An outline of the Book of Obadiah
Hebrew Name - Ovahd'Yah
"Servant of Yahweh"
Greek Name - Avdiou (Greek form of the Hebrew)
Author - Obadiah (According to Tradition)
Date - 587 BC Approximately
Theme - The Destruction of Edom
Types and Shadows - In Obadiah Jesus is the One whose kingdom it is.
The prophet Obadiah prophesied judgment upon the nation of Edom for taking pleasure in the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians, and they also attacked Judah during this invasion. Obadiah pleads that Edom should've helped Judah and should not have participated in their calamity. The Edomites were brothers of the Hebrews, they were descendents of Esau the brother of Jacob. They have always opposed their brothers, and even though their mountain stronghold in the gorges of the Petra region seemed impregnable, Obadiah predicted the Edomites doom. Edom was destroyed by the Babylonians in 582 BC, the same army that they helped in the siege of Jerusalem. Later during New Testament times Herod the Great was an Idumaen Edomite and after the destruction of Herod's Temple in 70 AD the Edomites disappeared from history.
The book of Obadiah contains only one chapter and is the shortest book of the
whole Old Testament. Obadiah's name means "servant of Yahweh", and he delivered
a message regarding the Edomites who had helped the Babylonians in their
conquest of Jerusalem in 586 BC during the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah. The
Edomites were the brothers of the Jews having descended from Esau the twin
brother of Jacob, but they were always opposing the Jews and therefore there was
always enmity between them. The Edomites lived in the mountainous rocky range in
the southern portion of the Dead Sea region, and they had built "impregnable
fortresses" in the canyons and gorges of these mountains. The ruins at the rock
city of Petra are truly magnificent to behold, and they attest to the greatness
of the once flourishing Edomites.
The prophecy of Obadiah reveals the sins of Edom and God's denunciation of
their actions against Jerusalem. In 582 BC, only four years after the
destruction of Jerusalem Edom was conquered by the Babylonians, the same army
that they helped in defeating Jerusalem. In New Testament times the Herodian
Dynasty was an Edomite family but after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD
the Edomites disappeared from history. The prophet Obadiah said that the
Edomites would be "cut off forever" and "be as though they had not been."
(Obadiah 1:10-18)
You should not have entered the gate of My people in the
day of their calamity. Indeed, you should not have gazed on their affliction in
the day of their calamity, nor laid hands on their substance in the day of their
calamity. You should not have stood at the crossroads to cut off those among
them who escaped; nor should you have delivered up those among them who remained
in the day of distress. "For the day of the LORD upon all the nations is near;
as you have done, it shall be done to you; your reprisal shall return upon your
own head. Obadiah 1:13-15
The last verses of the book of Obadiah reveals that Judah will be saved and
the kingdom shall be the Lord's.
1:1-1:8 Proud Edom Will Be Brought Low
1:9-1:16 Pillage and Slaughter Will Repay Edom's Cruelty
1:17-1:21 Israel's Final Triumph