Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Obadiah 1:21
And saviors shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’s.
21. saviours ] i.e. deliverers. The word, enshrined already in the name of Joshua, the great deliverer, is frequently applied to the Judges: “The Lord raised up judges, which delivered (saved) them out of the hand of those that spoiled them.” Jdg 2:16. “Thou gavest them saviours, who saved them out of the hand of their enemies.” Neh 9:27. See also Jdg 2:18; Jdg 3:31; Jdg 6:14-15; Jdg 6:36. It is applied once in the later history to king Joash, as the deliverer of Israel from the oppression of the Syrians: “the Lord gave Israel a saviour.” 2Ki 13:5 with 25. Here the immediate reference is to the Maccabees and such like human saviours. But as the long lines of Jewish prophets, and priests, and kings were respectively the manifold types of the one true Prophet, Priest, and King, so their saviours foreshadowed Him, of whom in the fulness of time it was said, “Unto you is born in the city of David a Saviour,” and whom, as “a Saviour,” His Church still looks for. (Philipp. 3:20; Heb 9:28.)
to judge the mount of Esau ] The vengeance on Esau, which is the predominant idea of this short prophecy, is still before the prophet’s mind. And yet perhaps we may say that that wider sense of “judging,” which the remembrance of the “judges who judged (i.e. governed) Israel” would suggest, is here prevailing. Esau subdued shall also be incorporated, and share the privileges of that righteous and beneficent rule with which Zion shall be blessed.
the kingdom shall be the Lord’s ] The grand climax is here certainly, however indistinctly, before the prophet’s mind. It is this that stamps the writings of the Hebrew prophets with a character which is all their own, and proves them to be inspired with an inspiration of God, other and higher far than that of the most gifted seers and poets of other lands and ages. With them the national and the human reach forth ever to the divine and the universal. The kingdom of Israel gives place to and is lost in the kingdom of God. Never in any adequate realisation even of Jewish idea and conception, could it be said of any period of the history of Israel after the return from Babylon, “The kingdom is the Lord’s.” Never of any country or any church, much less of the world at large, has so great a word been true, since in the person and the religion of Christ the kingdom of God has come among us. Still the Church prays as for a thing still future, “Thy kingdom come.” Still Obadiah’s last note of prophecy, “the kingdom shall be the Lord’s,” vibrates on, till at last it shall be taken up into the great chorus of accomplished hope and satisfied expectation, “Hallelujah! for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth.”
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And saviors shall ascend on Mount Zion – The body should not be without its head; saviours there should be, and those, successively. The title was familiar to them of old Jdg 3:9, Jdg 3:15. The children of Israel cried unto the Lord, Who raised them up a savior, and he saved them. And the Lord gave unto Israel a savior 2Ki 13:5, in the time of Jehoahaz. Nehemiah says to God, Neh 9:27. According to Thy manifold mercies, Thou gavest them saviours, who should save them from the hands of their enemies. So there should be thereafter. Such were Judas Maccabeus and his brothers, and Hyrcanus, Alexander, Aristobulus. They are said to ascend as to a place of dignity, to ascend on Mount Zion; not to go up thither ward, but to dwell and abide in it, which aforetime was defiled, which now was to be holy.
He ends, as he began, with Mount Zion, the holy hill, where God was pleased to dwell Psa 2:6; Psa 68:16, to reveal Himself. In both, is the judgment of Esau. Mount Zion stands over against Mount Esau, Gods holy mount against the mountains of human pride, the Church against the world. And with this agrees the office assigned, which is almost more than that of man. He began his prophecy of the deliverance of Gods people, In Mount Zion shall be an escaped remnant; he ends, saviors shall ascend on Mount Zion: he began, it shall be holiness; he closes, and the kingdom shall be the Lords. To judge the mount of Esau. Judges, appointed by God, judge His people; saviours, raised up by God, deliver them. But once only does Ezekiel speak of mans judging another nation, as the instrument of God Eze 24:14. I, the Lord, have spoken it – and I will do it; I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I repent; according to thy ways and according to thy doings shall they judge thee, saith the Lord God. But it is the prerogative of God. And so, while the word saviours includes those who, before and afterward, were the instruments of God in saving His Church and people, yet, all saviours shadowed forth or back the one Saviour, who alone has the office of Judge, in whose kingdom, and associated by Him with Him 1Co 6:2, the saints shall judge the world, as He said to His Apostles Mat 19:28, ye which have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of His glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And the last words must at all times have recalled that great prophecy of the Passion, and of its fruits in the conversion of the Pagan, from which it is taken – Ps. 22.
