Obadiah 1
Obadiah is the shortest prophetic book in the Old Testament, consisting entirely of a single chapter. This book mainly contains a message of judgment against Edom and a promise that God will ultimately restore Israel. Obadiah declares that God will judge Edom’s arrogance and wicked deeds, by which Edom took advantage of Judah’s trouble to despise them and do them harm.
1verseThe vision of Obadiah. This is what the Lord GOD says about Edom. We have heard news from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent among the nations, saying, “Arise, and let’s rise up against her in battle.
2verseBehold, I have made you small among the nations. You are greatly despised.
3verseThe pride of your heart has deceived you, you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high, who says in his heart, ‘Who will bring me down to the ground?’
4verseThough you mount on high as the eagle, and though your nest is set among the stars, I will bring you down from there,” says the LORD.
5verse“If thieves came to you, if robbers by night—oh, what disaster awaits you—wouldn’t they only steal until they had enough? If grape pickers came to you, wouldn’t they leave some gleaning grapes?
6verseHow Esau will be ransacked! How his hidden treasures are sought out!
7verseAll the men of your alliance have brought you on your way, even to the border. The men who were at peace with you have deceived you, and prevailed against you. Friends who eat your bread lay a snare under you. There is no understanding in him.”
8verse“Won’t I in that day”, says the LORD, “destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of the mountain of Esau?
9verseYour mighty men, Teman, will be dismayed, to the end that everyone may be cut off from the mountain of Esau by slaughter.
10verseFor the violence done to your brother Jacob, shame will cover you, and you will be cut off forever.
11verseIn the day that you stood on the other side, in the day that strangers carried away his substance and foreigners entered into his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, even you were like one of them.
12verseBut don’t look down on your brother in the day of his disaster, and don’t rejoice over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction. Don’t speak proudly in the day of distress.
13verseDon’t enter into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity. Don’t look down on their affliction in the day of their calamity, neither seize their wealth on the day of their calamity.
14verseDon’t stand in the crossroads to cut off those of his who escape. Don’t deliver up those of his who remain in the day of distress.
15verseFor the day of the LORD is near all the nations! As you have done, it will be done to you. Your deeds will return upon your own head.
16verseFor as you have drunk on my holy mountain, so all the nations will drink continually. Yes, they will drink, swallow down, and will be as though they had not been.
17verseBut in Mount Zion, there will be those who escape, and it will be holy. The house of Jacob will possess their possessions.
18verseThe house of Jacob will be a fire, the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble. They will burn among them and devour them. There will not be any remaining to the house of Esau.” Indeed, the LORD has spoken.
19verseThose of the South will possess the mountain of Esau, and those of the lowland, the Philistines. They will possess the field of Ephraim, and the field of Samaria. Benjamin will possess Gilead.
20verseThe captives of this army of the children of Israel, who are among the Canaanites, will possess even to Zarephath; and the captives of Jerusalem, who are in Sepharad, will possess the cities of the Negev.
21verseSaviors will go up on Mount Zion to judge the mountains of Esau, and the kingdom will be the LORD’s.
Flow and Structure of the Text
| Division | Content Summary |
|---|---|
| Verses 1-9 | A declaration of judgment against Edom, the cause of its pride, and a prediction of its downfall |
| Verses 10-14 | Specific references to Edom’s acts of mistreating Judah |
| Verses 15-21 | The day of the LORD: judgment that will come upon all nations, and Zion’s salvation and restoration |
Key Message
- It shows that Edom’s pride and hostile actions toward their fellow Israelites are the primary reasons for judgment.
- It emphasizes that every nation is under God’s just judgment and that evil will ultimately not prevail.
- It prophesies that Israel will be restored and God’s kingdom will come, delivering a message of hope together with this.
Points for Reflection
- In our lives, we can look back and ask whether we might have had an attitude of pride or of turning away from other people’s pain.
- We can also examine ourselves to see how we treat difficult neighbors, and whether we are living while acknowledging God’s sovereignty.
Apply to Me
Through the words of Obadiah chapter 1, I reflect on whether I, too, have carelessly turned away from other people’s suffering or allowed pride in my own strength and position. I can renew my heart so that, in the choices I make every day, I will put God’s justice and mercy into practice.
This is the last chapter of Obadiah.