12: Minor Prophets - Book of Obadiah

[Dunkle] Welcome to Minor Prophets! Once again, we're making our way through the Minor Prophets, and we've reached the Book of Obadiah. Obadiah stands out because, well, you can miss it. It's pretty short. We might get through it just in this session. I don't want to belabor it, but I also don't want to be so brief that we miss some important points. So let's kick off with the five W's. Five W's of Obadiah.

Well, we believe a man named Obadiah wrote the book, but we don't have any information about him as a person. And there are 12 men by that name mentioned in the Bible. So, if you look through Scripture, you can find 12 Obadiahs, and we don't know which one of them might have been the author, at least not with any certainty.

The meaning of the name is Servant of the Eternal God, or Servant of Yahweh, which is, again, a pretty cool name. Seems like so many of the prophets have great names. But it leads us to think it's possible that it's, rather than a proper name, it's his title. Servant of Yahweh, or Servant of God, is a good title to have. What's your job description? I'm a servant of God. I'd take that.

So let's talk about when. And there's no hard evidence, so scholars have guessed. And the internal evidence leaves us kind of wondering. So some say it was written as late as shortly after the Babylonian captivity, which could be 586. Scholars who feel that seem to be in a minority. Many more believe it was early, even as early as 850 BC. And you might notice that's near, excuse me, nearly 300 years difference.

And I think the majority of ministers in the Church of God feel that it was written early. And if that's true, Obadiah would have been one of the earliest of what we call the literary prophets. So if you had a timeline showing the kings and prophets, a lot of them put Obadiah as either the first or near the first. And I don't have any reason to disagree, except I sometimes wonder, because that would mean the first of the literary prophets is writing a message to a nation other than Israel. You know, it's written about the nation of Edom, which we're going to get to in the what and why. But that doesn't necessarily disqualify it. It's just something that makes me have a question.

Now, some of the scholars who believe that it was written later do so because there's a good bit of similarity between the one-chapter book of Obadiah and a single chapter in the book of Jeremiah. And we know that Jeremiah was in Jerusalem at the time it was conquered by the Babylonians. So the chapter in Jeremiah is chapter 49. There are a lot of similarities, and I'll I've got it in my notes to point out the correspondence between verses as we go.

So some would have the question, okay, how and why are they so much alike? Could the two prophets have worked together? You know, they met at the library downtown and they worked together on what they're going to write in their prophecies. Maybe, but that doesn't seem real likely. Some people wonder if one of them copied from the other. And of course, if Obadiah was written 300 years earlier, then it would be Jeremiah having access to his scroll and saying, hey, that's pretty good. I'm going to use that. I'm going to write that down.

That wouldn't make it uninspired. It wouldn't make it not the word of God. But the answer to this that I like best is that God inspired both Obadiah and Jeremiah. And since God is God, and he's the one directing this, he would probably direct similar language and similar ideas to be conveyed by both different men. And so that's really what I think is the answer. It's just there's no place in Scripture that would prove that.

By the way, there are some similarities among other prophets. Isaiah and Micah bear some similarities. So you'll hear me bring up the same exact question, provide some of the same exact answers later when we get to Micah.

Let's talk about the where for this book. Okay. The book itself doesn't give us a clear indication of where Obadiah lived and worked. There are some references to Jacob within the book. There's no mention of the temple or of sacrifice at the temple. So that leads us more to think that probably the message is directed towards the Northern Kingdom, and that Obadiah may indeed have lived in Israel rather than Judah. But that's, you could see, it's a pretty thin basis for deciding that.

So we'll move on to the why. Wait a minute. Sorry, I've got a lot on why and not a lot on what, but they overlap quite a bit, as you know.

The main purpose of the book was to prophesy the downfall of the nation of Edom. In my notes, I wrote the Doom of Edom, which that's a lot of D's and M's to say together. And I do want to note that we believe this is prophecy. We don't think it's a historical account that was written after Edom was conquered, as some Bible critics would say. We don't believe that's the case.

The message does mention the day of the Lord near the end, and it also speaks of a restoration of the nation of Israel. So it has some of those themes that come up in other places. But really the focus is on Edom. Edom, you did some bad things. You're going to suffer and be punished for those bad things. Because not many Old Testament books focus on a nation or a people other than Israel or Judah, it's worth us reviewing and discussing who was Edom. Who were these peoples living in this nation?

