Obadiah Introduction
Introduction
Obadiah is a very short book of only one chapter of 21 verses. It is a concise prophecy of judgment against the country of Edom, Judah's neighbor south of the Dead Sea. Edomites traced their ancestry to Abraham's grandson, Esau, and thus were ancestrally related to the Israelites, whose lineage was from Esau's brother, Jacob (later known as Israel). While these were anciently related peoples, there were also age-old animosities between them.
Speaking for God, the prophet Obadiah, whose name means “Servant of the Lord,” declares that God will bring severe judgment on Edom because of their prideful cruelty toward the people of Judah. When the Babylonian armies crushed Jerusalem and Judah in 586 b.c., and left it in ruins, Obadiah reports that Edom celebrated that event, took unfair advantage of Judah's helplessness to loot Judean towns, and turned refugees over to Babylonian forces. The prophecy says that for this inexcusable perfidy a day of judgment is coming for Edom, a day when they will suffer defeat and be wiped out themselves. But for Judah and Jerusalem, Obadiah declares, its people and places will be restored.
Outline
God's Judgment on Edom and the Nations (1-16)
Israelite Restoration and Expansions (17-21)
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Obadiah Introduction: KJVAAE
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King James Version 1611, spelling, punctuation and text formatting modernized by ABS in 1962; typesetting © 2010 American Bible Society.
Obadiah Introduction
Introduction
When Judah’s capital city of Jerusalem fell to the Babylonian army in 587/6 BC, those in the neighbouring kingdom of Edom joined in looting the city. They intercepted fleeing Judeans and turned them over to the Babylonians to be executed or enslaved. They showed no compassion even though they were related to the Judeans. Edom was descended from Esau, the brother of Jacob, who was the ancestor of the Israelites.
The prophet Obadiah seems to have been among those who remained behind when the Judeans were taken into exile. His oracle first rebukes the Edomites for their ruthless treatment of their helpless neighbours and foretells their destruction. He then assures the people of his community that God would restore their fortunes. He assures Judah that in the end, the kingdom will be the Lord’s.
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