Obadiah

It's a little book, the shortest in the Old Testament. Tucked between its more famous neighbors, Amos and Jonah, it is so small you easily miss it. It makes its point briefly in vigorous language, and then it's over. What's more, it is directed to Edom, which most of us can't identify, let alone identify with. Yet as we read the prophecy of Obadiah, the words begin to sound strangely familiar. Pride, exploitation, gloating, justice, deliverance, and hope.

Who was Obadiah? The name means "servant of God," and there are several Obadiahs mentioned in the Bible from around the time of the book's events. All we know for sure is that this Obadiah received a vision (1:1). It was not a vision for the Jews, but for Edom.

The rivalry between Edom and Israel went way back. Abraham's son Isaac had twin sons, Jacob and Esau. Esau had the important right of firstborn, but in a moment of hunger he sold it to the opportunistic Jacob (Ge 25:27-34). Later Jacob tricked Esau out of their father's blessing (Ge 27). Jacob fled when he found out that Esau planned revenge. It was not till years later that they met again (Ge 33). Though the meeting was tearful and emotional, the breach was never entirely healed, and their descendants remained rivals—relatives with an unsettled score.

In these twenty-one verses Obadiah has a lot to say about contemporary issues: greed, broken families, injustice, profit-taking. We are wise to pay attention to his warnings. If we are victims of those sins, we can take comfort that Obadiah ends on a note of hope—not for Edom, but for Israel. God will bring about justice. God sees the human disaster. God will restore what has been robbed. "And the kingdom will be the LORD'S


Esau was called "Edom" as early as Genesis 25:30, and the name is confirmed several times in Genesis 30. There is no doubt that Obadiah was talking about these relatives of Israel when he painted such a grim picture of their fate