The Day Of the Lord is near Obadiah proclaims that for this violence done to a brother (Jerusalem) Edom shall be visited with shame and destruction: As you have done, it shall be done to you (verse 15) The Judgment on Edom will be a token and prediction of the ultimate universal Judgment on the Day of the Lord; then He will, in Judgment and deliverance, establish His manifest and eternal royal reign. verse 15 The Lord will visit the deeds of the Edomites upon their heads. This just requital is a token and an antlcipation of the great and final day of wrath when Gods righteous Judgment will be revealed and He will render Judgment to every man according to his works (Romans 2:5-6). The day of the Lord is near for all nations. The day of the Lord brings Judgment for the nations and salvation for the house of Israel. The punishment is for Edom but it is not limited to Edom. Likewise, salvation is also for all who have true faith in Christ. verse 16 Just as you drank As the Edomites profaned the holy mountain by carousing, so the nations will drink and drink. Their drinking however, is that of the bitter potion of Gods Judgment--which they will be compelled to keep on drinking. In the Bible drinking as punishment is not a new understanding. We see this in Psalms 11:6; 75:8; Isaiah 51:17,22; Jeremiah 25:15; 49:12; Habakkuk 2:15-16; Ezekiel 23:31-33; Zechariah 12:2; Matthew 20:22; John 18:11; Revelation 14:10; 16:19. verse 17 There is a hint here that Gods people shall be both delivered from their enemies and cleansed Or their sins. Mount Zion shall be holy no longer disfigured by the peoples sins but wholly devoted to the Lord. (cf. verse 21) verse 18 Jacob...Joseph Previously it was stated that the Lord would destroy Edom, using other nations (v.7); now it is to be done by Gods people. Notice here there will be no survivors. The rina1 word to Esau is that his house (nation) will be totally destroyed; there will be no Edomite survivors. The house of Jacob signifies the southern kingdom; the house of Joseph, the northern kingdom. A reunited people will serve Gods purpose : verses 19-20 The southern Israelites (Negeb) will possess Edom; the western Israelites (Shephelah) will occupy Philistia; the rest (Benjamin) will occupy the territories of Ephraim and Samaria to the north and Gilead (east of the Jordan) A united people (17) augmented by the returning exiles (20) will overflow the borders of the land promised to the fathers. Halah is a city, or district, of the Assyrian Empire to which captives of the ten (northern) tribes were deported in 722 BC (2 Kings 17:6; 18:11) Zarephath is a Phoenician city situated between Tyre and Sidon; it represents the northern limit of the restored peoples expansion into Phoenician territory. The identity of Sepharad is uncertain. verse 21 This verse is most important for an understanding of the prophecy of Obadiah. The term savior marks the judgment on Edom as Gods business and the deliverance of Israel as Gods work. Savior is used in the Old Testament for those deliverers whom the Lord raises up, empowers with His Spirit, and leads to victory, against all human probabilities, when Israel in desperation and repentance cries to the Lord. The story of Gideon is a good illustration of what is meant by savior. The closing statement (the kingdom shall be the Lords) gives all glory to God. His is the victory not Israels. His is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. This savior points us to Christ. We, living on earth now after Christ has come can learn of Obadiah to believe in, and to pray for the coming of the Kingdom as Obadiah did in the days of the Exile, days as dark and as hopeless as any that the New Testament church has yet come to know. Come Lord Jesus...Come!
Posted on: Wed, 13 Aug 2014 02:09:22 +0000
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