Obadiah

Richard Belcher focuses on the themes of divine judgment and deliverance as depicted in the prophecy against Edom. He explores how the book of Obadiah illustrates God’s sovereignty and justice in dealing with nations and individuals.

The following unedited transcript is provided by Beluga AI.

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This audio lecture is brought to you by RTS on iTunesu at the virtual campus of Reformed Theological Seminary. To listen to other lectures and to access additional resources, please visit us at itunes rts.edu. For additional information on how to take distance education courses for credit towards a fully accredited Master of Arts in Religion degree, please visit our website at virtual rts.edu. All right, we come now to two smaller books. R1 small obadiah. So find it. Hosea Joel, amos Obadiah.

We’ll get a start on Obadiah before we have to take our break, and I don’t know what lecture number this is. It may not be 14. I thought Jeremiah was 14. 15. Yeah, yeah. See, I did an adjustment and just to explain this, I did an adjustment on the lecture numbers and your what’s on your CD probably has the right ones, but what’s on your when you open it up, it still may have the old number as a part of your heading, so I apologize for that. I’ll have to go back and try to adjust that.

So, Obadiah. Nothing is known about Obadiah. His name does mean servant of Yahweh. It’s a challenge. As we look at Obadiah and Joel, it’s more challenging, put it that way, to try to determine what the historical situation is that Obadiah and Joel came from, especially Joel, is even more challenging than Obadiah, and we’ll talk about that. It’s clear that Obadiah is against Edom, but it’s not exactly clear. At least there is some debate among scholars. When Obadiah prophesied, what was the situation that brought about the book of Obadiah?

We do know from the book itself that it has something to do with when Edom took advantage of Judah and Jerusalem being in trouble. And you see that in Obadiah 10-11, there’s only one chapter in Obadiah, but verses ten through eleven sort of set before us the occasion of the book.

¹⁰ Because of the violence done to your brother Jacob, shame shall cover you, and you shall be cut off forever. ¹¹ On the day that you stood aloof, on the day that strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were like one of them. (Obadiah 1:10-11, ESV)

And it goes on in verses twelve through 14 to describe some of the things that the Edomites did. So the occasion of the book is some situation where Judah and Jerusalem is in trouble, and the Edomites rejoiced in that and even participated in the plunder of Jerusalem; that’s the occasion.

Now, we look for a situation within the history of Israel that would sort of fit that occasion. There are some who argue that Obadiah comes from the reign of Jehoram in 845. Now, 845 Jehoram, you may recall, we started this class. We did give a review of prophecy, and so we did talk about Abraham, Samuel, Elijah, but we really began this class in terms of the prophets. We began this class about what, 755, with Amos, and then Hosea and Jonah.

They’re all somewhere around this period and so you know we didn’t talk at all about Israel’s history before this. There are some who would argue that Obadiah actually comes from the reign of Johoram in 845 so we got to go back a little bit in the history of Israel to take a look at this briefly. The chart that you have bought for this class actually puts Obadiah back in this particular period. So if you look at your chart that’s where you will find Obadiah.

In fact, they put him a little bit later than Johoram, but they do say on the back they talk about some of the prophets. On the back, they do mention the reign of Johoram. Others who argue this view, EJ young in his introduction to the Old Testament, argues for 845. I think Kylan Dalitsch argue for this. Gleason Archer in his introduction to the Old Testament argues for this date.

The basis of this view is that during the reign of Johoram, and we don’t have to go into a lot of history here, but that during the reign of Johoram, there was a revolt of Edom from Judah’s domination. So Edom revolted; they were under the control of Judah, and Edom revolted.

At the same time of Edom’s revolt, there was an invasion of Judah by the Philistines and the Arabians. So, you have a revolt of Edom, and then you also have an invasion of Judah by Philistines and Arabians. The idea is that Edom took advantage of this invasion of Judah and Jerusalem, took advantage of it, and used it for their benefit and participated in it. And so, Archer can say Edom cooperated with the Arabian Philistine invasion as subordinate allies and shared in the booty of Jerusalem when it fell to their combined efforts.

So 845 a revolt of Edom, an invasion of Jerusalem by the Philistines and the Arabians which then it is said that Edom participated in that invasion and that plunder. Now the problem with this particular view is that the passages cited in kings and chronicles do not directly say that Edom participated in the invasion or the plunder.

