom’s humiliation in a series of taunts. The errant nation had a duty to its brother Jacob (v 10) that they not only ignored but actively repudiated.
In the third and final section (vv 15-21), Obadiah envisions a coming day of the Lord (v 15) that will culminate in a universal Kingdom belonging to the Lord (v 21). Those who do evil will suffer evil consequences (vv 15-16), and those who have suffered unjustly will be restored (vv 17-21). The people of Jerusalem will repossess the land inherited from their forefathers and will spill over their borders in every direction. Their nemesis, Edom, will be subjugated as an example of what happens to those who oppose the Lord’s rule, and the whole world will recognize the Lord as King.
Obadiah’s name means “servant of the LORD.” He is known only from his prophecy and from clues that the text provides as to his time and place. Several individuals in OT Israel were named Obadiah, including King Ahab’s palace supervisor at an earlier time (1 Kgs 18:3-16).
Obadiah’s prophecy was motivated by the invasion and at least partial destruction of the kingdom of Judah, which had its capital in Jerusalem. In 586 BC, the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar terminated Judah’s independence and exiled its last king, Zedekiah (2 Kgs 25:1-30). Outside of the book of Obadiah, there is little reference to Edom’s specific response to this event (see also Isa 34:5-10). Obadiah probably wrote his prophecy shortly after Jerusalem was destroyed in 586 BC.
Beginning with a standard prophetic message form, the prophecy divides into three sections that set forth the contrasting fates of Edom, Israel, and the nations in light of the retributive justice and coming triumph of the Kingdom of the Lord.
Obadiah’s message about Edom echoes many of the classical prophets, and parts of it closely follow Jer 49:9, 14-16. It should probably be read in conjunction with other prophecies regarding Edom’s future role, and may even function as an expansion of such passages as Joel 3:19 and Amos 9:12.
On first reading, it is easy to regard Obadiah’s prophecy as little more than a prophetic tirade in which the Lord’s wrath is directed toward Israel’s enemies. The Lord’s wrath is real, and evil does not go unpunished, but the book has far more to say than this.
Nations, like individuals, should attend carefully to what they plant, because the time of harvest will quickly come. God is offended by wrongdoing, and he brings justice for the oppressed. What Edom did to Judah, whether actively or passively, would rebound on them (vv 2-9) according to the ancient law of retribution (lex talionis), which states, “As you have done . . . so it will be done to you” (v 15).
In the concluding section (vv 15-21), the day of the Lord breaks in on the world, bringing full justice to the oppressed, punishment to the oppressors, and the onset of a universal kingdom in which the Lord rules over all nations. On a local and historical level, this meant that Israel would be restored to her land and given sovereignty over the lands of Edom. On a universal level, Edom’s submission was part of a larger historical movement. Not just Edom, but “all . . . nations” (v 16) will drink the cup of the Lord’s wrath. When the Lord returns as King to a restored Jerusalem, Mount Zion will be at the very center of the new order.
This picture of God dominates Obadiah’s theology and forces modern readers to face an unpopular decision. Whom will we serve—a god who is indifferent to evil, or the God of justice that we find in Obadiah? Those who share the contemporary disposition to be offended by a “God who would condemn anyone to hell” may shrink from Obadiah’s unambiguous condemnation of Edom’s perfidy. But only a God who judges can reassure us that evil will not ultimately triumph.
Obadiah looks forward at the conclusion of his prophecy (v 21) to that new day when “the LORD himself will be king.” This hope of Israel becomes the hope of the whole world in Christ’s announcement that “the Kingdom of God is near” (Mark 1:15; Luke 10:9-12; 21:31-33).