And by the way, if I could go to one of our other maps. Of course, we have the Promised Land here with Israel. Judah is down here. Edom is down here. So Edom is to the south and slightly to the east of Judah. And many of us would remember this. If you look at a map in the back of your Bible, it'll probably show you that.

Okay, the name Edom means red. Okay, so the Hebrew means red. It comes from a nickname given to Jacob's twin brother Esau. Okay, remember when, well, we'll say the nation of Edom, we believe, is descended from the man Esau. Esau was the son of Isaac, who was the son of Abraham. He got the name red as a nickname because he sold his birthright for a bowl of soup, a potage, and it was red stew. So they started calling him red. So red's not an uncommon nickname today. And the name stuck, and that became the name of the nation.

You might notice later on in Roman times, they started calling that area Ijumea, because an i is often pronounced with the e sound. So Edom is very much like Edom. So in some Roman maps and writings, Edom or Ijumea seems to be a reference to the same nation. That doesn't come up in this book of Obadiah, but it's worth us noting that's the case.

That's who these peoples were. The Bible does give us some of the genealogy of those descended from Edom. And he had some grandsons whose names stick out. For one, he had a grandson named Amalek. If you go through the story of King Saul and then David, Amalek stands out. Matter of fact, when the Israelites were approaching the Promised Land, some people called the Amalekites attacked from behind. And so God had Moses write down, we're going to have war with Amalek. Later on, we're going to do business with them.

I will note there's some room to question if that nation of Amalek was a subset of Edom. There's no proof one way or the other, but Amalek isn't a name that would be unknown anywhere else. But the general belief is that Amalek is part of Edom and descended from Esau.

Okay, Esau also had a grandson named Timon. And he was a son of a man named Timon. Timon, and we see some prophecies that refer to Timon as part of Amalek. That's led some people to look at the history of peoples over the years, and they've seen Timon might be a reference to Timon, Timon, and then possibly also the peoples known as the Ottomans, as in the Ottoman Turks. Boy, that's a lot. So we'll come back to that. Well, you know, we'll come to that in a moment.

But let's look at some of the national dealings between Israel and Edom. And Genesis will tell us Edom became a kingdom before Israel did. While Israel was in slavery in Egypt, the nation of Edom came together and started appointing kings. And so they attained a national sovereignty earlier.

And they were there when the Israelites had been wandering in the wilderness. They want to get to the Promised Land, and Edom stands in the way, and Edom doesn't want to give them passage. But God tells Israel through Moses, don't mess with Edom. Treat them as a brother. I am not giving you Edom's land. So Israel goes all the way around. But this is one of the points where Edom doesn't treat Israel in a very brotherly way, which we see reflected in the book of Obadiah.

And through the history, there's some animosity. Edom and Israel, and then Judah, when Judah becomes a separate nation, they have an animosity where they'll fight. Edom will try to take land away from Israel when possible. There are times when Judah will dominate Edom and put them under subjugation. So it goes both ways, we could say.

I'll note that the nation of Edom is mentioned in some end-time prophecies. Isaiah 63:1-6 mentions Edom, and it's a prophecy of Christ with His garment stained with blood. He's the Messiah who's coming, and He's trampling the winepress alone. So that seems to show that some descendants of Esau will be around at the end time.

Another one's Daniel 11, verse 41. Daniel 11:41 is part of the famous prophecy where the king of the south pushes against the king of the north, and then the king of the north comes in with fury and conquers, and Edom is mentioned within that prophecy. So that leads us to wonder, if there are going to be some around, do we know where are the modern-day descendants of Esau or Edom? Where are they? Who are they?

Well, many scholars believe that a lot of their descendants stayed in this area, that they may well be amongst those that now we call Palestinians. Notice I'm being a little tentative. I said they may well be, and many people believe. We don't have reason to disbelieve that, but we want to take into account the history.

We know that the Babylonian army came in and conquered all the nations of this area and took away captives. Judah ceased as a nation for a time, and they were taken away to Babylon. And it wasn't until 70 years later some were able to come back, re-establish the nation, rebuild Jerusalem, build a second temple.