If you read 2 Kings 8:20 and 2 Chronicles 20:1, 16, and 17, you will read that Edom revolted from Judah, and you will read that the Philistines and the Arabians invaded Judah, but you will not bring then the connection in the text that Edom at that point participated in the plunder and the invasion. No mention is made of an attack on Jerusalem by Edom. And so Douglas Stewart, we talked about his commentary. Stuart says there’s not enough evidence of an Edomite invasion under Johoram to establish this option.

If there’s not a better option that we find, we’ll come back and go with this option. Okay, so maybe this is possible, but we’ll have to see if we can’t find a better option where Edom. It’s clear that Edom participates in the plunder and the invasion of Jerusalem. So maybe this works, but we’ll hold off our final determination until a little bit later. More critical scholars place the book of Obadiah in the 400s.

Okay, so we go from 845 way, way, way down there to the critical scholars look at this book as a prophecy after the event. And so they place the book after Edom is destroyed, if you will, by a tribe, Arabian tribe called the Nabataeans. I think that’s in your notes. So they take verses two through nine as a prophecy after the event. The Book of Obadiah was produced after Edom fell, and so they would place it in the 400s.

Harrison’s introduction, which is on the conservative side, places Obadiah at about 450, just before the Nabateans invaded Edom and destroyed it. So Harrison places it later. But it’s not a prophecy after the event. It’s just before the Nabateans destroyed Edom. Others placed the book of Obadiah earlier, looking for a time when there may have been raids into Judah by nations that Edom participated in. And a lot of people believe that Obadiah comes from the period of 580s, especially 587, as Babylon makes several raids into Judah and Jerusalem, leading toward 587 and the fall of Jerusalem.

Stuart and Allen. Allen’s commentary in the NIcot series says Edom may have taken the whole southern part of Judah during the period of these raids. And there are other scriptures that mention that Edom actually participated in the downfall of Jerusalem. Psalm 137:7.

⁷ Remember, O Lord, against the Edomites the day of Jerusalem, how they said, “Lay it bare, lay it bare, down to its foundations!” (Psalm 137:7, ESV)

It’s that lament psalm, that imprecatory psalm, where the psalm says, remember, Lord, remember what the Edomites did on the day Jerusalem fell, tear it down. They cried. You see, they participated at least as Obadiah 11 says, encouraging what was going on. Rejoicing in the downfall of Jerusalem.

The Book of Lamentations, which is a lament over the downfall and destruction of the city of Jerusalem, mentions Edom in chapter four, especially verses 21 and 22. And then Ezekiel. We haven’t come to Ezekiel yet. Ezekiel is a prophet like Jeremiah, who prophesized during this period of the downfall. But Jeremiah is in Jerusalem or Judah, and Ezekiel is in Babylon, as we will see. But in Ezekiel 20:5-7, it talks about Edom acting revengefully and giving over Israelites to the enemy.

And that is reflected in Obadiah as well, as we will see. They took fleeing refugees and handed them back over to Babylon, treasonous, treacherous activity against your brother Jacob. And so I think the best setting of the Book of Obadiah, because of these other scriptural connections, is actually the fall of Jerusalem. And now Edom participated in the fall of Jerusalem. And it’s very clear in several texts that Edom did participate not only in the encouragement and rejoicing over the fall of Jerusalem, but actually participating in some way in those events.

And I think that fits Obadiah better than the 845 date. So I would place Obadiah around 587, perhaps a little bit after 587, as we’ll see when we come to the end of the book. But certainly there are other connections in scripture that make this setting to be very plausible. I think it’s clearer than the 845 date. All right, class, let’s come back to order. We talked about the historical situation sometime when Edom took advantage of the invasion of Judah and Jerusalem. And we’ve argued for the 587 fall of Jerusalem date.

Part of the difficulty of Edom taking advantage of Jerusalem is the relationship that we know between Edom and Israel. The Edomites are descendants of Esau. Esau was brother to Jacob. The Israelites are descendants of Jacob. So, you’ve got the Edomites and the Israelites, in essence, being brother nations going back to Esau and Jacob. And so, Obadiah 10 does reflect this relationship when it says, because of the violence done to your brother Jacob.

¹⁰ Because of the violence done to your brother Jacob, shame shall cover you, and you shall be cut off forever. (Obadiah 1:10, ESV)

So it picks up on this relationship, and this tension between the two goes back all the way to Jacob and Esau and the selling of the birthright. And this, although Jacob and Esau did come to some reconciliation, the tension between their descendants is reflected in the pages of scripture. In the Mosaic period, Edom would not allow passage of the Israelites through their territory, sort of being antagonistic toward Israel, and not showing hospitality to Israel as they were in the wilderness, not letting them come through their territory.

