Obadiah 1:10-21

Why was Edom judged so severely?  Obad. 1:10-16 answers that question.  Edom (Esau) was brother to Israel (Jacob).  Thus his cruelty when Israel was being punished by God brought a greater penalty.  In 1:10-11 Obadiah is Edom’s actions against Judah during the Babylonian invasion (cf. Jer. 49:7-22.)  Ezekiel 35:5 records that Edom did just what Obadiah said they would do.  Edom rejoiced at his brother’s desolation, looted the land and prevented those who tried to escape, turning them over to the Babylonians (all this is in 1:12-14).

The result is judgment according to God’s standard: the law of the harvest.  Edom will experience the evil he did to his brother.  In the day of the LORD Edom, who exalted himself, will be humbled by God.

At the same time, what is left of Edom will watch as Mount Zion is exalted.  As Edom exalted himself and was humbled by God, so Israel will come to humble herself before God and will be exalted.  Obad. 1:17 promises deliverance (salvation) and possession of the land; but note that it also promises holiness.  Jacob and Joseph will be a fire; Esau will be the stubble.

The essence of 1:19-21 is that in that future time Israel will possess the land she was promised, and Israel will be God’s tool for the punishment of Edom.  Note the precision of Obadiah’s geography as he describes how Israelites from various parts of the world will return and possess the land.

·        The South refers to the Negev, the southern part of Judah; she will possess the mountains of Esau to their east.

·        The Lowland is the coastal plain; that part of Israel will possess Philistia, the coastal area today called the Gaza Strip.  

·        Ephraim and Samaria refer to the central parts of Israel such as the Valley of Jezreel and other productive areas.

·        The land of the Canaanites is a reference to Israel on the west side of the Jordan; it is possessed by a host of Israelites as far as Zarephath, a city on the northern Mediterranean coast of Israel.

·        Sepharad is a bit enigmatic but might refer to Jews who eventually were settled in the Iberian peninsula (Spain, Portugal).

The saviors who will return are various ones used by the Lord to bring the people back in the time of regathering.  If what we have seen in the last century and a half is the regathering Obadiah speaks of, it certainly fits Obadiah’s description.  God has used Jews and Gentiles alike to bring about a great return.