It seems, well, I shouldn't say it seems, but we know the Persian Empire had a policy of letting peoples return to their homelands. Not only the Jews, but the Edomites would have been allowed to return as well. And likely some did, but perhaps, like the Jews, many did not. The records are not very clear. We just don't know for sure, but we know more Jews stayed in the area of Babylon than went back to their homeland. And it's likely that happened with Edom too. And they may well have been caught up in migrations.

But even in that area, there's a city in Iraq called Basra, spelled B-A-S-R-A. But it might have been named for the ancient Edomite town of Bozrah. Bozrah is spelled B-O-Z-R-A-H. You know, I'm not saying it's the same city, because one was in Edom, one was in what is now Iraq, but maybe the captives of Edom were able to build a new city and named it for the old one. Notice I said maybe.

Here's where I was mentioning, if there was a migration, there's an area in the plateau of parts of Asia Minor, the area we now call Turkey, that's been known historically as the Plains of Temani. Plains of Temani. If indeed those are peoples named for Teman, the grandson of Esau, it might be named that because descendants of Esau settled there and maybe are still there.

I wish I could say with certainty. I have to say maybe. There were decades past in God's Church where we eliminated the maybe. If you look at some of our older writings, we very clearly said the nation of Turkey is Esau. Period. Turkey equals Esau in prophecy. I'm not saying that's wrong. I'm saying it's not as clear as we wish. The historical record supports it to some degree, but not absolutely. And the Bible is kind of mostly silent on that.

I do know that modern-day Turkey, which, if we could... there we go. It's a multicultural people, multi-ethnic. They're not all just one unified people, like the United States today. The United States consists of many peoples with a lot of ethnic backgrounds. Turkey is similar, so there could well be a lot of them that are descended from Esau without meaning all of them are.

It's worth keeping in mind because we see Esau mentioned in prophecy. We should at least think, I wonder if this factors in. Is Turkey a part of that? Or is it descendants of Edomites that are still in the area of Palestine? Good for us to think of both.

But in the long run, we want to get back to why we have this book. It's largely because of that long-standing animosity. Israel and Edom didn't get along. They had a family squabble like the man Jacob and the man Esau had, a long-established animosity when they were younger. We see clearly in the book of Genesis they finally reconcile, and both of them are wealthy and doing quite well. Almost said good.

Okay, so let's move on to the what. Spent a lot of time on why, but I think it was worth it. What is the book of Obadiah? Well, for one, it's the shortest book in the Old Testament. It's only a chapter. It's one of very few that are not quoted in the New Testament. So most of the Old Testament books will be quoted somewhere in the New Testament. Obadiah didn't make that cut.

Scholars who look at the language say it was written in a lucid and forceful language, with lucid and forceful language. I'll take that as it's written by those who know Hebrew. As I've said many times, I'm not a Hebrew scholar, but I can read things written by those who are, and that's what they say about his writing.

Yes, Flower?

[Flower] Did you say it was the only book in the— 

[Dunkle] No, it's one of few. And to be honest, I don't have a list of which other ones are not, so I'm unprepared to say which. But most Old Testament books are quoted somewhere in the New, but Obadiah is not one of them.

All right, chapter and verse. I don't have to tell you the chapter. It's all chapter one. It begins by saying, “The vision of Obadiah.” There's not more description of how God communicated with him, but he was a prophet and God sent a vision.

And it starts off saying, “Thus says the Lord God.” Obadiah is going to make no bones about it. This is God's message, not his own. And it's concerning Edom. Okay.

“We have heard a report from the Eternal, and a messenger has been sent among the nations, saying, ‘Arise, and let us rise up against her for battle.’” (Obadiah 1:1)

This might be referring to God sending a spiritual messenger to stir up nations against Edom. It's not entirely clear, but knowing what we see in the book of Daniel about there being someone called the Prince of Persia, and Michael, the archangel who watches over God's people, we see that it seems there are spiritual powers somewhat behind the scenes with these nations. So that might be a case of what's going on here.

And we get into more of that—oh, by the way, almost overlooked this—Obadiah verse 1 corresponds closely with Jeremiah chapter 49, verse 14. 

