Obadiah - Salvation of Israel

This is the shortest of the minor prophets, and, it has to be said, not one that is quoted much! However, we are going through the whole Bible, so we are going to see what we can learn from him.

Obadiah means "servant of the Lord", or "worshipper of the Lord". His name is actually quite common, with several references to Obadiah's in the Old Testament.

There is uncertainty as to exactly who Obadiah was. The two main alternatives are:

1. He was a contemporary of Elisha, and the book was written at the time of  the rebellion of Edom against Judah (2 Kings 8:20-22; 2 Chronicles 21:8-15).
2. He was a contemporary of Jeremiah, and the book was written at the time of the Babylonian attacks on Jerusalem. My study Bible prefers this option, probably because there are some parallels between this book and parts of Jeremiah. However, I am not sure why the book refers to Edom then, unless Edom was seeking to ride on Babylon's coattails.

Whatever the case, Edom is the target of Obadiah's prophecy. Edom thought she was secure, she thought she had carefully engineered things, so that whatever other nations did, she would be safe. Perhaps she was a little like modern Switzerland.

Edom would be torn apart. Her careful plans and making of alliances would come to nothing, she would be betrayed by her allies.

Edom was the nation that came out if Esau, and she would pay for her treachery against Jacob. Ie against Israel as a whole, not just Jacob himself.

Edom had gloated over Israel when Israel was defeated, joining in the taking of spoils. Proverbs warns us against gloating over others who suffer misfortune. This is also a warning to all nations in their attitude towards Israel. This is not to say that we should agree with all the Israel does (Israel does some stupid things, and some wrong things), but we should treat Israel honourably.

Edom, along with all nations, would reap the fruit of her deeds, and Israel would be saved. We need to understand what the outcome of history will be, and it will be the salvation of Israel.