The outward incorporation of Edom in Judah through Hyrcanus was but a shadow of that inward union, when the kingdom of God was established upon earth, and Edom was enfolded in the one kingdom of Christ, and its cities, from where had issued the wasters and deadly foes of Judah, became the sees of Christian Bishops. And in this way too Edom was but the representative of others, aliens from and enemies to God, to whom His kingdom came, in whom He reigns and will reign, glorified forever in His saints, whom He has redeemed with His most precious Blood.
And the kingdom shall be the Lords – Majestic, comprehensive simplicity of prophecy! All time and eternity, the struggles of time and the rest of eternity, are summed up in those three words ; Zion and Edom retire from sight; both are comprehended in that one kingdom, and God is all in all 1Co 15:28. The strife is ended; not that ancient strife only between the evil and the good, the oppressor and the oppressed, the subduer and the subdued; but the whole strife and disobedience of the creature toward the Creator, man against his God. Outward prosperity had passed away, since David had said the great words Psa 22:28, the kingdom is the Lords. Dark days had come. Obadiah saw on and beyond to darker yet, but knits up all his prophecy in this; the kingdom shall be the Lords. Daniel saw what Obadiah foresaw, the kingdom of Judah also broken; yet, as a captive, he repeated the same to the then monarch of the world Jer 50:28, the hammer of the whole earth, which had broken in pieces the petty kingdom of Judah, and carried captive its people (Dan 2:44, add Dan 7:14, Dan 7:27); the God of heaven shall set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed.
Zechariah saw the poor fragments which returned from the captivity and their poor estate, yet said the same; Zec 14:9, The Lord shall be king over all the earth. All at once that kingdom came; the fishermen, the tax gatherer and the tentmaker were its captains; the scourge, the claw, thongs, rack, hooks, sword, fire, torture, the red-hot iron seat, the cross, the wild-beast, not employed, but endured, were its arms; the dungeon and the mine, its palaces; fiery words of truth, its Psa 45:5, sharp arrows in the hearts of the Kings enemies; for One spake by them, whose word is with power. The strong sense of the Roman, the acuteness of the Greek, and the simplicity of the Barbarian, cast away their unbelief or their misbelief, and joined in the one song Rev 19:6, The Lord God Omnipotent reigneth. The imposture of Mohammed, however awfully it rent off countless numbers from the faith of Christ, still was forced to spread the worship of the One God, who, when the prophets spake, seemed to be the God of the Jews only.
Who could foretell such a kingdom, but He who alone could found it, who alone has for these 18 centuries preserved, and now is anew enlarging it, God Omnipotent and Omniscient, who waked the hearts which He had made, to believe in Him and to love Him? Blessed peaceful kingdom even here, in this valley of tears and of strife, where God rules the soul, freeing it from the tyranny of the world and Satan and its own passions, inspiring it to know Himself, the Highest Truth, and to love Him who is love, and to adore Him who is infinite majesty! Blessed kingdom, in which God reigns in us by grace, that He may bring us to His heavenly kingdom, where is the manifest vision of Himself, and perfect love of Him, blissful society, eternal fruition of Himself ; where is supreme and certain security, secure tranquility, tranquil security, joyous happiness, happy eternity, eternal blessedness, blessed vision of God forever, where is perfect love, fear none, eternal day and One Spirit in all!
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Oba 1:21
And saviours shall come up on Mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the Lords.
Christ as a Conqueror
This is a vision concerning Edom, or the Mount of Esau, or Idumea, which are different names of one and the same country, the mountainous region to the south of Judaea. It is a prophecy of ruin to the Edomites, for their treatment of their kindred nation the Jews at the time of their trouble. When the remnant of the Jews were carried into Babylon, the Edomites behaved ill to their subjugated and suffering kindred. They stood on the other side (Oba 1:11-14). Edom came to ruin; but Israel, though sorely chastised and brought low, was never to be crushed. The text shows how the difference is to be effected, and its issue. Esau should have none to help him, but shame should cover him, and he should be cut off for ever. But saviours should come up on Mount Zion, and that for judgment against Esau, and the Lords inheritance should be preserved, and the kingdom should be His. Possibly two, or more than two, events have been purposely mixed up together in the prophets vision.
1. Understand by the Saviours, the great Saviour. The Maccabean princes were saviours, but the Saviour Simeon and Anna hailed is the great Saviour.
2. The purpose for which He came to Mount Zion. For judgment.
(1) The distinguishing between profession and practice, between the literal and the spiritual Israel. He came that the thoughts of many hearts should be revealed.
