1 16<\/strong>. The Destruction of Edom. 1 9<\/strong>. The Punishment of Edom foretold<\/p>\n 1<\/strong>. The vision of Obadiah<\/em>.] This is the short Title of this short Book. It tells us the name of the Author, which is all that we know of him, and the nature of his work.<\/p>\n The vision<\/em> ] This word, like its cognate verb, when it is used with reference to prophetic revelation (e.g. Hab 1:1<\/span>; Isa 1:1<\/span>; Isa 2:1<\/span>; Nah 1:1<\/span>, comp. “seer,” 1Ch 21:9<\/span> and the explanation given in 1Sa 9:9<\/span>, where however the Heb. word for “seer” is not the same) properly signifies that which appears as it were before the eyes of the prophet, the picture which is represented to his mind in prophetic ecstasy. In that strict sense, part at least of what here follows was the vision of Obadiah. He sees the Edomites in the rocky fastnesses of Petra, like the eagles on their crags ( Oba 1:3-4<\/em><\/span>). He beholds them taking part against the Israelites in the day of their calamity, and as a spectator of their actions cries out to them repeatedly, “Do it not” ( Oba 1:11-14<\/em><\/span>). But the word comes to be used in a wider sense, and is often, as here, the title of a whole Book, in which, together with visions proper, historical and other matter is contained (comp. Isa 1:1<\/span> with 2Ch 32:32<\/span>).<\/p>\n Obadiah<\/em> ] i.e. servant, or worshipper of Jehovah.<\/p>\n Thus saith the Lord God concerning Edom<\/em> ] This is not a second title of the Book. It does not stand as an independent sentence, but is closely connected with what follows. The word “her” at the end of the verse and the direct addresses without mention of name, Oba 1:2-5<\/em><\/span>, refer to and require the word “Edom” in this clause. It is rather the opening announcement of the prophet, that all that he is about to utter is not his own word, but Jehovah’s. The remainder of the verse follows logically, rather than formally, upon this announcement. In Oba 1:2<\/span>, Jehovah is introduced as the speaker.<\/p>\n We have heard<\/em> ] This has been taken to mean, “I, and other prophets of my own or earlier times,” or “I, and my countrymen,” implying, in this latter case, “that the tidings were of the greatest interest to Israel, and would afford it consolation.” (Delitzsch.) But the absence of the personal pronoun in the Hebrew, and the use of the singular number, “I have heard,” by Jeremiah in the parallel passage (Jer 49:14<\/span>) seem rather to shew that “We” has here no special emphasis. To the prophet as a Jew the world was divided into two parts, his own countrymen and the heathen. “A rumour,” he says, “has reached us: a herald is sent to them.”<\/p>\n rumour<\/em> ] lit. hearing<\/strong>. The same Hebrew word is rendered “report” Isa 53:1<\/span>, and elsewhere. (Comp. , Mat 24:6<\/span>.) It means here tidings (R.V.), or message. There is no idea of uncertainty as in the English word rumour.<\/p>\n ambassador<\/em> ] or a messenger<\/strong> (comp. Pro 13:17<\/span>; Pro 25:13<\/span>). The meaning of the word seems to be, to go on circuit; or as we should say to go round, from nation to nation. Jeremiah describes Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, as fighting against Jerusalem and against all the cities thereof with “all his army and all the kingdoms of the earth of his dominion, and all the people” (Jer 34:1<\/span>). His army would doubtless be of the same composite character when he subsequently turned his hand against Edom.<\/p>\n Arise ye, and let us rise up<\/em> ] This may either be taken as being throughout the address of the messenger or herald to the nations whom he visits, inciting them to arise, and associating himself with them in the invitation which he gives; or it may be the call of the herald and the response of the nations, heard as it were and recorded by the prophet “Arise,” says he; “Let us arise,” say they. Or yet again, the words may be throughout those of the heathen exhorting one another to obey the summons of the herald, whose address to them is not recorded but left to be gathered by the reader from the effect which it produces. This last is most forcible and most in accordance with the graphic style of Obadiah. He hears the call to arms passing to and fro, brief and eager, “Arise ye,” “Let us arise,” as Jehovah’s herald pursues his onward course. The parallel passage in Jeremiah, however, if it is to be regarded as a version of them in prose, favours the first of these interpretations of the words.