The Book of Obadiah: The Original Family Feud
From time to time, I will post studies that I have done that I have not preached yet. I thought it would be a good idea to aid you in your personal study and devotional time. Now, I know that I am not a great Bible teacher, but my thoughts might help you as read a particular passage. With that being said, here are my thoughts on the Book of Obadiah: The Original Family Feud.
Jacob and Esau: The Original Family Feud
The Book of Obadiah
The Book of Obadiah is an interesting little boo. It is the shortest book in the Bible with only 21 verses. We know very little about the prophet Obadiah except that he wrote the Book of Obadiah.
To be a such a short book of the Bible, Obadiah has three deep themes:
( 1 ) Nations and individuals reap what they sow.
( 2 ) People eventually suffer for the way they treat others.
( 3 ) Israel’s enemies will be defeated, and the Kingdom will be established in the land.
You might be asking how this can be linked to Jacob and Esau.
Did you know the most painful and difficult conflicts to resolve are those between blood relatives?
And if family feuds are tragic, national feuds are even worse, like what is going on in our nation today.
Almost every nation has experienced a civil war with brother killing brother in order to perpetuate a long-standing disagreement that nobody fully understands or wants to settle.
Esau and Jacob were twins who had had been competitors from before birth.
Genesis 25 : 19 – 26
19 This is the genealogy of Isaac, Abraham’s son. Abraham begot Isaac. 20 Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah as wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padan Aram, the sister of Laban the Syrian. 21 Now Isaac pleaded with the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived. 22 But the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If all is well, why am I like this?” So, she went to inquire of the Lord. 23 And the Lord said to her: “Two nations are in your womb, Two peoples shall be separated from your body; One people shall be stronger than the other, And the older shall serve the younger.” 24 So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed there were twins in her womb. 25 And the first came out red. He was like a hairy garment all over; so, they called his name Esau. 26 Afterward his brother came out, and his hand took hold of Esau’s heel; so, his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.
You are familiar to the story. Isaac, the father, was partial to Esau, and Rebekah, the mother, was partial to Jacob. Now, in his infinite wisdom and eternal foresight, God had chosen Jacob, the younger of the two, to receive the blessing of the Abrahamic Covenant.
Romans 9 : 10 – 12
10 And not only this, but when Rebecca also had conceived by one man, even by our father Isaac 11 (for the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls), 12 it was said to her, “The older shall serve the younger.”
Now, we know that instead of trusting God to receive the blessing, Rebeka and Jacob decided to scheme to get the blessing. Dear friend, we are much better off when we operate on God’s schedule and not ours.
You can read the entire plan in Genesis 27.
And their plan was successful, and when Esau learned his clever brother had stolen the blessing, he resolved to kill Jacob after their father, Isaac, died. This led to Jacob leaving home to find a wife among his mother’s relatives, and we know how that they came out for ole Jacob.
Years later the brothers experienced a brief time of reconciliation (Genesis 32), and they both attended Isaac’s burial.
Genesis 35 : 27 – 29
27 Then Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre, or Kirjath Arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had dwelt. 28 Now the days of Isaac were one hundred and eighty years. 29 So Isaac breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people, being old and full of days. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
But the animosity between the brothers was never removed. Esau established the nation of Edom, and his descendants carried on the family feud that Esau had begun.
Now, the Law of Moses commanded the Jews to treat the Edomites like brothers.
Deuteronomy 23 : 7
7 “You shall not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother. You shall not abhor an Egyptian, because you were an alien in his land.
The Edomites, however, sought every opportunity to satisfy their lust for revenge and the blood of their brothers, the Israelites.
Ezekiel 35 : 5 – 6
5 “Because you have had an ancient hatred and have shed the blood of the children of Israel by the power of the sword at the time of their calamity, when their iniquity came to an end, 6 therefore, as I live,” says the Lord God, “I will prepare you for blood, and blood shall pursue you; since you have not hated blood, therefore blood shall pursue you.
Now, that is the background. Fate is not kind to the descendants of Esau as the Book of Obadiah delivers three messages form the Lord concerning their demise and Israel’s glory. BTW, Ezekiel 35 also tells of their fate.
I. GOD’S MESSAGE TO EDOM’S NEIGHBORS
Obadiah 1
1 The vision of Obadiah. Thus says the Lord God concerning Edom (We have heard a report from the Lord, And a messenger has been sent among the nations, saying,
“Arise, and let us rise up against her for battle”)
The prophet received his message by way of a vision. I go back to this verse that we have read in the past.
