copyright © cecilia perh 2012 the result of god’s judgment the sins of edom arrogance, pride in...

Copyright © Cecilia Perh 2012

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The Result of God’s Judgment

The Sins of EdomArrogance, Pride in

the Heart

Edom’s Dwelling Place

Nations Conspire Against Edom

Edom Greatly Despised by the Nations

Obadiah 1-14Judgment Pronounced on Edom, The Ruin and Sack of Edom,

Nations Destroy Edom, Destruction of Edom (v1-9)

v1 The Nations gather against Edom for Battle1 The vision of Obadiah. Thus says the Lord God concerning Edom –

We have heard a report from the LORD, And an envoy has been sent among the nations saying,

“Arise and let us go against her for battle” –v2-9 The Lord’s Decrees against Edom2 “Behold, I will make you small among the nations;

You are greatly despised.3 The arrogance of your heart has deceived you,

You who live in the clefts of the rock, In the loftiness of your dwelling place, Who say in your heart,

‘Who will bring me down to earth?’


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The Result of God’s

Judgment

The Certainty of God’s Judgment

The Prophet’s Lament for Edom

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Illustration #1

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4 Though you build high like the eagle, Though you set your nest among the stars, From there I will bring you down,” declares the LORD.

5 “If thieves came to you, If robbers by night –

O how you will be ruined! –Would they not steal only until they had enough? If grape gatherers came to you, Would they not leave some gleanings?

6 O how Esau will be ransacked, And his hidden treasures searched out!7 All the men allied with you

Will send you forth to the border, And the men at peace with you

Will deceive you and overpower you. They who eat your bread

Will set an ambush for you.


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The Result of God’s Judgment

The Certainty of God’s Judgment

The Blindness of Edom

Deceived, Lacking

Understanding

Incidents in the Day of the Lord for Israel

• violence done• brothers stood aloof• strangers carried off

wealth• foreigners entered

gate • foreigners cast lots

for Jerusalem

The Lord’s Recompense

(There is no understanding in him.)8 “Will I not on that day,” declares the LORD,

“Destroy wise men from Edom And understanding from the mountain of Esau?

9 Then your mighty men will be dismayed, O Teman, In order that everyone may be cut off from the mountain of Esau by slaughter.

Reasons for Judgment, Warnings for Edom, Edom Despises Israel, Destruction of Israel (10-14)

v10-11 Edom’s Past Dealings with Israel10 “Because of violence to your brother Jacob, You will be covered with shame, And you will be cut off forever. 11 On the day that you stood aloof,

On the day that strangers carried off his wealth, And foreigners entered his gate

And cast lots for Jerusalem – You too were as one of them.


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The Day of the Lord for Israel

• your brother’s day• the day of misfortune• the day of destruction• the day of distress (2x)• the day of disaster (3x)

What Edom Will Do Despite Being Forewarned

• gloat over Jacob’s day, his calamity (2x)• rejoice over Judah’s destruction• boast in their distress• enter Jerusalem• loot their wealth• stand at the fork of road to cut down fugitives• imprison their survivors

v12-14 Edom’s Future Dealings with Israel (Forewarned)12 Do not gloat over your brother's day,

The day of his misfortune. And do not rejoice over the sons of Judah

In the day of their destruction; Yes, do not boast

In the day of their distress. 13 Do not enter the gate of My people

In the day of their disaster. Yes, you, do not gloat over their calamity

In the day of their disaster. And do not loot their wealth

In the day of their disaster. 14 And do not stand at the fork of the road

To cut down their fugitives; And do not imprison their survivors

In the day of their distress.


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Concerning Edom[1]The prophet begins: “Thus saith the LORD God concerning Edom.” First, then, we must jog our memory as to the identity of the Edomites. The name “Edom” means red. It is the name which was given to Jacob’s brother, Esau, because he sold his birthright for Jacob’s red pottage. See Genesis xxv. 30: “Esau said to Jacob: Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage, for I am faint. Therefore was his name called Edom.” The Edomites were Esau’s descendants and their country was Mount Seir. Genesis xxxvi, 8, 9 says: “Esau dwelt in Mount Seir: Esau is Edom the father of the Edomites in Mount Seir.”