<\/p>\n The vision of Obadiah – <\/B>, i. e., of the worshiper of God. The prophet would be known only by that which his name imports, that he worshiped God. He tells us in this double title, through whom the prophecy came, and from whom it came. His name authenticated the prophecy to the Jewish Church. Thenceforth, he chose to remain wholly hidden. He entitles it a vision, as the prophets were called seers 1Sa 9:9<\/span>, although he relates, not the vision which he saw, but its substance and meaning. Probably the future was unfolded to him in the form of sights spread out before his mind, of which he spoke in words given to him by God. His language consists of a succession of pictures, which he may have seen, and, in his picture language, described . As prophecy is called the word, because God spoke to the prophets within, so it is called vision, because the prophet saw, with the eyes of the mind and by the light wherewith they are illumined, what God willeth to be known to them. The name expresses also the certainty of their knowledge . Among the organs of our senses, sight has the most evident knowledge of those things which are the object of our senses. Hence, the contemplation of the things which are true is called vision, on account of the evidence and assured certainty. On that ground the prophet was called seer.<\/P> Thus saith the Lord God concerning Edom – <\/B>This second title states, that the whole which follows is from God. What immediately follows is said in Obadiahs own person; but all, whether so spoken or directly in the Person of God, was alike the word of God. God spake in or by the prophets, in both ways, since 2Pe 1:21<\/span> prophecy came not by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. Obadiah, in that he uses, in regard to his whole prophecy, words which other prophets use in delivering a direct message from God, ascribes the whole of his prophecy to God, as immediately as other prophets did any words which God commanded them to speak. The words are a rule for all prophecy, that all comes directly from God.<\/P> We have heard a rumor – <\/B>, rather, a report; literally a hearing, a thing heard, as Isaiah says Isa 53:1<\/span>, Who hath believed our report? A report is certain or uncertain, according to the authority from whom it comes. This report was certainly true, since it was from the Lord. By the plural, we, Obadiah may have associated with himself, either other prophets of his own day as Joel and Amos, who, with those yet earlier, as Balaam and David, had prophesied against Edom, or the people, for whose sakes God made it known to him. In either case, the prophet does not stand alone for himself. He hears with the goodly company of the prophets; and the people of God hear in him, as Isaiah says again Isa 21:10<\/span>, that which I have heard from the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have I declared unto you.<\/P> And an ambassador is sent among the pagan – <\/B>The ambassador is any agent, visible or invisible, sent by God. Human powers, who wish to stir up war, send human messengers. All things stand at Gods command, and whatever or whomsoever He employs, is a messenger from Him. He uses our language to us. He may have employed an angel, as He says Psa 78:49<\/span>, He sent evil angels among them, and as, through the permission given to a lying spirit 1Ki 22:21-23<\/span>. He executed His judgments upon Ahab, of his own free will believing the evil spirit, and disbelieving Himself. So Jdg 9:23<\/span> God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem, allowing His rebellious spirit to bring about the punishment of evil men, by inflaming yet more the evil passions, of which they were slaves. Evil spirits, in their malice and rebellion, while stirring up the lust of conquest, are still Gods messengers, in that He overrules them; as, to Paul 2Co 12:7<\/span>, the thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet him, was still the gift of God. It was given me, he says.<\/P> Arise ye and let us rise – <\/B>He who rouseth them, says, Arise ye, and they quickly echo the words, and let us arise. The will of God is fulfilled at once. While eager to accomplish their own ends, they fulfill, the more, the purpose of God. Whether, the first agent is mans own passions, or the evil spirit who stirs them, the impulse spreads from the one or the few to the many. But all catch the spark, cast in among them. The summons finds a ready response. Arise, is the commend of God, however given; let us arise, is the eager response of mans avarice or pride or ambition, fulfilling impetuously the secret will of God; as a tiger, let loose upon man by man, fulfills the will of its owner, while sating its own thirst for blood. So Isaiah hears Isa 13:4<\/span> the noise of a multitude in the mountains, like as of a great people, a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together. The Medes and Persians thought at that time of nothing less, than that they were instruments of the One God, whom they knew not. But Isaiah continues; The Lord of hosts mustereth the host of the battle; and, when it was fulfilled, Cyrus saw and owned it Ezr 1:1-2<\/span>.<\/P><\/p>\n Oba 1:1<\/span><\/p>\n The vision of Obadiah.