Book of the Prophet Obadiah

The prophet Obadiah was from Shechem in the tribe of Ephraim. He prophesied about Idumea (Edom) and was a contemporary of Hosea, Joel, Amos and Isaiah. “Have we heard a rumor from the Lord?” They heard it because the Lord of lords does nothing without revealing His secrets to His servants, the prophets. “And a messenger was sent into the tongues” (Habd.1:1). The prophet here probably means Immanuel, who is the "angel of the covenant" (Mal. 3:1), sent from heaven to proclaim peace to the nations; That’s why Moses calls Him “The Hope of the Nations” (Gen. 49:10). “Behold, you are small among the nations” (Abd.1:2). The prophet speaks about the people of Idumea and shows that for pride in front of his brethren and for enmity towards them he will be taken into captivity. In another sense, the prophet calls the devil small, because the following words are conveniently attached to him. “If you soar through the air like an eagle,” that is, you exalt yourself above others, “and if you lay your nest among the stars,” where neither the hand nor the thought of man can reach, “and from there I will overthrow you” (Hab. 1:4) and deliver you into the hands of those who take captives. “If the thieves had gotten in on you,” would you have remained silent out of fear until... “they stole those who were happy for themselves,” that is, as much as their greed desired? “If the grapes were too big to come into you” (Hab. 1:5), would you not make sure that you have something left, even just one bunch of grapes on the vine? “When Esau asked, his hidden secret was taken away” (Hab.1:6). The prophet announces that the Babylonian hordes with insatiable greed will plunder everything that they find from the Edomites, and they themselves will be taken into captivity. This prediction was fulfilled by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar, who plundered the land of Idumea and led its inhabitants into resettlement. “Even having sent you to the end, all the men of your covenant,” that is, the surrounding nations, after the covenant that they made with you insidiously, abandoned you, and you were taken into the borders of your enemies. “Will I deceive you, and will the men of your peace prevail: (those who eat with you)”, that is, your soothsayers, who were satiated at your meals (Hab. 1: 7). “I will destroy the wise from Idumea”, I will strike them such a blow that will lead them into stupor. “And the meaning of the box is from the mountain of Esau” ( Obd.1:8); they will suffer final destruction. “And the warriors...those from Teman will fear” (Abd.1:9), that is, they will be reduced to powerlessness, their strength will be lost and their courage will not save them. “The cold will cover you when the Jews are returned, and you will perish forever” (Hab. 1:10). When the Jews and Edomites return from captivity in Assyria, then you, the Edomites, will be enslaved by the Jews, and for a long time you will suffer disasters from them. When foreign nations come and defeat the Jews, the Edomites will be completely destroyed; then neither the clan nor the name of the Idumeans will remain in the heavens. This is what the Romans really did to the Edomites at the time when they defeated the Jews and scattered them throughout all the ends of the earth. “You resisted a bad day,” that is, you rebelled against your brother Jacob and mocked him “in the days of those who took foreigners captive with his strength,” that is, his property, which he acquired with the labor of his hands in the days when “strangers came into his gates and about Jerusalem,” that is, about what was in Jerusalem, “the decree of lots” (Hab. 1:11 ). “Let those who avoid them consume the infusion of their consequences” (Hab.1:14), as you have done until this time; and do not deliver up those of them who remain on the day of trouble, that is, do not deliver them up to be killed, as you have done until now. “The day of the Lord is near,” when vengeance will be upon you and all the nations in whom you trusted. “As you have done to your brother, so will you be,” from your brother (Hab.1:15). “Just as you drank on My holy mountain,” that is, you drank from the cup of wrath that was poured out for you in the sanctuary in the days of David and Ahab, so “all the nations will drink” (Hab. 1:16) at the hand of the Assyrians and Babylonians in the days of Hezekiah and his sons. “In Mount Zion there will be salvation,” Hezekiah and his people (Obd.1:17). “And the house of Jacob will be a fire... and the house of Esau a reed... and they will devour me, and there will be no remnant of the house of Esau” (Hab. 1:18), that is, the Jews will destroy them as fire consumes stubble, and their destruction will be complete. David and Amaziah laid the foundation for this, but the Jews completed it upon their return from captivity, together with their brethren, the tribes of Israel, who returned from Persia. They took away all power from the Edomites, forced them to change their faith and accept the Jewish law. “And the children of Israel who were exiled will inherit from Canaan to Zarephath,... those who were exiled from Jerusalem to Spain will inherit the cities of the south” (Hab.1:20). The Prophet here refers to the captives from the kingdoms of Judah and Israel, who were taken to the most distant countries, designated here by the name of Spain, and shows that the Lord, as promised, will gather this assembly from the four winds of heaven ( Zechariah 2:6). “And the rescued ones will ascend from Babylon to Mount Zion to take vengeance on Mount Esau,” that is, to destroy and destroy the house of Esau. “And the kingdom of the Lord will be” (Hab. 1:21), because all nations will be humbled and will be servile to the people of the Lord, “a people... as it is written in the psalm, “the Lord has made” (Ps. 21:32). You might be interested in: