The Destruction of Edom

December 9

Obadiah 1

Psalm 139:7-12

Proverbs 29:11-12

Revelation 3

The Destruction Of Edom

“Look, I will make you insignificant among the nations; you will be deeply despised.  Your presumptuous heart has deceived you, you who live in clefts of the rock in your home on the heights, who say to yourself, ‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’ Though you seem to soar like an eagle and make your nest among the stars, even from there I will bring you down.  This is the Lord’s declaration.”  Obadiah 1:2-4 HCSB 

Obadiah is the shortest book in the Bible, with only 21 verses, but it gives a very important message to the Edomites and it gave hope to the descendants of Jacob that God would eventually pour out His sovereign justice upon any nation that harmed Israel. In Biblical times, a conflict between twin brothers named Esau and Jacob began in their mother’s womb (Genesis 25:19-26).  Esau was the firstborn, but Jacob entered the world as the second child born to Isaac and Rebekah while grabbing his older brother’s heel with his hand.  When the boys were much older, Jacob deceived Esau into giving up his natural birthright and the paternal blessings that came with it.  Weary from hunting all day, Esau returned home famished and was willing to trade anything to satisfy his hungry stomach, including his inheritance for a pot of red stew prepared by his brother.  Isaac and Rebekah were not people who should be teaching a parenting class.  Isaac favored Esau, his firstborn son and Rebekah favored Jacob.  They were obvious in their favoritism and this caused continual feuding in the home.  Esau and Jacob spent most of their lives either fighting or not speaking to each other at all.  The family feud ran so deep that has lasted for centuries. 

The Edomites settled in a mountainous region south of the Dead Sea called Mount Seir, of which Petra was the capital.  Petra is nearly impregnable by enemy armies because of the single entrance to the city, a narrow crevice that meanders for nearly one mile through towering mountain walls.  Many scholars believe that this will be the place where the Jews will flee at the midpoint of the Tribulation and will be protected by the hand of God until the Second Coming of Christ.  500 years before the birth of Jesus, the Nabateans, a Bedouin tribe, overtook the Edomites who withdrew to Idumea in southern Palestine.  Afterward, Petra grew and became a glorious Arab capital.  In time, the Romans overtook the region followed by the Byzantines.  Edom disappeared as a nation around 150 BC.   However, a small number of Esau’s descendants remained, including an Edomite who rose to power in 37 BC named Herod the Great who tried to murder the baby Jesus, a descendant of Jacob. 

Obadiah begins with the Lord taking direct aim at Edom’s pride in the first three verses.  The certainty of Edom’s doom is stated very clearly.  Esau’s descendants believed they were incapable of being conquered. However, they had met their match in the Lord, who despises pride and brings low those who think too highly of themselves.  When other nations attacked Israel, Jacob’s brother did nothing.  The Edomites stood at a distance and watched as foreigners brought disaster upon God’s people and plundered them.  By not getting involved and defending their own family, the Edomites “were like one of them,” gloating over Israel’s misfortune.  Their smug and malicious satisfaction over Israel’s affliction angered the Lord and sealed their fate.  Today, a similar attitude toward Israel called antisemitism angers the Lord.  In 586 BC, the Edomites cheered from afar when King Nebuchadnezzar invaded Jerusalem and destroyed the city.  Much later, in the first century AD, they participated in the rebellion against Rome and Esau’s descendants died trying to defend Jerusalem. Since that time, there has been “no survivor for the house of Esau.” Obadiah 1:18 LSB   

The point of Obadiah’s prophecy is that God’s sovereign justice will ultimately prevail.  Israel will get back all that her enemies have stolen from her, including the land God promised.  The nations who hate and harm Jacob and his descendants will pay an eternal price.  Wiped off the face of the Earth, the Edomites, the descendants of Esau, are a poignant example of this.  In the end, Israel wins and she will possess all the land God promised her.  The last six words of Obadiah’s prophecy say it all, “The kingdom shall be the Lord’s.” This will happen at the end of the age when Jesus Messiah returns and establishes His Millennial Kingdom.  God makes it clear in Genesis 12:3 that those who bless Israel will be blessed and those who curse Israel will be cursed.  This promise was made to Abraham and the promise continues today.  We are wise to recognize this and do everything we can to support God’s chosen people.