The Message Of Obadiah: It’s Going To Be Okay

By Michael P. V. Barrett

How goes the world? Answering that question can be discouraging. Everything seems to be upside down. Evil is considered good; good is considered evil. Truth has fallen in the street and is trampled by academic processions, political machinery, and populous parades. It seems that Christianity is an ever-shrinking minority with even less influence than numbers. Who is in control? How can these things be? Some Christians find ready answers in and seem to thrive on conspiracy theories: every global, domestic, or financial crisis is orchestrated by some secretive few who rule absolutely yet surreptitiously from some secluded throne or conference room. Others console themselves in a “last-day” theology that generates a fatalistic passivism counter to biblical faith. I confess that I do not know why things are the way they are and often wish that they were different. But I have to believe the Bible is true and that there is a throne secluded from natural sight that governs absolutely with an agenda for Self-glory and salvific good: God’s throne.

Obadiah, “the servant of the LORD,” was a prophet with a message of encouragement at a time when things were not going so well for the chosen nation. God had loved Jacob and hated Esau (Mal. 1:2-3), yet it appeared that Esau had the advantage. What started as a struggle in Rebekah’s womb escalated to deep-seated antagonism between the descendants of the twins, Israel and Edom. Although Edom never had the power to be a real threat to Israel’s national security, its hatred of Israel earned it the role of Israel’s “number-one” enemy and the biblical representative of all the nations of the world that oppose God and His people.

Even conservative scholars disagree about the date of Obadiah’s prophecy. Some date it to the mid-ninth century BC, making Obadiah the first of the writing prophets. The Edomite revolt along with the Philistine and Arabian conspiracy that occurred during the reign of Jehoram is probably the historical occasion (2 Chron. 21:5-17). That would be my view. Others, however, date it to the exilic period, most likely sometime in the sixth century. But either way, it is an ancient message. Yet Obadiah’s message of the doom of Edom has significant relevance for God’s people in every age. Although many of the details of the prophecy have been historically fulfilled and some await their eschatological climax, there is a message of reality that cannot be relegated to either the past or future. The message is timeless. I want to summarize Obadiah’s vision concerning Edom with two overarching propositions: 1) The kingdoms of this world will fail; 2) The kingdom of our God will prevail. Obadiah’s message is that even though it may appear that evil has triumphed, God is in control and He will right all wrongs. In simple terms, Obadiah’s message is “not to worry; it is going to be okay.”

The Kingdoms Of This World Will Fail (Vv. 1-16)

It is not my intent to offer a complete commentary of Obadiah’s short prophecy, but rather to extract some key principles that develop the principal propositions. Unquestionably, the first sixteen verses focus on the ultimate judgment of Edom—its causes and certainty. To get the full import of Obadiah, it is important to remember that what he says specifically about Edom applies generally to all those hostile to God and His kingdom. Historic Edom is divinely intended to represent the kingdoms of this world, regardless of place or time. Three thoughts stand out in Obadiah’s argument.

Deceptive Self-Confidence Precedes Judgment

In verses 3 and 4, the Lord directly addresses the deceptive pride of Edom. Deuteronomy 2:5 makes clear that God had sovereignly “given mount Seir unto Esau for a possession.” Edom had nothing that had not been given to them by God, yet, ironically, the divinely allotted territory became an object of pride. They convinced themselves that their cliff dwellings—as high as the eagle’s nest—rendered them invincible and untouchable. To separate the gift from the Giver is always tragically dangerous. It is typical for those who are ignorant of the Lord to take credit for themselves and convince themselves that they are indomitable. All too often the powers of government, all of which God has ordained (Rom. 13:1), are blind to the source of their commission and operate independently of the Lord—or so they assume. They brashly ask in echo of Edom, “Who shall bring me down to the ground?” (v. 3).

The Lord answers that question in certain terms: “thence will I bring thee down” (v. 4). The fall from the heights of pride would bring them low; none of their resources could rescue them from the Lord’s judgment. The wise, those of understanding, the mighty, indeed, all would feel the consequence of God’s removing the presumptuous props of arrogance and false hope (vv. 8-9). It is the inviolable law of God that “pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall” (Prov. 16:18). All too often God’s people are intimidated and paralyzed by the grandiose bravado of those hostile to God’s kingdom and destined to fall. Rather, they should be confident and remember that God will right all wrongs and “the upright shall have dominion” in due time (Ps. 49:14).