Amos 3 : 7
7 Surely the Lord God does nothing unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.
Obadiah wrote the vision so it could be shared with others. It was a message to shared for sure with Edom’s neighbors. The Lord enabled Obadiah to know what was going on among the nations that were allied with Edom against Judah.
We live in a day where very little can happen in political and diplomatic arenas without the world knowing about it instantly, but in Obadiah’s day, the travels of national leaders and their political discussions were done secretly.
God told Obadiah that an ambassador from a nation allied with Edom was visiting the other nations to convince their leaders to join forces and attack Edom.
This was just not another diplomatic visit. This was God working out His judgement against Edom. I think of Habakkuk 1 : 5.
5 “Look among the nations and watch—Be utterly astounded! For I will work a work in your days which you would not believe, though it were told you.
John Wesley said he read newspapers to see how God was governing His world. I want you to know, dear friend, that is a Biblical approach. Listen. It is God that rules over kingdoms and nations.
2 Chronicles 20 : 6 6 and said: “O Lord God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand You?
God has his fingers on the pulse of everything that happens on this planet. Right or wrong?
Because God rules over kingdoms and nations does not mean God is to blame for the foolish, evil, immoral, and wicked decisions and deeds of governmental officials, but it does mean He is on the throne and working out His perfect will.
Psalm 147 : 4
4 He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name.
Matthew 10 : 29
29 Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will.
Those two verses describe the God that is mindful of the plans and pursuits of the nations and is working out His divine purposes in human history.
Do you and I understand what He is doing in regard to the nations today? I will answer for me. I do not but I know what Habakkuk says too.
Knowing that the Lord reigns over all things ought to encourage the people of God as we watch world events and grieve over the decay of people and nations. I am pained and heartbroken over the demise of the America I once so loved. The America of my youth. The America of your youth, but dear friend God is sovereign, and things are happening that I cannot explain, but I know the things that are happening are pushing the world toward God’s perfect will of how it all ends.
And dear friend, that has to be good enough for me. I could stand here all day and ask why something happens or happened, but that does neither you nor me any good.
2 Chronicles 20 : 6
6 and said: “O Lord God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand You?
We need to pray as Jesus taught us because that is the prayer that will be answered ultimately when Jesus Christ pours His wrath out on this World.
Matthew 6 : 10
10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
That is part of the model prayer that Christ gave to us in the Lord’s Prayer. How many of you ever include in your prayers that Lord’s will be accomplished? It might serve us well to do so.
If we pray His will be done, we will be able to obey whatever He tells us to do.
II. GOD’S MESSAGE TO EDOM
A. JUDGEMENT DECLARED
Obadiah 2 – 4
2 “Behold, I will make you small among the nations; you shall be greatly despised. 3 The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who dwell in the clefts of the rock,
whose habitation is high; you who say in your heart, ‘Who will bring me down to the ground?’
God is about to end this family feud, and it is Edom’s pride that fueled the fire of God’s judgement.
Proverbs 16 : 18
18 Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
Pride, the sin that God especially hates.
Ask Sodom and Gomorrah.
Ask Lucifer.
Ask the Rich Fool.
Ask Edom.
Edom was a proud nation that considered itself impregnable because it was situated in the clefts of the rock. Does that sound like any nation that you know that is protected on one coast by the Atlantic and on the other by the Pacific?
Verse 4 says like the eagles, the Edomites lived on the rocks and looked down from their lofty heights with disdain upon the nations around them.
But God says that He will make them small among the nations.
1. EDOM’S WEALTH WOULD BE PLUNDERED
Obadiah 5 – 6
5 “If thieves had come to you, if robbers by night—Oh, how you will be cut off!—
Would they not have stolen till they had enough? If grape-gatherers had come to you,
would they not have left some gleanings? 6 “Oh, how Esau shall be searched out!
How his hidden treasures shall be sought after!
Located on several major trade routes, Edom amassed the riches of other nations. Because of their isolation, they did not have to worry about making treaties with larger nations or helping to finance wars.
But their wealth would be no more. Their plunderers would take everything they could find, and unlike grape harvesters who leave some behind, they would leave nothing behind for others.