(2) The same intermixture of judgment with present imperfection in it is visible in every part of the Saviours work on earth. The prince of this world is judged, but he is not cast out. He is not abashed.
(3) It is the same with the spiritual enemies of the soul of man, and of God. Yet we see imperfection in every part,–the imperfection of non-completion.
(4) He is come for judgment upon the enemies within His people, as well as without them, the old heart that holds with the world and the flesh, and is in league with the devil. And the same incompleteness during our present state we mourn over here.
3. Look at the predicted end. The kingdom shall be the Lords. That is promised and certain.
(1) The kingdom shall be His over our rebel hearts. It often seems impossible, or at least hopeless now.
(2) The Gospel kingdom is, and shall be, His.
(3) The kingdom over all the earth, over all that rises up against Him, is His. To this end was He born, that as a Saviour He should come to Mount Zion, to judge the Mount of Esau, and that the kingdom should be the Lords. (G. Jeans, M. A.)
The God of our salvation and His instruments
The vision presented to Obadiah is shadowed all over with calamities of various kinds; but still we see God all the way through, justifying Himself in the eyes of the heathen, lest they should say that the punishment He threatened, was more than equal to the offence. There is a tenderness of spirit in what He says to the opposers of Israel, in the twelfth verse, which, while it does not and cannot alter His purpose, gives us a delightful view of His heart.
I. Who and what are they whom the prophet calls saviours? The redeeming Saviour of man stands apart from all common saviours, because He is exclusively the redeeming Saviour of the Body, the Church. We cannot confound Him with deliverers of any secondary kind. He is separate from all others in this, that though He is without sin, He is in friendship with sinners; though He knows not what it is to commit sin, He does know what it is to take the burthen of sin upon His pure and righteous person. The saviours in the text are the messengers of God to the blessed children of Mount Zion, to those whom He has begotten in Christ Jesus; and they stand here in strong contrast with the enemies of all holiness, who are described as Mount Esau, or the carnally minded children of this world. These helpers of our feebleness are only instrumental; God appoints them and employs them; but they are to Him what the axe is to the woodman, they would be powerless but for the power of the hand that holds them. What a mercy that God sends these saviours among us to publish His will, and to stir us up to our duty! Divine providences are often saviours. The Gospel Word is a Saviour, inasmuch as it guides us immediately to Him who is the great mystery of godliness, and in whom alone is the life which makes a man alive unto God. The preaching of the Word is one of the saviours that is sent upon an embassy of peace to Mount Zion.
II. In what manner are these saviours to judge Mount Esau? Literally, the land of Edom. Typically, the world, which, in its scriptural interpretation, is enmity against God. These saviours will sit in judgment upon the careless, the prayerless, and the ungodly,
1. Every chastening providence of God that has passed away from a sinner unimproved shall be a sentence of condemnation against him. Not to improve a dispensation is to undervalue it.
2. Gods Word also enters into judgment with the unbelieving. The Word preached, but not laid profitably to heart. The Gospel Word has much to testify concerning many sinners in every congregation, who are satisfied with having the olive-leaf in their mouths, whilst there is no savour of fruit in their lives.
3. The ambassador of Christ has also something to testify in this judgment. He is likewise appointed to assist in judging Mount Esau. Can a condemning judgment possibly accord with the good news that we are commissioned to preach? Yes, for it is not the good news simply in itself, but the good news not believed in, not rejoiced in, that makes the judgment.
III. What description of kingdom did the prophet intend? He says, The kingdom shall be the Lord s; He meant to say this, that however Mount Zion shall be blessed, or Mount Esau cursed, the new throne which will be set up from this overthrow of the wicked, and this gathering together of the righteous, shall be Christs. It is called a kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. Of righteousness, because every subject of it is righteous; of peace, because God is at peace with all who rest in it; of joy in the Holy Ghost, because in the Church triumphant there shall be no delight equal to that of calling the glorious God our Father, and the Son of God our Redeemer. One remarkable feature in this kingdom is, that they who are worthiest in the worlds judgment are not selected to fill it, but they who feel themselves to be the unworthiest. This kingdom is also an invisible treasure within the heart of every child of Gods adoption. Inquire concerning two things.
1. Whether the incorruptible seed is within you.
2. Whether you are checking its growth by doing every thing you can to sweeten your journey to the grave, and as little as you can to adorn your self for the happy home that lies beyond it. Each of us should connect the kingdom of God with the spirituality and heavenly character of our own souls. (F. G. Crossman.)
