§ 1. The heathen nations are summmoned to take vengeanee on Edom. In spite of her impregnable position, they shall bring her low and strip her of her wealth, being aided and encouraged by her own allies. read more
Part I. THE DESTRUCTION OF EDOM, AND THE CAUSE THEREOF. read more
Behold, I have made thee small. Here is the effect of the summons. So in Jeremiah 49:15 , "For, lo, I will make thee small." Jehovah is the Speaker, and he regards the future as past. What he determines is as good as accomplished. At this time the Edomites were a powerful nation, and possessed an almost impregnable seat at Petra. Small ; in numbers, territory, honour. read more
Pride. "Behold, I have made thee small among the heathen: thou art greatly despised. The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee," etc. These words may be taken as suggesting and illustrating one of the chief sins of all sinners, viz. pride, that which poets tell us "peoples hell and holds its prisoners there." The words suggest three facts in relation to pride. I. THAT THE MOST DESPICABLE PEOPLE ARE OFTEN THE MOST DISPOSED TO PRIDE . Edom, which is charged... read more
Hath deceived; Septuagint, ἐπῆρε , "elated;" Vulgate, extulit . The pointing varies. In Obadiah 1:7 Jerome translates the word by illudere . The clefts; Septuagint, ὀπαῖς : Vulgate, scissuris . The word occurs in the parallel passage, Jeremiah 49:16 , and in So Jeremiah 2:14 , where it has the meaning of "refuge." Of the rook. This may be Sela, or Petra, as 2 Kings 14:7 . The country inhabited by the Edomites lay on the eastern side of the Arabah, and extended from the... read more
Edom had prided herself in the strength of her position; but this shall not secure her from destruction when the Lord wars against her. read more
The deceptiveness of human pride. The prophecies of Obadiah were mainly addressed to the Edomites, the descendants of Esau, a wild and warlike people who inhabited the mountainous region to the south of the Dead Sea. Their hostility and treachery towards their kinsmen, the descendants of Israel, were the occasion of the threatenings with which this book abounds. Fancying themselves secure and impregnable in their singular mountain fastnesses, they deemed their neighbours altogether... read more
Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle. The Hebrew gives "nest" as the subject of both clauses, thus: "Though thou exaltest … and settest thy nest." Job ( Job 39:27 , Job 39:28 ) speaks of the eagle making its nest in the highest rocks. The metaphor is found in Numbers 24:21 ; Habakkuk 2:9 . Will I bring thee down ( Amos 9:3 ). The seizure of Petra by the Nabathaeans is the judgment referred to in this part of the prophecy; the complete ruin is mentioned later ( Habakkuk 2:18 ,... read more
Behold, I have made thee small - God, having declared His future judgments upon Edom, assigns the first ground of those judgments. Pride was the root of Edom’s sin, then envy; then followed exultation at his brother’s fall, hard-heartedness and bloodshed. All this was against the disposition of God’s Providence for him. God had made him small, in numbers, in honor, in territory. Edom was a wild mountain people. It was strongly guarded in the rock-girt dwelling, which God had assigned it. Like... read more
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The Pulpit Commentary - Obadiah 1:1-4
Edom subdued. "The vision of Obadiah Thus saith the Lord God concerning Edom; We have heard a rumour from the Lord," etc. We have said that, although there are so many Obadiahs mentioned in Scripture, the prophet cannot be identified with any of them. The sacred writers were never ready to put themselves into prominence. They had their message to deliver. They had their solemn work to perform. They had Jehovah to glorify. They were content to be no more than a voice crying in the... read more