2. EDOM’S ALLIANCES WOULD BE BROKEN
Obadiah 7
7 All the men in your confederacy shall force you to the border; the men at peace with you shall deceive you and prevail against you. Those who eat your bread shall lay a trap for you. No one is aware of it.
Though protected by their lofty heights, the Edomites realized they needed friends to help them stand against the great empires that frequently threatened smaller nations.
Edom was always seeking allies in her constant feud with Israel.
Psalm 83 : 5 – 8
5 For they have consulted together with one consent; they form a confederacy against You: 6 The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites; Moab and the Hagrites; 7 Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek; Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre; 8 Assyria also has joined with them; they have helped the children of Lot. Selah
What do you know about some of these nations? They are some of Israel’s most bitter enemies, and the nation that Israel was supposed to treat like a brother was seeking help from the enemies of Israel to destroy Israel.
But dear friend, God made a covenant with Abraham that was passed down to Jacob and not Esau, and God turned Edom’s allies into her enemies. While pretending to be friends, her allies would turn into traitors, set a trap, and catch Edom by surprise.
The Romans took Petra, the main Edomite city, in 105 AD, and the nation quickly vanished from the pages of history.
3. EDOM’S WISDOM WOULD BE DESTROYED
Obadiah 8
8 “Will I not in that day,” says the Lord, “even destroy the wise men from Edom, and understanding from the mountains of Esau?
The Lord had had enough of this family feud. The people of Edom were known for their wisdom.
1 Kings 4 : 30
30 Thus Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the men of the East and all the wisdom of Egypt.
Edom, because of its location on trade routes, could exchange ideas from peoples all over the world as they navigated these trade routes. This led to a very intellectual society; however, as the trade routes declined, Edom could not exchange ideas with other peoples and confusion began to set in, and the wisdom to make right decisions disappeared.
B. GOD’S JUDGEMENT DEFENDED
Why did God so judge Edom, the ancestors of Esau?
Listen to what Paul says about it.
Romans 9 : 13
13 As it is written, “Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.”
In regard to Esau, I do not think the term “God of Love” applies, do you? I think there are four reasons why Esau and in effect his descendants were judged.
1. EDOM USED VIOLENCE AGAINST HIS BROTHERS, ISRAEL.
Obadiah 10 – 11
10 “For violence against your brother Jacob, Shame shall cover you, and you shall be cut off forever. 11 In the day that you stood on the other side—In the day that strangers carried captive his forces, when foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem—Even you were as one of them.
This is an incredible passage, and it shows how the Bible is so connected. Do you remember what God said in the Law?
Deuteronomy 23 : 7
7 “You shall not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother. You shall not abhor an Egyptian, because you were an alien in his land.
Do you remember what Esau, Edom’s founding father, wanted to do to Jacob when he discovered Jacob had deprived him of his father’s blessing?
Genesis 27 : 41
41 So Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him, and Esau said in his heart, “The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”
This attitude of hate was passed along to his descendants. I bet that Esau told the story of what happened to him that day with his children and his grandchildren. I bet he told them how Jacob stole his blessing, but I bet he left out this part.
Genesis 25 : 29 – 34
29 Now Jacob cooked a stew; and Esau came in from the field, and he was weary. 30 And Esau said to Jacob, “Please feed me with that same red stew, for I am weary.” Therefore, his name was called Edom. 31 But Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright as of this day.” 32 And Esau said, “Look, I am about to die; so, what is this birthright to me?” 33 Then Jacob said, “Swear to me as of this day.” So, he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. 34 And Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils; then he ate and drank, arose, and went his way. Thus, Esau despised his birthright.
I bet Esau never shared the part of the story where he freely gave up his right to the blessing of his father. It is no different from a lost person not accepting Christ as their Savior.
They will be at the Great White Throne Judgement offering excuses blaming Jacob, the preacher, the church, or someone or something else for the reason they lost their blessing, but Jesus will tell them DEPART FROM ME.
The Edomites would not assist Israel. They stood on the other side. The Edomites acted like the enemy of the Jews instead of acting like blood brothers.
Amos 1 : 11
11 Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, because he pursued his brother with the sword, and cast off all pity; his anger tore perpetually, and he kept his wrath forever.
Esau and Edom did not forgive Jacob or Israel, but it was Esau and Edom that freely gave up the blessing and harbored the grudge, and the Bible says this.
Galatians 6 : 7 – 9
7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. 9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.
