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The Book of Obadiah

Obadiah 1:1-4 - The vision of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning Edom; We have heard a rumour from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent among the heathen, Arise ye, and let us rise up against her in battle. Behold, I have made thee small among the heathen: thou art greatly despised. The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation [is] high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground? Though thou exalt [thyself] as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the LORD.

Obadiah 1:10-14 - For [thy] violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever. In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, in the day that the strangers carried away captive his forces, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even thou [wast] as one of them. But thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day that he became a stranger; neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress. Thou shouldest not have entered into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; yea, thou shouldest not have looked on their affliction in the day of their calamity, nor have laid [hands] on their substance in the day of their calamity; Neither shouldest thou have stood in the crossway, to cut off those of his that did escape; neither shouldest thou have delivered up those of his that did remain in the day of distress.

The Old Testament - A Brief Overview

Bible Survey - Obadiah
Hebrew Name - Ovahd'Yah "Servant of Yahweh"
Greek Name - Avdiou (Greek form of the Hebrew)
Author - Obadiah (According to Tradition)
Date - 587 BC Approximately
Theme - The Destruction of Edom
Types and Shadows - In Obadiah Jesus is the One whose kingdom it is.

The prophet Obadiah prophesied judgment upon the nation of Edom for taking pleasure in the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians, and they also attacked Judah during this invasion. Obadiah pleads that Edom should've helped Judah and should not have participated in their calamity. The Edomites were brothers of the Hebrews, they were descendents of Esau the brother of Jacob. They have always opposed their brothers, and even though their mountain stronghold in the gorges of the Petra region seemed impregnable, Obadiah predicted the Edomites doom. Edom was destroyed by the Babylonians in 582 BC, the same army that they helped in the siege of Jerusalem. Later during New Testament times Herod the Great was an Idumaen Edomite and after the destruction of Herod's Temple in 70 AD the Edomites disappeared from history. - The above text is © Rusty Russell - Bible History Online and must be sourced for use on a website.

The book of Obadiah contains only one chapter and is the shortest book of the whole Old Testament. Obadiah's name means "servant of Yahweh", and he delivered a message regarding the Edomites who had helped the Babylonians in their conquest of Jerusalem in 586 BC during the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah. The Edomites were the brothers of the Jews having descended from Esau the twin brother of Jacob, but they were always opposing the Jews and therefore there was always enmity between them. The Edomites lived in the mountainous rocky range in the southern portion of the Dead Sea region, and they had built "impregnable fortresses" in the canyons and gorges of these mountains. The ruins at the rock city of Petra are truly magnificent to behold, and they attest to the greatness of the once flourishing Edomites.

The prophecy of Obadiah reveals the sins of Edom and God's denunciation of their actions against Jerusalem. In 582 BC, only four years after the destruction of Jerusalem Edom was conquered by the Babylonians, the same army that they helped in defeating Jerusalem. In New Testament times the Herodian Dynasty was an Edomite family but after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD the Edomites disappeared from history. The prophet Obadiah said that the Edomites would be "cut off forever" and "be as though they had not been." (Obadiah 1:10-18)

You should not have entered the gate of My people in the day of their calamity. Indeed, you should not have gazed on their affliction in the day of their calamity, nor laid hands on their substance in the day of their calamity. You should not have stood at the crossroads to cut off those among them who escaped; nor should you have delivered up those among them who remained in the day of distress. "For the day of the LORD upon all the nations is near; as you have done, it shall be done to you; your reprisal shall return upon your own head. Obadiah 1:13-15

The last verses of the book of Obadiah reveals that Judah will be saved and the kingdom shall be the Lord's.

Outline of the Book of Obadiah

The contents of the book may be analyzed further as follows:

1 - Obadiah's prophecy of the doom of Edom

1:21 - The kingdom shall be the LORD's

Obadiah Resources

The Divided Kingdom
The Northern Kingdom of Israel
The Southern Kingdom of Judah
The Assyrian Captivity
The Babylonian Captivity
The Return From Babylon
The Prophets
The Messiah

The Book of Obadiah

More About the Book of Obadiah
Obadiah in the Picture Study Bible
Chart of the Prophets of Israel and Judah
Timeline of the Ancient World
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