So Jeremiah 49, verse 14 is similar. And then Jeremiah 49:15 is similar to Obadiah verse 2. So as I said, that chapter parallels Obadiah pretty closely.

And verse 2 says, “Behold, I will make you small among the nations; you shall be greatly despised” (Obadiah 1:2).

Small among the nations—size is relative. The nation of Edom historically was near the same size as the nation of Judah, and everyone acknowledges Judah was a small kingdom. But God is saying maybe that as small as you are, you're going to be reduced in that. And we could say reduced in geography, but perhaps as much in influence, power, wealth—other ways we can look at it.

But we see some of the reasoning in verse 3: “The pride of your heart has deceived you” (Obadiah 1:3).

Pride is cited as a main cause of punishment. Matter of fact, I will note Edom is condemned for pride, for mistreatment of fellow nations. We are not going to see Edom condemned and punished for idolatry. And of course, that's because God didn't reveal the truth to Edom. It's not that idolatry is okay if you don't know the truth, but we could consider Edom as in the class of nations that are not yet judged because they don't yet have God's Spirit and don't yet know God's law.

But there are some things they should know. They should know pride is bad. It makes me wonder, it makes me remember some of the condemnation of the one known as Lucifer who became Satan the devil in Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28, where we see that description. Pride was one of the great weaknesses of that anointed cherub who covers that had the downfall.

So pride is a very dangerous thing. Matter of fact, in Proverbs 6, verses 16 and 17, where God lists things that He hates, one of those is a proud look. God hates a proud look. Okay, so Edom had pride, and part of what their pride was based on, as we see in verse 3, is they dwelled in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high.

And really, this area, the country, did have mountain peaks much higher than in Judah and Jerusalem. Some of the mountains of Edom had peaks above 6,000 feet above sea level, whereas Jerusalem was about 2,300—so more than twice as high. Now, 6,000 feet is still not high if you're used to the Himalayas or the Andes or the Rockies, but for that area, it's pretty high.

Some people have pointed out also the Hebrew word for rock, usually sela, but we're familiar with a Greek word for rock, petra. Petra is in that area, and because of shifting political boundaries, there are times when it could be considered to have been within the nation of Edom, more often within the nation of Moab. But it makes you wonder—this pride in these clefts of the rock, habitation high, mountain fortifications, you could see.

It says, “Who will bring you down to the ground?” (Obadiah 1:3).

God's going to give an answer in verse 4:

“Though you ascend as high as the eagle, and though you set your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down,” says the Lord (Obadiah 1:4).

They're saying, okay, you trust—you know, you're like an eagle that's got that nest on that high cleft of a cliff where no predator can get there. You know, the eagles are the—what's that word for topmost predator? Apex predator. Thank you.

Well, God is saying, no, you're not. I'm the apex predator. I don't like to describe God as a predator, but He's saying, don't take pride thinking no one can get to you. God is saying, I will bring you down. God can conquer, even though Edom might be inaccessible to human means.

And by the way, this parallels Jeremiah 49:16. So, a steady progression.

And we'll see, looking at some of these, though, God will use other nations to punish. And that's a theme. God doesn't often intervene the way He does in Sodom and Gomorrah, where He rains fire and brimstone as a direct punishment. God says, okay, I'm bringing a nation out of the north, and so He'll use other nations.

Matter of fact, a scripture it's worth remembering is Isaiah 10:5, where He refers to Assyria as “the rod of My anger” (Isaiah 10:5). So Assyria, that Assyrian army, is like a tool in God's hands. So the point is, although I'm using another nation to do it, God is saying, I'm doing it. I will bring you down. So let's move on, and He'll show some of how thorough He'll be.

In verse 5, He says, “If thieves had come to you, if robbers by night—oh, how you will be cut off!—would they not have stolen till they had enough? If grape gatherers had come to you, would they not have left some gleanings?” (Obadiah 1:5).

“Oh, how Esau shall be searched out! His hidden treasures shall be sought after” (Obadiah 1:6).

God is saying the punishment, when I bring it, is going to be thorough. Humans would leave some things. They would do an incomplete job, but Edom is going to be plundered—you know—of everyone and everything.

