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The single-chapter book of Obadiah was a challenge. On the surface it is a one message to one nation and all fulfilled. The one Nation was Edom, the people sprung from Jacob's brother Esau; the one message was its judgment, which is obviously fulfilled. But as I worked on and through it, God told me to "seek Christmas in Obadiah"- and I thought, where is CHRISTMAS in Obadiah? But on praying about it, God showed me where.
It's in SYMMETRY. David Jeremiah went through a list of the symmetries of Jesus's life, starting with how the baby Jesus was first laid in a manger never used for a bed, and at the last laid in a tomb never used for a body. There are so many more- like how Satan's lone 'victory' over Jesus was actually his greatest defeat- but we're doing Obadiah, so what is the symmetry there?
Well, first you have to understand the non-Biblical history of Edom, and how it is perfectly captured by the prophet. Obadiah starts right off with the temptation that led to Edom's sin:
Oba 1:1 The vision of Obadiah. Thus says the Lord GOD concerning Edom: We have heard a report from the LORD, and a messenger has been sent among the nations: "Rise up! Let us rise against her for battle!"
This was when Babylon came to crush Jerusalem for the final time. The Kingdom of Edom, long dominated by Judah, joined in the attack and the spoils. Most of the book is about how Edom "On the day that you stood aloof, on the day that strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were like one of them. " (V11) God considered Judah and Edom brothers, as were Jacob and Esau, and their participation in its fall was the unforgivable sin.
Oba 1:6 How Esau has been pillaged, his treasures sought out!
Oba 1:7 All your allies have driven you to your border; those at peace with you have deceived you; they have prevailed against you; those who eat your bread have set a trap beneath you-- you have no understanding.
Oba 1:8 Will I not on that day, declares the LORD, destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of Mount Esau?
Oba 1:9 And your mighty men shall be dismayed, O Teman, so that every man from Mount Esau will be cut off by slaughter.
So what happened next was, as the Edomites moved into the hills of southern Judah, other tribes began to force the remnant out of their ancient fastness in the mountains of the Negev. Eventually they were Hellenized, became known as Idumeans- the people from which the Herods would spring. Except for religion, they became indistinguishable from the Jews- and here's where the symmetry comes in.
Oba 1:15 For the day of the LORD is near upon all the nations. As you have done, it shall be done to you; your deeds shall return on your own head.
In AD 70, in the Jewish revolt in which Israel was (seemingly) forever scattered, the Idumeans joined with the Jews in the revolt AND the defeat. And where the first fall they came in as looters, after this second fall they disappeared completely from the pages of history- thus fulfilling that part of the prophecy.
But wait, there's more- as you should know from that last verse's mention of "the Day of the Lord."
Oba 1:16 For as you have drunk on my holy mountain, so all the nations shall drink continually; they shall drink and swallow, and shall be as though they had never been.
Oba 1:20 The exiles of this host of the people of Israel shall possess the land of the Canaanites as far as Zarephath, and the exiles of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad shall possess the cities of the Negeb.
Oba 1:21 Saviors shall go up to Mount Zion to rule Mount Esau, and the kingdom shall be the LORD's.
Just like most apocalyptic prophecy, there is the present, the near future, and the far future. The present was Edom's Pyrrhic victory over Judah; the near future was their erasure from history after the Jewish revolt; and the far future is where the evil nations- perhaps the nations of today- receive that same fate when Jesus returns to found His kingdom on Earth. Now, I want to show you some verses where this becomes a lesson to nations such as our own:
Oba 1:3 The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rock, in your lofty dwelling, who say in your heart, "Who will bring me down to the ground?"
Oba 1:4 Though you soar aloft like the eagle, though your nest is set among the stars, from there I will bring you down, declares the LORD.
Oba 1:5 If thieves came to you, if plunderers came by night-- how you have been destroyed!-- would they not steal only enough for themselves? If grape gatherers came to you, would they not leave gleanings?
Oba 1:6 How Esau has been pillaged, his treasures sought out!
Oba 1:8 Will I not on that day, declares the LORD, destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of Mount Esau?
Oba 1:9 And your mighty men shall be dismayed, O Teman, so that every man from Mount Esau will be cut off by slaughter.
This both applies to our nation, and those who think that their intelligence tells them there IS no God. Wisdom not based on God won't hold up; power not based on God will not last. In an upcoming era where we can expect a new administration to forsake their alliance with Israel, how will our nation escape this same judgment- and how, if you reject the concept of God, will you escape it?
Another enjoyable and interesting post
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