Obadiah 1

Obadiah 1:1-21

OBADIAH—OR THE TRIUMPH OF ENEMIES BUT Obadiah 1:1-21SOME years since a graduate of the Chicago University approached me with Dr. Hastings’ Bible Dictionary, a work put forth by the so-called advanced thinkers of the twentieth century, as “The latest production of scholarship.” Thinking that the study of the Minor Prophets afforded the best opportunity to investigate the value of this production, I requested the privilege of retaining the volumes long enough to look into them, which was generously accorded. I immediately set about to see what the latest scholarship had to say on the subject of Obadiah. And I found myself face to face with the opinions of Driver, Delitzsch, Keil, Wellhausen, Cheyne, and a half score of other such names. And yet I read and reread these so-called scholarly deliverances to find it all resulted in a series of interrogation points—an interrogation point as to the name; and one as to the place this Book should hold; an interrogation point as to its unity and date; and an interrogation point as to its literary characteristics. Then I felt more profoundly than ever before the wisdom of Goethe’s speech, “If you have convictions give them to me; if doubts, keep them to yourself; I have enough of my own.”It is a strange thing that so-called scholarship should be capable of nothing better than raising a question: that an interrogation point should represent its proudest production; that the art of making periods should have been lost to its pen!By saying this I do not mean to suggest that the Book of Obadiah presents no questions whatever; but I do mean to insinuate that far more profitable than speculating about things that cannot be determined, is a discussion of the things that are fairly certain. The exact date of this Book cannot be certainly determined; but it lies somewhere between the time of Hosea and Amos and about 585 B.

C., and with that general statement we must, for the present, be satisfied, and pass on to the consideration of the Prophet and his prophecies.There is little question that Obadiah was a person, a Minor Prophet, and the author of this volume! But whether he can be identified with any one of the several men of the same name mentioned in the Old Testament, we cannot tell.His prophecy makes up the shortest volume in the Old Testament, and divides itself very naturally under three suggestions.First:THE DOOM OF EDOM IS “The vision of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord God concerning Edom”. Edom, as you understand, is the progeny of Esau, Jacob’s brother, and so a nation of first cousins to the Jews. When the Lord appeared to Rebekah previous to the birth of these children, He said, “Two nations are in thy womb, * * and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger” (Genesis 25:23). And we have not forgotten how the very letter of that prediction was fulfilled.By strange conduct on the part of both brothers, the birthright, which belonged to Esau, came into Jacob’s possession, and became a “root of bitterness” between brothers, and a pledge of perpetual strife between nations. In our study of Amos we heard, “Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he did pursue his brother with the sword, and did cast off all pity, and his anger did tear perpetually, and he kept his wrath for ever” (Amos 1:11). Obadiah, therefore, is simply voicing for God again what God has uttered at the lips of Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Amos.Three suggestions concerning Edom:God declared war against her.“I have heard a rumour from the Lord, and an ambassador is sent unto the heathen, Gather ye together, and come against her (Edom) and rise up to the battle?” (Jeremiah 49:14). Evidently from the declaration it was God’s purpose to send a fire upon them through unbelieving and heathen nations, and when the time of judgment should come, a man—God’s messenger,—and yet without realizing his appointment—would walk in the midst of them and stir them up against Edom.When wars come into the world, they are not taking place without the presence of God. However much they may offend Him in character and occasion, He will make them to do His will. I love to think upon the fact that even the heathen, who either do not know Him, or else openly deny Him, are, nevertheless, subject to employment according to His own pleasure. Take the experiences of the Boxer movement. When China was to be taught the wickedness of shedding innocent blood, and the atrocity of murdering the messengers of the Cross, Christian, semi-Christian, and heathen nations, combined to execute the chastisement!Russia was not incited to her part in that conflict by her loyalty to Jesus Christ; and Japan was not urged on by her fidelity to God, but He to whom the nations are as a “drop in the bucket” and as the “dust of the balance”. He who “taketh up the Isles as a very little thing” had at His command America, England, France, Germany, Russia, and Japan. And these, who had not always been friendly toward one another, He formed into an alliance to effect His will, and scourge China into subjection.And did it ever occur to you that the same God, who, in love of His ancient people Israel, raised up from the nations armies with which to humiliate Edom—Israel’s old enemy—has promised concerning the Church of Jesus, symbolized by the woman in the 12th chapter of The Revelation, that the earth should help her (Obadiah 1:16)?Her discomfiture is Divinely pledged.“Behold, I have made thee small among the heathen: thou art greatly despised” (Obadiah 1:2). This reference may be, as the language indicates, in the present tense; or, as many have supposed, refer to the future, since the tomorrow is now present with God.Certainly after her humiliation she was small among the heathen and was greatly despised. Go back to II Kings and read 2 Kings 14:1; 2 Kings 14:5-6, the history of God’s judgment against the city, and you will see how literally the assertion of the Prophet is fulfilled.“In the second year of Joash son of Jehoahas king of Israel reigned Amasiah the son of Joash king of Judah. * * “And it came to pass, as soon as the kingdom was confirmed in his hand, that he slew his servants which had slain the king his father. “But the children of the murderers he slew not: according unto that which is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, wherein the Lord commanded, saying, The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, nor the children be put to death for the fathers; but every man shall be put to death for his own sin”. When man proposes the humiliation of his fellows it may be nothing better than a vain boast. It is interesting to read the words of Goliath, the Philistine! When he saw the ruddy youth coming out to meet him in mortal combat, the Philistine said unto David,“Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. “And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field”. Those who looked on him must have felt that the words had occasion. Had he not stricken terror into the hearts of the whole Israelitish camp? Were not his magnificent physical proportions such that to rend David would be the work of but a moment?So it might have seemed; but we know full well, that giant went down before David’s sling, and his head was taken away with the greatest ease. But while a great man’s threat can easily come to naught, God’s Word is in no such danger. When He predicted the downfall of Edom, there was no appearance of the fulfilment of the prophecy. They were strong and vigorous above their neighbors; and were confident in their numbers and inaccessible fortresses!