The kingdom shall be the Lords
But we are Christians as well as Britons. We acknowledge Victoria as Queen; but we acknowledge Christ as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. We acknowledge Him as King not of Britain alone, but of all the earth. We acknowledge allegiance to Him in a far deeper sense than to Victoria. Great as are her claims upon us, His are infinitely greater. Our Christian patriotism, then, will be proportionately greater. We shall be still more eager about news of His kingdom from foreign lands than we ever have been of news from Pekin or Port Arthur. If we willingly give up millions for the maintenance of the fleet, we shall gladly give up tens of millions for the extension of that kingdom which is the Lords. The great trouble is that it needs faith to realise the greatness of the kingdom and the certainty of its prospects. The whole realm of the spiritual and eternal is to many of us so shadowy and unreal. The glorious things which are spoken of Zion are difficult to credit. There is a wide door and effectual before us in these days of ours; but there are so many adversaries that faith fails and hope is dim and enthusiasm languishes and dies. But surely, surely faith ought to be much easier for us than it was for Obadiah in his dreary, hopeless exile. He had no tens of thousands to share his hope and expectation; no thrilling tidings from the seat of war, say rather from the seat of desolation; yet see with what confidence he looks forward to the coming time, and with what assurance he declares that saviours shall come up on Mount Zion to judge the Mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the Lords. May his faith, inspire ours; may his patriotism, awaken ours. (J. Monte Gibson.)
The kingdom of God
What is the kingdom of the sun? It is here on earth, and is in everything that lives and moves. It sings in the bird, and waits in the egg not yet hatched out; it is in the fragrant blossom and in the bud unopened; it is in the blades of grass upspringing, and in the germinant seeds just breaking through their shell in the darkness of the earth. Thus this kingdom of God that is to be is already here. This is the second truth that Jesus Christ taught about the kingdom–it is not something postponed; it has already begun. Here, as the day is here when the sun begins to rise; here, as the summer is here when spring begins to come; here, as manhood is here when the babe lies in the cradle, for then the man begins when he is born. The kingdom of God begins when it is first upon the earth, and it is first on the earth when the spirit of righteousness and justice and love and peace is in the hearts of men, and is working its way into the institutions of men. So Christ said to men, Do not say, Lo, here, lo, there: the kingdom of God is among you. Look for it all about you; look for it in the mothers love, in the heros sacrifice, in the patriots devotion; look for it in the honest labourer, the faithful servant, the loyal friend. It is here; it is now. (Lyman Abbott, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 21. And saviours shall come up] Certain persons whom God may choose to be deliverers of his people; such as Zerubbabel, Ezra, Nehemiah, and the Maccabees.
Some think these saviours, moshiim, mean the apostles of our Lord. Several MSS. have mushaim, the preserved; those that are saved, i.e., they who were delivered from the captivity; and those of Mount Zion shall judge, that is, shall execute judgment on the Edomites. And as the Asmonean princes joined the priesthood to the state, it might be what the prophet means when he says, “the kingdom shall be the Lord’s,” the high priest having both the civil and ecclesiastical power in his own hands. And these actually were masters of Edom, and judged and governed the mountain of Esau. And thus this prophecy appears to have had a very literal fulfilment.
But if we take the whole as referring to the times of the Gospel, which I believe is not its primary sense, it may signify the conversion and restoration of the Jews, and that under JESUS CHRIST the original theocracy shall be restored; and thus, once more, in the promised land, it may be said, –
hammeluchah laihovah vehayethah.
“And the kingdom shall belong to Jehovah”
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
And, or For, so the Gallic version, printed at Rochelle, 1616.
Saviours; deliverers; literally, the governors or leaders of those captive troops, who shall come up from Babylon to their own country, such as Zerubbabel, Ezra, Nehemiah, of whom it was said he came to seek the good of the Jews, Neh 2:10, and successively after these many others, to the times of Hyrcanus and the Maccabees; mystically, Christ and his apostles, and other preachers of the gospel.
Shall come; literally, with leave and commission from the kings of Persia, such as Cyrus and Darius Hystaspes, to manage the affairs of the returned captives.
Upon Mount Zion; in Judea, at Jerusalem and the temple, and whatever might concern them, with their neighbours round about.
To judge; to avenge Israel upon Edom, to fight, subdue, and give laws to them, as Hyrcanus did when the Edomites were glad to be circumcised to keep their country.
The Mount of Esau; the whole country, so called from thee father of that nation, who chose those mountainous countries for his habitation, as most suitable to his wild and rambling humour, which delighted in hunting.