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n The Divine purpose in relation to humanity<\/strong><\/p>\n A <\/em>voice thundering at midnight is the voice of Obadiah. It was the voice of a stranger. His age, his country, his parents, his cradle, his grave, are all unknown. Yet his was a prophets voice,–deep as the boom of thunder, and penetrating as the lightning it fell upon the fortressed host of Idumea, and destruction was in every shivering note. He had been standing on some high pinnacle, on which he hoard a rumour from the Lord, and with the fidelity of incorruptible righteousness he breathed that fiery rumour across the doomed nation,–the sword was bared against Edom, and whoso sought to turn it aside was cleft by the gleaming blade. The prophecy is short but terrible in its fulness. It is a single shout, but the cry rends the rocks of Edom. The Edomites were famed for sagacity, prudence, and general mental skill, but God here comes forth (Oba 1:8<\/span>) as the monarch of mind, and says He will destroy their wisdom and understanding. The high priests of wisdom come together to take counsel against the Lord, and the Lord blows upon their brain, and their counsels are confounded; the Lord touches their tongue and they babble the jargon of insanity. Looking at this vision as affording a glimpse of Divine purpose in relation to humanity, we may take our stand on two distinct facts.<\/p>\n 1. <\/strong>Divine superintendence of human history. He is a shallow historian who records only the undulations of the social, political, and ecclesiastical surface. As a student of the universe, I wish to know not only the stupendous, palpable existences–the sun, moon, stars, seas, mountains,–but I wish to know their birth-forces. He who takes me to the earliest germ of national life is to me the true historian; but <\/strong>he who finds that earliest germ in anything short of Divine volition is unfit to guide me through the black ravines, or the temple corridors, or the mountain grandeurs of the worlds entrancing story. In all Bible history we find God upon the circle.<\/p>\n 2. <\/strong>Divine sanctification of human history. This vision of Obadiah is summed up in words which might well form the concluding sentence of the history of the whole world. These words are: And the kingdom shall be the Lords. As we look at this as the ultimate object of Divine government we see that a great sanctifying process is in reality continually operating in human history. God is working in the midst of her moral gloom, and He will work until the last shadow has for ever departed. We see but a scattered and struggling light; we hear but a voice here and there; we wonder how the heavens can become flooded with splendour, and how the air can be filled with one glad and undying song; and we should despair could we not lay our trembling hand upon the recorded oath of Omnipotence, and see in the van the dyed garments, and hear at midnight the war-shout of Immanuel. This leads us to the inspiring truth, that all our hopes are founded in Jesus, and all our energies sustained by the mighty power of the Holy Spirit. (Joseph Parker, D. D.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The tragedy of Edom<\/strong><\/p>\n In <\/em>later times Edom came to he the supreme antipathy and the typical enemy of Jewry. So when the actual Edomites ceased to be, the name was transferred, first to tyrant Rome, and then to persecuting Christendom, and the impassioned words of Obadiah became a favourite vehicle for the expression of the national and religious hatred. That is a misunderstanding and a misuse of the book. The prophecy is, indeed, instigated by indignation against Edom, and the retributive destruction of that people is its theme. But the subject is worked out in a large fashion that precludes the suspicion of petty vengefulness, and justifies the books place in the record of revelation. The motive is not the gratification of national spite, nor is the aim to either warn or edify the Edomites. The seer speaks out of the need of his own heart, and to the hearts of the people. What creates his vision and compels his utterance is an indestructible sense of the eternal justice and fidelity, and of the Divine destiny of Israel in building up the kingdom of God on earth. The tragedy of Edom is but a part in the great drama. It is therefore presented on a vast stage, and has the worlds history for its background. Very real and concrete to the prophet, no doubt, are the antagonisms of Israel, and his enemies, but none the less really and consciously, even if in a fashion grand beyond his conceptions, it is the collision of universal forces and everlasting principles that is embodied in them. Limited and material the presentment of those issues may be, but they carry in their bosom the consummation of the ages. Within the rivalry of Edom and Israel there was wrapped the eternal anithesis of truth and falsehood, good and evil; and the vision of an earthly kingdom on Mount Zion is finding its fulfilment in the silent, slow, but sure advent of the kingdom of God and of our Christ. (W. S. Elmslie, D. D.