Obadiah

== Obadaiah 1:1 ==
1The vision of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning Edom; We have heard a rumour from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent among the heathen, Arise ye, and let us rise up against her in battle.
Obadiah was a prophet sent to the nation of Edom, the descendants of Esau. The heathen nations around Edom would rise up to do battle against Edom for its wickedness. It is interesting to note in all this prophecy concerning the wars of these wicked nations that it is the very wickedness of those nations that bring this judgment down upon themselves. Providentially we can see indications of this even today.
== Obadaiah 1:2-4 ==
2Behold, I have made thee small among the heathen: thou art greatly despised. 3The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground? 4Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the LORD.
Here again the image of the eagle is an image that points to strength. In this case, it is self-exaltation and perceived strength that is not real.
== Obadaiah 1:5-10 ==
5If thieves came to thee, if robbers by night, (how art thou cut off!) would they not have stolen till they had enough? if the grapegatherers came to thee, would they not leave some grapes? 6How are the things of Esau searched out! how are his hidden things sought up! 7All the men of thy confederacy have brought thee even to the border: the men that were at peace with thee have deceived thee, and prevailed against thee; they that eat thy bread have laid a wound under thee: there is none understanding in him. 8Shall I not in that day, saith the LORD, even destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of the mount of Esau? 9And thy mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed, to the end that every one of the mount of Esau may be cut off by slaughter. 10For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever.
Like we see in Romans 9, Jacob vs. Esau was never about the individual men but the nations. As Edom (Esau) fought against the Israelites (Jacob), later Israel and Judah, God condemns that nation to complete destruction. Edom does not exist today.
== Obadaiah 1:11-14 ==
11In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, in the day that the strangers carried away captive his forces, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even thou wast as one of them. 12But thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day that he became a stranger; neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress. 13Thou shouldest not have entered into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; yea, thou shouldest not have looked on their affliction in the day of their calamity, nor have laid hands on their substance in the day of their calamity; 14Neither shouldest thou have stood in the crossway, to cut off those of his that did escape; neither shouldest thou have delivered up those of his that did remain in the day of distress.
When Jerusalem was taken into Babylonian captivity, Edom sought to despoil what was left of Judah and Jerusalem. Literally they kicked the Jews while they were down. God has spoken to this in Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Obadiah is simply echoing those thoughts here.
== Obadaiah 1:15 ==
15For 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.
Near. Soon. It was about to happen. Why people do not understand the meaning of this term I cannot grasp.
== Obadaiah 1:16-21 ==
16For as ye have drunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the heathen drink continually, yea, they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not been. 17But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions. 18And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them, and devour them; and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau; for the LORD hath spoken it. 19And they of the south shall possess the mount of Esau; and they of the plain the Philistines: and they shall possess the fields of Ephraim, and the fields of Samaria: and Benjamin shall possess Gilead. 20And the captivity of this host of the children of Israel shall possess that of the Canaanites, even unto Zarephath; and the captivity of Jerusalem, which is in Sepharad, shall possess the cities of the south. 21And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD's.
Even though Edom had taken advantage of Jerusalem and Judah after Babylon had taken them captive, Judah would return from captivity and turn the tables on the land of Edom, possessing it at the last when Edom is dead and gone.
In Truth and Love.