And this corresponds also to Jeremiah chapter 49, more specifically verses 9 and 10. So, like I said, if you're doing a margin reference, that's how you match them up.

And verse 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” (Obadiah 1:7).

This is showing that Edom would be part of a confederacy, an alliance of nations. But that confederacy would turn on Edom, and we see that. For one thing, we know Edom did collaborate with Babylon. You know, they threw their lot in with Nebuchadnezzar and his army and helped cooperate to overthrow some of the other nations—but then guess what? They were conquered just as much. It didn't save them.

And some of the other nations, it seems, were turning against them.

If you are doing margin reference, I'll note that Psalm 83, verses 1 through 8, mentions Edom along with other nations as a confederacy. I'm not sure of the time—you know, it's the exact same match, because we have different confederacies and alliances at different times through the many years. But this seems to be saying, at the end of verse 7, no one is aware of it. Perhaps the leaders of Edom would not be aware of the double cross.

Now, they're going to be turned against by those they trust, even though they're not aware of it.

And I saw some people looking at Psalm 83, verses 1 through 8—that was the reference I was giving.

So we move on in verse 8: “Will I not in that day,” says the Lord, “even destroy the wise men from Edom?” (Obadiah 1:8). 

This corresponds with Jeremiah 49:7. And I don't have much comment on that except to say that, you know, sort of in the Psalms, David talked about that if we think about the wisdom of men, God's wisdom is wise or far. You know, our wisdom is as foolishness compared to God's, certainly that of other nations.

Going on in verse 9, then “your mighty men, O Timon,” (Obadiah 1:9). So here we get a mention of Timon as a subset of Esau. So it's not now going somewhere else. Timon was part of Esau at that time where Edom—oh yeah— “they'll be dismayed to the end that everyone from the mountains of Esau will be cut off by slaughter.” 

Now, this goes into verse 10, where it says, “For violence against your brother Jacob, shame shall cover you, and you shall be cut off forever” (Obadiah 1:10).

I want to note that where it says cut off by slaughter, some of the Hebrew scholars say this might not be the best translation. Some say it would have been better if it said on account of the slaughter. So you're going to be—your mighty men will be cut off on account of the slaughter. And then it turns it—it talks about the violence against Jacob, your brother. So because of your violence against your brother, that's why your mighty men are going to be cut off. That does make sense. That's why God is going to bring punishment on Esau.

And he makes it pretty clear. You could be saying it's not just violence against a stranger, not just some nation that's out there. It's your brother, a near kinsman.

And notice in verse 10, it mentions Jacob. It doesn't say Israel. And not that they aren't the same. Remember the man Jacob had his name changed by God. But sometimes when we see in prophecy the reference to Jacob, it seems to be referring more to the physical, to the physical people. And we see that connection, Esau and Jacob. It's a gritty, visceral level.

And we're going to see two phases of punishment: shame. And that could refer to being conquered and taken captive by Babylon. But then it says, cut off forever. Okay, no individual is going to be cut off forever. I'll address that later. But this might be a prophecy that the nation of Edom will cease. It'll stop being a separate nation. Not necessarily at the Babylonian captivity, because they'll have the chance to come back.

But we know during the intertestamental period, as the Maccabean kingdom is established in Judah, they would assert control over the nation of Edom and dominate it and begin to dismantle it. And it seems that during the time of Roman rule, a separate nation of Edom went away. It just ceased to exist, and it doesn't come back ever in history. And I think that might well be what it's referring to here at the end of verse 10, when it says, cut off forever. No more as a nation, not individuals cut off forever.

So we go on the next few verses. Let me know if I'm going too fast, although I might be going slower than I did through Amos.

“In the day that you stood on the other side” Let's say, you Edom, you Edomites, “You stood on the other side in the day that strangers carried captive his forces,”  The his forces seems to be referring to the brother Jacob. You stood still and watched them take away your brothers, not fellow countrymen, but your next of kin. “And when foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem—even you were as one of them” (Obadiah 1:11).

Instead of saying, oh no, our next-door neighbor is suffering devastation, you were right there taking part, casting lots, seeing what we can get. I want to get some of that.