This “Mount Seir” was not just one mountain, but a mountainous region extending from the south of the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Akabah and it was named “Seir” after Seir the Horite. In Genesis xiv. 6 and xxxvi. 20 we read: “The Horites in their Mount Seir…. These are the sons of Seir the Horite (“Horite” means, a rock‑dweller), who inhabited the land.” So, then, the Horites, or rock‑dwellers, were the earlier inhabitants of Mount Seir, and the land was called after the early Horite chief, Seir. The Edomites, or Esauites, later displaced the Horites and settled in Mount Seir. This we read in Deuteronomy ii. 12: “The Horims (Horites) dwelt in Seir beforetime; but the children of Esau succeeded them, when they had destroyed them, and dwelt in their stead.”

It is a coincidence that the name “Seir” means, hairy, rough, rugged. Whether the Horite chief, Seir, was so named because he was a hairy, rough, rugged man is not said, though it may possibly be suggested that he was such a man by the fact that he and his fellow tribesmen were rock-dwellers. This, however, is certainly true, that the name of this man after whom Mount Seir was called was a most appropriate name for the territory where he and his people lived, with its straggling bushes and tufts, its ragged crags and serrated ridges. It is an added coincidence that Esau himself is said to have been a hairy man (Gen. xxxvii. 11), and that he was called Esau for that very reason (Gen. xxv. 25) for the name “Esau” means rough, or hairy. It may have been because of this, and because of his love for the field and the hunt and the wild life of the open, that Esau was first drawn to Mount Seir and its Horites, or rock‑dwellers. At any rate, this was the identity and background of the Edomite people who are addressed by the prophet Obadiah. Their father was Esau. Their country was Seir.

The area occupied by the Edomites, although mountainous and craggy, had no lack of fertile valleys and fruitful soil. The ancient capital was Bozrah, a few miles south of the Dead Sea; the rocky city, which, because of its peculiar position, its difficult access, its rock-hewn dwellings, and its precipitous natural defenses, was considered impregnable, and had fostered a spirit of fierce independence and security in the Edomites, which defied attack and scorned all attempts to subjugate them.

[1] Sidlow Baxter, Explore the Book (pages 137‑138).

The Early History of Edom[2]After the exodus from Egypt, the Edomites would not let the Israelites pass through their territory in Transjordan (Num 20:14‑21; Jdg 11:17‑18). Their own conquest was prophesied by Balaam (Num 24:18). King Saul fought against Edom (1 Sam 14:47), and David conquered it (2 Sam 8:13‑14)1 Kgs 11:15‑16). Solomon had the run of Edom, though not with Edom’s approval (11:14‑22). During the reign of Jehoshaphat (9th century B.C.), Edom, in a military alliance, raided Judah (2 Chr 20:1‑2). They rebelled against Jehoram (Joram), freeing themselves from the Judean yoke for some forty years until late that century (2 Kgs 8:20‑22; 2 Chr 21:8‑10).

Early the next century, Amaziah of Judah recaptured Edom with much bloodshed (2 Kgs 14:7; 2 Chr 25:11‑12), moving into its territory as far as Sela, the capital. Tables were turned later that century when Edom raided Judah when Ahaz was king (2 Chr 28:17), taking prisoners of war and permanently freeing itself from Judah’s domination.

Edom became an Assyrian vassal, and later came under Babylonian domination, though it did periodically consider rebellion (Jer 27). Biblical and extra‑Biblical sources are relatively quiet regarding Edom’s activities at the time of Judah’s destruction by the Babylonians in 587 B.C., but 1 Esdras 4:45 places the blame for burning the temple upon Edom’s shoulders. This is not confirmed elsewhere (c.f. Lam 4:21‑22).

In the 6th century B.C., Edom was waning, as is revealed by archaeological sources. Towns were abandoned and populations shifted (cf. 1 Macc 5:65). Arabs gained control of this geographical area between the 6 th and 4th centuries (cf. Neh 2:19; 4:7; 6:1). The Nabateans, in particular, displaced the Edomites, forcing some of them into southern Judah, which became known by the Hellenized name Idumea (1 Macc 4:29), based on the Hebrew Edom.