The kingdom shall be the Lords; the government, called here the kingdom, shall manifestly appear to be set up, maintained, and prospered by a power, wisdom, and goodness greater than human. The God of Israel, who is Jehovah, shall be honoured, obeyed, and worshipped by them, and they shall not, as formerly, rely on idols, or foreign aids. All which most fully is accomplished by Christ the Saviour, and now known in the Christian church, who do believe he will, and pray that he would, save his Zion, and destroy Edom, i.e. antichrist and his kingdom.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
21. savioursThere will be inthe kingdom yet to come no king, but a prince; the sabbatic period ofthe judges will return (compare the phrase so frequent in Judges,only once found in the times of the kings, 2Ch14:1, “the land had rest“), when there was novisible king, but God reigned in the theocracy. Israelites, notstrangers, shall dispense justice to a God-fearing people (Isa 1:26;Eze 45:1-25). The judgeswere not such a burden to the people as the kings proved afterwards(1Sa 8:11-20). In theirtime the people more readily repented than under the kings (compare2Ch 15:17), [ROOS].Judges were from time to time raised up as saviours ordeliverers of Israel from the enemy. These, and the similardeliverers in the long subsequent age of Antiochus, the Maccabees,who conquered the Idumeans (as here foretold, compare 2Maccabees 10:15,23), were types of the peaceful period yet tocome to Israel.
to judge . . . Esautopunish (so “judge,” 1Sa3:13) . . . Edom (compare Oba 1:1-9;Oba 1:15-19). Edom is thetype of Israel’s and God’s last foes (Isa63:1-4).
kingdom shall be theLord’sunder Messiah (Dan 2:44;Dan 7:14; Dan 7:27;Zec 14:9; Luk 1:33;Rev 11:15; Rev 19:6).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And saviours shall come upon Mount Zion,…. Which according to some, is to be understood literally, either of Zerubbabel and Joshua, after the return of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity, who were the restorers of, their civil and church state; or rather of Judas Maccabeus and his brethren, who saved the people of the Jews from Antiochus and his generals, called “saviours”, as the judges of old were, Ne 9:27; but it is best to interpret these saviours of the apostles of Christ, and ministers of the word; and especially of the preachers of the Gospel in the latter days; called “saviours”, because they publish salvation, preach the Gospel of it, show unto men the way of salvation; and so they, and the word preached by them, are the means and instruments of the salvation of men; otherwise Christ is the only Saviour of God’s appointing and sending; and who came to effect salvation, and is become the author of it, nor is it in any others; see 1Ti 4:16; these in great numbers, in the latter day, wilt appear on Mount Zion, or in the church of Christ, and, shall openly and publicly, as on a mountain, declare the everlasting Gospel; these will be with Christ the Lamb, among the 144,000 upon Mount Zion, Re 14:1. Kimchi and Ben Melech say, these are the King Messiah and his companions, the seven shepherds and eight principal men, Mic 5:5. Aben Ezra says the words refer to time to come; according to Baalhatturim on Ge 32:4; they will be fulfilled about the end of the sixth Millennium, when they expect the Messiah; and they are applied to times of the Messiah both by ancient and more modern Jews. In their ancient book of Zohar q it is said,
“when the Messiah shall arise, Jacob shall take his portion above and below; and Esau shall be utterly destroyed, and shall have no portion and inheritance in the world, according to Ob 1:18; but Jacob shall inherit two worlds, this world and the world to come; and of that time is it written, “and saviours shall come upon Mount Zion”, c.”
So, in the Jerusalem Talmud r,
“says R. Hona, we do not find that Jacob our father went to Seir (see Ge 33:14) R. Joden, the son of Rabbi, says, in future times (the world to come, the days of the Messiah), is it not said, “and saviours shall come upon Mount Zion, to judge the mount of Esau?””
And to much the same purpose it is said in one of their ancient Midrasses s or expositions,
“we have turned over all the Scripture, and we do not find that Jacob stood with Esau on Seir; he (God) said, until now it is with me to make judges and saviours stand, to take vengeance on that man, as it is said, “and saviours shall come up”, c.”
And the Cabalistic writers t thus paraphrase the words,
“”and saviours shall come up” who are the Lord of hosts, and the God of hosts: “on Mount Zion”; which is, the mystery of the living God: “to judge the mount of Esau”; which is Mount Seir.”
