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Even though the book of Obadiah is the shortest in the Old Testament,

Its message holds a profound truth, divinely sent.

From its pages, a lesson we can all embrace,

A timeless message of God’s justice and grace.

Obadiah, a prophet, his voice so clear,

Declared God’s judgment on Edom, a nation to fear.

Though they dwelled in the clefts of rocks so high,

Their pride led to downfall, as the Lord did prophesy.

Edom’s arrogance, their cruelty displayed,

Their actions against Israel, God’s people, dismayed.

But in Obadiah’s book, we find hope anew,

A promise of restoration, a message for me and you.

For even in our weakness, when we stumble and fall,

God’s mercy and forgiveness are available to all.

In the book of Obadiah, a glimpse we see,

Of God’s unfailing love, His grace so free.

So let us heed this lesson from days of old,

To humbly walk with God, in His love, be bold.

For though our days may be short, our faith held fast,

In the book of Obadiah, God’s love will forever last.

Hebrews 11:32-35 (KJV) – “³² And what shall I more say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: ³³ Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions. ³⁴ Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. ³⁵ Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection.”

One of the Prophets that the writer of Hebrews 11 meant in the above verse is Prophet Obadiah. The book itself provides little information about the prophet Obadiah. His name means “Servant of Yahweh” or “Worshiper of Yahweh.” Scholars believe that he likely lived in the 6th century BCE.

The exact date of the book’s composition is a matter of debate, but it is generally placed after the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BCE. Obadiah’s prophecy focuses on the destruction of Edom, which is associated with its role in the downfall of Jerusalem.

The Book of Obadiah is primarily addressed to the nation of Edom, a neighboring country to ancient Israel. The Edomites were descendants of Esau, the twin brother of Jacob (Israel), and they lived in the region southeast of Israel, including the mountainous area known as Mount Seir. The Edomites were known for their historical hostility toward the Israelites.

The historical context of the Book of Obadiah is closely tied to the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BCE. During this period, the Babylonian Empire, under King Nebuchadnezzar II, besieged and destroyed Jerusalem, leading to the exile of many Israelites to Babylon. Edom, the neighboring nation, took advantage of this situation. Instead of offering support to their fellow Israelites, the Edomites either actively participated in the destruction or did nothing to help.

Obadiah 1:1-3 (NKJV) – “¹ The vision of Obadiah. Thus says the Lord God concerning Edom (We have heard a report from the Lord, And a messenger has been sent among the nations, saying, “Arise, and let us rise up against her for battle”): ² “Behold, I will make you small among the nations; You shall be greatly despised. ³ The pride of your heart has deceived you, You who dwell in the clefts of the rock, Whose habitation is high; You who say in your heart, ‘Who will bring me down to the ground?’

The pride of the Edomite people made them think in their heart that nobody can bring them down. Pride deceives. Pride is caused by doubt (lack of faith) and leads to more doubt. Sin causes one to think that they are higher than they are. It makes one think that they are more prosperous than they are. Therefore, the Edomite people felt unconquerable due to Edom’s pride.

Isaiah 14:13-14 (KJV) – “¹³ For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: ¹⁴ I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.”

“In great mercy, according to His divine character, God bore long with Lucifer. The spirit of discontent and disaffection had never before been known in heaven. It was a new element, strange, mysterious, unaccountable. Lucifer himself had not at first been acquainted with the real nature of his feelings; for a time he had feared to express the workings and imaginings of his mind; yet he did not dismiss them. He did not see whither he was drifting. But such efforts as infinite love and wisdom only could devise, were made to convince him of his error. His disaffection was proved to be without cause, and he was made to see what would be the result of persisting in revolt. Lucifer was convinced that he was in the wrong. He saw that “the Lord is righteous in all His ways, and holy in all His works” (Psalm 145:17); that the divine statutes are just, and that he ought to acknowledge them as such before all heaven. Had he done this, he might have saved himself and many angels. He had not at that time fully cast off his allegiance to God. Though he had left his position as covering cherub, yet if he had been willing to return to God, acknowledging the Creator’s wisdom, and satisfied to fill the place appointed him in God’s great plan, he would have been reinstated in his office. The time had come for a final decision; he must fully yield to the divine sovereignty or place himself in open rebellion. He nearly reached the decision to return, but pride forbade him. It was too great a sacrifice for one who had been so highly honored to confess that he had been in error, that his imaginings were false, and to yield to the authority which he had been working to prove unjust.” – Patriarchs and Prophets, Page 39.1, Ellen G. White.

“Satan fell because of his ambition to be equal with God. He desired to enter into the divine counsels and purposes, from which he was excluded by his own inability, as a created being, to comprehend the wisdom of the Infinite One. It was this ambitious pride that led to his rebellion, and by the same means he seeks to cause the ruin of man.” – The Faith I Live By, Page 68, Ellen G. White.