The Fulfillment of the Prophecy against Edom in History[3]The fulfilment began in the Chaldean period, for Nebuchadnezzar unquestionably destroyed Edom upon the same occasion as that of his capturing Jerusalem, and five years later destroying the Moabites and Ammonites, “as unquestionably inferred from Jer. 49:7ff; Ezek. 35; Jer. 25:9,21, and Mal. 1:3.” The Edomites were mentioned among the nations round about Judah whom God would deliver into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar (Jeremiah 25:9). It is certain that this was accomplished, despite the fact of Josephus having failed to mention it.

By the times of Alexander the Great, Edom was of no great importance, and the accounts of Alexander’s exploits make no mention of their subjection by the fierce Macedonian, but it is certain that they shared the fate of the rest of the known world during the fourth century in falling under the dominion of Alexander’s worldwide empire.

[2] New Bible Commentary (21st Century Edition) Intervarsity Press 1998[3] Easton Bible Dictionary.

The History of Edom


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Their continued destruction continued in the second century B.C. when John Hyrcanus subdued Edom entirely from 129 B.C., even compelling them to submit to circumcision, and submit to the Mosaic law. Some independence remained for Edom until the first century; but when they became conspicuous for cruelties perpetrated during the closing years of the Jewish state, the Romans utterly destroyed them in 70 A.D., and in the mop‑up campaign afterward, utterly devastating their fortress homeland. “The few who remained were lost among the Arabs, so that the Edomites were cut off forever (Obadiah 1:10).”

The Culture and Geography of Edom“The Edomites became ‘dwellers in the clefts of the rocks’ (Jer 49:16; compare 2 Chr. 25:11,12), like their Horite predecessors who were troglodytes or ‘dwellers in caves’ (Obad. 1:3,4) Petra (Sela, Hebrew, rock), their chief city, was cut in the rocks. S. Idumea abounds in cave dwellings. Red baldheaded sandstone rocks are intersected by deep seams rather than valleys. In the heart of these, itself invisible, lies Petra (Stanley), Edom’s stronghold in Amaziah’s days (2 Kings 14:7). BOZRAH..., now Buseireh, was its ancient capital, near the N. border. Elath and Ezion Geber were Edom’s seaports; afterward taken by David and made by Solomon his ports for equipping his merchant fleet (2 Sam. 8:14; 1 Kings 9:26). Edom (100 miles long, 20 broad) stretched E. of the Arabah valley, southward as far as Elath. Eastward of Elath lay the desert. Israel, when refused a passage through Moab N. of Edom, as also through Edom, went from Kadesh by the S. extremity of Edom past. Elath into the desert E. of Edom (Deut. 2:8,13,14,18; Judg. 11:17,18; 2 Kings 3:6-9).

“The Brook Zered (wady el Ahsy) was the boundary between Moab (Kerak) and Edom (now Jebal, Hebrew Gebal, mountainous, the N. district, along with Esh. Sherah, the S. district), Edom subsequently took also the territory once occupied by Amalek, S. of Palestine, the desert of Et Tih (‘wandering’) (Num. 13:29; 1 Sam. 15:1-7; 27:8). Low calcareous hills are on the W. base of the mountain range of igneous porphyry rock, surmounted by red sandstone. On the E. is a limestone ridge, descending with an easy incline to the Arabian desert. The promised (Gen. 27:40) ‘fatness of the earth’ is in the glens and terraces of Edom (Gen. 27:39), while from their rocky aeries they sallied forth ‘living by the sword.’ When navigation was difficult merchants’ caravans took Edom as their route from the Persian gulf to Egypt, which became a source of wealth to Edom” (A. R. Fausset).

“The real stronghold of Edom was Petra, a city unknown to the modern world until 1812 when it was rediscovered by the Swiss explorer, Johann Ludwig Burckhardt. Petra’s dwellings were hewn out of the rock of the purple mountains that run out from the Syrian desert for about a hundred miles. Esau’s wild sons had clambered in those mountains and made them their own. They had perched on high shelves and hidden in caves at the end of deep gorges.