So Maimonides u, quoting the passage in Nu 24:18, “Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies”, adds, by way of explanation, this is the King Messiah, of whom it is said, “and saviours shall come upon Mount Zion”. The work and business of these saviours will be,
to judge the mount of Esau; to take vengeance on the Edomites, for their ill usage of the children of Judah, as the Jewish commentators generally interpret it: or rather, as Gospel ministers are these saviours, it expresses their business; which as it is to declare that whoever believes in Christ shall be saved, so that whoever does not shall be damned; and to convince impenitent and believing sinners of their sin and danger, and their need of Christ, judging and condemning, those that remain so: and moreover, as Esau and Edom signify antichrist, the sense is, that they shall publish proclaim the judgment of God upon antichrist, declare it to be near, yea, to be done; and shall express their approbation of the justice: of God in it, and shall call upon the saints to rejoice at it, Re 14:6; yea, these saviours may include the Christian princes, that shall pour out the vials of God’s wrath upon the antichristian states;
and the kingdom shall be the Lord’s: the Lord Christ’s, who is the one Jehovah with the Father and Spirit; meaning not the government of the world, to which he has a natural right as Creator, and which is generally ascribed to Jehovah the Father; nor the government of the church in this present state, which is Christ’s already, and ever was: but the government of it in the latter day, when he will take to himself his great power, and reign; when his kingdom will be more visible, spiritual, glorious; and extensive; when the kingdoms of this world will become his, the Pagan, Papal, and Mahometan kingdoms, even all the kingdoms and nations of the earth; he will be King over all the earth; there will be but one Lord and King, and whose kingdom is an everlasting one; it shall never come into other hands; this will continue till the personal reign takes place, and that will issue in the ultimate glory; see Re 11:15.
q In Gen. fol. 85. 1. r T. Hieros. Avoda Zara, fol. 40. 3. s Debarim Rabba, fol. 234. 4. t Kabala Denudata, par. 1. p. 283. u Hilchot Melachim, c. 11. sect. 1.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Here the Prophet says, that there are in God’s hand ministers, the labor of whom he employs to preserve his own people. He alludes here, I have no doubt, to the history of the judges. We indeed know that the people of Israel were often so distressed, that their deliverance was almost incredible; and that yet they were also delivered in such a way as to have made it evident that the hand of God had appeared from heaven. Since this then was well known to the Jews, the Prophet here reminds them that God had still in his hand redeemers, whenever it might please him to gather his people. God then shall send preservers, even as he did send them formerly to your fathers. They had indeed found true by experience what the Prophet says here, not only once, but more than ten times. This then ought to have served much to confirm this prophecy.
Ascend then shall they who will judge the mount of Esau, — who, being endued with the power of God and his authority, will execute judgment on mount Seir and on the whole nation, and will avenge the cruelty which Edom had exercised towards the children of Abraham.
But this passage shows, that Christ came not to be the minister of our deliverance and salvation in an ordinary way, but that he became our savior in a special manner; so that he stands alone in that capacity: and this is a very strong argument against the Jews. They confess that the Messiah would be the Redeemer of his people, but they ascribe this office to him in a general way, as they do to David and other kings. But it certainly appears from this passage, that the Messiah would not be of the common class, for saviors would be under him as his ministers. This the Jews dare not to deny, though they grumble: for it would be absurd that he should be one of their number. Since then he was sent to be a Redeemer and Savior in a way different from others, it follows that he is not man only, but that he is the Author of salvation. It would indeed be easy to reply, “Why do you speak to us of many redeemers? Do you not hope for one Savior? If God will commit this office to many in an equal degree, why are there so many glorious promises respecting the Messiah? Why are we ever reminded of him alone? Why is he alone set forth to us as the ground of our salvation?” It hence certainly appears that Christ is to be distinguished from all others, and that others are saviors under his authority; and such were the apostles, and such are all at this day, the labor and ministry of whom God employs to defend and support his Church.
Now he adds, Jehovah’s shall be the kingdom. But as it is certain, that it was God’s purpose to rule among his people after having restored them, in no other way than by the power of Christ, the Prophet, by saying that the kingdom of Christ would be Jehovah’s, means, that it would be really divine, and more illustrious than if he had employed the labor of men. But two things must be here observed by us, — that God himself really rules in the person of Christ, — and that it is the legitimate mode of ruling the Church, that God alone should preside, and hold alone the chief power. Hence it follows, that when God does not appear as the only King, all things are in confusion, without any order. Now God is not called a King by way of an empty distinction: but then only is he regarded a King in reality, when all submit themselves to him, when they are ruled by his word; in short, when all creatures become silent in his presence. To God then belongs the kingdom. We hence see that the Church has no existence, where the word of God does not so prevail in its authority, as to keep down whatever height there is in men, and to bring them under the yoke, so that all may depend on God alone, that all may look up to him, and that he may have all in subjection to himself.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
21. With the enemies destroyed and the exiles restored, a life of permanent peace and prosperity will begin under the rule of earthly representatives of the Divine King.