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n God and bad men<\/strong><\/p>\n 1. <\/strong>The forms of the revelation.<\/p>\n (1)<\/strong> As a vision. The vision of Obadiah. The prophet was a seer. The Eternal revealed Himself to the eyes of his soul. He who would be a true minister of God must see the thing before he speaks it–That which we have seen and handled, man has a faculty for seeing the invisible.<\/p>\n (2)<\/strong> As a report. We have heard a rumour from the Lord. He heard as well as saw. The soul has ears to catch the echoes of eternal thought.<\/p>\n 2. <\/strong>The character of this revelation, a message. An ambassador is sent among the heathen. God sends His messages to the nations in many ways and by many agents.<\/p>\n 3. <\/strong>The subject of the revelation. Arise ye, and let us rise up against her in battle. The object of the message was to stir up the Assyrians and afterwards the Chaldeans against Edom. But our proposition is, that God makes a revelation concerning bad men; and the subject of that revelation embraces at least two things.<\/p>\n (1)<\/strong> That their sins will ruin them. The wages of sin is death.<\/p>\n (2)<\/strong> That evangelical repentance will save them. Let the wicked forsake his way, etc.<\/p>\n 1. <\/strong>He reveals in the most powerful way to the victim the enormity of his sin.<\/p>\n 2. <\/strong>He reveals His own absolute power over the workings of the human heart. Thus He maketh the wrath of men to praise Him, etc. (Homilist.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Call to the battle against Edom<\/strong><\/p>\n The stream of prophecy may be compared to the stream of a river. At its fountain it is inconsiderable, and reveals none of its future greatness. There is nothing in Scripture more clearly revealed than the ultimate triumph of the religion we profess.<\/p>\n 1. <\/strong>What persons were originally represented by Edom, and the cause of the Lords enmity against this people. The Edomites were the descendants of Esau, who sold his birthright for a momentary gratification. The Edomites seem to have assisted the Chaldeans in their work of devastating Jerusalem, and to have instigated their utmost fury against Israel, the chosen of God.<\/p>\n 2. <\/strong>What is to be understood by the heathen–showing that we are called upon to rise up against Edom, and that we have nationally responded to that call.<\/p>\n 3. <\/strong>To adduce some reasons that we should continue to propagate the Gospel, notwithstanding the objections which are urged against that duty.<\/p>\n 4. <\/strong>Make the inquiry of each individual-To which of the two parties will you join yourself? Shall it be Edom or Israel? Shall it be Baal or Christ? <\/em>(G. G. Tomlinson.<\/em>)<\/p>\n THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET OBADIAH<\/B><\/P> <\/P> Chronological Notes relative to this book, upon the supposition<\/I> that it was written about<\/I> five hundred and eighty-seven years<\/I> before the commencement of the Christian era<\/I><\/P> <\/P> -Year from the Creation, according to Archbishop Usher, 3417.<\/P> -Year of the Jewish era of the world, 3174.<\/P> -Year since the Flood, 1761.<\/P> -Year from the vocation of Abram, 1335.<\/P> -Year from the foundation of Solomon’s temple, 425.<\/P> -Year since the division of Solomon’s monarchy into the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, 389.<\/P> -Year of the era of Iphitus, 298.<\/P> -Second year of the forty-eighth<\/I> Olympiad.<\/P> -Year from the building of Rome, according to the Varronian or generally received computation, 167.<\/P> -Year from the building of Rome, according to the Fasti Consulares, 166.<\/P> -Year from the building of Rome, according to Polybius the historian, 165.<\/P> -Year from the building of Rome, according to Fabius Pictor, 161.<\/P> -Year since the overthrow of the kingdom of Israel by Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, 135.<\/P> -Year since the destruction of the kingdom of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, 2.<\/P> -Year of the Julian Period, 4127.<\/P> -Year of the era of Nabonassar, 161.<\/P> -Year before the birth of Christ, 583.<\/P> -Year before the vulgar era of Christ’s nativity, 587.<\/P> -Cycle of the Sun, 11.<\/P> -Cycle of the Moon, 4.<\/P> -Thirtieth year of Tarquinius Priscus, the fifth king of the Romans.<\/P> -Thirty-ninth year of Cyaraxes or Cyaxares, the fourth king of Media.<\/P> -Nineteenth year of Agasicles, king of Lacedaemon of the family of the Proclidae.<\/P> -Twenty-first year of Leon, king of Lacedaemon, of the family of the Eurysthenidae.