“From Mount Hor, Edom’s summit, an observer can look down on a maze of mountains, chasms, rocky shelves, and strips of valley. On the east is the crested edge of a high, cold plateau that is covered with stones, except where there are stretches of cornfields and trees. On the west, black and red walls of rock rise steep and

bare from the yellow floor of the desert. The interior is reached by passages so narrow that two horsemen can barely ride abreast. The sun is shut out from these travelers by overhanging rocks, and eagles and hawks are heard screaming in the sky above.

“The main approach to Petra was a gorge that is now called ‘the valley of Moses.’ A rivulet threads its way along the entire length of the gorge. The valley with its branches is about 4,500 feet long and is flanked on all sides by precipitous sandstone cliffs. With incredible industry, the inhabitants of Petra tunneled into the hard rock, beautified its face with the sculptured lines of temples and palace tombs, and carved fortresses from the towering crags. An invading army would have to creep down the narrow canyon and twist and turn through the mountains before they could have even seen the prize city. Because of the configuration of the passage, it would have been possible for a dozen determined men to hold Petra against an army” (John Philips, Exploring the Minor Prophets, Kregel Publications, 2002, pages 123-124).

“The capital, Sela (Petra), in the Wady Musa, of whose glory at one time there are proofs still to be found in innumerable remains of tombs, temples, and other buildings, was shut in both upon the east and west by rocky walls, which present an endless variety of bright lively colours, from the deepest crimson to the softest pale red, and sometimes passing into orange and yellow; whilst on the north and south it was so encircled by hills and heights, that it could only be reached by climbing through very difficult mountain passes and defiles” (F. Delitzsch and C. F. Keil).

The Ancient City of PetraChief among the national treasures of Jordan is the rose-red city of Petra, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Petra is the legacy of the Nabataeans, an industrious Arab people who settled in south Jordan more than 2,000 years ago. From a remote staging post, they dominated the trade routes of ancient Arabia, levying tolls and sheltering caravans laden with Indian spices and silks, African ivory and animal hides.

The Nabataean Kingdom endured for centuries, and Petra became widely admired for its refined culture, massive architecture and ingenious complex of dams and water channels. Ultimately, however, the Roman Emperor Trajan annexed the Kingdom.

By the 16th century, Petra was completely lost to the West, and so it remained for almost 3000 years. Then in 1812, a Swiss traveler named Johann Ludwig Burckhardt persuaded his guide to take him to the site of the rumoured lost city. Secretly making notes and sketches, he wrote, “it seems very probably that the ruins at Wadi Musa are those of the ancient Petra.”

Much of Petra’s appeal comes from its spectacular setting deep inside a narrow desert gorge. From the main entrance, you walk into the chasm, or siq, that ripped through the rock in a previous quake. Threading your way between the cliff walls as they soar to 80 metres, you pass inscriptions in ancient languages and rock-cut chambers carved into the whorls of sandstone. (Jordan Tourism Board)


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Personal Sins of Edom (Obadiah 1) God’s Judgment on Edom (Obadiah 1)3 the arrogance of your heart because of

your lofty dwelling place3 thinks he’s invincible7 no understanding in Edom

2 God will make him small among the nations2 greatly despised by God4 God will bring him down5 will be totally ruined & completely plundered 6 will be ransacked & his hidden treasures searched out7 his allies will send him forth to the border7 the men at peace with them will deceive & overpower

them 8 They who eat your bread will set an ambush for them8 their wise men & understanding will be destroyed9 their mighty men will be dismayed in order that everyone

may be cut off from the mountain of Esau by slaughter10 will be covered with shame10 will be cut off forever15 as Edom has done, it will be done to him, his dealings will

return on his own head on the day of the LORD16 will drink & swallow & become as if they had never existed18 the house of Esau will be as stubble & be set them on fire

& consumed so that there will be no survivor of the house of Esau

19 those of the Negev will possess the mountain of Esau21 The deliverers will ascend Mount Zion to judge the

mountain of Esau & the kingdom will be the LORD's

Sins against Jacob (Obadiah 1)10 did violence to his brother Jacob 11 stood aloof on the day that strangers

carried off Jacob’s wealth & foreigners entered his gate & cast lots for Jerusalem

12 gloated over the day of Jacob’s misfortune / gloated over their calamity in the day of his disaster

