(Two posts today! I’m also doing a separate post on Jeremiah 48)

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NOW it’s finally time for the little, 1-chapter book of Obadiah. It’s a short book with a simple message so I’m gonna keep this blog post short and simple too.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

It’s a bit of a challenge to date because there is no “in the 11th year of the reign of so-and-so, the Word of the LORD came to Obadiah…” The message itself is the biggest indicator of when it was written. The LORD gives Ezekiel a similar prophecy (chap. 35). The events in the prophecy would’ve taken place sometime during the 3 “waves” of Babylonian invasion. That would make Obadiah a contemporary of Jeremiah.

RECIPIENTS

Remember how Jonah and Nahum had messages just for Nineveh and the Assyrians? Besides those 2 books, Obadiah is the only book with a message from the LORD exclusively for a Gentile nation. Obadiah has a message just for the Edomites; the descendants of Esau.

Esau was a very fleshly, selfish, unprincipled man. And his descendants were chips off the old block.

What do selfish, unprincipled people do when others are vulnerable? They exploit the situation. In hurricanes, riots, blackouts, wars, and other disasters… there are always looters– some of the worst kinds of scum on earth. When others are hurting, they think only of themselves. Scum.

The Edomites were looters. And worse.

PURPOSE & MESSAGE

“You should not have plundered the land of Israel when they were suffering such calamity. You should not have gloated over their destruction when they were suffering such calamity. You should not have seized their wealth when they were suffering such calamity. You should not have stood at the crossroads, killing those who tried to escape. You should not have captured the survivors and handed them over in their terrible time of trouble.”
‭‭Obadiah‬ ‭1‬:‭13‬-‭14‬ ‭NLT‬‬

As the Babylonians were capturing Judah and Jerusalem, the Edomites were cheering them on. And they were hanging around like vultures to carry off any valuables they could get their hands on. If they caught any refugees, they either killed them or handed them over to the Babylonians (no doubt for a price).

Yahweh is watching. If He took Obadiah up on a mountain to look at Edom, I bet He would’ve said…

“You reap what you sow.”

“Let the punishment fit the crime.”

“What goes around comes around.”

The LORD punishes the Edomites by giving them a taste of their own medicine.

“Every nook and cranny of Edom will be searched and looted. Every treasure will be found and taken.”
‭‭Obadiah‬ ‭1‬:‭6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Yahweh will raise up invaders who will invade Edom just as the Babylonians are invading Judah. The Edomites offered no assistance to Judah, and so they will receive no assistance from anyone on their own day of trouble. Just as they looted others, they will be looted.

“The day is near when I, the Lord, will judge all godless nations! As you have done to Israel, so it will be done to you. All your evil deeds will fall back on your own heads. Just as you swallowed up my people on my holy mountain, so you and the surrounding nations will swallow the punishment I pour out on you. Yes, all you nations will drink and stagger and disappear from history.”
‭‭Obadiah‬ ‭1‬:‭15‬-‭16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

This is a “Day of the LORD” text. And when I see those, I take note that it may apply to all nations in the end-of-days. Which is now.

It’s not complicated. The judgements of the Apocalypse are basically humanity finally reaping what they have sown. Here’s one:

“The third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood. And I heard the angel in charge of the waters say, ‘Just are you, O Holy One, who is and who was, for you brought these judgments. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink. It is what they deserve!’”
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭16‬:‭4‬-‭6‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Obadiah tells the doom of Edom at the time of the fall of Judah. But let all the nations take note. Edom stands as a warning for all time. What goes around, comes around. “As you have done to Israel, so it will be done to you. All your evil deeds will fall back on your own heads.”