There is not a lot of highlighting in the Obadiah section of most Bibles. It is rarely, if ever preached upon and it is remarkably difficult to find.
So why is it there?
The short answer is: because God doesn’t change. The Book of Obadiah has been preserved because it reminds all people everywhere that how they treat his covenant people will be taken as an indicator of faith. The covenant community has always functioned as something of a dividing rod among the nations. God said to Abraham:
I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. (Genesis 12:3 ESV)
Jesus said the same about the reconstituted covenant community in the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats. The punch-line of that Parable has Jesus saying:
‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ (Matthew 25:40 ESV)
How people treat the members of the covenant community—particularly the most vulnerable members—is taken as proof of our attitude towards him.
That’s why Obadiah is in the Bible.
In 587 B.C. the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and carried the Jews into captivity. It was a horror, a bloodbath and a nightmare. Siege warfare is unimaginably cruel. By the time the invaders break through the walls the defenders are so weak they can barely stand.
Atrocities are commonplace.
Those who attempt to make a break for it typically fare no better. 2 Kings 25 narrates the fate of King Zedekiah who tried to make his escape through a break in the wall:
But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho, and all his army was scattered from him. Then they captured the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah, and they passed sentence on him. They slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him in chains and took him to Babylon. (2 Kings 25:5–7 ESV)
This was the darkest day in the history of the people of God. This was the nadir. And on this day – this darkest of days – brother Edom stood aside. The Book of Obadiah is addressed to the Edomites – the people who descended from Esau, the brother of Jacob whose name was changed to Israel. Edom did not come to Israel’s aid on that day and more than that, he participated in the looting of Jerusalem. Edom also arrested and captured refugees attempted to escape through their land. They rounded up the staggerers and handed them over to the Babylonians.
They despised the covenant community and rejoiced in their mistreatment.
The Book of Obadiah was written to speak a simple warning: God sees. God cares. God repays. The warning comes early on:
Behold, I will make you small among the nations; you shall be utterly despised.
The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rock, in your lofty dwelling, who say in your heart, “Who will bring me down to the ground?”
Though you soar aloft like the eagle, though your nest is set among the stars, from there I will bring you down, declares the Lord. (Obadiah 1:2–4 ESV)
I will bring you down.
That’s why the Book of Obadiah is in the Bible.
It is a warning to all people everywhere that God’s eye is on his people. If you behead little children in Syria because they love Jesus – God’s eyes is on you. On the other hand, if you care for the old widow or the single mom in your church or in some church in a part of the world you’ve never heard of or on a mountain in Iraq then God’s eye is on you. He watches. He receives your treatment as evidence of your trust in Him to be who he has always been.
That’s why Obadiah is in the Bible.
Because God doesn’t change.
He sees. He cares. And he comes.
Thanks be to God!
Paul Carter
N.B. The Into The Word podcast featuring Pastor Paul Carter returns on November 22nd. Find it here.
