Obadiah 1
(King James Version)
1 The
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.
Edomites
were descendants of Jacob’s brother Esav (Esau) who were in cohorts with the
Ishmaelite (Uncle of Edom) both of which became bitter enemies and Family
rivals of Jacob’s line. The details of which are found in Genesis 36.
Genesis 36:1 Now these are the
generations of Esau, who is Edom. 2 Esau took his wives of the daughters of
Canaan; Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Aholibamah the daughter of
Anah the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite; 3 And Bashemath Ishmael's daughter,
sister of Nebajoth. 4 And Adah bare to Esau Eliphaz; and Bashemath bare Reuel;
5 And Aholibamah bare Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah: these are the sons of Esau,
which were born unto him in the land of Canaan. 6 And Esau took his wives, and
his sons, and his daughters, and all the persons of his house, and his cattle,
and all his beasts, and all his substance, which he had got in the land of
Canaan; and went into the country from the face of his brother Jacob. 7 For
their riches were more than that they might dwell together; and the land
wherein they were strangers could not bear them because of their cattle. 8 Thus
dwelt Esau in mount Seir: Esau is Edom. 9 And these are the generations of Esau
the father of the Edomites in mount Seir: 10These are the names of Esau's sons;
Eliphaz the son of Adah the wife of Esau, Reuel the son of Bashemath the wife
of Esau. 11And the sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, and Gatam, and
Kenaz. 12And Timna was concubine to Eliphaz Esau's son; and she bare to Eliphaz
Amalek: these were the sons of Adah Esau's wife. 13And these are the sons of
Reuel; Nahath, and Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah: these were the sons of Bashemath
Esau's wife. 14And these were the sons of Aholibamah, the daughter of Anah the
daughter of Zibeon, Esau's wife: and she bare to Esau Jeush, and Jaalam, and
Korah. 15These were dukes of the sons of Esau: the sons of Eliphaz the
firstborn son of Esau; duke Teman, duke Omar, duke Zepho, duke Kenaz, 16Duke
Korah, duke Gatam, and duke Amalek: these are the dukes that came of Eliphaz in
the land of Edom; these were the sons of Adah. 17And these are the sons of
Reuel Esau's son; duke Nahath, duke Zerah, duke Shammah, duke Mizzah: these are
the dukes that came of Reuel in the land of Edom; these are the sons of
Bashemath Esau's wife. 18And these are the sons of Aholibamah Esau's wife; duke
Jeush, duke Jaalam, duke Korah: these were the dukes that came of Aholibamah
the daughter of Anah, Esau's wife. 19These are the sons of Esau, who is Edom,
and these are their dukes. 20These are the sons of Seir the Horite, who
inhabited the land; Lotan, and Shobal, and Zibeon, and Anah, 21And Dishon, and
Ezer, and Dishan: these are the dukes of the Horites, the children of Seir in
the land of Edom. 22And the children of Lotan were Hori and Hemam; and Lotan's
sister was Timna. 23And the children of Shobal were these; Alvan, and Manahath,
and Ebal, Shepho, and Onam. 24And these are the children of Zibeon; both Ajah,
and Anah: this was that Anah that found the mules in the wilderness, as he fed
the asses of Zibeon his father. 25And the children of Anah were these; Dishon,
and Aholibamah the daughter of Anah. 26And these are the children of Dishon; Hemdan,
and Eshban, and Ithran, and Cheran. 27The children of Ezer are these; Bilhan,
and Zaavan, and Akan. 28The children of Dishan are these; Uz, and Aran. 29These
are the dukes that came of the Horites; duke Lotan, duke Shobal, duke Zibeon,
duke Anah, 30Duke Dishon, duke Ezer, duke Dishan: these are the dukes that came
of Hori, among their dukes in the land of Seir. 31And these are the kings that
reigned in the land of Edom, before there reigned any king over the children of
Israel. 32And Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom: and the name of his city
was Dinhabah. 33And Bela died, and Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in
his stead. 34And Jobab died, and Husham of the land of Temani reigned in his
stead. 35And Husham died, and Hadad the son of Bedad, who smote Midian in the
field of Moab, reigned in his stead: and the name of his city was Avith. 36And
Hadad died, and Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his stead. 37And Samlah died, and
Saul of Rehoboth by the river reigned in his stead. 38And Saul died, and Baalhanan
the son of Achbor reigned in his stead. 39And Baalhanan the son of Achbor died,
and Hadar reigned in his stead: and the name of his city was Pau; and his
wife's name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Mezahab.
40And these are the names of the dukes that came of Esau, according to their
families, after their places, by their names; duke Timnah, duke Alvah, duke
Jetheth, 41Duke Aholibamah, duke Elah, duke Pinon, 42Duke Kenaz, duke Teman,
duke Mibzar, 43Duke Magdiel, duke Iram: these be the dukes of Edom, according
to their habitations in the land of their possession: he is Esau the father of
the Edomites.
And because
Edom came from the loins of Abraham through Isaac, God forbade their
destruction and is why a Jewish prophet was called to prophesy to a “gentile”
people because there were blood relations there.
Deut. 2:4-6 And command thou the
people, saying, Ye are to pass through the coast of your brethren the children
of Esau, which dwell in Seir; and they shall be afraid of you: take ye good
heed unto yourselves therefore: Meddle not with them; for I will not give you
of their land, no, not so much as a foot breadth; because I have given mount
Seir unto Esau for a possession. Ye shall buy meat of them for money, that ye
may eat; and ye shall also buy water of them for money, that ye may drink.
