Obadiah 1:10 Commentary and Bible Study

Why is Edom and the Edomites in such a state? ‘For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever.’ This is something that is in the past at the time of Obadiah’s prophecy. Here and in the verse that follow an invasion of Judah is referred to which has already taken place, and Edom’s response to this is at the heart of God’s charge against them. The reason for their being judged is their hostility to Jacob, their hostility to the Jews, to the people of God and the message for which they stand. There had long been antagonism towards Israel by Edom. Jacob was Esau’s brother and there should have been a closeness between them, but Esau was jealous of his brother, and that came out not just in that first generation but in the attitude of Esau’s descendants. When Israel had asked permission to pass through Edom in the time of Moses, and undertaken not to take anything that did not belong to them, Edom refused and even came out to fight against them. ‘Let us pass, I pray thee, through thy country: we will not pass through the fields, or through the vineyards, neither will we drink of the water of the wells: we will go by the king's high way, we will not turn to the right hand nor to the left, until we have passed thy borders. ¹⁸ And Edom said unto him, Thou shalt not pass by me, lest I come out against thee with the sword. ¹⁹ And the children of Israel said unto him, We will go by the high way: and if I and my cattle drink of thy water, then I will pay for it: I will only, without doing any thing else, go through on my feet. ²⁰ And he said, Thou shalt not go through. And Edom came out against him with much people, and with a strong hand. ²¹ Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his border: wherefore Israel turned away from him. (Numbers 20:17-21). But now there has been a fresh instance of hostility. As stated in the introduction, some view this as the attack by the Philistines and Arabians described in 2 Chronicles 21:8-10, 16-17), and others see it as the Babylonian invasion under Nebuchadnezzar. We will go with the second view, but the application of the passage is similar in both cases.