Treachery Against God’s People Demands Judgment

All the earth belongs to God but His people are special to Him. He regards them as His royal and prized possession (“peculiar treasure” in Exodus 19:5; “jewels” in Malachi 4:17) and the apple or pupil of His eye—the part of the eye that is so sensitive and must be guarded. The Lord has said concerning His people that “he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye” (Zech. 2:8). To put it bluntly, to harm God’s people is tantamount to poking God in the eye. Consequently, it is a serious matter to maltreat those who so intimately belong to Him.

Not surprising then, the Lord said to Edom, “For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever” (v. 10). The following verses detail components of that violence. They had no sympathy for God’s people when they were under attack and in fact sided with their enemies against them (v. 11). Not only were they unsympathetic, they were actually glad, rejoicing in Judah’s distress and calamity (v. 12). Not content to watch passively, they actively engaged in adding to Judah’s affliction by looting and blocking escape routes to safety (vv. 13-14). The whole history of Edom can be summed up in terms of their desire and efforts to thwart the advance of God’s kingdom and ultimately God’s Christ. Climactically, Herod, of Idumean heritage, manifested that Edomite anti-Christ spirit in his decreed slaughter of the innocents attempting to kill the rightful heir of David’s throne (Matt. 2:16-18). But at every point in the progress of God’s redemptive purpose to establish His kingdom and His King, opposition meets failure. Ancient Edom could not destroy Israel because there had to be an Israel if there was going to be the Christ. Herod, the Edomite usurper of Judah’s throne, could not destroy the Christ who had come.

Every enemy of God, His kingdom, and His people reaches the ultimate destiny of destruction. Details of opposition and identities of antagonists change, but the spirit of the world against God is consistent—and so is God’s purpose to cut them off. No fortress is strong enough, no army large enough, no hiding place secluded enough to secure their safety from righteous judgment. The enemies of God and the church must fall; it is going to be okay.

Divine Justice Guarantees Judgment

It appears all too often that the wicked world acts with impunity, but it does not. A day of reckoning is certain. Verse 15 declares the coming Day of the Lord and is, perhaps, the key verse of Obadiah’s message. The Day of the Lord is a predominant motif in the prophets, and if, as I have suggested, Obadiah is the first of the writing prophets, then he introduces this theme. The Day of the Lord refers to special times of God’s direct intervention into the affairs of the world. This divine interruption of time is to be an encouragement for saints and a warning for sinners. In contrast to providence, which is the ordinary work of God in preserving and ruling His creation for His glory and the good of His people, the Day of the Lord marks an extraordinary epoch when God lays bare His arm either in special blessing for His people or particular judgment of the wicked. It is an obvious and unmistakable reminder to saints that God is in control. Throughout Old Testament history, there were multiple Days of the Lord (against Edom, Babylon, Egypt, and Israel; i.e., the locust plague in Joel, etc.). These often include the themes of judgment on the wicked, deliverance for the righteous, the coming of Messiah, and the triumph of God over all. Each of these historic days points to the one coming eschatological day that will mark the end of time as we know it now: the final day of reckoning, an unmistakable revelation of God’s justice.

Obadiah highlights three specific thoughts about this Day of the Lord. First, it is impending; it is near at hand. The world’s kingdoms act as though the future belongs to them, as though they control their own destiny. But the sobering truth is that they are rushing headlong into a crash with God. In spiritual ignorance and insensitivity, they assume that things will be as they always have been. That is the mindset Peter addresses when he compares his generation with Noah’s, who were taken by surprise by the floodwaters. So he warns, “the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night” (2 Peter 3:10). The Day of the Lord against Edom was on track, and nothing could derail it. So is the day yet to come.

Second, it is universal and total. It is against “all the heathen” (v. 15). Whether they know it or acknowledge it, all nations are accountable and responsible to God. Ignorance of God or His law will not be an excuse; none can escape the total judgment. The imagery of verses 5 and 6 suggests something of the totality of God’s judgment. Even thieves and farmers, in spite of their thoroughness, are not likely to collect everything they are after, but God knows all and gets all He seeks. None are exempt.

