Obadiah, Sarah Barry
'AND THE KINGDOM WILL BE THE LORD'S'
Passage: Obadiah 1:1~21  
Key verse: 21
Obadiah’s Vision(A)(B)
1 The vision(C) of Obadiah.
This is what the Sovereign Lord says about Edom(D)—
We have heard a message from the Lord:
An envoy(E) was sent to the nations to say,
“Rise, let us go against her for battle”(F)—
2 “See, I will make you small(G) among the nations;
you will be utterly despised.
3 The pride(H) of your heart has deceived you,
you who live in the clefts of the rocks[a](I)
and make your home on the heights,
you who say to yourself,
‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’(J)
4 Though you soar like the eagle
and make your nest(K) among the stars,
from there I will bring you down,”(L)
declares the Lord.(M)
5 “If thieves came to you,
if robbers in the night—
oh, what a disaster awaits you!—
would they not steal only as much as they wanted?
If grape pickers came to you,
would they not leave a few grapes?(N)
6 But how Esau will be ransacked,
his hidden treasures pillaged!
7 All your allies(O) will force you to the border;
your friends will deceive and overpower you;
those who eat your bread(P) will set a trap for you,[b]
but you will not detect it.
8 “In that day,” declares the Lord,
“will I not destroy(Q) the wise men of Edom,
those of understanding in the mountains of Esau?
9 Your warriors, Teman,(R) will be terrified,
and everyone in Esau’s mountains
will be cut down in the slaughter.
10 Because of the violence(S) against your brother Jacob,(T)
you will be covered with shame;
you will be destroyed forever.(U)
11 On the day you stood aloof
while strangers carried off his wealth
and foreigners entered his gates
and cast lots(V) for Jerusalem,
you were like one of them.(W)
12 You should not gloat(X) over your brother
in the day of his misfortune,(Y)
nor rejoice(Z) over the people of Judah
in the day of their destruction,(AA)
nor boast(AB) so much
in the day of their trouble.(AC)
13 You should not march through the gates of my people
in the day of their disaster,
nor gloat over them in their calamity(AD)
in the day of their disaster,
nor seize their wealth
in the day of their disaster.
14 You should not wait at the crossroads
to cut down their fugitives,(AE)
nor hand over their survivors
in the day of their trouble.
15 “The day of the Lord is near(AF)
for all nations.
As you have done, it will be done to you;
your deeds(AG) will return upon your own head.
16 Just as you drank(AH) on my holy hill,(AI)
so all the nations will drink(AJ) continually;
they will drink and drink
and be as if they had never been.(AK)
17 But on Mount Zion will be deliverance;(AL)
it will be holy,(AM)
and Jacob will possess his inheritance.(AN)
18 Jacob will be a fire
and Joseph a flame;
Esau will be stubble,
and they will set him on fire(AO) and destroy(AP) him.
There will be no survivors(AQ)
from Esau.”
The Lord has spoken.
19 People from the Negev will occupy
the mountains of Esau,
and people from the foothills will possess
the land of the Philistines.(AR)
They will occupy the fields of Ephraim and Samaria,(AS)
and Benjamin(AT) will possess Gilead.
20 This company of Israelite exiles who are in Canaan
will possess the land as far as Zarephath;(AU)
the exiles from Jerusalem who are in Sepharad
will possess the towns of the Negev.(AV)
21 Deliverers(AW) will go up on[c] Mount Zion
to govern the mountains of Esau.
And the kingdom will be the Lord’s.(AX)
Footnotes
- Obadiah 1:3 Or of Sela
- Obadiah 1:7 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.
