Bobservations Column - "A Wasted Heritage"

As we have seen the terrorist attacks against Israel this week, and Israel declaring war, Obadiah sheds light on these enemies of Israel, God's warning against the nations, and promise to Israel. Obadiah is a prophet of God who uses this opportunity to condemn Edom for sins against both God and Israel. The Edomites are descendants of Esau and the Israelites are descendants of his twin brother, Jacob. A quarrel between the brothers has affected their descendants for over 1,000 years. This division caused the Edomites to forbid Israel to cross their land during the Israelites' Exodus from Egypt. Edom’s sins of pride now require a strong word of judgment from the Lord. Obadiah prophesies judgment against Edom in context with the Day of the Lord when God will judge all nations (v15), and then restore the remnants of Israel and Judah, allowing them to take possession of the territories of their enemies (v17-21). At the end of it all, the Lord reigns as king from Mount Zion, and those who have been delivered by him rule with him over Esau's mountain (v21). Esau's mountain has a double meaning in that Edom was originally the region around Mount Seir, between the Dead Sea and Aqaba. But mountains metaphorically represent kingdoms, so the Lord is portrayed as ruling over Esau's kingdom. By the 6th century BC, Edom was considered to extend southward into what is now Saudi Arabia, as far as Dedan (modern-day Al-Ula) - (see Ezekiel 25:13 and Jeremiah 49:8).