But when God utters wrath, who shall stand? There is all the difference between the boldest threat of the mightiest man, and the least declaration of Almighty God, that exists between the easy limitations of the creature and the omnipotence of the Creator.You remember how William Rufus, having seen the coast of Ireland from some rocks in North Wales, said, “I will summon thither all the ships of my realm, and with them make a bridge to take that country.” When Murchard, Prince of Leister, heard it, he said, “Did the king add to his mighty threat, If God please?’” On being answered that God had not been mentioned, he added, “Since that man puts his trust in human, not in Divine power, I fear not his coming.” Ah, Beloved, truly “The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.”Edom’s self-confidence is declared to be in vain.“The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground? “Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the Lord. “If thieves came to thee, if robbers by night, (how art thou cut off!) would they not have stolen till they had enough? if the grape gatherers came to thee, would they not leave some grapes? “How are the things of Esau searched out how are his hidden things sought up! “All the men of thy confederacy have brought thee even to the border: the men that were at peace with thee have deceived thee, and prevailed against thee; they that eat thy bread have laid a wound under thee: there is none understanding in him. “Shall I not in that day, saith the Lord, even destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of the mount of Esau? “And thy mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed, to the end that every one of the mount of Esau may be cut off by slaughter” (Obadiah 1:3-9). What are rocks and exalted stations, and confederate armies, and mighty leaders, when they meet an angry God? The caverns in which these people dwelt, the inaccessible heights to which they had climbed, were indeed fortresses against their fellows; and, in their conflicts with neighbors, had so far served them that they had adopted as a taunt the question, “Who shall bring us down to the ground”? But now they dealt with another, even Him who answers, “Though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the Lord”. It was the very same assertion of power which God had put into the lips of Amos concerning disobedient Israel, “Though they dig into hell, thence shall Mine hand take them; though they climb up to Heaven, thence will I bring them down” (Amos 9:2). And shall not He make good His Word?There was a time when one who was above men, who was the chiefest of all of the angels, thought to brave the power of the infinite Creator and Ruler, and the history of that endeavor is written into Isaiah,“How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! “For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into Heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High. “Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit”. It will always be so with those who oppose God, as it has been since man was placed upon the earth, that“The triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment? “Though his excellency mount up to the heavens, and his head reach unto the clouds; “Yet he shall perish far ever like his own dung: they which have seen him shall say, Where is he”? (Job 20:5-7). John Bunyan not only gave us a good interpretation of Vain Boasting by that person in his “Pilgrim’s Progress;” but also lifted the veil to let us look into the destiny, aye, rather, upon the doom of every such person. You remember the fate of Theudas who “rose up * * boasting himself to be somebody” but was slain, and all as many as obeyed him were scattered and brought to nought. Beloved, if we boast at all, let us do it only in the Name of the Lord. “He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord”.But let us pass on to the second suggestion of this prophecy.THE OF EDOM IS “For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever. In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, in the day that the strangers carried away captive his forces, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even thou wast as one of them. But thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day that he became a stranger; neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the Children of Judah in the day of their destruction; neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress. “Thou shouldest not have entered into the gate of My people m the day of their calamity; yea, thou shouldest not have looked on their affliction in the day of their calamity, nor have laid hands on their substance in the day of their calamity; “Neither shouldest thou have stood in the crossway, to cut off those of his that did escape; neither shouldest thou have delivered up those of his that did remain in the day of distress. “For the day of the Lord is near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head. “For as ye have drunk upon My holy mountain, so shall all the heathen drink continually, yea> they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not been. “But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the House of Jacob shall possess their possessions” (Obadiah 1:10-17). Edom’s opposition to Israel was an offense to God. This passage makes clear God’s practice of identifying Himself with His people. You may remember how the Prophet Zechariah brings out this very thought concerning Israel. In addressing Zion the Lord of Hosts says, “He that toucheth you toucheth the apple of His eye”.I cannot refrain, in passing, from making mention of the unchangeable character of God. Whether you read of Him in the Old Testament, or in the New, He is the same—“The same yesterday, and to day, and for ever”! Go back to the dawn of history; Cain shed the blood of righteous Abel, and God accepted that act as a transgression against Himself, and resented it accordingly; away over in the New Testament, when the Son of Man comes to describe the last scenes that shall characterize this age in which we live, He charges certain with having passed Him by in neglect, in hunger, in thirst, as a stranger, as naked, as sick, and as in prison, and when they ask Him, “Lord, when saw we Thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto Thee”?