Satan’s pride made him think he could overthrow the government of the Almighty and take charge of the entire universe. His lack of humility caused him to be cast out of heaven. The Bible says in Proverbs 16:18-19 (KJV) – “¹⁸ Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. ¹⁹ Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.”

Daniel 4:30-33 (KJV) – “³⁰ The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty? ³¹ While the word was in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee. ³² And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. ³³ The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles’ feathers, and his nails like birds’ claws.”

King Nebuchadnezzar thought that it was by his power that he had been able to build Babylon and conquer nations. The words were scarcely out of his mouth when he was driven from men and put to eat grass like the oxen. From the majestic status of a king, he was moved to the forest to live with animals. That circumstance made him get saved and write Daniel chapter 4 and acknowledge that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men (Daniel 4:17).

God wants you to have faith. Therefore, He can look at the way you are heading and realize that the way you have chosen will lead to more doubt for you and the lives of the people watching you. Therefore, He brings challenging circumstances to straighten you and give you more faith.

God’s will was not to maliciously punish Nebuchadnezzar but to bring the Babylonian king closer to Him. God’s will was not to malevolently punish the Edomites but to bring them closer to Him. That is why He had to warn them through Prophet Obadiah, allowing them to change their ways.

Obadiah 1:7 (NKJV) –“⁷ All the men in your confederacy Shall force you to the border; The men at peace with you Shall deceive you and prevail against you. Those who eat your bread shall lay a trap for you. No one is aware of it.”

When you lack faith, the men at peace with you will no longer be at peace with you. An excellent example is criminals. People are not at peace with criminals because of the threat of insecurity that they cause. The police arrest them, and sometimes, they murder them.

Someone caught doing ungodly acts is not easily trusted; thus, the people are not at peace with him. They may possess the highest academic qualifications, but no one can give them a lucrative opportunity because they don’t trust them.

Sin is always caused by doubting God’s Word. People doubt that God is the provider. Therefore, they resort to stealing, prostitution, drug dealing, etc. These acts cause enmity between them and their fellow men, as their actions clearly show that they do not love their neighbors as themselves.

On the other hand, righteousness causes people who were once not at peace with you to be at peace with you. Proverbs 16:7 (KJV) – “When a man’s ways please the Lord, He maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.”

What did Edom do that made the Lord God resolve to punish them?

Obadiah 1:10-14 (NKJV) – “¹⁰ “For violence against your brother Jacob, Shame shall cover you, And you shall be cut off forever. ¹¹ In the day that you stood on the other side—In the day that strangers carried captive his forces, When foreigners entered his gates And cast lots for Jerusalem—Even you were as one of them. ¹² “But you should not have gazed on the day of your brother In the day of his captivity; Nor should you have rejoiced over the children of Judah In the day of their destruction; Nor should you have spoken proudly In the day of distress. ¹³ 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. ¹⁴ 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.”

The Edomites troubled the Israelites when they were facing calamity. God was punishing the Israelites, and the people of Edom took advantage to worsen their wounds. When God is punishing people, we should let Him do His work and not interfere by helping Him to punish them. This is because God is a God of justice and knows the just punishment to prescribe to each sinner. Humans are not always fair because we have limited knowledge of people and things. Therefore, punishing people can be unfair because we do not fully understand their actions.

Obadiah 1:15-16 (NKJV) – “¹⁵ “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. ¹⁶ For as you drank on My holy mountain, So shall all the nations drink continually; Yes, they shall drink, and swallow, And they shall be as though they had never been.”

God punishes evil, and He rewards righteousness. The Bible says in Matthew 7:12 (KJV) – “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.”

Edom felt pain when the Lord passed this judgment upon them. When God punished them, they probably remembered what they had done to the Israelites. God can sometimes bring us to similar situations, like the people we once afflicted so that we can feel the pain they felt.

Proverbs 26:27 (KJV) – “Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein: and he that rolleth a stone, it will return upon him.” The people of Edom dug a pit by afflicting the Israelites; indeed, they fell in it. Haman was hanged on the gallows, which he had built to hang Mordecai (Esther 7:10).

Obadiah 1:17-21 (KJV) – “¹⁷ “But on Mount Zion there shall be deliverance, And there shall be holiness; The house of Jacob shall possess their possessions. ¹⁸ The house of Jacob shall be a fire, And the house of Joseph a flame; But the house of Esau shall be stubble; They shall kindle them and devour them, And no survivor shall remain of the house of Esau,” For the Lord has spoken. ¹⁹ The South shall possess the mountains of Esau, And the Lowland shall possess Philistia. They shall possess the fields of Ephraim And the fields of Samaria. Benjamin shall possess Gilead. ²⁰ And the captives of this host of the children of Israel Shall possess the land of the Canaanites As far as Zarephath. The captives of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad Shall possess the cities of the South. ²¹ Then savior shall come to Mount Zion To judge the mountains of Esau, And the kingdom shall be the Lord’s.”