Other interactions between Edom and Israel throughout the history of Israel, David and Solomon had conquered Edom. And Edom is actually called an enemy in 1 Samuel 14:47. So during David and Solomon, Edom was pretty much under the control of Israel. During the divided kingdom, Edom was sometimes under the control of Judah. Sometimes Edom would revolt, depending on the situation, depending on how strong the king was in Judah or how weak the king was in Judah. You have Edom at times being independent from Judah. You have Edom at times being under the control of Judah.

And so there is agitation between these two nations, which is then reflected in the book of Obadiah, where Edom takes advantage of Judah when Jerusalem falls in the 500s, just to sort of carry the history of the Edomites forward. In the 500s, Edom became weak due to strong presence of arabian tribes. You remember where Edom was located? Down below the Dead Sea. Some Edomites had to settle in the Negev. The Negev is the very southern portion of the land, the desert area, way south of the land itself. This area became known as Idumea.

I think that’s in your notes. Yeah, I think that’s spelled right. But this area where the Edomites settled became known as Idumea. And the people that settled there were known as Idumeans. And perhaps you remember Herod the king was an Idumean, which did not make the Jewish people very happy. Although he tried to beautify the temple, sort of get them on his side, there was tension there. After 70 AD, when Rome destroyed Jerusalem, the Edomites sort of disappear from the pages of history. But there are three things that make Edom a prominent enemy of Israel.

It’s the long term relationship between Edom and Israel. It’s the intensity of the relationship and the enmity. They say that family fights are the worst fights, fights between brothers or family members. That’s why policemen don’t like to be called on family disputes. And so you’ve got that ingrained intensity of the enmity and then the treasonous nature of the relationship and the enmity displayed in what Edom does when Jerusalem falls, fleeing refugees and returning them to the Babylonians, returning them to the enemy, taking people, fleeing and returning them to the enemy.

So the Book of Obadiah is against Edom, a specific enemy of Israel. Sometimes people also argue that Edom stands not just for the specific enemy of Israel, but sometimes people argue that Edom stands for any enemy of Israel, for the nations and how they treat Israel. And you do see a Bring Together in Obadiah 15-16, Edom and the nations. For Obadiah 15 says,

¹⁵ For the day of the Lord is near upon all the nations. As you have done, it shall be done to you; your deeds shall return on your own head. ¹⁶ For as you have drunk on my holy mountain, so all the nations shall drink continually; they shall drink and swallow, and shall be as though they had never been. (Obadiah 1:15-16, ESV)

So you have this coming together of Edom. And the nations are parallel. Because what nations have done, Edom has done. What Edom has done, the nations have done. And the judgment that Edom is going to experience is a judgment that nations are going to experience. And so Edom is a particular enemy, yes, but Edom is sort of symbolic in many ways of other enemies and of the nations. And so I do think it’s appropriate to make that connection.

Okay, we come to the message of this book. And I think I have the theme listed: the destruction of the enemies of God’s people, which would be represented by Edom, and the establishment of God’s kingdom. So you’ve got both of those two things together. As we’ve seen in the prophets, judgment and salvation: the judgment of the enemies of God’s people, represented particularly in Edom, and the establishment of God’s kingdom. That would be the salvation part heart of the message. The book begins after a short introduction.

Focusing on the pride of the Edomites, the pride of God’s enemies. And I think we can broaden this to say this is a good picture of the pride of unbelievers. And we’ll reflect on that at some point here. In laying this out, the basis of their pride. Edom thought they were secure because of the rugged terrain in which they lived. Verse three brings us out:

³ The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rock, in your lofty dwelling, who say in your heart, “Who will bring me down to the ground?” ⁴ Though you soar aloft like the eagle, though your nest is set among the stars, from there I will bring you down, declares the Lord. (Obadiah 1:3-4, ESV)

God always gets the last word. But part of the security that Edom felt was she lived in a very rugged land. A land full of rugged terrain and cliff fortresses. So if you’re an Edomite and you had a cliff fortress for the enemy to get to you, they had to scale the mountain, the cliff. Of course, they’re sitting ducks.

You’re in a position of strength. you’re looking down on the enemy. They’re trying to get up to you. There were no airplanes in those days. You couldn’t fly over and drop a bomb on the fortress. You had to scale the cliff, scale the mountain to get to where they were. And so Edom felt very secure. She could defeat any enemy that tried to get to her in her cliff fortresses. And so Edom was deceived because of her pride. She thought she was secure.