“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 1:12).

I'm reading all this together because it fits together.

“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” (Obadiah 1:13).

It's saying Edom cheered when Israel and Judah were conquered. Edom participated in the destruction. They thought it was great. It was terrific. Of course, we know this especially happened during the Babylonian conquest because Edom is right next to Judah. Judah was a buffer between Edom and the northern kingdom Israel, so the Assyrians didn't put an end to Edom the way Babylon did.

But either way, there's a lesson there for us, I think. Should you cheer and be happy when someone has a calamity? No, we shouldn't. It's tempting, especially if that someone is a real stinker. We might think, yeah, you're finally getting what you deserve.

But God's telling Edom, no, you shouldn't do that. Now, because did Israel deserve the punishment they got? Yeah, I have to admit they did. You know, over and over again in the prophets, we see these indictment oracles where God is showing, you're sinning here, you're sinning here, you're going to be punished. So Edom would be correct in saying, yeah, you're getting what you deserve.

We could be correct if we see people in the world around us suffer and we say, yeah, you're getting what you deserve. But the lesson here from Obadiah is that's not the way God wants us to view it. He wants us to look at people the way He does and look for ultimate redemption.

Now, will I tell you that's easy to do? Absolutely not. It's hard for us to do that. It's really easy to be vindictive and be happy when someone gets what they've got coming. But we've got to struggle against that. So anyways, that's a lesson I see in here that we should note, although I'm not sure that that's why God had Obadiah write.

Okay, so, but I didn't read verse 14. It sort of sums up the thought or finishes. He says, “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” (Obadiah 1:14).

This seems to be indicating physically blocking the use of roadways, roadways and probably mountain passes. Imagine the Babylonian armies rolling in from the north and some Jewish refugees are fleeing. We got to get out of here. I'm going to save my life, save my family and kids. And as you're trying to get out of the nation, there's a troop of armed Edomites who are not going to let you through. They might take you captive and sell you as slaves or march you back to the Babylonians. God is saying, you should not have done that. 

Definitely shouldn't. This did happen in ancient times. Some have wondered, if there are descendants of Palestinians in what we would call the Promised Land or Palestine today, could there—I'm saying as a tentative—could there possibly be a repeat of this in the future, of people trying to escape a cataclysm and others stopping them?

I'll refrain from commenting on what's going on in the Middle East today, but we see bad things and we see people not treating each other well, so it's a lesson for us to look at.

Verse 15 says, “For the day of the Lord upon all the nations is near” (Obadiah 1:15).

Okay, as I said—let me slow down and say that—as I have said before, any time that God intervenes in the world could be called a day of the Lord. But this seems to be the day of the Lord, and all nations are affected. That's pointing us to the end time when Christ returns.

And it says, “As you have done, it shall be done to you” (Obadiah 1:15).

He just was indicting Esau or Edom for doing what? Gazed on the day of your brother. You know, you stood on that day when foreigners carried them off. You entered the gates in their calamity. You cut them off at the crossroads. You shouldn't have done that. And as you've done, it's going to be done to you.

I didn't even bring that up when I said, as Christians, we shouldn't be exulting in other people’s suffering. But there's a principle there.

Galatians 6 and verse 7—“whatever a man sows, that he will also reap” (Galatians 6:7).

And sometimes you get the punishment commensurate with what you do wrong.

And Exodus 21, verse 24 is one of the places where it talks about “eye for eye, tooth for tooth” (Exodus 21:24). And I don't want to elaborate on that now, but I will just mention that rather than that being about gouging out eyes and knocking out teeth, the main principle is the idea that the punishment will fit the crime. And so a high-level crime is going to bring a high-level punishment.

And here, as you've done, it'll be done to you—your reprisal on your own head.

So he goes on to talk more about what Edom was prophesied to do.

“For as you drank on My holy mountain” (Obadiah 1:16).

As you drank on My holy mountain—you celebrated. Even you went to Jerusalem and took exaltation and great happiness because Babylon had come and destroyed the temple and overrun the people. “As you did that, so all the nations drink continually. Yes, they drink and swallow. They'll be as though they had never been.”

