Study 1 From the Book of Obadiah is: Obadiah
Obadiah is only one study. Tomorrow we will make a short stop in the
book of Mathew again, starting with chapter 8 where we left off.
1.
By act and attitude Edom had sinned against God and against His
people. Trace the detail of the sin: then look up 1 Cor. 10:11, 12 and apply
Obadiah’s warnings to your own life.
2.
The prophet claims divine inspiration (verses 1, 4, 8, 18). What do we learn of the Lord’s character from
this book? What wonderful truth had yet to be revealed which goes beyond verse
15? Cf. Rom. 8:3, 4.
3.
The prophet’s words speak of searing (verse 18) and possession
(verses 17, 19, 20). How do the words ‘holy’ (verse 17) and ‘the kingdom shall
be the Lord’s (verse 21) change the complexion of the situation? The
Christians’ expectation is the same: ‘Thy kingdom come’. How and why does its
spirit differ? Cf. Mk. 1:14, 15; Mt. 12:28; Acts 8:12; Jn. 18:36; Rev. 12:10,
11; Mt. 5:3; Rom. 14:17.
Notes
1.
Verse 1. The section ‘We
have heard… let us rise against her for battle!’ is in parenthesis, suggesting
the means by which Edom will be brought low.
2.
Verse 3. RSV mg. Draws attention to a possible pun here; sela
mans ‘rock’, but it was also the name of the capital city of Edom, later called
Petra.
3.
Verse 5, 6. Thieves or
grape-stealers leave something behind; but when God plunders, the pillage is
complete.
4.
Verse 7. The principle here is enunciated in verse 15b; this
principle of strict justice is the basis of God’s moral law. Cf. Gal. 6:7.
5.
Verses 10-14. Cf. Ps. 137; 7; La. 2:15, 16.
6.
Verse 16. The ‘cup’ of God’s wrath was a vivid prophetic picture
of divine punishment and consequent disaster. Cf. Je. 25, 27, 28; Is. 51:17;
Rev. 14:10.