- Obadiah 1:21 Or from
Cross references
- Obadiah 1:1 : 1-4pp — Jer 49:14-16
- Obadiah 1:1 : 5-6pp — Jer 49:9-10
- Obadiah 1:1 : S Isa 1:1
- Obadiah 1:1 : S Ge 25:14; S Isa 11:14; S 34:11; 63:1-6; Jer 49:7-22; S Eze 25:12-14; S 32:29; S Am 1:11-12
- Obadiah 1:1 : Isa 18:2
- Obadiah 1:1 : Jer 6:4-5
- Obadiah 1:2 : Nu 24:18
- Obadiah 1:3 : S Isa 16:6
- Obadiah 1:3 : fn Isa 16:1
- Obadiah 1:3 : S 2Ch 25:11-12
- Obadiah 1:4 : S Isa 10:14
- Obadiah 1:4 : S Isa 14:13
- Obadiah 1:4 : S Job 20:6
- Obadiah 1:5 : S Dt 4:27; 24:21; S Isa 24:13
- Obadiah 1:7 : Jer 30:14
- Obadiah 1:7 : S Ps 41:9
- Obadiah 1:8 : Job 5:12; Isa 29:14
- Obadiah 1:9 : S Ge 36:11, 34
- Obadiah 1:10 : S Joel 3:19
- Obadiah 1:10 : Ps 137:7; Am 1:11-12
- Obadiah 1:10 : S Ps 137:7; S Eze 25:12-14; 35:9
- Obadiah 1:11 : S Job 6:27; S Eze 24:6
- Obadiah 1:11 : S Am 1:6
- Obadiah 1:12 : Pr 24:17
- Obadiah 1:12 : S Job 31:29
- Obadiah 1:12 : S Eze 35:15
- Obadiah 1:12 : S Pr 17:5
- Obadiah 1:12 : Ps 137:7
- Obadiah 1:12 : S Eze 25:6; Mic 4:11; 7:8
- Obadiah 1:13 : S Eze 35:5
- Obadiah 1:14 : S 1Ki 18:4
- Obadiah 1:15 : S Jer 46:10; S Eze 30:3; S Joel 2:31; S Am 5:18
- Obadiah 1:15 : S Jer 50:29; Hab 2:8
- Obadiah 1:16 : Isa 51:17
- Obadiah 1:16 : S Ex 15:17
- Obadiah 1:16 : Jer 25:15; 49:12; S La 4:21-22
- Obadiah 1:16 : S La 4:21; S Eze 25:12-14
- Obadiah 1:17 : S Ps 69:35; S Isa 14:1-2; Joel 2:32; S Am 9:11-15
- Obadiah 1:17 : S Ps 74:2; S Isa 4:3
- Obadiah 1:17 : Zec 8:12
- Obadiah 1:18 : S Isa 1:31
- Obadiah 1:18 : Zec 12:6
- Obadiah 1:18 : S Jer 49:10
- Obadiah 1:19 : Isa 11:14
- Obadiah 1:19 : S Jer 31:5
- Obadiah 1:19 : S Nu 1:36
- Obadiah 1:20 : 1Ki 17:9-10; Lk 4:26
- Obadiah 1:20 : S Jer 33:13
- Obadiah 1:21 : S Dt 28:29; S Jdg 3:9
- Obadiah 1:21 : S Ps 22:28; 47:9; 66:4; S Da 2:44; Zec 14:9, 16; Mal 1:14; Rev 11:15
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Source:  BibleGateway
Obadiah was a common OT name (1Ki 18:3; 1Chr 3:21, 7:3; 8:38; 9:16, etc...) which means 'servant of the LORD.' The mention of Edom's involvement in Jerusalem's destruction (11-14) mirror Ezekiel 35 and are similar to Jeremiah 49:7-22, suggesting Obadiah was probably prophesied at the same time (perhaps the 'we' in verse 1). His vision is the LORD's message of doom about Edom. Edom was a name given to the descendants of Esau, the brother of Jacob and first son of Isaac (Ge 25:30). The Edomites occupied Mount Seir (Dt 2:12), a well-watered area south of the Dead Sea (9; Teman means 'south'). The capital was Petra or Sela (footnote verse 3), an impregnable fortress city carved into the face of a cliff. Edom or Esau's descendants appear as enemies of God's people: Esau plotted the murder of Jacob (Ge 27:41). After the exodus from Egypt and 40 years of wandering in the desert, as Moses was leading the people to the land, Edom refused to let them pass through (Num 20:14-21). They were often at war with the kings of Israel and Judah. Obadiah's vision concerns the Edomites' actions when Babylon was destroying Jerusalem (586 BCE)(11-14; Ps 137:7). The theme of the vision is God who destroys the proud and delivers the humble. As enemies gloat and gain power in the world, we must not lose hope. We need to trust in the closing promise: 'And the kingdom will be the LORD's.'
'AND THE KINGDOM WILL BE THE LORD'S'
1. "The pride of your heart has deceived you" (1-14)
Edom's "home on the heights" made them feel secure and impenetrable. They soared like eagles over all the tumult below. But their pride deceived them. The LORD would remove all they trusted in. Why? When Babylon destroyed Jerusalem in 586 BCE the Edomites stood aloof, gloated, helped themselves to plunder, and even caught fugitives fleeing the city and handed over survivors.
2. "The day of the LORD is near" (15-21)
The day of the LORD is coming when all will be judged: "as you have done, it will be done to you." The humble and weak, God's people in exile, will be lifted up and restored. All nations, including the mountains of Esau, will be governed. The kingdom will be the LORD's. Jesus announced: "The time has come. The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news (Mk 1:35)!"
Prayer: Father, you reign overall. Help me trust in your plan and do my part in your kingdom work, knowing you oppose the proud and lift the humble.
One Word: God's will be done