<\/P> -Thirty-third year of Alyattes II., king of Lydia.<\/P> -Sixteenth year of AEropas, the seventh king of Macedon.<\/P> -Eighth year of Apries, king of Egypt; the same with the celebrated Pharaoh-hophrah.<\/P> -Ninth year of Baal, king of the Tyrians.<\/P> -Twentieth year of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon.<\/P> <\/P> OBADIAH<\/B><\/P> <\/P> God is here represented as summoning the nations against Edom,<\/I><\/P> and declaring that his strongholds should not save him<\/I>, 14;<\/P> that not a remnant, not a gleaning, should be left of him<\/I>, 5;<\/P> that the enemy would search out his people, and totally subdue<\/I><\/P> them; and that none of their allies should stand by them<\/I>, 6-9.<\/P> He then enlarges on their particular offense, and threatens<\/I><\/P> them with a speedy recompense<\/I>, 10-16.<\/P> The Babylonians accordingly subdued the Edomites, and expelled<\/I><\/P> them from Arabia Petraea, of which they never afterwards<\/I><\/P> recovered possession. The remaining verses contain a prophecy<\/I><\/P> of the restoration of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity,<\/I><\/P> and of their victory over all their enemies<\/I>, 17-21.<\/P> Some commentators think that these last verses were fulfilled<\/I><\/P> by the conquests of the Maccabees over the Edomites.<\/I><\/P> See 1Macc 5:3-5, 65<\/I>, c.<\/P> Who<\/I> was this prophet? where<\/I> born? of what country<\/I>? at what<\/I> time<\/I> did he prophesy? who<\/I> were his parents<\/I>? when<\/I> and where<\/I> did he die<\/I>? are questions which have been asked from the remotest antiquity and which, to this day, have received no answer worthy of recording. There is a multitude of opinions concerning these points; and their multitude<\/I> and discrepancy<\/I> are the strongest proofs of their uncertainty<\/I>. All that seems probable is, that, as he prophesied concerning the destruction of Edom<\/I>, he flourished a little before, or a little after, the taking of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, which happened about five hundred and eighty-eight<\/I> years before Christ; and the destruction of Idumea by the same monarch, which took place a short time after; probably between 588 B.C. and 575 B.C., in the interval of the thirteen<\/I> years which Nebuchadnezzar employed in the siege of Tyre, which he undertook immediately after the capture of Jerusalem.<\/P> <\/P> Obadiah foretells the subduction of the Idumeans by the Chaldeans, and finally by the Jews, whom they had used most cruelly when brought low by other enemies. These prophecies have been literally fulfilled for the Idumeans, as a nation, are totally extinct.<\/P> <\/P> Whoever will be at the trouble to collate this short prophecy with the forty-ninth<\/I> chapter of Jeremiah, will find a remarkable similarity<\/I>, not only in the sentiments<\/I> and words<\/I>, but also in whole verses<\/I>. In the above chapter Jeremiah predicts the destruction of the Idumeans. Whether he copied Obadiah<\/I>, or Obadiah<\/I> copied him, cannot be determined; but it would be very strange if two prophets, unacquainted with each other, should speak of the same event precisely in the same terms. See the parallel texts in the margin, and See Clarke on Jer 49:1<\/span>, &c.<\/P> <\/P> NOTES ON THE BOOK OF OBADIAH<\/P> <\/P> Verse 1<\/span>. We have heard a rumour<\/B><\/I>] See Jer 49:14<\/span>, where the same expressions are found. The prophet shows that the enemies of Idumea had confederated against it, and that Jehovah is now summoning them to march directly against it.<\/P> <\/p>\n The vision, <\/B>which the prophet received immediately from the Lord; so prophets are called seers<\/I>, 1Sa 9:9<\/span>; Amo 7:12<\/span>; and their prophecy is vision, Isa 1:1<\/span>; Joe 2:28<\/span>. <\/P> Of Obadiah:<\/B> who this was appears not on any certainty, or when he prophesied. That it was not Obadiah who hid and fed the prophets of the Lord in Ahab’s time is evident, for that the prophet doth threaten Edom for their cruelty against Jerusalem in the day it was taken and sacked, which was three hundred and thirty or forty years after Ahab’s time; he began to reign about A.M. 3025, and Jerusalem was sacked about 3363. His name speaks a servant or a worshipper of the Lord. <\/P> Thus saith the Lord God:<\/B> this includes his authority, the certainty of the things he speaks of concerning Edom, or against Edom; both people and country are so called from their progenitor or founder, Esau, called Edom, Gen 25:30<\/span>. This country is called Idumea, Isa 34:5<\/span>,6<\/span>; Eze 35:15<\/span>, which see; it was a part of Arabia Petrea. <\/P> We have heard; <\/B>other prophets, as I, have heard this news to tell to Edom, or to send to them, Isa 11:14<\/span>; Jer 27:3<\/span>; Joe 3:19<\/span>; Amo 1:12<\/span>. <\/P> A rumour; <\/B>not an uncertain and vain