The Book of Obadiah, with its one chapter, is the shortest book in the Old Testament. I have never heard a sermon from this book. Nevertheless it is a chapter with many important lessons for us today.
No-one knows anything about the prophet
Obadiah apart from the fact that he was given this prophecy by God. This in itself
is a reminder that many of God’s servants, perhaps the vast majority, remain
unknown, at least to subsequent generations. How many preachers from my
hometown in the past, for example, could I list, never mind say anything else
about them?
The theme of Obadiah’s prophecy is
twofold: first, the enemies of God’s people, represented by Edom, will
eventually perish no matter how secure they may seem at the moment; second, God’s
people will eventually prosper no matter how irrelevant and weak they may seem
at the moment.
The people of Edom were the descendants
of Esau, who was the nephew of Abraham and the brother of Jacob. One would
expect them therefore to have some affinity with a people group with which they
had connections and with whom they shared a common border. Yet throughout their
history they had shown no concern for or interest in Israel. Edom assumed, wrongly,
that their geographical location would provide permanent security (v. 3), that
their wise men, for which they were famous, would provide enduring leadership
(v. 8), and that their soldiers would always protect them (v. 9). It is not
difficult to find similar outlooks today.
Obadiah refers to an occasion when
Jerusalem had been ransacked and Edom had rejoiced over the tragic events that
followed, pillaging property and murdering those who tried to escape (vv. 10-14).
Yet Edom, along with other nations, would yet be conquered; indeed there would
be no survivors to live in their ‘secure’ land. This prophecy was fulfilled
when Edom was conquered by Babylon and disappeared from history. Of course, far
greater nations than Edom have also disappeared and I suspect that the Great
Day will reveal than one major reason for their disappearance was their
opposition to God’s kingdom.
In contrast with Edom, a small remnant
would remain in Judah (v. 17). Eventually the geographical territory of Israel
would be recovered, and their restoration would also include taking over
territory once ruled by their enemies, including Edom (vv. 19-21). This is a
picture of how God’s kingdom makes progress, eventually becoming strong in
places where once it was opposed very strongly. We see this happening as the
gospel grows throughout the world.
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