Fall Preaching Series on

THE MINOR PROPHETS

God's Mechanic: OBADIAH

Historical Context

            The prophecy of Obadiah was delivered sometime between 587 and 538 BC, during the exile of Judah in Babylon. It is directed against the nation of Edom, that lays to the south-southeast of the southern tip of the Dead Sea. During the reigns of David and Solomon, Israel controlled Edom, but thereafter Edom's territory was frequently the object of wars for its possession, because the main trade route to the Gulf of Aqaba ran through it.

            The forbear of the Edomites was Esau, the brother of Jacob in Genesis 25:29-30. From the first their relationship was marked by deceit and hatred (Genesis 27, 32, 33), and their enmity continued among their descendants. In 587 BC, when Jerusalem fell to the armies of the Babylonian empire, the Edomites joined in the betrayal and pillaging of Judah. They gloated over Judah's downfall (vv. 12-13), looted Jerusalem, entered into the gambling for booty and slaves (v. 11), and capturing fleeing Judean refugees and sold them into slavery (v. 14).

Message/Theme/Audience

            Obadiah's words were given to him in a vision (v. one), and a richness of theological themes is contained therein. Verses 10-14 concern the obligations inherent in brotherhood and human relations. Verses 3-4 and 8 deal with the sinful pride of the nations. Verses 15-16 and 21 set forth God's Lordship over the nations that is to be finally manifested on the Day of the Lord. Verse 15 deals with the consequences of human sin. And verses 17 and 21 take up the theme of a remnant. Thus, the small book, which at first reading appears so nationalistic and vengeful, is rather a deposit of some of the basic theology of the Scriptures.