report, but it comes from God by his prophets. <\/P> An ambassador, <\/B>a herald, or muster-master, who should gather forces together for this expedition, is sent, by the Lord first, and next by Nebuchadnezzar, who executed on Edom what is here foretold. God stirred up the spirit of Nebuchadnezzar to make war on Edom, which was (as well as other nations) given up to Nebuchadnezzar, Jer 27:3<\/span>,6<\/span>. <\/P> Among the heathen, <\/B>or nations, both those that were confederate with or subject to Nebuchadnezzar, whom all nations served, Jer 27:6<\/span>,7<\/span>. <\/P> Arise ye:<\/B> this is a summons to them from Nebuchadnezzar, that they send in their proportions of soldiers. <\/P> Let us rise up against her in battle:<\/B> this seems the voice of soldiers willing to and desirous of the war. <\/P> <\/p>\n 1. Obadiah<\/B>that is, servant ofJehovah; same as Abdeel<\/I> and Arabic Abd-allah.<\/I> <\/P> We<\/B>I and my people. <\/P> heard<\/B> (Isa21:10<\/span>). <\/P> and an ambassador issent<\/B>Yea, an ambassador is already<\/I> sent, namely, anangel, to stir up the Assyrians (and afterwards the Chaldeans)against Edom. The result of the ambassador’s message on the heathenis, they simultaneously exclaim, “Arise ye, and let us (withunited strength) rise,” &c. Jer49:14<\/span> quotes this.<\/P><\/p>\n The vision of Obadiah<\/strong>,…. Or the prophecy, as the Targum; which was delivered unto him by the Lord in a vision; it was not what he fancied or dreamed of, but what he saw, what he had a clear discovery and revelation of made unto his mind; hence prophets are sometimes called “seers”. This was a single prophecy; though sometimes a book, consisting of various prophecies, is called a vision; as the prophecies of Isaiah are called the vision of Isaiah, Isa 1:1<\/span>;<\/p>\n thus saith the Lord God concerning Edom<\/strong>; by the mouth of this prophet, who was divinely inspired by him; for Obadiah said not what follows of himself but in the name of the Lord; and is a proof of the divine authority of this book; the subject matter of which is Edom or Idumea, as in the Septuagint version; a neighbouring country to the Jews, and very troublesome to them, being their implacable enemies, though their brethren; and were a type of the enemies of the Christian church, those false brethren, the antichristian states; and particularly the head of them, the Romish antichrist, whose picture is here drawn and whose destruction is prophesied of, under the name of Edom; for what has been literally fulfilled in Idumea will; be mystically accomplished in antichrist. The Jews generally understand, by Edom, Rome, and the Christians in general; which, if applied only to the antichristians, is not amiss;<\/p>\n we have heard a rumour from the Lord<\/strong>; or “a report” n; a message from him, brought by the Spirit of God, as a spirit of prophecy; that is, I Obadiah, and Jeremiah, and other prophets, as Isaiah and Amos, who have had orders to prophesy against Edom; see Jer 49:14<\/span>; so the angels, or Gospel ministers, will have a rumour or message concerning the fall of antichrist Re 14:6<\/span>;<\/p>\n and an ambassador is sent among the Heathen<\/strong>: either by the Lord, as Jeremiah the prophet, according to some; or an angel, as others; or an impulse upon the minds of the Chaldeans stirring them up to war against the Edomites: or else by Nebuchadnezzar to the nations in alliance with him, to join him in his expedition against them; or a herald sent by him to his own people, to summon them together to this war, and to encourage them in it:<\/p>\n arise ye, and let us rise up in battle against her<\/strong>; come up from all parts, join together, and invade the land of Idumea, and give battle to the inhabitants of it, and destroy them; so the kings of the earth will stir up one another to hate the whore of Rome, and make her desolate,<\/p>\n Re 17:16<\/span>.<\/p>\n n “auditum”, V. L. Pagninus, Montanus.<\/p>\n Edom’s Ruin, setting forth, in the first place, the purpose of God to make Edom small through the medium of hostile nations, and to hurl it down from the impregnable heights of its rocky castles (Oba 1:1-4<\/span>); and then depicting, in lively colours, how it will be plundered by enemies, forsaken and deceived by allies and friends, and perish in helplessness and impotence (Oba 1:5-9<\/span>). Oba 1:1<\/span> contains, in addition to the brief heading, the introduction to the prophecy, which gives in a brief form the substance of the first section: “Thus hath the Lord Jehovah spoken of Edom, A report have we heard from Jehovah, and a messenger is sent among the nations: Up, and let us arise against it in battle.” <\/em> The first clause, … , does not harmonize with what follows, inasmuch as we should expect it to be followed with a declaration made by Jehovah Himself, instead of which there follow simply tidings