Obadiah
Minor Prophets · Old Testament · Book 31 of 66- Author
- Obadiah
- Written
- Date debated — most likely soon after 586 BC
- Time covered
- Edom’s part in the fall of Jerusalem
- Where
- Judah, looking across to Edom
- Written to
- A people who had watched their neighbors cheer as their city burned
- Genre
- Prophecy
- Chapters
- 1
“For the day of the LORD is near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head.”Obadiah 1:15 KJV
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Overview
Twenty-one verses, the shortest book in the Old Testament, and all of it about one nation. Edom descended from Esau, Jacob’s brother, and lived in rock fortresses that felt unassailable.
When Jerusalem fell, Edom stood by and watched, then looted, then handed over refugees. Obadiah says the pride of that high place will not save them, and that the day of the LORD is near upon all nations: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee.
Background
The grudge was old. Edom refused Israel passage in the wilderness and fought them under the kings, and the two nations shared a border and a family tree.
Edom’s cities were cut into cliffs — the region later famous for Petra — which is why the book keeps returning to the idea of height and the illusion of safety.
Key themes
- Pride goes before a fall, however high the nest is built.
- What you do to your brother returns upon your own head.
- Standing by while others suffer is itself a sin.
- The day of the LORD covers all nations, not one only.
- The kingdom shall be the LORD’s.
Outline
- Edom brought downVerses 1-9
Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, thence will I bring thee down.
- What Edom didVerses 10-14
Standing on the other side, rejoicing, and cutting off those who escaped.
- The day of the LORDVerses 15-21
As thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee — and the kingdom shall be the LORD’s.
Key passages
- Obadiah 1:3 The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee.
- Obadiah 1:4 Though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down.
- Obadiah 1:11 Thou wast as one of them — standing on the other side.
- Obadiah 1:12 Thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother.
- Obadiah 1:15 As thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee.
- Obadiah 1:21 The kingdom shall be the LORD’s.
Christ in Obadiah
The book ends with saviors coming up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau, and the kingdom belonging to the LORD — the note every prophet ends on and the kingdom Christ announced. Edom’s sin, watching a brother suffer and doing nothing, is answered by the one who came and did the opposite.
Reading it
- It takes three minutes; read it twice.
- Read Genesis 25 and 27 for the family history behind it.
- Ask where the temptation to stand on the other side shows up closer to home.