Psalm 137; Obadiah 1-21; Jeremiah 52:28-30; Ezekiel 33:1-20
Obadiah prophesies against Edom, the descendants of Jacob’s brother, Esau. These are people who should have at least some level of familial affinity for Israel, but who are instead consistently hostile, vengefully gloating over and abetting the destruction of Jerusalem. We have previously read other prophesies against Edom, including Jeremiah 49:7-22, Lamentations 4:21-22, and Ezekiel 25:12-14. You may have noticed in Jeremiah 48-49 that the LORD promises to restore some other nations, like Moab (Jer. 48:47), Ammon (Jer. 49:6), and Elam (Jer. 49:39), but He makes no such promise to Edom. Instead:
The house of Jacob shall be a fire,
Obadiah 18
and the house of Joseph a flame,
and the house of Esau stubble;
they shall burn them and consume them,
and there shall be no survivor for the house of Esau,
for the LORD has spoken.
Why this finality for Edom and not for the others? I’m not sure, but I trust that the LORD is right in His judgments. It seems to me that we should take the certainty of Edom’s destruction as a warning for ourselves not to follow Edom’s (negative) example. We must not rejoice over the demise of others, especially those whom we ought to regard as family. We should recognize the universal truth of Obadiah’s words:
For the day of the LORD is near upon all the nations.
Obadiah 15
As you have done, it shall be done to you;
your deeds shall return on your own head.
See also, December 15 (2022) / Psalm 137.
One more thing…
You might experience a bit of déjà vu reading Ezekiel today. The themes in today’s passage echo earlier passages: Ezekiel 3:16-21 (see July 22)and Ezekiel 18 (see July 30).