heard from Jehovah. The difficulty cannot be removed by assuming that these introductory words are spurious, or were added by a later prophet (Eichhorn, Ewald, and others); for the interpolator could not fail to observe the incongruity of these words just as well as Obadiah. Moreover, could not be omitted from the opening, because it is required not only by the suffix in (against her<\/em>), but also by the direct addresses in Oba 1:2<\/span>. Nor is the assumption that the prophet suddenly altered the construction any more satisfactory, or that the declaration of Jehovah announced in (“thus saith the Lord”) commences in Oba 1:2<\/span>, and that the words from to the end of the verse form an explanatory parenthesis to ot sisehtnera . For such an alteration of the construction at the very beginning of the address is hardly conceivable; and the parenthetical explanation of the last three clauses of Oba 1:1<\/span> is at variance with their contents, which do not form by any means a subordinate thought, but rather the main thought of the following address. No other course remains, therefore, than to take these introductory words by themselves, as Michaelis, Maurer, and Caspari have done, in which case does not announce the actual words of Jehovah in the stricter sense, but is simply meant to affirm that the prophet uttered what follows jussu Jehovae <\/em>, or divinitus monitus <\/em>, so that is really equivalent to diber in Isa 16:13<\/span>, as Theodoret has explained it. , not “to Edom,” but with reference to, or of, Edom. On the occurrence of Y e hovah <\/em> after ‘Adonai <\/em>, see the comm. on Gen 2:4<\/span>. What Obadiah saw as a word of the Lord was the tidings heard from the Lord, and the divine message sent to the nations to rise up for war against Edom. The plural ( we<\/em> have heard) is communicative. The prophet includes himself in the nation (Israel), which has heard the tidings in him and through him. This implies that the tidings were of the greatest interest to Israel, and would afford it consolation. Jeremiah (Jer 49:14<\/span>) has removed the pregnant character of the expression, by introducing the singular (I have heard). The next clause, “and an ambassador,” etc., might be taken, as it has been by Luther, as a statement of the import of the news, namely, that a messenger had been sent; inasmuch as in Hebrew a sentence is frequently co-ordinated with the preceding one by Vav cop.<\/em>, when it ought really to be subordinated to it so far as the sense is concerned, from a simple preference for the parallelism of the clauses. But the address gains in force, if we take the clause as a co-ordinate one, just as it reads, viz., as a declaration of the steps already taken by the Lord for carrying out the resolution which had been heard of by report. In this case the substance of the report is not given till the last clause of the verse; the summons of the ambassador sent among the nations, “to rise up for war against Edom,” indicating at the same time the substance of the report which Israel has heard. The perfect shullach <\/em> with qamets <\/em> in the pause, which is changed by Jeremiah into the less appropriate passive participle kal <\/em>, corresponds to , and expresses in prophetic form the certainty of the accomplishment of the purpose of God. The sending of the messenger ( tsr <\/em> as in Isa 18:2<\/span>) among the nations ( as in Jdg 6:35<\/span>) is an assurance that the nations will rise up at the instigation of Jehovah to war against Edom (compare Isa 13:17<\/span>; Jer 51:1<\/span>, Jer 51:11<\/span>). The plural naqumah <\/em> (let us rise up), in the words of the messenger, may be explained on the simple ground that the messenger speaks in the name of the sender. The sender is Jehovah, who will also rise up along with the nations for war against Edom, placing Himself at their head as leader and commander (compare Joe 2:11<\/span>; Isa 13:4-5<\/span>). , against Edom, construed as a land or kingdom, gener. faem.<\/em> The fact that it is the nations generally that are here summoned to make war upon Edom, and not only one nation in particular, points at once to the fact that Edom is regarded as a type of the power of the world, and its hostility to God, the destruction of which is here foretold.<\/p>\n The Doom of Edom.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/I><\/span><\/P> <\/TD> B. C.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN> 587.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/P> <\/TD> <\/TR> <\/TABLE> 1 The vision of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord GOD<\/B> concerning Edom; We have heard a rumour from the LORD<\/B>, and an ambassador is sent among the heathen, Arise ye, and let us rise up against her in battle. 2 Behold, I have made thee small among the heathen: thou art greatly despised. 