Third, it is deserved: “as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee” (v. 15). This statement explains why Obadiah is sometimes designated the prophet of poetic justice. This is the principle of lex talionis, the law of retaliation (eye-for-eye, tooth-for-tooth justice). Nothing is more fearful than to get from God what is deserved: as the crime, so the punishment. It is interesting to survey Obadiah to see how this principle plays out. For instance, their treachery against Judah (vv. 11-12) was countered with the treachery of their confederates against them (v. 7). They robbed Judah (v. 13), and they will be robbed (vv. 5-6). They demonstrated violence against Judah (11); they will perish by the sword (v. 9). They sought Judah’s destruction (vv. 12-14), yet they will be destroyed (vv. 10, 18). Significantly, the first Esau despised his birthright, and now his descendants are greatly despised (v. 2).

What a terrible warning this is to sinners. There is no hope for those who meet the Lord on their own to receive from Him the just rewards of their sin. But what an encouragement this is to saints. God’s people are not to take pleasure in the death of the wicked since God Himself does not (Ezek. 18:32), but they should take hope because the Lord is in absolute control of all the events of time and circumstance. The apparent prosperity of the wicked is only temporary, and Obadiah assures us that it is going to be okay.

The Kingdom Of Our God Will Prevail (VV. 17-21)

“The kingdom shall be the LORD’s” (v. 21): that is Obadiah’s bottom line. Ultimately, that is why everything is going to be okay. Although this statement is translated as a future tense, it is far more than just a prediction of something that will be that is not now. In other words, it is not simply saying that someday the kingdom will belong to God. On the contrary, it is the certain projection of a current reality that extends to the certain future. The kingdom is the Lord’s; it always has been and it always will be. The verbal form (waw perfect in initial position) can simply designate a future tense, but it is also one way Hebrew expresses an action or state that is habitual or constant. What Obadiah declares with the frequentative verb the psalmist expresses with the timeless verbless clause in 22:28: “the kingdom is the LORD’s.” This is our assurance that even when the kingdoms of the world appear to operate on their own, they are all within the borders of God’s sovereign control. The whole of the universe is His domain.

In the light of the absolute rule of God, Obadiah highlights three aspects of the Day of the Lord against Edom in relationship to His people particularly. The same day that brings calamity to the wicked brings relief and blessing to the righteous.

The Essence Of Blessing

The contrast between verses 16 and 17 highlights the essence of the blessing to be enjoyed by God’s people. Whereas the Day of the Lord brings devastation to the heathen, it brings deliverance to Zion. Here is a manifestation of the theology of Psalm 1:6: “For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.” The blessed man ultimately prospers in all that he does, but the ungodly do not (Ps. 1:3-4).

Verse 17 outlines the blessing with three propositions. First, Zion will be safe in the Day of Judgment. The word “deliverance” has the idea of escape. They find their escape to safety in the Lord Himself. Nahum’s hymn of God’s majesty parallels and outlines the same wonderful truth: after describing God’s inflexible justice and irresistible power, he poses the sobering question, “Who can stand before his indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger?” (Nah. 1:6). He answers that question with a statement of God’s immeasurable goodness: “The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him” (Nah. 1:7). This certainty traces the gospel line straight to Jesus Christ, for the only safe refuge and escape from divine wrath is in Christ. Significantly, in Christ this escape from the world is not just an eschatological hope. Its experience is for now since Christ has overcome the world (John 16:33) and has given us the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith (1 John 5:4). Christ’s admonition to be of good cheer in the light of His victory is just another way of saying it is going to be okay.

Second, Zion will be holy. They will be sanctified or set apart. Whereas in the world’s kingdoms evil is good and good is evil, the blessing of the full manifestation and experience of God’s kingdom will be holiness, even to the most mundane parts of life (see Zech. 14:20-21). It is a mark of citizenship in God’s kingdom to be holy like He is holy. Life is different in the sphere of God’s gracious kingdom as every old thing passes away and everything becomes new (2 Cor. 5:17), and believers are to separate (be holy) from all the things of this passing world (1 John 1:15-17).