2. EDOM ENJOYED WHAT THE ENEMY DID TO ISRAEL
Obadiah 12
12 “But you should not have gazed on the day of your brother in the day of his captivity; nor should you have rejoiced over the children of Judah In the day of their destruction; nor should you have spoken proudly In the day of distress.
Ezekiel 35 : 15
15 As you rejoiced because the inheritance of the house of Israel was desolate, so I will do to you; you shall be desolate, O Mount Seir, as well as all of Edom—all of it! Then they shall know that I am the Lord.” ’
Those that rejoice in the persecution of a saint, a child of God, are going to have God cloud up and rain all over them one day. AMEN!!!!
The Jews were in distress, but the Edomites, their brothers, in their pride, looked down on the Jews and gloated over their misfortune. I mean the Babylonians were taking their brothers captive, and they loved it.
Solomon offers some good advice about this.
Proverbs 24 : 17 – 18
17 Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles; 18 lest the Lord see it, and it displease Him, and He turn away His wrath from him.
God did not spare the Jews, but Edom would get her judgement in due time, because with God, judgement delayed is not judgement denied.
3. EDOM ASSISTED THE ENEMIES OF ISRAEL
Obadiah 13 – 14
13 You should not have entered the gate of My people In the day of their calamity. Indeed, you should not have gazed on their affliction in the day of their calamity,
nor laid hands on their substance In the day of their calamity. 14 You should not have stood at the crossroads to cut off those among them who escaped; nor should you have delivered up those among them who remained
Giving aid to the enemy, the Babylonians, was taking their ancient feud too far.
Not only did the Edomites enter Jerusalem and loot and plunder, but they also stood at the forks of the road outside of the city capturing fugitives who were attempting to escape and turning them over to the Babylonians to be imprisoned or slain.
2 Chronicles 19 : 2
2 And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to King Jehoshaphat, “Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord? Therefore, the wrath of the Lord is upon you.
Dear friend, remember that Jesus said we are to love our enemies, but that does not mean we are to help our enemies. We are to love them that they might see Christ in us and feel and hear the call of the Holy Spirit to salvation.
We certainly should assist sinners in opposing and persecuting believers. If you do that, you are a traitor just the Edomites were.
4. EDOM IGNORED THE IMPENDING WRATH OF GOD
Obadiah 15 – 16
15 “For the day of the Lord upon all the nations is near; as you have done, it shall be done to you; your reprisal shall return upon your own head. 16 For as you drank on My holy mountain,
so shall all the nations drink continually; yes, they shall drink, and swallow, and they shall be as though they had never been.
Edom did care or think about what the Lord might do to her.
Does that sound like Sodom and Gomorrah? Lot’s sons-in-law laughed in his face when he told them judgement was coming.
The Bible has told people for 2,000 years that judgement is coming, and there seems to be no concern.
Paul writes in Romans 1 : 24 – 32 about a society on the last rung of the ladder preparing to face God’s judgement with absolutely no concern over that judgement.
Dear friend, the Day of the Lord is coming. He is going to pour His wrath out upon a wicked world, and then He is going to establish first His millennial kingdom. The Day of the Lord can also describe God-ordained calamities sent to punish people or nations at any time.
Dear friend, I believe we are experiencing some of the Day of the Lord today. I know we will be raptured before the wrath of God is poured out completely, but how do we think God is going to act?
We have abortion on demand and a baby that can live outside the womb can be murdered five minutes before delivery and a wicked society calls that the freedom to choose.
We have unbridled sexual immorality that God absolutely hates, and we justify it by saying that person was born a certain way. Well, I agree with that. They were born a sinner like we all are, but they chose to be sexually immoral, and God hates that, but do not just limit sexual immorality to homosexuality. What our society condones as being okay also falls into sexual immorality.
We have anarchy in the streets of America. Murder is everywhere, and our government stands by as Christians all over the world, especially China and Afghanistan, our executed for their beliefs and as a government we are saying it is okay through our decision not to do anything about it.
And God’s people stand by and doubt that what is happening in our society is part of the Day of the Lord trying to get His people to get on their knees, repent, and set about one soul at a time reaching those that are lost and leading them to Jesus so that it will make a difference in this world.
Dear friend, without a doubt I believe COVID, and its variants are part of God’s wrath on this world. WITHOUT A DOUBT!!!