Deut. 23:7-8 Thou shalt not abhor an
Edomite; for he is thy brother: thou shalt not abhor an Egyptian; because thou
wast a stranger in his land. The children that are begotten of them shall enter
into the congregation of the LORD in their third generation.
This may
seem confusing considering the passage “Jacob I loved, Esau I hated.”
Mal. 1:2-3 I have loved you, saith
the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother?
saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob, And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and
his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.
Rom. 9:13 As it is written, Jacob
have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
The Hebrew
grammar makes a comparison, it might be able to be said, “My love for Esau can
seem like hate in comparison to my love for Jacob.” In other words God favored
Jacob over Esau. It also could be said that God hated the things Esau did.
Though rebellious,
God still considers Esau His. After all, He gave Esau’s people on inheritance
too. Deut. 2:29 though it was prophesied Israel would one day inhabit it (Num.
24:18).
A wedge was
further driven between Esau and Israel due to the fact Edom refused Israel
passage through their land.
Num.
20:18-21 And Edom said unto him, Thou shalt not pass by me, lest I come out
against thee with the sword. And the children of Israel said unto him, We will
go by the high way: and if I and my cattle drink of thy water, then I will pay
for it: I will only, without doing anything else, go through on my feet. And he
said, Thou shalt not go through. And Edom came out against him with much
people, and with a strong hand. Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage
through his border: wherefore Israel turned away from him.
Who could
blame them, after all it was probably passed down through Edomite Oral
Tradition that the People of Israel were not to be trusted due to what happened
to their founding father Esau; the taking of the birthright and the blessing
(Gen. 25-27).
Though we
know it was rightly all for a divine purpose, it is understandable how one
would perceive these events if one were in Esau’s sandals.
The capital
of Edom during the reign of Israel’s Kings was Sela, even today some
significant cities of Edom still exist and are recognized, that of Bozrah and
Teman (Isa. 34:6; Amos 1:12)
“Since no
written Edomite records have been found, knowledge of the Edomites comes mainly
from the Bible, archaeological excavations of their ancient cities, and
reference to Edom in Egyptian, Assyrian and Babylonian sources.” – Nelson’s
Illustrated Dictionary of the Bible
Obadiah 1:1 The 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.
Radak tells
us “We,” quoting the Nations; alternatively quoting Obadiah and his fellow
prophets.”
The King
James Version says, “rumor” but considering today’s vernacular and definition
of words, “report, tidings, or message” fits better.
The
ambassador was Obadiah himself, a native Edomite who converted to Judaism, was
called and became a prophet of ADONAI. Who else would be more qualified to
prophesy to Edom? Who would have Edom more likely listened to, a prophet
descended from Jacob’s loins or Esau’s?
“Heathen” is
also a poorly chosen archaic word. This word simply means, “nations,”
non-Jewish, non-Hebraic people.
The Edomites
being addressed here were Judah’s southern neighbors. “Because of Edom’s long
hostility toward and hatred of the Israelites, the wrath of God would come upon
them.” – Key Word Study Bible
2 Behold, I
have made thee small among the heathen: thou art greatly despised.
Jer. 49:14-16 I have heard a rumour
from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent unto the heathen, saying, Gather ye
together, and come against her, and rise up to the battle. For, lo, I will make
thee small among the heathen, and despised among men. Thy terribleness hath
deceived thee, and the pride of thine heart, O thou that dwellest in the clefts
of the rock, that holdest the height of the hill: though thou shouldest make
thy nest as high as the eagle, I will bring thee down from thence, saith the
LORD.
3 The 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?
Edom (Esau)
was much like his Uncle Ishmael. Both according to various Scriptures and extra
biblical sources seemed to have been wild and lived by the sword. Here is but a
few passages regarding Esau and Ishmael:
Gen. 16:12 And he will be a wild man;
his hand [will be] against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he
shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.
Gen. 25:27 And the boys grew: and
Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob [was] a plain man,
dwelling in tents.
Gen. 28:9 Then went Esau unto
Ishmael, and took unto the wives which he had Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael
Abraham's son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife.
Both Esau
and Ishmael were generally despised and not trusted among the peoples around
them. They seemed to be known for “screwing you before you could screw them.” This
most likely due to the fact that ages ago Ishmael got pushed to the side when
his younger brother Isaac came along and when Esau got “screwed” out of the
birthright and blessing. As a result, mistrust was breed in these peoples.
Because of this trait, where they smile and shake hands and yet holds a dagger
behind the back with the other hand; many believe a sect of Arabs are Esau’s
modern descendants. Both Edom and Ishmaelites seemed to be very materialistic
and living for the “now.”
We see a
Hebraic play on words here in this verse; the word “rock” is from the Hebrew
word “sela” and was the name of Esau’s capital. “The use of the word emphasizes
the Edomites’ feeling of security because of the narrow canyons that controlled
access to their land.” – Key Word Study Bible.
This verse
spiritually alludes to the issue of pride to which we see further supported by
verse four. The Holy Tanak is clear on the matter of pride, that it leads to a
false sense of security and superiority and is the Achilles Heel that is the
precursor to a dastardly fall.
Prov. 16:18
Pride [goeth] before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.