But as we read, God’s verdict in verse four is, “I will bring you down.” you may make yourself nest, if you will, in the stars of heaven, but God is able to bring you down even from there. And so in verses five through nine, God strips Edom of everything she had, everything that gave her security, God takes away from her. In verse five, she’s stripped of her possessions. And you have the picture of thieves coming in, or grape gatherers. Usually, a thief will leave you some stuff, right?

Thief can’t take everything, can’t carry off everything. And usually, grape gatherers will leave some grapes on the vine. They just can’t get every grape. Not so with Edom. Everything will be taken, completely plundered. Is the picture. In verse five, Edom will be pillaged. Verse six says his treasures sought out. So God strips Edom of her possessions, those things that gave her security, her allies will turn against her. Verse seven mentions this. Her resources will be ineffective. The wise men of Edom and people of the east and Edom were sort of known for their wisdom.

Their wisdom will be of no help in this situation, and their warriors will be terrified. Now you have a problem. If your warriors are terrified, you have a real problem. And that’s what is described here in Obadiah 5-9: pride has given the Edomites a false sense of security. And God, to bring down prideful Edom, is going to take away everything that she has found security in. And that’s where this is sort of a picture of what God does with unbelievers many times.

What God may have done with many of us in the pride of our unbelief, we felt secure. And sometimes God begins to take away those props of security, bringing us to a place where we feel insecure, bringing us to a place where we are able to see our need of him. And so there may be a way here to relate this to what God does with unbelief many times. Takes away the security. And many times that’s preparation for him bringing someone to himself. Now, in the case of Edom, that bringing to himself doesn’t happen.

He’s removing their security in preparation for their judgment because of what they’ve done. And what they’ve done is described in verses 10-14, where Edom took advantage of Judah in a time of weakness. And the things that are mentioned in verses 10-14: They stood aloof in the day of trouble. They did not help. They stood afar off. And more than just standing afar off, they gloated and rejoiced over what they saw happening to Judah and Jerusalem. And so, verse 12 is they rejoiced over Judah’s downfall.

And then verse 13 says they entered the gate of Jerusalem and looted his wealth. They entered into the plunder. You know, in a situation like this, very chaotic. And you’ve got the armies moving into Jerusalem, plundering the city. You may have some Edomites as mercenary soldiers, we don’t know. But even if that’s not the case, you’ve got Edomites sort of taking advantage of the chaotic situation and plundering the city of Jerusalem.

And then verse 14, this takes the cake.

¹⁴ Do not stand at the crossroads to cut off his fugitives; do not hand over his survivors in the day of distress. (Obadiah 1:14, ESV)

See, this is what the Edomites did. They took fleeing refugees and turned them back over to the Babylonian army. This is the occasion. This is why the book was produced. And then verses 15 and 16 then goes on to talk about the judgment that’s going to come on Edom as God’s enemy because of these things that they have done. And you have the term “day of the Lord” used in verse 15. The day of the Lord is near upon all the nations.

And then you have this concept of divine retribution mentioned also in verse 15. As you have done, it shall be done to you. your deeds shall return on your own head. And the term that’s used in scholarship for this deed, consequence, relationship and the consequences coming back to you is sort of the term divine retribution. What, as you have done, it shall be done to you. So Edom has participated in the plunder of Jerusalem. The nations have participated in the plunder of Jerusalem. The Babylonians were the instrument of God’s hand to plunder Jerusalem.

But Babylon did it out of pride. Edom did it out of pride. And that will come back upon them. And then you come to verse 16, which is in the context of the judgment of God’s enemies.

¹⁶ For as you have drunk on my holy mountain, so all the nations shall drink continually; they shall drink and swallow, and shall be as though they had never been. (Obadiah 1:16, ESV)

There’s some debate about what this drinking on my holy mountain might refer to. Some think that maybe this is Edom celebrating the downfall of Jerusalem there in Jerusalem, drinking, celebrating what is taking place. It’s possible, and others argue that Edom is participating in the desecration of the temple and maybe drinking from those sacred vessels in the temple as a way of desecrating the temple.

Maybe both of them are involved. You can imagine how both of those concepts could be described here. But there’s an interesting concept here that is common in the Old Testament. As verse 16 says, as you have drunk on my holy mountains, so all the nations shall drink continually. They shall drink and swallow and shall be as though they had never been.