12 rejoiced over the sons of Judah in the day of their destruction

12 boasted In the day of Jacob’s distress13 entered the gate of God’s people in

the day of their disaster13 looted their wealth In the day of their

disaster14 cut down their fugitives & imprisoned

their survivors in the day of their distress

16 drank on My God’s mountain


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Sins of Edom God’s Judgments Reasons for Judgment1. gloated & rejoiced over

Jacob’s calamity (Ps 137:7; Ezek 35:15; Ob 12-13)

2. had continual anger, maintained fury forever (Am 1:11)

3. shed innocent blood (Am 1:11); cut down Jacob’s fugitives (Ob 14)

4. appropriated God’s land (Ezek 36:5), looted Jacob’s wealth (Ob 13)

5. arrogance in heart (Ob 3), spoke arrogantly against God

6. did violence to his brother Jacob (Ob 10)

7. stood aloof when strangers plundered Israel (Ob 11)

8. imprisoned Jacob’s survivors in the day of their distress (Ob 14)

9. incurred guilt by taking vengeance against Judah (Ezek 25:12)

10. wicked (Mal 1:4)

On the Land of Edom* mountains made desolate (Mal 1:3)* possessed by jackals (Mal 1:3)* laid waste, made an everlasting desolation, cities

uninhabited (Ezek 25:13; 35:15)

On the Edomites1. God will make him small among the nations, greatly

despised by God (Ob 2), covered with shame (Ob 10)2. God will bring him down (Ob 4)3. will be totally ruined & completely plundered (Ob 5),

will be ransacked & his hidden treasures searched out (Ob 6),

4. his allies will send him forth to the border & the men at peace with them will deceive & overpower them (Ob 7), They who eat your bread will set an ambush for them (Ob 8)

5. their wise men & understanding destroyed (Ob 8)6. their mighty men dismayed (Ob 9)7. everyone cut off by slaughter (Ob 9), cut off forever

(Ob 10), no survivor of the house of Esau (Ob 18)8. will be as stubble & consumed (Ob 18), fire

consumes his cities (Am 1:12)9. the mountain of Esau possessed by those of the

Negev (Ob 19)10. will be judged (Ob 21)11. man & beast cut off by sword (Ezek 25:13-14)12. God is indignant with Edomites forever (Mal 1:4)

* his pride (Ob 3)* because of violence done to

Jacob (Ob 10)* as Edom has done, it will be

done to him, his dealings will return on his own head on the day of the LORD (Ob 15)

* drank on God’s holy mountain (Ob 15)

* rejoiced at the destruction of Jerusalem (Ps 137:7)

* “hated” by God, i.e., not chosen for intimate fellowship with Him (Mal 1:3)

* the wicked territory & the people toward whom the Lord is indignant forever” (Mal 1:4)


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God Uses Israel as His Litmus Test of the Nations’ True Feelings toward Him

GOD’S BLESSING ON ABRAHAM (Gen 12:1-3)

1 Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, And from your relatives To the land which I will show you2 And I will make you a great nation,

And I will bless you, And make your name great;

And so you will be a blessing;3 And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse.

qalal = to be slight, of little account, lightly esteemed, to make despicable, to curse, make light of, treat with contempt, dishonor

And in you all the families on the earth shall be blessed.”

Ramon Bennett says in Saga, page 65:

“The LORD has promised to curse, to bring great trouble and harm to those who have a low opinion of the Jewish people. The LORD promises to curse and bring great trouble upon those who cause the dignity or personal pride of the Jewish people to suffer. The LORD promises to curse and bring great trouble upon those who subject the Jewish people to ridicule. The LORD promises to curse and bring great trouble upon those who reproach the Jewish people or subject them to abusive language. The LORD promises to curse and bring great trouble upon those who think that the Jew is lacking in worth or are inferior or beneath notice. The LORD promises to curse and bring great trouble upon those who speak reproachfully of His holy people, Israel.”

Today, both Israel and the Church of Jesus Christ are the gauges of people’s true feelings toward God, the only difference is that Israel is a nation, while the Church comprises of people of many nations.

arar = to curse, to execrate, to denounce evil against

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