Third, Zion will “possess their possessions.” This is one of the pregnant statements in the Bible so full of meaning and significance that it defies comprehension and explanation. God’s people will own and enjoy all that He has given them as their inheritance. In the context of ancient Israel, it undoubtedly referred to the nation’s recovering territory that had been lost or forfeited to invading armies. Nationally, that would be a happy occasion. But the implications this statement has to spiritual Zion is beyond the bounds of understanding. Paul says that by adoption, believers are “heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ” (Rom. 8:17). Also, the apostle assures that believers are “sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession” (Eph. 1:13-14). To share in the inheritance that belongs to Christ by covenant promise and to possess the fullness of what He has purchased for His people would be incredible were it not for the fact that God has promised it. Since His promises are yea and amen in Christ (2 Cor. 1:20), they are, therefore, most credible indeed. Would it be that all Christians would live in the reality of all they are and all they have in Christ.

The Extent Of Blessing

Verses 18-20 are an overview of the extent of the blessing Zion will experience. The prophet identifies random locations in Edom, Philistia, Gilead, Samaria, Canaan, and Phoenicia that Zion will possess. Most likely, this random listing is a literary device called brachylogy, or a partial list to designate totality. The point is that Zion will possess everything that is theirs to possess. In the words of verse 17, they will “possess their possessions.” All these territories that were hostile to God’s people and His kingdom will be brought under Zion’s dominion, with Israel itself being used as a means of subduing the enemy. Jacob will be the fire that consumes the stubble, which is Edom. The tables will be turned as the upright exercise their dominion “in the morning” (see Ps. 49:14).

Regardless of the particular historic occasion of Israel’s land recovery, the typical implications of this point to the universality of God’s kingdom. His kingdom knows no borders or limitations. There is no place untouched or unaffected by His absolute rule and control. “The earth is the LORD’s, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein” (Ps. 24:1).

The Execution Of Blessing

God executes His purpose by raising up saviors or deliverers to judge (v. 21). The language is reminiscent of the recurring pattern in the book of Judges: sin, servitude, supplication, and savior. If the Judges paradigm holds true, perhaps the Edomites were the divinely manipulated oppressors God used to generate repentance by a once again wayward and sinful Israel. Could it be that the “Edomite” oppression experienced by the church today is a means of moving God’s people to cry out to Him in greater urgency? Even the world’s hostility can and should be a means to achieving God’s purpose for His people to grow in their trust and sense of dependency on Him.

The saviors God used to rescue Israel in this historic situation are not identified, but they point to the ideal Savior, Jesus Christ. He is the mediatorial King of His people who rules well and absolutely. As the ideal Savior King, He conquers and subdues all of His and all of our enemies. He rules either by His rod of iron or by His conquering grace, but one way or another He rules and His kingdom prevails.

The fact that the ultimate Savior King subdues the heathen, as represented by Edom, is entrenched in biblical theology. The charlatan soothsayer Balaam saw a Star and Scepter that would arise in Israel who would take possession of Edom (Num. 24:17-18). Amos prophesied concerning the Davidic King whose kingdom would possess Edom, even all the heathen (Amos 9:11-12). James, the moderator of the first presbytery, settled any question concerning the Messianic and spiritual significance of possessing Edom in the church’s decision regarding Gentile converts, who had been conquered by the King’s grace (Acts 15:13-18). Twice the psalmist said that the Lord would cast His shoe over Edom, an idiom for claiming or taking possession (Pss. 60:8 and 108:9).

The bottom line is that God possesses and controls Edom, even all the nations. Individual nations and kingdoms come and go, all according to His plan and purpose. He uses them all to accomplish His will; even their animosity to Him achieves His glory and good for His people. It may appear to believers at times that things are out of control with all the advantages belonging to the wicked. Obadiah, however, assures that nothing is out of control, that justice will prevail, and that the kingdom belongs to the Lord. Obadiah’s little prophecy is a huge encouragement to God’s people that no matter how discouraging things may appear to be, it is going to be okay. Indeed, Obadiah points the church to an eternity when things will be far more than okay; they will be beyond words to describe. Obadiah is a little book with a huge message.