Exegesis of The Book of Obadiah

-John Dunfee

Part 1: Outline
Verse1- Obadiah receives a vision from the Lord. This vision is concerning Edom and that an envoy has been sent among the nations to battle against Edom.
Verse 2- God is revealing that he will make Edom small compared to other nations surrounding it. He greatly despises Edom for its sin.
Verse 3-  Edom’s arrogance will be its downfall to Earth. Edom is arrogant because of where it is established in the mountains, so it cannot be destroyed.
Verse 4- Compares Edom’s location to an eagle’s nest and how high it is compared to the stars. God is going to bring Edom down.
Verse 5- Compares Edom’s destruction to robber’s staling from people and gardeners stealing from the garden. This is used to show that God will take all away from Edom.
Verse 6- The kingdom of Esau will be ransacked and searched out. The descendants of Esau will have no more.
Verse 7- All of Edom’s allies will turn on Edom leading to its destruction.
Verse 8- God will wipe out the pagan wisdom of Edom, so it will not be a source of corruption to any.
Verse 9- Every man will be cut off from Edom by slaughter.
Verse 10- Edom will be judged for the violence that it has done to its brother Israel.
Verse 11- The destruction of Israel was done by Edom and by the its allies. They ransacked Israel as well.
Verse 12- Edom Gloated because of Israel’s destruction and rejoiced also to the destruction of Judah. Edom helped contribute to these horrific events.
Verse 13- They gloated over the calamity of Israel and the ransacking of their wealth.
Verse 14-  Edom also killed those who fled the destruction of Israel and took many as prisoners.
Verse 15-  The day of the Lord will be the day will God will judge Edom and every nation that is prideful towards their evil ways.
Verse 16- They will drink the wrath of the Lord and cease to exist.
Verse 17- Those of Mount Zion will escape Judgement and will be holy. The house of Jacob will regain their lost possessions.
Verse 18- Israel will be like a raging fire and Edom will be as stubble. This means that Israel will continue and Edom will have no survivors. The Lord has spoken.
Verse 19 and 20- The surrounding nations of Mount Zion will surround the territories that all of Israel’s enemies have lived including Edom.
Verse 21- Those who destroy Edom will ascend to Mount Zion and will judge the mountain of Esau. This is will be the Lord’s kingdom.
 
Part 2: Oracle Structure
The Oracle structure for the Book of Obadiah is set up as a lawsuit. The defendants are Edom which the charge being for its arrogance for what it has done to Israel. God is the Plaintiff, Prosecutor, Jury, Judge, etc. against the people of Edom. Edom is found guilty and will be destroyed by its past allies and will be ransacked of all the wealth Edom has. This will have happened no matter what because God is tired of Edom’s pride and sin towards Israel. This resolves the final conflict between Jacob and Esau’s descendants.  God is the Judge, Jury, and Executor for every nation that contains pride for sin. This will happen on the final court case which will be the Day of the Lord. The Book of Obadiah is a prophecy concerning Edom and every nation that is filled with lust towards pride and sin.
 
Part 3: Connection to the Kingdom
God’s kingdom will be filled with the righteous and faithful. It will be free of sin and will only have pride for God. This will be fulfilled on the Day of the Lord when the kingdom comes to Earth. This will be the second coming of Christ when he comes to judge every nation and every person according to the works they have done. Just like Edom, every sinful nation will be judged and will be punished for sin towards God. There’s some eschatology here concerning the end of the first Earth and the beginning of the new Earth. God will establish his kingdom once and for all in the new Heavens and Earth.
 
Part 4: Application
There is a simple application we must follow. We must not be prideful and sinful or we will be judged like Edom. We all know that as Humans we cannot accomplish this, so Christ accomplished this for us on the Cross. The Cross is the first major step in God’s plan for establishing his Kingdom. The second step was the Resurrection of Christ and the revival of the Church. The final Step will be his day when he judges all nations. Until this day comes, we must be prideful for God and not for ourselves.
 
Sources:
Bible Translations: NASB, ESV, NIV
Video: The Bible Project: The Book of Obadiah
Book: How to read the Bible for all it’s Worth
Encountering the Old Testament
Bible Commentary: The Interpreters Bible Volume 6
 
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