3 The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is<\/I> high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground? 4 Though thou exalt thyself<\/I> as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the LORD<\/B>. 5 If thieves came to thee, if robbers by night, (how art thou cut off!) would they not have stolen till they had enough? if the grape-gatherers came to thee, would they not leave some<\/I> grapes? 6 How are the things<\/I> of Esau searched out! how<\/I> are his hidden things sought up! 7 All the men of thy confederacy have brought thee even<\/I> to the border: the men that were at peace with thee have deceived thee, and<\/I> prevailed against thee; they that eat<\/I> thy bread have laid a wound under thee: there is<\/I> none understanding in him. 8 Shall I not in that day, saith the LORD<\/B>, even destroy the wise men<\/I> out of Edom, and understanding out of the mount of Esau? 9 And thy mighty men,<\/I> O Teman, shall be dismayed, to the end that every one of the mount of Esau may be cut off by slaughter.<\/P> Edom is the nation against which this prophecy is levelled, and which, some think, is put for all the enemies of Israel, that shall be brought down first or last. The rabbin by Edom understand Rome. Rome Christians they understand it of, and have an implacable enmity to it a such; but, if we understand it of Rome antichristian, we shall find the passages of it applicable enough. And though Edom was mortified in the times of the Maccabees, as it had been before by Jehoshaphat, yet its destruction seems to have been typical, as their father Esau’s rejection, and to have had further reference to the destruction of the enemies of the gospel-church; for so shall all God’s enemies perish; and we find (Isa. xxxiv. 5<\/span>) the sword of the Lord<\/I> coming down upon Idumea,<\/I> to signify the general day of God’s recompences for the controversy of Zion, v.<\/I><\/span> 8<\/span>. Some have well observed that it could not but be a great temptation to the people of Israel, when they saw themselves, who were the children of beloved Jacob, in trouble, and the Edomites, not only prospering, but triumphing over them in their troubles; and therefore God gives them a prospect of the destruction of Edom, which should be total and final, and of a happy issue of their own correction. Now we may observe here,<\/P> I. A declaration of war against Edom, (v.<\/I><\/span> 1<\/span>): “We have heard a rumour,<\/I> or rather an order, from the Lord,<\/I> the God of hosts; he has given the word of command; it is his counsel and decree, which can neither be reversed nor resisted, that all who do mischief to his people shall certainly bring mischief upon themselves. We have heard a report that God is raised up out of his holy habitation, and is preparing his throne for judgment; and an ambassador is sent among the heathen,<\/I>” a herald<\/I> rather, some minister or messenger of Providence, to alarm the nations, or the Lord’s prophets, who gave each nation its burden. Those whom God employs cry to each other, Arise ye,<\/I> stir up yourselves and one another, and let us rise up against Edom in battle.<\/I> The confederate forces under Nebuchadnezzar thus animate themselves and one another to make a descent upon that country: Gather yourselves together, and come against her;<\/I> so it is in the parallel place, Jer. xlix. 14<\/span>. Note, When God has bloody work to do among the enemies of his church he will find out and fit up both hands and hearts to do it.<\/P> II. A prediction of the success of that war. Edom shall certainly be subdued, and spoiled, and brought down; for all her confidences shall fail her and stand her in no stead, and in like manner shall all the enemies of God’s church be disappointed in those things which they stayed themselves upon.<\/P> 1. Do they depend upon their grandeur, the figure they make among the nations, their influence upon them, and interest in them? That shall dwindle (v.<\/I><\/span> 2<\/span>): “Behold, I have made thee small among the heathen,<\/I> so that none of thy neighbours will court thy friendship, or court an alliance with thee; Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
I. <\/strong>That <\/em>God makes a revelation concerning bad men. Here is a revelation concerning Edom, the enemy of God and His people. Isaac had two sons by Rebecca, Esau and Jacob; Esau was called Edom, because he robbed his brother of his birthright (Gen 25:1-34<\/span>.).<\/p>\n
II. <\/strong>That God punishes bad men by bad men. He now sent a messenger amongst the nations,–what for? To stir up the Assyrians and Chaldeans–both bad people–to wreak vengeance on corrupt Edom. Why does He employ bad men for this awful work of retribution?<\/p>\nFuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
<\/P> Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible <\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n