- Fun Fact: Obadiah, the shortest book in the Bible.
- Obadiah means ‘servant of the Lord’.
- Obadiah was speaking of the doom of Edom.
So who are the people of Edom? When did the “fighting” begin between the Edomites and the Israelites? Actually Genesis 25:19-
“Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. 22 The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?”
Ever since they shared a womb! The people of Edom were the descendants of Esau. Esau (Edomites) and Jacob (Israelites). The Edomites never passed up an opportunity to attack or invade God’s people. This 21 verse book will predict that the Edomites will be destroyed forever. And so it has been. There are two themes in this short book: Justice and Pride.
As we just read the Psalms and Proverbs we recall that God countlessly reminds us that He will eventually bring justice, in His timing. As far as pride, the capital of Edom was Petra. Petra was a rocky mountainside just south of the dead sea.
The Edomites would attack enemies and then retreat to this city that was virtually impregnable (I like using that word…makes me sound smart 🙂 ) because of its topography. Built on the cliff of a Red mountain (I find it ironic that it was red because Esau in Hebrew meant “red”.) So they were very confident and prideful that they could attack any nation and never be attacked back. Here is a picture of Petra. The Book of Obadiah, a message from the Lord addressed to them to pronounce their destruction once and for all.
Reading the Bible - 2021 