Okay, you're going to suffer the same fate, and perhaps even more. As we'll see later in verse 18, it talks about no survivors shall remain of the house of Esau.

That makes us look back at the end of verse 16 and say, who is the “they” that shall be as though they'd never been? One interpretation could be, well, the nations that you joined in. But it's more common to think it's talking about they, the nation of Edom—they're going to be as though they'd never been, which we saw before. And there, I think, the nation ceasing to exist.

When we get to verse 18, I'll talk about individuals.

But let's get through verse 17 so we can get to verse 18.

“But on Mount Zion there shall be deliverance” (Obadiah 1:17).

Here's a contrast. We've been talking about the destruction of Esau, of Edom. They're suffering because of what they did. But in contrast, there will be deliverance on Mount Zion. There shall be holiness. “The house of Jacob will possess their possessions.”

God is going to provide deliverance for Israel. Despite the fact that they earned punishment—there's no disputing that they earned and deserved punishment—but God yet loves them. The great “yet I” principle comes in. He loves and delivers.

And it's worth noting, though, he says Mount Zion—that's the peak in Jerusalem. But we also see that as often a symbol for the Church. I can't say with certainty that that's the symbolism here, but I can say with certainty that God promises deliverance for His Church. You know, He has a plan to bring us to glory in His family. And so, even if we don't have physical deliverance in this day and age, we can look forward to the ultimate deliverance.

Let's go on in verse 18.

“The house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame.”  (Obadiah 1:18) So, we mentioned Jacob and the house of Joseph—perhaps referencing the northern kingdom Israel and the southern kingdom Judah. I said perhaps—it's not clear—but we have a reference to two of the more important figures in Israelite history. (Obadiah 1:18).

And while I'm saying that, we could reference Ezekiel 37. In Ezekiel 37, verses 19 through 22, there is a prophecy of Israel and Judah being reunited. And we know that's going to happen when Christ returns. Maybe this is a brief reference to that—putting a stop to the divided monarchy, them being reunited.

And of course, God promises to resurrect David and make him king over the nation, while Jesus Christ will be the ultimate King over all the earth. And if we're looking ahead to that time, we know that'll happen.

Okay, there'll be deliverance—”holiness for the house of Jacob. The house of Jacob, a fire; the house of Joseph, a flame. But the house of Esau shall be stubble.” You know what flame does to dried straw—it burns it real quickly. We see who's coming out on top of this. “They'll kindle them and devour them.”

And “no survivor shall remain of the house of Esau, for the Lord has spoken” (Obadiah 1:18).

Okay, that makes me wonder—this is one of a few places where there's a reference that gives at least reason to wonder, when the day of the Lord is done and the millennium starts, will there be any physical Edomites alive on the planet? There are some prophecies that make us think, maybe not. Maybe circumstances will happen that no descendants of the man Esau will live into the millennium. I said maybe more than once, so let's leave it as a maybe.

And by the way, this parallels Jeremiah 49, verses 17 and 18. 

So Jeremiah is mentioning this also—Jeremiah 49, verses 17 and 18.

What I want to assert is that even if—even if, perhaps, possibly—no Edomites survive into the millennium, I can say with certainty they will arise in what we call the second resurrection and will participate in the great white throne judgment.

Let me cite some scriptures that it's worth us keeping in mind.

Romans 14, verse 10: “For we shall all A-L-L stand before the judgment seat of Christ” (Romans 14:10).

Okay, add to that 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verse 22. 1 Corinthians chapter 15, which we call the resurrection chapter—at verse 22 it says, “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all A-L-L shall be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22), each in his own order.

So we can say with confidence, if no Edomites live into the millennium, they will all live again after the millennium, and they'll stand before the great white throne.

 And Revelation 20, verse 12 says, “And I saw the dead, small and great” (Revelation 20:12).

I also want to reference Revelation 20:5, which talks about the rest of the dead living again after the millennium—the rest implies all the rest.

So I want to be clear on that because it's a big deal to say it's possible that a nation of people will be extinct during the millennium. To me, that's mind-boggling. And I'm still saying it as an if, not a certainty. But even if it is so, they will all have the exact same spiritual potential that we have—to be raised, accept God's plan, His law, accept His Holy Spirit, and be born into His family.

