THE
OBSTINANCY OF OBADIAH: INTRODUCTION:
Obadiah
according to Jewish Tradition was a former Edomite who converted to Judaism and
is why he was chosen by ADONAI to prophecy to his former kinsmen on behalf of
Israel. The Prophet Obadiah whose name means, “worshiper/Servant/Slave of YHWH”
is the shortest book in the Tank (Old Testament). The author is believed to be
Obadiah himself, although Obadiah is mysterious and enigmatic because 13
separate men shared his name, and his ancestry nor an Israeli or Judean King is
mentioned to even come close to pinning down who Obadiah really was. Some
believe he was a contemporary of Jehoram when Jerusalem was invaded by
Philistines and Arabs around 848-841 BCE according to II Chron. 21:16-17. This
time frame is close to when most believe his words were penned c. 840 BCE.
Still others maintain that Obadiah was around the time of the Babylonian
assault on Jerusalem (605 BCE) or at its destruction by her hand (587/86 BCE).
This is not all too clear, what is clear however is that Obadiah lived in
troubled times. It is safe to say Obadiah was written before Jeremiah (Jer.
49:7-22).
A Jerusalem
invasion is mentioned to where Edom rejoices and joins in the razing and
plunder, but which invasion are we talking about here? There were five major
invasions.
1. During
Rehoboam’s reign, Shishak King of Egypt invades around 926 BCE (I Kings
14:25-26).
2. As
mentioned above the Philistines and Arabs attacked during Jehoram’s reign
c.848-841 BCE.
3. Jehoash,
King of Israel invaded during King Amaziah, King of Judah’s reign c. 790 BCE
(II Kings 14:13-14).
4. The
Assyrian King Sennacherib during King Hezekiah’s reign in 701 BCE (II Kings
18:13). 5. And again, as alluded to earlier, one of 2 Babylonian invasions,
most hone in on the one during the years 605-586 BCE (II Kings 24-25).
5. And again, as alluded to earlier, one of 2 Babylonian
invasions, most hone in on the one during the years 605-586 BCE (II Kings
24-25).
Also as
mentioned previously the Philistine/Arab and Babylonian invasion seem to be the
best and most likely candidates. The Babylonian invasion of King Nebuchadnezzar
seems less likely because there is no assurance Jerusalem was utterly
destroyed, nor is there any certainty of a deportation of Jews in exile. Other
Scriptural texts mentioning events such as these connect it to a name which
Nebuchadnezzar has been mentioned, however in this book (v.11) only a vague
reference to strangers and foreigners are made. So by deductive reasoning and
process of elimination, the second choice in our list of five stands out above
the rest as the correct time frame, when the Philistines and Arabs attacked.
Prior to this point the Edomites controlled Jerusalem and managed to step aside
to witness and rejoice at Jerusalem’s downfall.
II Chron.
21:8-10 In his days the Edomites revolted from under the dominion of Judah, and
made themselves a king. Then Jehoram went forth with his princes, and all his
chariots with him: and he rose up by night, and smote the Edomites which
compassed him in, and the captains of the chariots. So the Edomites revolted
from under the hand of Judah unto this day. The same time also did Libnah
revolt from under his hand; because he had forsaken the LORD God of his
fathers.
Even Legends
of the Bible compiled by Louis Ginzberg place Obadiah with the reign of King
Jehoram, son of Ahab’s reign. It says of Jehoram, “From Obadiah, the pious
protector of the Prophets in hiding, he (Jehoram) exacted a high rate of
interest on the money needed for their support.”
The Stones
Tanak says, “Obadiah was a proselyte from Edom, who became a high official in
the court of Ahab and Jezebel. When the latter was sent to murder all the
Prophets of God, Obadiah, at great personal risk, hid and sustained 100 of them
(I Kings 18). In this merit he was rewarded with this prophecy.”
If this
reference be true the Obadiah who wrote this prophetic book which bears his
name and is considered 4th in the line of “minor” prophets, (only his words are
minor as far as being few, but not his message, it was major!) was a
contemporary of Elijah.
I Kings
18:3-16 And Ahab called Obadiah, which was the governor of his house. (Now
Obadiah feared the LORD greatly: For it was so, when Jezebel cut off the
prophets of the LORD, that Obadiah took an hundred prophets, and hid them by
fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.) And Ahab said unto
Obadiah, Go into the land, unto all fountains of water, and unto all brooks:
peradventure we may find grass to save the horses and mules alive, that we lose
not all the beasts. So they divided the land between them to pass throughout
it: Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself. And
as Obadiah was in the way, behold, Elijah met him: and he knew him, and fell on
his face, and said, Art thou that my lord Elijah? And he answered him, I am:
go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here. And he said, What have I sinned,
that thou wouldest deliver thy servant into the hand of Ahab, to slay me? As
the LORD thy God liveth, there is no nation or kingdom, whither my lord hath
not sent to seek thee: and when they said, He is not there; he took an oath of
the kingdom and nation, that they found thee not. And now thou sayest, Go, tell
thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here. And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am
gone from thee, that the Spirit of the LORD shall carry thee whither I know
not; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he shall slay
me: but I thy servant fear the LORD from my youth. Was it not told my lord what
I did when Jezebel slew the prophets of the LORD, how I hid an hundred men of
the LORD's prophets by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water? And
now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here: and he shall slay
me. And Elijah said, As the LORD of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, I will
surely shew myself unto him to day. So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him:
and Ahab went to meet Elijah.
As said
before, in Christendom Obadiah is listed and arranged in their rendering of the
“Old Testament” as one of the Minor Prophets, from Hosea to Malachi. The Hebrew
version we call the Tanak gives a better, befitting title to these small books
called, “The Twelve Prophets.” The preface to these Twelve in the Stones Tanak
says, “This book contains the words of men whose prophecies spanned over 350
years (beginning 700 BCE), from the middle of the First Temple Era to the early
years of the Second Temple. Since the prophecies of these disparate individuals
were comparatively brief – some only a single chapter – they were collected in
one book, so that they would not be lost. (Bava Basra 14b).”
Obadiah
oddly enough was a Jewish Prophet of three that didn’t speak to Israel. Obadiah
prophesied to Edom, Jonah and Nahum to Nineveh who were the Assyrians.
Obadiah’s
reason for writing this prophecy was to let Edom know of ADONAI’s intense
displeasure of their rejoicing of Judah’s and Jerusalem’s downfall and
suffering and to let them know of His coming Judgment on them because of this
and lastly to let Israel know that God took notice of their suffering and Edom
will be taken care of for their taunts and cruelty and that an ultimate and
final deliverance is coming for Israel.
Although one
will not find a reference to Obadiah in the Brit Chadasha, “the feud between
Esau and Jacob underlie this book is also played out in the N.T. Paul refers to
the Esau-Jacob rivalry in Rom. 9:10-13, but goes on to remind us of God’s
message of hope: All who repent of their sins, both Jew and Gentile, and all
call on the name of the Lord will be saved, (Rom. 10:9- 13; 15:7-12).” – Full
Life Study Bible
All of this
I believe is detrimental if we are to thoroughly and correctly understand these
21 verses from this Prophet of ADONAI.
Obadiah is
read annually in synagogues everywhere during the Torah reading Parashah # 8,
Vayishlach which comes from Gen. 32:4-36:43 which covers Jacob’s reunion with
Esau.
I entitle
this commentary, “The Obstinacy of Obadiah,” because Obadiah is a stubborn one
man voice in opposition against those formerly of his people. Yet he was bold
and never backed down.
All
Scriptures are from the King James Version of the Bible unless otherwise noted
due to its Public Domain status.
