Obadiah: Lesson One

Obadiah

Lesson One

Introduction and Overview

1. Read through Obadiah more than once. What is your overall impression of this brief book? What do you think is its theme?

Obadiah is the shortest book in the Old Testament. The language is very poetic and sweeping. Some of the word-pictures are unforgettable. By reading this short book, we sense that Obadiah was a man of immense faith and vision. He was the kind of prophet that would readily receive what God told him and fearlessly proclaim it to the people.

Obadiah contains a prophecy against Edom, a neighboring country of Israel, and a promise of deliverance for Israel. It reveals God’s judgement against Edom for their poor treatment of Israel. But more than that, it is also a prophecy which condemns certain attitudes of the heart and which tells us that God will be with us even in times of calamity. The more we read this short book, the more we see the emphasis on the attitudes of the heart of the people of Edom. As we read of their failings, we realize that God is also describing areas in our own life that we need to work on.

2. How do our attitudes affect how we treat others? What are some attitudes in your heart that you want God to change?

When we allow bitterness and anger in our heart, it will affect how we treat others. This is what the Edomites did, and unfortunately, this is what Christians too often do. God wants us to have a heart filled with humility, forgiveness, and love. But when we allow negative feelings to influence us, we will find that our actions begin to reflect our attitudes. In this book we will see how God judges Edom for their actions. But Obadiah also explains what caused those misdeeds - the underlying wrong attitudes. We can be confident that God does not like these bad attitudes in our heart any more than he liked them in the hearts of the Edomites.

As we go through this study, we will identify these destructive and hurtful attitudes that are being singled out for God’s judgement. As we examine these different negative attitudes of the heart, let us be prepared to ponder our own thoughts and motivations. Perhaps we can learn from this old prophet who declared these words thousands of years ago.

3. Write down a few key verses or thoughts from Obadiah that you found noteworthy.

Here are some verses that jump out at me from an overview of Obadiah. Verse 4, "Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down, declares the Lord." As we think of our own ventures into the sky and even into outer space, these words could very well have been written to us. Verse 12, "You should not look down on your brother in the day of his misfortune, nor rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their destruction, nor boast so much in the day of their trouble." This is still good advice for us today. We need to learn how to not consider others inferior to ourselves. And we also need to realize that God’s hand is still on the nation of Israel. Let us not do anything that is political expedient which could bring harm to God’s chosen nation, lest the same fate fall upon us that befell Edom. Verse 15, "The day of the Lord is near for all nations. As you have done, it will be done to you; your deeds will return upon your own head." This is like the Golden Rule of the Old Testament. As we have done, it will be done to us. Does this make you glad? Or does it cause you to repent? Verse 17, "But on Mount Zion will be deliverance; it will be holy, and the house of Jacob will possess its inheritance." Just as God promised deliverance to his people in Obadiah’s day, so God promises deliverance to us.

4. Share an example from your past how bad feelings caused you to take some action that you later regretted? How do you think we discover those bad attitudes hidden in our heart? How good are you at hiding your feelings from others?

God wants us to examine our wrong motives and bad feelings hidden deep in our heart. These are the kinds of things that rob us of joy, cause conflict in our lives with others, and that God wants removed from our life.

Gurnal wrote, "When I consider how the goodness of God is abused and perverted by the greatest part of mankind, I can not but be of his mind who said: ‘The greatest miracle in the world is God’s patience and bounty to an ungrateful world.’ Oh, what would God not do for His creatures, if thankful, Who thus heaps the coals of His mercies upon the heads of His enemies? But think not, sinners, that you will escape thus. God’s mill goes slow, but it grinds small. The more admirable His patience and bounty now are, the more dreadful and insupportable will be that fury which ariseth out of His abused goodness. Nothing is blunter than iron; yet, when sharpened, it hath an edge that will cut mortally. Nothing is smoother than the sea; yet, when stirred into a tempest, nothing rageth more. Nothing is so sweet as the patience and goodness of God, and nothing so terrible as His wrath, when it takes fire."

The only way to overcome bad attitudes of the heart is to allow God to shine the light of his Spirit in our heart to reveal all the darkness and sin that is there. Daily prayer and meditation are naturally essential for this to happen. But we also need to be willing to change. We need to be willing to listen to God’s voice and hear his instruction.

5. Write a brief outline of Obadiah. What verse(s) mark a clear change in focus in this book?

For the purposes of this study, I am using the following outline for Obadiah:

Theme - The Attitude of Our Heart
I. Our Heart Toward Others (verses 1-11)
II. Our Deeds Toward Others (verse 12-16)
III. God’s Heart Toward Us (verses 17-21)

It seems to me that verse 12 begins a new section. Verses 1-11 reveal how the Edomites had the wrong attitudes in their heart. But verses 12-15 seem to take the sins of Edom from attitude to action. Wrong attitudes will usually lead to wrong actions. Verse 15 in particular condemns their deeds. But then we see a change in the prophecy beginning with verse 17. Now we see the assurance to Israel that God will indeed deliver them and restore them. These words were designed to comfort Israel in their difficulty. We can claim these promises as our own since God’s help and love are extended to us just as much as they were extended to his people thousands of years ago.

6. How does God fight our battles for us? Why do we sometimes try to fight our own battles instead of waiting for God to move in a situation?

Obadiah was probably written during the reign of Jehoram about 845 B.C. This was a time when the Philistines and Arabians plundered Jerusalem and a time when the Edomites were very hostile toward Israel. Probably the people were suffering not only from physical hardship, but also emotional despair. It is during this time that God sends this message from Obadiah to comfort and assure the people that the battle is the Lord’s.

If you are trying to fight the battle and feel overwhelmed by the enemy of your soul, know that God will fight your battle for you. We are not alone. Sometimes we have to learn to wait on God, but God has promised never to forsake us. We can be assured that when God fights our battles for us, he will always do a much better job than we could ever do.

Molinos wrote, "Be not afraid of those trials which God may see fit to send upon thee. It is with the wind and the storm of tribulation that God, in the garner of the soul, separates the true wheat from the chaff. Always remember, therefore, that God comes to thee in thy sorrows as really as in thy joys. He lays low and He builds up. Thou wilt find thyself far from perfection if thou dost not find God in everything."

7. Optional question: Look up Obadiah in a Bible Dictionary, Bible Handbook, or Study Bible. Write a brief report about him and his book.

Very little is known about Obadiah. We know that he was considered an important prophet by the Jews. The Hebrew name is

obadyah which means servant of God. This is, in fact, similar to the Hebrew name I have taken as my Internet handle which is displayed in my e-mail address and on our Bible Study Site - ebedyah. I believe that I am God’s servant, and apparently Obadiah’s parents wanted the same appellation for him. Obadiah believed that God was interested in the attitude of our hearts, and that to a great extent is the focus of my ministry. Obadiah had a strong faith in God that no matter what turmoil may be happening, God was in control. That is my view also. So even though I know little about Obadiah, I feel that I understand his ministry, his faith, and his love for God.

It seems that the prophecies of Amos and Jeremiah may have been influenced by Obadiah’s short book. Today, Amos and especially Jeremiah are much more famous and well-known than Obadiah. But God used Obadiah just as he will use each one of us. We may never be famous, but we will have a wider influence than we can ever imagine.

Footnotes:

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