He answers, “Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to Me”.Beloved, there is a beautiful thought in the Old Testament, it is the thought of God, the Father of Israel; and in the New Testament, the thought of Christ, the Head of the Church. And if we are never able to understand the mystical relation, or sound the sweetness of the intimacy between the head and the members of the body, many of us do know something of the identification of father and son, parent and child.

It was said of Mary, touching the crucifixion of her Son, that when it should come to pass, a sword would thrust her soul through. And it is the literal truth. You cannot strike the child without striking the father; you cannot nail the child to the cross without piercing the soul of the mother; and you cannot touch the Godly without also raising hand against God Himself!One remark of an East Indian teacher has remained with me. It was on his exposition of fighting the good fight of faith. He said, “The child fights the fight of faith when a ferocious dog, or any dangerous thing, approaches it. Instead of standing up in its own strength to do battle, it runs into its father’s arms, knowing full well that he will be adequate to its defense. And so it fights the good fight of faith.” And when, as Christ’s, we come to that conception of God which presents Him as our Father, and trust to His affection and strength, we will have risen to the thought which God had Himself, and the attitude which He delights to sustain toward us, and can say with the Apostle,“In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, “Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:37-39). Edom’s methods of warfare were merciless. This is at once a vivid description and a terrific arraignment of her behavior toward Israel. “In the day that thou stoodest on the other side”, and, “rejoiced over the Children of Judah in the day of their destruction”, and, “laid hands on their substance in the day of their calamity”, and “cut off those of his that did escape”, and “delivered up those of his that did remain in the day of distress”.The Psalmist is speaking of this same event when he says, “Remember, O Lord, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; who said, Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof” (Psalms 137:7). It was their delight to see that city destroyed. God answers,“Because that Edom hath dealt against the House of Judah by taking vengeance, and hath greatly offended, and revenged himself upon them; “Therefore thus saith the Lord God; I will also stretch out Mine hand upon Edom and will cut off man and beast from it; and I will make it desolate from Teman; and they of Dedan shall fall by the sword. “And I will lay My vengeance upon Edom by the hand of My people Israel: and they shall do in Edom according to Mine anger and according to My fury; and they shall know My vengeance, saith the Lord God” (Ezekiel 25:12-14). It is a dreadful thing to so behave toward our brethren as to bring the vengeance of our Lord. You may recall that Charles IX of France, slaughtered the Huguenots under circumstances of the most deceptive and murderous character, and when God came to deal with him he realized something of the fury of the Lord. In his last hours great drops of blood pushed their way through the pores of his skin; his reason tottered on the throne, and to those about him he cried in agony, “If I had only spared the infants at the mother’s breasts, I might now have mercy, but I showed none, and can expect none!”His judgment of Edom was in strict justice. God said, “As thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head”. Who can object? Who can criticise the Law “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap”?

Who would change that condition which makes a man’s conduct come back to him with increased weight whether it be good or bad? Whoever read the story of Hainan’s gallows, erected for the purpose of swinging Mordecai, but felt a keen satisfaction in seeing Hainan hang there himself, and said, “This is right; this is the righteous work of an over-ruling Providence; this is the unerring judgment of a gracious God?” And shall Edom escape the fruits of her evil doing?