Saviours The same name is given to the champions raised up by Jehovah during the period preceding the establishment of the monarchy (Jdg 2:16; Jdg 3:9; Jdg 3:15, etc.). Nothing is said of the character and nature of these Messianic saviours; their types are the “saviours” of the Book of Judges, and in its general aspects their work may have been expected to resemble that of the latter.
Judge Rule (see on Amo 2:3). The saviours will rule on Mount Zion, the center of the kingdom of God during the Messianic age (Oba 1:17; Isa 2:2-4), but their sway will extend beyond the borders of Judah. The territory of Edom, which will be in the possession of the restored exiles (Oba 1:19), will be a part of the dominion of these “saviours”; but it should be noted that they will not rule over the Edomites, for they are annihilated (Oba 1:18).
To this climax the prophet has been moving steadily from the beginning; the arrogance and unrighteous schemes of the Edomites (Oba 1:1) will result in their own annihilation, and in the annexation of their territory by the despised Jews. The “saviours” in this verse correspond to the “Messianic king” of other prophetic utterances.
The kingdom shall be Jehovah’s Over these “saviours” Jehovah will be the supreme ruler; the expression of his purpose will be supreme law, obedience and loyalty to him will be the chief ambition. With reference to the Messianic significance of Oba 1:21 and the fulfillment of the Messianic expectations see the remarks on Mic 4:5, and at the close of chapter 5.
REFLECTIONS
Reader! we have a very solemn subject in this short but striking prophecy. When we consider the nearness of natural alliance between Jacob and Esau, and behold the bitterness of Edom to his brother, and that from generation to generation; when we look at the source, and trace it to its end; when we call to mind that this is the enmity of nature to grace, the son of the bond-woman to the free; when we contemplate what scripture declares, that there never can, nor ever will be an union between them, in time or to all eternity; bow truly solemn, and how tremendously’ awful doth the whole appear!
Reader! let us seek relief from a subject so abundantly distressing, to the sweet assurances given to Israel, that upon mount Zion there shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness. Blessed Lord Jesus! thou art indeed the holiness, and thou art the salvation of thy people. We thank thee, O Lord, for this sweet morsel of scripture prophecy; pointing, as all prophecy doth, to thee, to whom give all the Prophets witness. And oh! Lord, let it be blessed to all thy Church, that all of thine who read it, may through thy Spirit’s teaching, be enabled to set to their seal that GOD is true. Farewell, Obadiah, faithful hast thou been in thy testimony. Short as it is, it is sweet. May God the HOLY GHOST be adored for thy ministry, and the ministry of all his servants who have written to us the word of GOD. Give us grace, O Lord, to follow their faith, considering the end of their conversation, JESUS CHRIST, the same yesterday, and today, and forever. .Amen.
Oba 1:21 And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’S.
Ver. 21. And saviours shall come up on mount Zion ] Judas Maccabeus and Hircanus in the history: as in the mystery, the apostles and others of Christ’s ministers, who are here and elsewhere called saviours, a very high style, because God maketh use of their ministry, as he doth likewise of the angels, for the good of them that are heirs of salvation, Heb 1:14 , and by their help the faithful are saved. Hence those expressions, 1Ti 4:16 , “thou shalt save thyself and those that hear thee”; Jas 5:20 , he “shall save a soul from death”; Job 33:24 , “Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have received a ransom.” See also Mic 5:6 Jdg 1:23 1Co 3:6-7 ; 1Co 3:9 ; 1Co 4:1 ; 1Co 9:22 . Let ministers hence learn their dignity and their duty. Christ hath communicated to them many of his own most honourable titles, as Light of the world, Doctor, Pastor, Saviour, Redeemer, &c. True it is, he alone is the principal Saviour, and therefore it followeth in the closure of this shortest, but most difficult prophet ( Brevissimus sed difficilimus Propheta. Mercer), “the kingdom shall be the Lord’s,” he, to speak properly, is the sole both Sovereign and Saviour of his body, the Church. Sed servatores dicuntur, saith Mercer, but they are called saviours, because they preach the word of this salvation, and are instrumental to Christ in that great work; like as the apothecary is to the skilful physician, in curing his patient of a deadly disease.
