Lesson 34: Obadiah

Prophet Against Edom

The Book of Obadiah is the shortest book in Scripture. It is 21 verses long and the book in its entirety is directed against the Edomites. Who is Edom and why is the prophet Obadiah so focused on them?  In short, the Edomites are the descendants of Esau, the son of Isaac and fraternal twin of Jacob. Take a moment to read Genesis 26 and following and you’ll see the origin of the acrimony between the brothers. As a result, Esau and his people established a homeland/kingdom to the south and east of Israel. By the time Moses was leading the people through the wilderness to the land promised to Abraham, Edom already had a long history of Kings.  When Moses asked to use the “King’s Highway” to reached the Jordan River, they were refused – and that was just one of the many encounters between Israel and Edom over the next 800 years – most of which were violent conflict. You can read about that history is this short overview: Obadiah and Edom.

From history and scripture we know that the Babylonian Empire was the instrumental cause of the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 586 BC – but they apparently had assistance. The psalmist calls out to God: “Remember, LORD, against Edom that day at Jerusalem. They said: ‘Level it, level it down to its foundations!’” (Ps 137:7) Whether Edom participated in the destruction or merely “cheered” Babylon’s efforts is unclear, but Babylonian records indicated that Edom participated in the capture of Jews fleeing the wrath of Babylon. And for this, Obadiah preaches against the evil done by them against the People of God.

For those who would like to explore details of this book, please consider videos from Fr. Mike Schmitz’s “Bible in a Year” program. You can find the entire playlist here.