I believe the attack on freedom is part of God’s wrath, and instead of turning to God in prayer for the only solution, many Christians place their hopes in political solutions that got us in this mess first because political solutions do not recognize the cause of the problem which is sin.
Listen, Edom had drunk in joyful celebration at Jerusalem’s fall, but all nations will one day drink of the cup of wrath that God will pour out on them, and they will not be able to refuse it.
There is a just God in Heaven who will pay sinners back in kind. What they have done to others is ultimately done to them.
Examples:
( 1 ) Pharaoh ordered all the Jewish baby boys drowned in the Nile River. He ordered those babies thrown to the crocodiles.
What did God do? The night of Passover the first born of all of Egypt died, and God did what to the Egyptian army at the Red Sea? The army was drowned.
( 2 ) The men who tricked Darius into signing a decree that got Daniel thrown into the lions’ den were thrown into the lions’ den themselves along with their wives and children.
Proverbs 11 : 8
8 The righteous is delivered from trouble, and it comes to the wicked instead.
III. GOD’S JUDGEMENT TO THE JEWS
Obadiah finishes the prophecy about Edom, who today is a footnote in history, and turns his attention to God’s people and announces three divine promises.
A. GOD WILL DELIEVER THE JEWS
Obadiah 17 – 18
17 “But on Mount Zion there shall be deliverance, And there shall be holiness; the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions. 18 The house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame; but the house of Esau shall be stubble; they shall kindle them and devour them,
and no survivor shall remain of the house of Esau,” for the Lord has spoken.
God’s people were delivered from Babylonian captivity, but more importantly, He will eternally deliver them in the last days and establish His Kingdom.
In this passage, Jacob refers to the Southern Kingdom (Judah), and Joseph refers to the Northern Kingdom (Israel).
The nation will be united and enter the Messianic Kingdom together. As part of this promise, the house of Esau, the descendants of Esau, are burnt as stubble. I want you to know God’s judgement against Edom will be complete. I mean this family feud is serious to God.
There is a passage of Scripture in Isaiah that indicates that Moab and Edom will be restored as nations in the last days only to be destroyed and judging by the map of Edom’s location in the Bible, it tells me that Edom and Moab will be part of invasion from the South and be destroyed.
You can read about the reestablishment of Edom and Moab in Isaiah 11 : 10 – 16.
B. GOD WILL DEFEAT ISRAEL’S ENEMIES
Obadiah 19 – 20
19 The South shall possess the mountains of Esau, and the Lowland shall possess Philistia.
They shall possess the fields of Ephraim and the fields of Samaria. Benjamin shall possess Gilead.
20 And the captives of this host of the children of Israel shall possess the land of the Canaanites
as far as Zarephath. The captives of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad shall possess the cities of the South.
Israel will reclaim their promised inheritance. The Jews will one day possess what God promised, and they will possess it by the hand of God.
If you read in Ezekiel 37 – 39 about the Russian-led invasion of Israel that I believe happens in the first 3 ½ years of the Great Tribulation, one of the things that infuriates the Antichrist is that his armies are going out to meet these invaders, but the invaders are defeated, and he knows that God is who defeats them and that infuriates him, and I believe that is the catalyst for him setting himself up in the Temple.
God will fight our battles. Paul wrote in Romans that the Lord will get his vengeance.
Romans 12 : 19
19 Beloved do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.
Israel will possess its inheritance, and the regathering will be complete. Israel was established in 1948 as an unbelieving nation. However, one day they will believe on Jesus Christ, and the nation will be born in a day.
Zechariah 12 : 10
10 “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.
C. GOD WILL ESTABLISH HIS KINGDOM
Obadiah 21
21 Then saviors shall come to Mount Zion to judge the mountains of Esau, and the kingdom shall be the Lord’s.
The Lord will reign from Mount Zion. One day every knee will bow.
Jesus taught while He was on the earth that faithfulness to Him today will mean reigning with Him in the future. One day, a day is coming, when every tongue will confess. There will be no witnesses to the Rapture because that will happen like a thief in the night, but everyone witnesses the 2nd Coming.
God’s people must do all we can to get the Gospel message to a lost and dying world. When the great and terrible Day of the Lord dawns, the nations of the world will be judged for the way they have treated one another and the nation of Israel.
Until the Rapture, God’s church must keep praying “thy will be done” and seek to obey His command to share the Gospel.
Man, what a little insignificant book in the Bible. How can it contain so much?
AMEN!!!!!