No! She shall surely drink of it! The cup of trembling shall be taken out of the hand of God’s people and be put into the hand of them that afflict them (Isaiah 51:22-23).I remember that Mr. Moody, in a little volume “Sowing and Reaping” tells the story of that French king who wanted some new instrument with which to torture his prisoners. One of his favorites suggested that he should build a cage not long enough to lie down in, and not high enough to stand up in. The king accepted the suggestion, and just as it was finished this very favorite offended him, and was the first man to know its torture, and for fourteen years endured the cruel device. You remember Ezekiel’s words addressed to Edom,“As thou didst rejoice at the inheritance of the House of Israel, because it was desolate, so will I do unto thee: thou shalt be desolate, O mount Seir, and all Idumea, even all of it: and they shall know that I am the Lord”. But Obadiah, like the other Minor Prophets of our recent studies, concludes his prophecy with a bright picture.THE OF ZION IS This is an ideal discussion. Whatever the Prophet of God may be compelled to say in the progress of his speech, let him finish with a good prospect. Let his last words be full of hope to them that have put their trust in God. It is according to prophecy.“But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the House of Jacob shall possess their possessions. “And the House of Jacob shall be a fire, and the House of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle them, and devour them; and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau; for the Lord hath spoken it. “And they of the south shall possess the mount of Esau; and they of the plain the Philistines: and they shall possess the fields of Ephraim, and the fields of Samaria: and Benjamin shall possess Gilead. “And the captivity of this host of the Children of Israel shall possess that of the Canaanites, even unto Zarephath; and the captivity of Jerusalem, which is in Sepharad, shall possess the cities of the south. “And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the Lord’s” (Obadiah 1:17-21). Three suggestions:Mount Zion shall see God’s salvation. “Upon Mount Zion shall be deliverance”. How that agrees with the Messianic Psalm, “Yet have I set My King upon My holy hill of Zion” (Psalms 2:6). And this prophetic vision of Isa 2:3,“Many people shall go and say, Conte ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the House of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths; for out of Zion shall go forth the Law, and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem”. God has partially fulfilled that promise already. When Jesus was risen from the dead, and had appeared in the midst of His disciples, He rehearsed to them what He had said when He was with them, and opened their understanding that they might understand the Scriptures, and reminded them not only of His resurrection on the third day, but of the prophecy that He should appear in the midst of the nations, “beginning at Jerusalem”. And the place of the commencement of the Gospel will also witness its consummation. For in the latter days His feet shall stand on Mount Zion, when He appears the second time “without sin unto salvation”. What the gilt pillar in old Rome was to her civilization, the place of departure for her Roman eagles, going forth to make conquest of the ends of the earth, and to return for the celebration of every victory won, and every conquest effected, Mount Zion is, and will forever remain, to the cause of Christ.Mount Zion shall see saviours and judges.“And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the Kingdom shall be the Lord’s”. We might think there was a conflict in these terms; that the two offices could not combine in the same individual. But, on the contrary, the Scriptures are replete with the claim that these two belong to the same character. Jesus is Saviour now, and will forever remain Saviour to them that receive Him; but He is also Judge, and will forever remain Judge to them that reject Him. It is written that “The saints shall judge the world” in righteousness. But they are also co-laborers with Christ in saving the world. Do you remember how Paul wrote to Timothy, “Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee” (1 Timothy 4:16). James also penned into his Epistle, (5:19,20): “Brethren, if any of you do err from the Truth, and one convert him; lei him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins”.In a letter from the young women who are the representatives of our Bible and Missionary Training School, engaged in evangelistic work, the recent meeting at Jamestown was mentioned, and this remark followed, “How blessed the thought that from each of these cities we shall be permitted at last to meet some who were saved as the result of this work.” “Saviours shall come up on mount Zion” and yet those same saviours may have to witness against those who rejected Jesus, and so “judge the mount of Esau”.Mount Zion shall also be the place of the King’s throne.“And the Kingdom shall be the Lord’s”. God shall give it to Him by putting all things under His feet; man shall give it to Him, kings resigning in His favor, and people willingly submitting to His authority. “Yea, all kings shall fall down before Him: all nations shall serve Him” (Psalms 72:11). It is the same picture the Psalmist presented when he said, “The Kingdom is the Lord’s: and He is the Governor among the nations” (Psalms 22:28); of which Daniel uttered his famed words, “In the days of these kings shall the God of Heaven set up a Kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the Kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever” (Daniel 2:44), and concerning whose rule he added,“I saw in the night visions, and, behold, One like the Son of Man came with the clouds of Heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought Him near before Him. “And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a Kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve Him: His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His Kingdom that which shall not be destroyed”. When we shall come to the study of Zechariah, also, he will tell us that “the Lord shall be King over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and His Name one” (Zechariah 14:9).A writer says, “We have here the Divine sanctification of human history. This vision of Obadiah is summed up in words which might well form the concluding sentence of the history of the whole world; these words are ‘And the Kingdom shall be the Lord’s’!”