Meet the Minor Prophets (Part Four)
Obadiah
Weighing in at twenty-one verses, the tiny prophecy of Obadiah is the shortest of all the Old Testament books. It opens simply with the words, "The vision of Obadiah," and commences its diatribe against the Edomites, the descendants of Esau, cousins of the Israelites.
No time period is explicitly mentioned in the book, although its content argues for a time late in Judah's history argument can be made for it being written in the years just after the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians in 586 BC. In fact, Edom itself fell to Babylon in 553 BC, so the date of the book lies somewhere between those two years.
Obadiah's theme is God's wrath against Edom for her devious and persistent enmity for Israel and Judah. In very vivid terms, the prophet lays out, first, the certainty of Edom's doom, and second, God's airtight case against the children of Esau. These points can be summarized by two verses: (Obadiah 2, 10)
Even so, Obadiah hints that his prophecy will not be wholly fulfilled with Babylon's rampage through Edom. In verse 15, he writes, "For the day of the LORD upon all the nations is near," suggesting that Edom's ultimate comeuppance will not occur until the end-time Day of the Lord. The final five verses of the book refer to the Millennium, when "saviors shall come to Mount Zion to judge the mountains of Esau, and the kingdom shall be the LORD's" (verse 21). (PP) This implies that the rivalry between Jacob and Esau will continue to the end of this present age, and it will take the power and judgment of the returning Christ to end the feud.
As with Amos, Obadiah does not contain any specific Messianic prophecy aside from the indirect allusions mentioned above. Also, like Amos, the book concentrates on God's judgment, this time on a kindred people, showing that His justice applies to all nations, a point that carries over to the next book of the Minor Prophets, Jonah.
Obadiah
Weighing in at twenty-one verses, the tiny prophecy of Obadiah is the shortest of all the Old Testament books. It opens simply with the words, "The vision of Obadiah," and commences its diatribe against the Edomites, the descendants of Esau, cousins of the Israelites.
No time period is explicitly mentioned in the book, although its content argues for a time late in Judah's history argument can be made for it being written in the years just after the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians in 586 BC. In fact, Edom itself fell to Babylon in 553 BC, so the date of the book lies somewhere between those two years.
Obadiah's theme is God's wrath against Edom for her devious and persistent enmity for Israel and Judah. In very vivid terms, the prophet lays out, first, the certainty of Edom's doom, and second, God's airtight case against the children of Esau. These points can be summarized by two verses: (Obadiah 2, 10)
Even so, Obadiah hints that his prophecy will not be wholly fulfilled with Babylon's rampage through Edom. In verse 15, he writes, "For the day of the LORD upon all the nations is near," suggesting that Edom's ultimate comeuppance will not occur until the end-time Day of the Lord. The final five verses of the book refer to the Millennium, when "saviors shall come to Mount Zion to judge the mountains of Esau, and the kingdom shall be the LORD's" (verse 21). (PP) This implies that the rivalry between Jacob and Esau will continue to the end of this present age, and it will take the power and judgment of the returning Christ to end the feud.
As with Amos, Obadiah does not contain any specific Messianic prophecy aside from the indirect allusions mentioned above. Also, like Amos, the book concentrates on God's judgment, this time on a kindred people, showing that His justice applies to all nations, a point that carries over to the next book of the Minor Prophets, Jonah.
Meet the Minor Prophets (Part Four)
Obadiah
Weighing in at twenty-one verses, the tiny prophecy of Obadiah is the shortest of all the Old Testament books. It opens simply with the words, "The vision of Obadiah," and commences its diatribe against the Edomites, the descendants of Esau, cousins of the Israelites.
No time period is explicitly mentioned in the book, although its content argues for a time late in Judah's history argument can be made for it being written in the years just after the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians in 586 BC. In fact, Edom itself fell to Babylon in 553 BC, so the date of the book lies somewhere between those two years.
Obadiah's theme is God's wrath against Edom for her devious and persistent enmity for Israel and Judah. In very vivid terms, the prophet lays out, first, the certainty of Edom's doom, and second, God's airtight case against the children of Esau. These points can be summarized by two verses: (Obadiah 2, 10)
Even so, Obadiah hints that his prophecy will not be wholly fulfilled with Babylon's rampage through Edom. In verse 15, he writes, "For the day of the LORD upon all the nations is near," suggesting that Edom's ultimate comeuppance will not occur until the end-time Day of the Lord. The final five verses of the book refer to the Millennium, when "saviors shall come to Mount Zion to judge the mountains of Esau, and the kingdom shall be the LORD's" (verse 21). (PP) This implies that the rivalry between Jacob and Esau will continue to the end of this present age, and it will take the power and judgment of the returning Christ to end the feud.
As with Amos, Obadiah does not contain any specific Messianic prophecy aside from the indirect allusions mentioned above. Also, like Amos, the book concentrates on God's judgment, this time on a kindred people, showing that His justice applies to all nations, a point that carries over to the next book of the Minor Prophets, Jonah.
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