But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions — Obadiah 1:17
Introduction
It represents an famous and age-old rivalry between two brothers, Jacob and Esau. This conflict extends to the New Testament with Herod the Great’s attempt to destroy the young child Jesus. We are refer to the regions of Edom versus Judah and the Book of Obadiah, shortest of all the Old Testament prophetic books, is very clear who will win this struggle.
Obadiah predicts the fall of the nation of Edom, neighbour to Judah, especially because they gloated at the suffering and conquest of this region and its capital Jerusalem.
The great symbol of Edom is its majestic mountains that tower over 2,000 metres above sea level. Edom is the eastern neighbour to the Arabah, Valley of the Desert, which is a sub-region of the Great Rift Valley and shares a north-south border between Jordan and Israel.
Edom comes from the Hebrew word ‘red,’ and this is because of the colour of the lentil stew Esau ate in exchange for his birthright. Jacob’s brother moved to Mount Seir and set up residence. From the time of the twins until the fall of Jerusalem, the rivalry between the two siblings and their respective regions continued unabated.
Edom would not allow Moses and Israel to pass through its territory on the way to Canaan. David’s Joab helped subdue Edom, but it fought against Judean king Jehoshaphat and successfully rebelled against Jehoram. Judean king Amaziah conquered Edom, but the pride of his conquest was also his undoing. Under feckless Judean king Ahaz, Edom regained its independence. The Nabateans, an Arabian type people, forced the Edomites to migrate to Southern Judah, where they were forcibly converted to Judaism and became known as the Idumeans (Edom and Judean). The most famous, even notorious Idumean was Herod the Great, the Roman puppet king who tried and failed to kill the Christ child.
While Edom applauded the destruction of Jerusalem by Babylon in 586 BC, they paradoxically tried to defend the city – and failed – when the Romans destroyed it in AD 70. After that date, we hear no more about the Edomites. They disappeared from history, along with Herod’s temple.
If one place in Edom illustrates its greatness, it is Petra, the rose-red city carved in the rock. This vast ancient city that encompasses many hectares can only be reached by a narrow, natural 1.2 kilometre canyon called ‘The Siq.’ Its lofty position, with 200 plus metres cliffs, and difficult to access entrance made it very aloof and prideful. They felt they could go out, raid caravans on the King’s Highway, and safely retreat to their stronghold. The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground? (verse 3). Such a stance guarantees disaster. Proverbs 16:18 states: Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.
Obadiah confirms the pride and fall of Edom. TO BE CONTINUED