Obadiah 1:1 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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Obadiah 1:1

Comments

‘The vision of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning Edom’, and, as stated, the first four verses of this prophecy appear also in Jeremiah chapter 49, but here in the minor prophet the prophecy then opens out all the details. Obadiah knows himself to be inspired, for he brings the vision of God, given to him by the Spirit of God, and not his own wisdom. ‘There is a rumour from the LORD’, which could equally be translated, ‘a message of warning from the LORD.’ We're not told how this happened: whether a prophet was sent to Edom to warn her of what was going on: that there was a plan afoot among the surrounding nations to bring her down and to take her territory. It may have been an explicit message through a prophet, or, as our translators choose to have it, a rumour that the Lord sent around Edom, that made her feel insecure, that made her aware that there was plotting going on, that told her that an ambassador had gone forth from one of those surrounding nations to the other surrounding nations, inciting a military campaign against Edom. If so, this seems to have got back to the Edomites. ‘What they are saying is, “Arise ye”, stir yourselves, rise up against Edom in battle.’ She was aware of it, and this was a great warning. But Edom was not inclined to take this warning seriously because she felt impregnable, because of the rocky territory in which she was situated.

Application

This warning comes to people in all ages, in all lands. The warning is, ‘You are insecure, you are vulnerable to attack. Things can go wrong for you.’ Sometimes the warning is explicit. We preach from the pulpit, and we give this warning out to men and women who have no time for God, and we try to wake them up through as clear a message as we can deliver. But equally, it is often a rumour. Nobody knows where it came from. It's just an instinct in the heart. It's just a feeling. We are insecure. We have very short lives. What if there is a God? What if we have to face him one day in judgment? What if God is plotting against us? What if he has a plan against us to end this world? We could be very ill. We could have some tragedy, some terrible heartache, anything. We are so insecure, so dependent on the Lord for life, and yet so self-confident. Certainly it’s true that there is a rumour abroad. It gets into the hearts of people, and makes them aware of their vulnerability and their need. But they tend to react just in the way that Edom reacted.

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Obadiah 1:1 Commentary and Bible Study

The meaning of Obadiah 1:1 explained