There is this concept in the Old Testament, drinking from the cup of God’s wrath. And you can read about it in the prophets. Sometimes Israel or Judah drinks from the cup of God’s wrath because God is bringing his judgment upon them. But many times it’s the nations that are drinking from the cup of God’s wrath. And it’s a horrible experience.

It’s not a cup you want to drink from. And the prophets at times will describe the effects of drinking from the cup of God’s wrath. It’s horrible. You think of the worst situation of drunkenness. you’re reeling to and fro, you’re sick, completely undone. It’s just the description of this is horrible as a way to talk about the effects of God’s judgment. Much better to drink from the cup of blessing, the cup of salvation, which the Old Testament also talks about.

And many of you have heard this speech, but this is a good background to what Jesus is struggling with in the garden of Gethsemane. If it be your will, remove this cup from me. As in the garden of Gethsemane, he faced the prospect of drinking from the cup of God’s wrath as he died on the cross in his crucifixion and bore the judgment of God for our sins.

⁴² saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” (Luke 22:42, ESV)

And he was willing to drink from the cup of God’s wrath in our place. And so at that last supper, he could offer to his disciples the cup of blessing, the cup of salvation. So you have this background that is significant. God’s judgment is presented at times as drinking from the cup of God’s wrath. And that’s reflected here in verse 16 in response perhaps to the Edomites and others drinking in celebration, even maybe drinking in desecration of God’s temple. The book ends, however, as many of the prophets do, with the deliverance of God’s people.

So we’ve had the judgment side. Remember, the day of the Lord in the Old Testament includes both of these sides together: day of judgment, day of salvation. Judgment, salvation. We’ve had the judgment part. Now, in verses 17 through 21, we come to focus more on the salvation or deliverance aspect of the day of the Lord. This deliverance will include a remnant who escapes, verse 17. This deliverance will include the destruction of Edom, verse 18, as the house of Jacob shall be a fire that shall consume so that there’s no survivor for the House of Esau.

¹⁸ The house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau stubble; they shall burn them and consume them, and there shall be no survivor for the house of Esau, for the Lord has spoken. (Obadiah 1:18, ESV)

Verse 20 includes in this deliverance the repossession of lost land. The exiles of the host of the people of Israel shall possess the land. So you have this return to the land concept, and the occupation of enemy territory is also included in that. And so a lot of the concepts in the Old Testament related to restoration are included here in the book of Obadiah.

And we talk about prophetic perspective, where the prophets see all these things taking place in one event, judgment and salvation, but the way they work themselves out, we have to then reflect on in the light of the coming of Christ. But you also have at the end of the book, verse 21,

²¹ Saviors shall go up to Mount Zion to rule Mount Esau, and the kingdom shall be the Lord ‘s. (Obadiah 1:21, ESV)

This word for savior reminds you a little bit of the judges period. Now, this word savior is not particularly used in the book of Judges specifically for a judge, but it is the word used in the book of Judges for what judges do: they deliver God’s people. And so the emphasis here is on deliverers who will be raised up by God. And then the very last part of Obadiah is the kingdom shall be the Lord’s. God’s kingdom will encompass everything, even Esau and Edom and the nations. And so you have the establishment here of the kingdom of God.

Now, the book of Edom, I think, was written not for the benefit of the Edomites, but it was written for the benefit of God’s people. And so I would place the book of Obadiah shortly after the events of 587, and it would have been written to God’s people as a statement of hope for them, particularly in relationship to their treatment at the hand of the nations and at the hand of Edom. And, you know, you take psalm 137 remember, O Lord, what the Edomites did, and you have Obadiah. God does remember what the Edomites did.

God will not allow this to go unpunished, not just Edom, but what the nations did. Even though the nations were instruments in God’s hands, the nations participated in this with the thought that they were the ones. Their gods were bringing them victory, and they fully participated in this with joy and gladness.

And so, Obadiah is a reminder to God’s people that God will get the last word, that God will remember what Needham did, God will remember what the nations did, and God will establish His salvation so that the kingdom will be the Lord’s. So a small book written to a particular situation, but it has certainly broader implications.

This audio lecture is brought to you by RTS on iTunesu at the virtual campus of Reformed Theological Seminary. To listen to other lectures and to access additional resources, please visit us at itunes rts.edu. For additional information on how to take distance education courses for credit towards a fully accredited master of Arts in religion degree, please visit our website at virtual rts.edu.