Okay. Boy, that seemed heavy. Let's get to the end of the book.

Okay, verse 19: “The South shall possess the mountains of Esau” (Obadiah 1:19).

The South—I needed to double-check that—but I believe that the Hebrew word translated “South” is Negev, which is the southern part of Judah. So the southern part of Judah is going to possess the mountains of Esau. So this shows the reestablished nation of Israel expanding—expanding to the south.

“The lowland shall possess Philistia” (Obadiah 1:19). So we go south for Esau. Philistia is to the west. Where do we go next? “They shall possess the fields of Ephraim and the fields of Samaria; Benjamin shall possess Gilead” (Obadiah 1:19). Gilead is over here to the east. So we've seen expansion south, expansion west, expansion east. What must be next?

Verse 20: “The captives of this host of the children of Israel shall possess the land of the Canaanites as far as Zarephath” (Obadiah 1:20), which is a city to the north near Tyre and Sidon. So in a poetic way, God is explaining that the nation of Israel will expand in all directions. And this seems to be at the time of the millennium.

“The captives of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad shall possess the cities of the South” (Obadiah 1:20).

I was pretty clear on the other ones—Sepharad, the meaning of that is a bit unclear. In Assyrian, it refers to a boundary. But this isn't meant to be written in the Assyrian language. Some scholars even speculate that it's someplace in Spain. I throw that out to say, boy, that sounds kind of silly—why would we be talking about this area, and then we're across the Mediterranean?

I'm not convinced it's that. So I'm going to say we don't know for sure what it refers to. It could be saying God is going to expand the rule of His people to the utmost boundary. You know, the limits are going to be very broad and vast.

And in verse 21: “Then saviors shall come to Mount Zion to judge the mountains of Esau” (Obadiah 1:21).

The word translated “saviors” could also be translated as “deliverers.” It's not referring to Jesus Christ, the Savior, who saves us spiritually. It seems that it might be referring to others. I was going to say physical people, but it could be spiritual sons of God coming in to help lead and save.

There's a couple of prophecies in Daniel—actually, we’re so close to Daniel here. In Daniel 7, verse 18: “But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever” (Daniel 7:18).

Likewise, in Daniel 7, verse 22: “And the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom” (Daniel 7:22).

So that fits with what we see in the teaching of the Bible. Jesus Christ told His twelve apostles each would sit on a throne ruling one of the tribes of Israel. And He used a parable of servants who multiplied their talents being given rule over cities.

You know, I think newly spirit-born children of God are going to have positions of authority—maybe to rule, but certainly to teach and lead the peoples that have been in ignorance.

So saviors will come to Mount Zion to judge the mountains of Esau. So ruling can include judging, but I think this is a prophecy of the millennium and of the role of God's people—not to dominate and subjugate the people of the planet, but to teach them and lead them and bring them to understanding.

We can think of the prophecy in Jeremiah where it says no more will your teachers be hidden, but you'll hear a voice behind you, “This is the way, walk in it” (Isaiah 30:21).

I get excited about that because I think that's an opportunity for us. And I like to say there's more than one way to teach. There's what I'm doing up here now—which some of you might say, I would never want to do that. Maybe you wouldn't. But leading by example, they say, is often the best teacher.

And if we're there and we're showing people how to live God's way, what a tremendous opportunity to teach. So this is a long way of getting to say, in verse 21, where it says saviors shall come to Mount Zion—could be people in this room among those saviors, deliverers, delivering people from Satan's world and from his deception.

But whether or not that's true, the ultimate is at the end of the chapter: “And the kingdom shall be the Lord’s” (Obadiah 1:21).

That's the ultimate result. It's going to be God's Kingdom—the Kingdom of God over all the world. What could be happier than that?

And that, in some ways, ties back to the theme of the book. Edom thought it was invulnerable—we're up in the mountains, we're protected—but it's going to be conquered. And happily, because of that conquest, it will become part of the Kingdom of God, not separate.

All the world will be part of the Kingdom of God.

And that's a good place to leave it.

I thought I was going to end early, but we're right there on time. So we'll turn away from Obadiah, and we'll be moving into the book of Jonah next, which is tremendously fun to talk about.