To judge the mount of Esau The kingdom shall be the Lord’s] Not only the kingdom of power over all creatures, 1Ch 29:11 , and of grace in the hearts of his people here (called often the kingdom of heaven in the gospel), but also of righteousness, and of glory hereafter, to be chiefly exercised at that great and dreadful day.
“Now to this King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.” 1Ti 1:17
saviours = deliverers: i.e. earthly and human, as in Jdg 3:9, Jdg 3:15. Compare Mic 5:4, Mic 5:5. See the Structure, above.
the kingdom shall be the LORD’S. Compare Psa 22:28. Dan 2:44; Dan 7:14, Dan 7:27. Zec 14:9. Rev 11:15; Rev 19:6.
kingdom
See Kingdom, (See Scofield “Zec 12:8”) See Scofield “1Co 15:24”
saviours: Jdg 2:16, Jdg 3:9, 2Ki 13:5, Isa 19:20, Dan 12:3, Joe 2:32, Mic 5:4-9, Zec 9:11-17, Zec 10:5-12, 1Ti 4:16, Jam 5:20
to judge: Psa 149:5-9, Dan 7:27, Luk 22:30, 1Co 6:2, 1Co 6:3, Rev 19:11-13, Rev 20:4
and the: Psa 2:6-9, Psa 22:28, Psa 102:15, Isa 9:6, Isa 9:7, Dan 2:35, Dan 2:44, Dan 7:14, Dan 7:27, Zec 14:9, Mat 6:10, Mat 6:13, Luk 1:32, Luk 1:33, Rev 11:15, Rev 19:6
Reciprocal: Neh 9:27 – saviours Psa 97:1 – Lord Psa 125:1 – be as mount Jer 23:6 – Judah Oba 1:9 – mount Mic 4:8 – the first Zec 1:20 – four Zec 9:13 – and raised Mat 11:3 – Art Act 26:6 – the promise
Oba 1:21. It is not a rare thing for the prophets to pass from a prediction of favor to come to fleshly Israel, and prophesy some good fortune to come upon spiritual Israel. (See Isa 1:29 with 2:1-4; 4: 2, 4; 40; 1-4; Eze 21:24-27.) This is very understand-able, for even the New Testament system of religion was introduced into the world through the Jewish nation, and they were the first to accept the Gospel. So this verse is a prediction of the kingdom that was to be the Lord’s and “stand for ever.”
1:21 And {q} saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’S.
(q) Meaning that God will raise up in his Church those who will rule and govern for the defence of it, and for the destruction of his enemies under the Messiah, whom the Prophet here calls the Lord and head of this kingdom.
In summary, those who would deliver the Jews to their divinely intended destiny would ascend Mt. Zion and would judge Mt. Seir (cf. Jdg 3:9; Jdg 3:15). Edom would not prevail over Israel, but Yahweh would prove to be sovereign (cf. Jdg 3:1). His kingdom would extend over the whole Promised Land, even the part that Israel’s enemies formerly occupied and the people who formerly opposed them. The conquest of the land that Joshua began but did not finish will be complete then. Thus Obadiah’s prophecy, this tale of two mountains, ends on a climax with Yahweh’s kingdom dominating all the nations and with Yahweh as King of Kings and Lord of Lords (cf. Rev 19:16; Rev 20:4). The verse is clearly messianic.
"None of the prophets has a more exalted close than this. . . . No man-ruled empire nor any nation of this world will endure forever. All will one day be merged into that eternal kingdom over which the Lord Jesus Christ will reign in solitary glory." [Note: Gaebelein, pp. 46-47.]
Amillennial interpreters understand New Testament references to Israel as references to the church. They see the fulfillment of Obadiah’s prophecy not in the restoration of Old Testament Israel to future sovereignty in the Promised Land but in the final victory of the church over all her enemies. [Note: E.g., Stuart, p. 422; Keil, 1:378; and Allen, p. 172.] Premillennialists reject this "replacement theology" (the church replaces Israel in God’s program) because we believe when God said "Israel" He meant Israel. It is incorrect, we believe, to conclude that because Christians are the spiritual seed of Abraham the church is the spiritual seed of Israel.
As the nation of Edom opposed the Israelites, so the Edomites of Jesus’ day (Herod the Great and his successors) opposed Jesus Christ and His followers. Our Lord Jesus Christ, who proved to be the fulfillment of all that the nation of Israel was to be, became the personal focus of Herod’s hostility, who tried to kill Jesus in His infancy. Yet Herod was unsuccessful. Likewise all the enemies of Israel, and of Israel’s Messiah, will be unsuccessful in doing away with the Savior and will experience destruction themselves for trying to do so.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)