Obadiah brings the ultimate family dispute, God loves all his children, especially the Israelites whom God promised Abraham would be a nation of God’s chosen people. Edom was located in the mountains in the southern kingdom with Judah. The Edomites were blood relatives to the Israelites and should have been first in line to help Israel out when they were in trouble. However, they often did the opposite. Edom gloated over Israel’s problems, captured fugitives to give to the enemy, participate in attacks against Israel and looted the countryside. The Edomites were prideful people, believing themselves invincible in their mountainous home.
Obadiah brought a message that said otherwise. He rebuked them of their indifference to Israel, defiance of God, and their condemning pride. Obadiah declared that the Lord had enough and they were going to be destroyed.
“The day is near when I, the Lord, will judge all godless nations! As you have done to Israel, so it will be done to you. All your evil deeds will fall back on your own heads.” Obadiah 1:15
Very little is known about the man Obadiah, but his name means “servant (or worshiper) of the Lord.” The book Obadiah is the shortest in the Old Testament. It is thought to take place between the division of Israel into Northern and Southern region and Nebuchadnezzar conquered Judah in 586 BC. The book is written in the poetic form of a dirge of doom.
Today God’s people are his church. God’s protection of his people, who trust in him and gives their lives over to him through the salvation of Jesus Christ, is fierce and real. Obadiah provides an example of how far God will go to protect the people he loves.
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