The name Obadiah is not an uncommon name in the Old Testament, as there are about 10 different Obadiahs' mentioned. But from this book we can gather very little about the prophet Obadiah whose words make up the shortest book in the Old Testament. Unlike many of the other prophets in the Old Testament, we simply do not know much about this prophet.
Although Obadiah seems to be the first of the literary prophets (the term "literary prophets" refers to those prophets whose prophecies have been recorded for us in the Old Testament, in contrast to the non-literary prophets like Elijah and Elisha) we notice that the book comes later in the arrangement of the prophetic books in our Bibles. This may have been done because Obadiah was thought of as an expansion of the short prediction against Edom at the end of Amos (9:12).
The nation of Edom was a long time enemy of God's people. Obadiah's message was that the LORD would send His judgments against Edom, and the nation would be destroyed. The Edomites were the descendants of Esau, the twin brother of Jacob (Israel). Esau was the older, but sold his birthright to Jacob for a pot of stew (Genesis 25). Later on, Esau felt he had been tricked out of his blessing, and threatened to kill Jacob. Jacob ran away to his uncle Laban's and stayed there for 20 years. Even though Esau and Jacob reunited after his return from Laban's, Esau’s descendants continued their oppression of the nation of Israel in following years.
King David succeeded in bringing Edom under the control of Israel during his reign, but they rebelled against Solomon, who subdued their revolt and occupied some of their cities (1 Kings 11:14-25). The Edomites finally regained their independence when they revolted against King Jehoram of Judah (2 Kings 8:20-22).
In spite of this temporary surge of strength, Edom continued to weaken through the days of Jesus. Judas Maccabaeus defeated the Idumeans (Greek for Edom) in 185 B.C. In the days of Jesus, Judah was ruled by the Idumeans in the person of Herod the Great, Herod Antipas, and Herod Agrippa I. However, when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem in 70 A.D. the history of Edom also came to an end.
It is difficult to date because it has no direct historical links to other books or people mentioned in the Bible, but it does speak of the day in which Edom rejoiced in the captivity and destruction of Jerusalem: "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. 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" Obadiah 1:11-12.
It is possible that the destruction of Jerusalem referred to in this book is connected to the Obadiah referred to in 2 Chronicles 17:7, “Also in the third year of his reign he (Jehoshaphat, king of Judah) sent his leaders, Ben-Hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Michaiah, to teach in the cities of Judah.” During the reign of Jehoram, the next king of Judah, the people of Edom rebelled against the rule of Judah and the Philistines and Arabs invaded and occupied Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 21:8-17).
Obadiah is the first of the literary prophets to use the term “the day of the LORD.” This term often is used from the perspective prophecy to refer both to the first coming of the Messiah and the second coming of the Messiah as one event. As it refers to the destruction of Edom, “the day of the LORD” has a sense of God’s final day of judgment. Although Obadiah’s prophecies begin with its attention focused on the people of Edom, the scope widens in verses 15-16 to include all nations: “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. 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” (Obadiah 1:15-16).
The main theme of Obadiah is the coming destruction of Edom because of its arrogance and cruelty to Judah, and particularly their gloating over the invasion of Jerusalem. Edom, which was smug in it’s mountain strongholds will be overcome and destroyed. In a broader sense, all nations will punished for their rejection and unbelief.
But it is the secondary theme of the book, which brings out God’s grace and assures God’s people of His faithfulness to His covenant promises. The last verse of the book concludes: “Then saviors shall come to Mount Zion To judge the mountains of Esau, And the kingdom shall be the LORD’s” (Obadiah 1:21).
I. The Destruction of Edom predicted (1-9)
II. The Cause of Edom’s punishment (10-14)
III. The Day of the LORD: Retribution & Restoration (15-21)
Note: This study was prepared for the Bible Class at Zion Lutheran Church,
Lawrenceville, GA by Pastor Nathanael Mayhew