1
This is the vision about Edom that Obadiah had. Here is what the Lord and King says about Edom.
We've heard a message from the Lord.
A messenger was sent to the nations.
The Lord told him to say,
‘Get up! Let us go and make war against Edom.’
2 The Lord says to Edom,
‘I will make you weak among the nations.
They will look down on you.
3 You live in the safety of the rocks.
You make your home high up in the mountains.
But your proud heart has tricked you.
So you say to yourself,
“No one can bring me down to the ground.”
4 You have built your home as high as an eagle does.
You have made your nest among the stars.
But I will bring you down from there,’
announces the Lord.
5 ‘Edom, suppose robbers came to you at night.
They would steal only as much as they wanted.
Suppose grape-pickers came to harvest your vines.
They would still leave a few grapes.
But you are facing horrible trouble!
6 People of Esau, everything will be taken away from you.
Your hidden treasures will be stolen.
7 All those who are helping you
will force you to leave your country.
Your friends will trick you and overpower you.
Those who eat bread with you
will set a trap for you.
But you will not see it.’
8 Here is what the Lord announces. ‘At that time
I will destroy the wise men of Edom.
I will wipe out the men of understanding
in the mountains of Esau.
9 People of Teman, your soldiers will be terrified.
Everyone in Esau's mountains
will be cut down by swords.
10 You did harmful things to the people of Jacob.
They are your relatives.
So you will be covered with shame.
You will be destroyed for ever.
11 Outsiders entered the gates of Jerusalem.
They cast lots to see what each one would get.
Strangers carried off its wealth.
When that happened, you just stood there and did nothing.
You were like one of them.
12 That was a time of trouble for your relatives.
So you shouldn't have been happy about what happened to them.
The people of Judah were destroyed.
So you should not have been happy about it.
You should not have laughed at them so much
when they were in trouble.
13 You should not have marched
through the gates of my people's city
when they were in trouble.
You shouldn't have been happy about what happened to them.
You should not have stolen their wealth
when they were in trouble.
14 You waited where the roads cross.
You wanted to cut down those who were running away.
You should not have done that.
You handed over to their enemies
those who were still left alive.
You should not have done that.
They were in trouble.
15 ‘The day of the Lord is near
for all the nations.
Others will do to you
what you have done to them.
You will be paid back
for what you have done.
16 You Edomites made my holy mountain of Zion impure
by drinking and celebrating there.
So all the nations will drink
from the cup of my anger.
And they will keep on drinking from it.
They will vanish.
It will be as if they had never existed.
17 But on Mount Zion some of my people will be left alive.
I will save them.
Zion will be my holy mountain once again.
And the people of Jacob
will again receive the land as their own.
18 They will be like a fire.
Joseph's people will be like a flame.
The nation of Edom will be like straw.
Jacob's people will set Edom on fire and burn it up.
No one will be left alive
among Esau's people.’
The Lord has spoken.
19 Israelites from the Negev Desert
will take over Esau's mountains.
Israelites from the western hills
will possess the land of the Philistines.
They'll take over the territories
of Ephraim and Samaria.
Israelites from the tribe of Benjamin
will possess the land of Gilead.
20 Some Israelites were forced to leave their homes.
They'll come back to Canaan and possess
it all the way to the town of Zarephath.
Some people from Jerusalem were taken
to the city of Sepharad.
They'll return and possess
the towns of the Negev Desert.
21 Leaders from Mount Zion will go
and rule over the mountains of Esau.
And the kingdom will belong to the Lord.
1:1–21 Obadiah, the prophet, announced messages of judgement against Edom. These were like the messages of judgement against Edom recorded in Jeremiah 49. Obadiah explained why God would bring judgement against Edom. The Edomites were proud. They believed that their strength and wisdom kept them safe. This showed that they didn't respect God's authority as the Lord and King. Their pride also showed that they didn't respect God's authority over the people of Judah. God chose to make a covenant with the people from the family line of Jacob. The Edomites were their relatives. Yet people from Esau's and Jacob's family lines didn't live in peace with one another. That had been the case for hundreds of years. The Edomites made it clear that they didn't respect God or his choices. They made this clear when Jerusalem was attacked. God allowed Jerusalem to be destroyed by Babylonian armies in 586 BC. That was how God brought judgement against the southern kingdom. The Edomites didn't respect that God was taking action against his people. Instead they took action and made the suffering of the southern kingdom worse. Obadiah explained many evil things that the Edomites did to the people of the southern kingdom. Other parts of the Bible show how the people of Jerusalem felt about that. Psalm 137 and Lamentations chapters 2 and 4 are examples. Obadiah announced that God would destroy the Edomites because of their pride and evil deeds. Obadiah described that time of judgement as the day of the Lord. It was a time when God would judge not only Edom but also all nations. Obadiah described God's anger like a cup that the nations would drink from. The result of the judgement against the nations would be blessing for God's people. They would enjoy the covenant blessings. This included living safely in the land God had promised to Abraham's family line. It included the blessing of God's presence. That is what was meant by Zion being the holy mountain once again. God described this time of blessing as a kingdom that belonged to him. Jews came to understand this message of hope as a prophecy for the future. It would be fulfilled when God sent the messiah. New Testament writers came to understand that Jesus is the Messiah. Jesus announced that he brought the kingdom of God to earth.