Verse 17 begins with a message of hope and deliverance for the house of Jacob (the Israelites) on Mount Zion, which is often associated with the presence of God. This verse emphasizes that God is the source of deliverance and holiness. Verses 18 and 19 prophesy the triumph of the house of Jacob (Israel) over the house of Esau (Edom).

The metaphor of Jacob being a fire and Joseph a flame suggests their strength and victory. Esau, on the other hand, is compared to stubble, signifying their destruction. This conveys a message of divine justice and the eventual vindication of God’s people.

These verses speak to the restoration and expansion of the territory of Israel. They will possess the land of their enemies, including the mountains of Esau, Philistia, Ephraim, Samaria, Gilead, and more. This reflects God’s promise to the Israelites to inherit the land He had given to their ancestors.

Verse 20 mentions the return of the captives of Israel. This message of redemption and restoration indicates that those who were taken into exile will possess the land again. Verse 21 speaks of saviors coming to Mount Zion to judge the mountains of Esau. This could be interpreted as righteous leaders or deliverers God raises to execute justice. Ultimately, the passage underscores that the kingdom belongs to the Lord, emphasizing God’s sovereignty and authority.

God will fulfill His promises to His people. Even in times of adversity and exile, faith involves trusting that God will accomplish His purposes and fulfill His covenant. God is a just judge who will hold the nations accountable for their actions.

Faith involves trusting in God’s justice, even when it seems delayed. Faith involves hope in restoration and redemption, believing God can turn the tide of adversity and bring about renewal and victory. We are reminded of God’s sovereignty over all nations and ultimate authority. Faith involves acknowledging God’s rule and aligning one’s life with His kingdom.

Leviticus 19:2-4 (KJV) – “² Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy. ³ Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father, and keep my Sabbaths: I am the Lord your God. ⁴ Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am the Lord your God.”

Edom disobeyed God, and they did not repent. Thus, God passed judgment upon them, and He punished them. We should obey God by loving Him and loving our fellow men. That is true faith.

GOD BLESS YOU!

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we come before you with hearts filled with gratitude for the lessons we have learned from the book of Obadiah. We find profound wisdom in its brevity, and in its message, we discover both correction and hope.

Lord, we pray for the humility to recognize our pride and arrogance, just as Edom displayed. Please help us avoid the pitfalls of self-righteousness and cruelty and cultivate a spirit of compassion and empathy toward others.

Thank you for the reminder that justice belongs to you alone, and vengeance is not ours to seek. Teach us to trust your perfect timing and judgment, knowing that you will make everything right.

As we reflect on the restoration promised in Obadiah, may it serve as a beacon of hope in our lives. Grant us the faith to trust in your promises, even in the face of adversity.

May the lessons from the book of Obadiah guide our actions, soften our hearts, and draw us closer to you, O Lord. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

Activity

Self-Examination: Reflect on your own life and identify areas where pride or arrogance may have taken root. Take time for self-examination and humility, addressing any attitudes or behaviors that do not align with God’s love and grace.

Practice Forgiveness: If you hold grudges or have unresolved conflicts with others, consider taking steps to forgive and reconcile. Remember the message of restoration from Obadiah and seek reconciliation where possible.

Extend Compassion: Make an effort to show compassion and empathy toward those in need. Volunteer at a local charity, donate to a worthy cause, or lend a helping hand to someone facing difficulties.

Study Other Minor Prophets: Explore the other Minor Prophets in the Old Testament, such as Amos, Hosea, or Micah. These books also contain valuable lessons about justice, righteousness, and God’s love.

Prayer and Reflection: Dedicate time to prayer and meditation on the themes of justice, humility, and God’s sovereignty as presented in Obadiah. Seek God’s guidance in applying these principles to your life.

Read and Discuss: Engage in a group study or book club discussion centered around the book of Obadiah. Share insights, reflections, and practical applications with others to deepen your understanding.

Support Reconciliation Initiatives: Look for organizations or initiatives that promote reconciliation and peace in conflict-affected areas. Consider supporting or getting involved in these efforts.

Educate Others: Share the lessons from Obadiah with friends, family, and your community. Please encourage others to read the book and discuss its relevance in today’s world.

Set Aside Vengeance: If you have been seeking revenge or harboring feelings of vengeance, consciously let go of those desires. Trust in God’s justice and focus on healing and forgiveness.

Live Humbly: In your daily life, strive to live humbly before God and others. Cultivate an attitude of gratitude and acknowledge your dependence on God’s guidance and grace.

Author: Mark Alex   

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