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By R.A. Mathews
Guest Columnist

One Sunday morning, I began the sermon, asking, “Is ‘Obadiah’ a book of the Bible?”

I stopped as the sanctuary fell silent.

“Or was he a king?” I asked. “Maybe Obadiah was a man who washed Jesus’ feet. Or … ”  I paused with a grin, “maybe none of the above.”

Everyone listened, waiting for the answer. It would come …  but not just yet. “Raise a hand,” I said, “if you think Obadiah is a book of the Bible.”

I waited. They thought.

A few hands went up but seemed unsteady. They came back down.

“Anyone?” I asked.

As you read this, what do you think? Is Obadiah a book of the Bible? In the end, no one in the congregation wanted to commit. That name was just too obscure.

Obadiah is the shortest book of the Old Testament. One chapter long. And the Lord’s big message in Obadiah is just three little words. Let me show them to you.

No one knows exactly when Obadiah lived — perhaps after 587 B.C. because his vision may be of the war that year. But Obadiah’s story began much earlier in roughly 2,000 B.C.

God had made a pact with Abraham, saying the Promised Land would go to the patriarch’s descendants. Yet not to all of them. Abraham’s son had twins: Esau, the oldest, fathered the Edomites, and Jacob, the youngest, became Israel.

Obadiah is about the Edomites — a vision of God’s fury toward Esau’s heirs. The Lord says: “Oh how Esau will be searched …  the people at peace with you will deceive you and overpower you. They who eat your bread will set an ambush for you …  Then your warriors will be filled with terror …  so that everyone will be eliminated from the mountain of Esau by murder” (Obadiah 1:6-9 NASB).

By murder!

What could the Edomites have possibly done to anger God this much?

Here it is: “Because of violence to your brother Jacob … ” (Obadiah 1:10 NASB).

Obadiah both rejoiced and participated in the destruction of Jerusalem.

As I said, the timeline isn’t exact. Many think Obadiah’s vision refers to Judah’s war with the Babylonians in c. 587 B.C. Scripture says, “By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept …  Remember, Lord, what the Edomites did on the day Jerusalem fell. ‘Tear it down,’ they cried, ‘tear it down to its foundations!’” (Psalm 137:1-7 NIV).

Still, Edom’s acts of violence in Obadiah’s vision could have been earlier—a different war. I say that because would Edom have joined Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar? Would the Edomites have gone anywhere near the terrible Babylonians?

This much is certain: Judah, Southern Israel, brought about its own downfall. Northern Israel had already suffered defeat, and God had made clear that Judah would be punished just as severely if the people did not turn away from evil. Judah thumbed its nose at Him.

The Edomites did rejoice as destruction fell on the house of Jacob. “On the day that you stood aloof, on the day that strangers carried off Judah’s wealth, and foreigners entered his gate and cast lots for Jerusalem—you too were as one of them. Do not gloat over your brother’s …  misfortune. And do not rejoice …  on the day of their distress. Do not enter the gate of My people on the day of their disaster …  And do not lay a hand on their wealth …  Do not stand at the crossroads to eliminate their survivors; and do not hand over their refugees on the day of their distress. ‘For …  just as you have done, it will be done to you. Your dealings will return on your own head …  so that there will be no survivor of the house of Esau … ’” (Obadiah1:11-18 NASB).

Yes, the shortest book of the Old Testament contains a big message with three little words—do not gloat. Solomon wrote the same in Proverbs:

“Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart rejoice when he stumbles, otherwise, the LORD will see and be displeased … ” (Proverbs 24:17-18 NASB).

You will meet mean-spirited bullies who deserve the anger of God. Gossips who wreak havoc on your life. Thieves who steal from you.

Stand down when you see these people reap what they’ve sown. Even though you want to rejoice, back away quietly, lest you ignite the Lord’s fury and it descends on you.

“Do not gloat … ” God said it twice in Obadiah. “Do not gloat … ” (Obadiah 1:12,13 NASB).

The Rev. Mathews (BA, MDiv, JD) is a faith columnist and the author of Reaching to God and Emerald Coast: The Vendetta. Contact her at Hello@RAMathews.com.

Copyright © 2024 R.A. Mathews. All rights reserved.