Obadiah
Rick Walker
http://Didaskalia.tripod.com
1. Introduction to Obadiah.
A. Obadiah is the shortest book in the O.T., consisting of 21 verses.
B. Obadiah, the prophet.
1. We know almost nothing about the man.
2. His name means Servant of Yahweh, a common name in the
O.T.
C. The prophecy. A unique feature of Obadiah is that it is directed entirely
against
the Edomites.
2. Hebrew-Edomite Relations through History.
A. Jacob and Esau.
1. Isaac and Rebekah had twin sons named Jacob and Esau
(Gen. 25:21-26).
a. The two boys "jostled"
inside Rebekah (25:22).
b. The Lord said, 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
(25:23).
1. The oldest son was
named Esau.
a.
whole body was red.
b.
body was hairy like a garment.
2. Younger son named
Jacob.
a.
Jacob was born with his hand grasping the foot of Esau.
b.
Jacob would be the one through whom the blessing would come.
1.
It "rightfully" belonged to Esau as the oldest.
2.
But the prophecy was that the "older would serve the younger"
(Gen.
25:23).
2. Jacob gets the inheritance and Isaac's blessing.
a. (Gen. 25:27-34). Jacob is able to get
Esau's inheritance.
1. Esau was a man of
the fields and Isaac's favorite son (25:27).
a.
After hunting Esau came into the tent famished.
b.
Asked Jacob for a bowl of meaty stew. Jacob was a man who stayed among
the
tents and was Rebekah's favorite (25:27).
2. Jacob agreed to give
Esau a bowl of stew in exchange for his inheritance
(25:31).
a. As
the oldest son, Esau would have received a greater portion of the
inheritance.
b.
Esau foolishly agreed to give his inheritance in exchange for a bowl of
stew.
1.
The inheritance passed to Jacob.
2.
Whatever we may say about the ethics of Jacob, we must admit that
Esau
had a hand in his own undoing. He was very foolish for making
such
a deal.
b. Jacob is able to get Esau's blessing
(Genesis 27).
1. When Isaac was very
old he was not able to see well (27:1).
a. He
called for Esau, his favorite son, and told him to go hunt some meat,
make
some stew, and he would give him his blessing before he died.
b. It
was the custom for the patriarchs to bless one of their sons before
they
died. It meant that they would become the religious and social
head
of the family (New Bible Dictionary, "Jacob," 545).
2. Before Esau is able
to return, Rebekah tells Jacob, her favorite son, to
dress
up like Esau and take a bowl of stew to Isaac.
a.
Because Isaac cannot see well, he gives his blessing to Jacob, thinking
he
is Esau (27:18-26).
b.
The blessing is found in Genesis 27:27-29.
3. When Esau returns,
Isaac and Esau both become very angry when they learn of
the
deceit of Jacob.
a.
Isaac tells Esau there is no blessing left for him, they have all been
given
to Jacob (37).
b.
The blessings were:
1.
given new wine and grain
2.
made Jacob ruler over Esau
3.
made all his relatives the servants of Jacob.
c.
Esau sets out to kill Jacob, who flees to his Laban (28:41-43).
3. Two rival nations grew up out of these two men.
a. Jacob was the father of the Hebrew
nation.
b. Esau was the father of the Edomites.
B. Tensions Between the Nations.
1. (Numbers 20, 21) Numbers is about the journeys of the
Jews to the Promised Land
more than four hundred years after Jacob
received the inheritance and Isaac's
blessing.
a. Moses asked the Edomites if they could
pass through their land along the
King's Highway (Num.
20:17). The actual messages are found in Num. 20:14-20
with the responses.
1. Moses promised not
to go through any field or vineyard, or drink water
from
any well (Num. 20:17).
2. Response of the
Edomites was that they would march out and attack Israel
(Num.
20:18).
3. Moses second
response was that they would pay for anything they
used
(Num. 20:19).
4. Second response was
another refusal.
b. Edomites marched out to attack the
Jews, so they turned and went a
different direction.
c. In spite of this action on the part of
the Edomites, Israel was forbidden
to hate them (Dt. 23:7,
8).
2. Edomite Relations During the Monarchy.
a. (1 Sam. 14:47) Saul fought against his
enemies on all sides, including the
Edomites.
b. (2 Sam. 8:13) David became famous
after he struck down eighteen thousand
Edomites in the
Valley of Salt.
c. Amaziah slew 10,000 Edomites in battle
and then killed 10,000 more by casting
them off Sela (2 Kings
14:7; 2 Chron. 25:11, 12).
d. During the Syro-Ephraimitic war, when
Pekah and Rezin attacked Ahaz, the
Edomites invaded Judah
and carried off captives (2 Chron. 28:17).
3. We see a long history of rivalry which was carried
through to the time of the
Babylonian Captivity.
3. Edomite relations during the Babylonian Conquest of Judah.
A. The problem addressed in Obadiah is Edom's abuse of Judah.
1. Edom rejoiced in the misfortune of Judah. (12) 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.
2. Edom seems to have helped Judah's enemies. In Obadiah
13, 14 the Edomites had:
a. marched through the city gates in the
day of disaster
b. seized their wealth
c. waited at the crossroads to kill
fugitives.
d. handed over survivors to the enemy.
B. Many scholars think that the particular calamity of Judah was the
captivity of
Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar in 586.
1. Psalm 137 is a lament for the fall of Jerusalem.
a. (137:1) By the rivers of Babylon we
sat and wept when we remembered Zion.
b. (137:7) Remember, O Lord, what the
Edomites did on the day Jerusalem fell.
"Tear it
down," they cried, "tear it down to its foundations."
2. Lamentations 4:21, 22
Rejoice and be glad, O Daughter of Edom,
you who live in the land of
Uz. But to you also the cup will be
passed; you will be drunk and stripped naked.
O Daughter of Zion, your punishment will
end; he will not prolong your exile. But,
O Daughter of Edom, he will punish your
sin and expose your wickedness.
3. Also cf. Jer. 49:7-8, 17-20. Obadiah 1-4 are repeated
almost word for word in
Jer. 49:14-16.
C. The Edomites continued for several centuries, but at some point passed
forever
from history. They are mentioned in Malachi 1:2, 4.