S. Michael Houdmann Supporter Got Questions Ministries

Obadiah clearly predicted Edom's destruction (Obadiah 1:1, 8), and the prophecy offers a list of specific reasons for God's impending judgment:- Their heart of pride: "The pride of your heart has d...

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July 01 2013 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Kenneth Heck Supporter

Malachi 1:2-3: "I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother? Saith the LORD, yet I loved Jacob And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness."

Although it is clear that The Lord prophesies the destruction of Edom in Obadiah and Amos (1: 11-12) it isn't stated when everything will be fully accomplished. This verse in Obadiah, 1:18, has not yet occurred: 

"And the house of Jacob shall be a fire and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them, and devour them; and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau; for the LORD hath spoken it."

Also, in Daniel, verse 11:41 speaks of Edom, Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon escaping from the hand of the 10-horned beast, as if these nations will be reinstituted in some way as Israel was in 1948.

It is possible that only during the time when Christ comes to judge the nations that the punishment of Edom will be fully accomplished.

July 21 2015 • 1 response • Vote Up • Share • Report

Jeffrey Johnson Supporter

Why did God judge Edom so harshly in the book of Obadiah?

The prophet Obadiah has the distinction of penning the shortest book of the Hebrew Scriptures​—just 21 verses. All we know about him is that he prophesied against Edom.

So why did Obadiah give a harsh message against Edom?

The Edomites descended from Jacob's brother, thus being the Israelites' brothers.' (Deuteronomy 23:7) But Edom had treated God's people in a very unbrotherly fashion.

In 607 B.C.E., about when Obadiah wrote his book, they blocked the roads and handed fleeing Jews over to the enemy Babylonians. The Edomites rejoiced over Judah's calamity, shared in taking spoil from the Jews, prevented them from escaping out of the land, and even handed them over to the enemy. (Ob 12-14).

They later conspired with Ammon and Moab against Judah in the days of Jehoshaphat, revolted against Jehoshaphat's son, King Jehoram, took charge of Israelite captives from Gaza and Tyre, and raided Judah in the days of King Ahaz to take even more captives.​—2 Chron. 20:1, 2, 22, 23; 2 Ki. 8:20-22; Amos 1:6, 9; 2 Chron. 28:17.

Also, when lots were cast over the booty, the Edomites were among those to share the loot; and when escapees of the Jews tried to flee out of the land, they blocked the roads and handed them over to the enemy. 

According to Josephus, in the second century B.C.E., the remaining Edomites were subjugated by the Jewish king John Hyrcanus I, forced to submit to circumcision, and gradually absorbed into the Jewish domain under a Jewish governor. Following the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in 70 C.E., their name disappeared from history. 

It was as Obadiah had foretold: "You will have to be cut off to time indefinite.... And there will prove to be no survivor to the house of Esau."​—Obad. 10, 18.

Conclusion:

So, why was this severe punishment inflicted on the Edomites? 

1: It is because of the violence that the sons of Edom did to the sons of Jacob, their brothers! 

2: They rejoiced at the fall of Jerusalem. 

3: They even joined with the invaders in dividing up the plunder.

7 hours ago • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report