1:4,5
Edom thought very highly of herself, and God uses poetic language to describe her downfall. She would be brought low. God then gets Edom to appreciate the reality and gravity of what is going to happen. “If thieves came ... would they not take as much as they wanted”. God often uses poetic or allegorical language to convey the message, rather than straightforward prose. He wants the message to really sink home. This would be no minor punishment, but an army would invade the land and plunder it at will. But even in that case, a thief would not take everything, only what he was after. Likewise, grape pickers always left a few. In the Mosaic law the edges of the crops had to be left alone, and it seems that this was a widespread custom.
1:6,7
But the ravaging of Edom (Esau) would be without limit, it would be far worse. Even his hidden treasures would be ransacked. This would be done by the hands of those whom Esau thought were his allies, his friends. They would achieve this by deception. They might seem to be friendly and helpful, but they would set a trap for Edom. a people who neglect God are a people who are easily fooled.
1:8,9
A society that becomes proud is also that tends to boast about its wisdom. In the west today the elites boast about their progressiveness in various areas. The Lord would destroy the wise men. The warriors would fare no better. In short, everything that Edom put its confidence in would be shown to be a worthless source of security.
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