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0 A rumor from God (Obadiah)
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The Bible in Fewer Words

Let thy words be few. Ecclesiastes 5:2

Episode 223: A rumor from God

Obadiah

A rumor from God

1 The vision of Obadiah.

This what God says about Edom:

We've heard a rumor from God, and an ambassador has been sent among the heathen, saying: "Stand up and fight Edom."

2 I [God] have made Edom small and despised among nations.

8-9 I will destroy the wise men of Edom and everyone on Mount Esau will be slaughtered.

10 Because you fought against your brother Jacob, you will be covered with shame and you will be cut off forever.

11 When foreigners entered and looted Jerusalem, you were with them.

12 You shouldn't have rejoiced when Judah was destroyed.

13-14 Or stole his belongings and handed over his survivors on the day of his distress.

The day of the Lord is near

15 The day of the Lord is near for all of the heathen. What you did to others will be done to you.

16 They drank on my holy mountain. Now they'll drink, swallow, and die.

17 But those on Mount Zion will escape. It will be holy, and Jacob will possess it.

18 The houses of Jacob, Joseph, and Esau will be burned. Everyone in Edom will die .

21 Saviors will come up on Mount Zion to judge Mount Esau. And the kingdom will belong to God.

A few more words about this episode

According the to popular online Bible site, BibleGateway.com, Obadiah is the least popular book in the Bible. It is also the shortest book in the Old Testament.

The vision of Obadiah(1)
The King James Version calls Obadiah's vision a rumor from God. So that's where the title comes from.
Obadiah (1)
There is some disagreement about when Obadiah was written. Some say it was during the reign of Jehoram of Judah, ca. 850 BCE; others say it was when Nebuchadnezzar attacked Judah, ca. 607-586 BCE.
No one knows who Obadiah was, or even if the author was named Obadiah. It's a relatively common name in the Bible, with twelve other biblical characters with that name.
Edom (1)
Edom was a nation to the south of Judah. Its people were, according to the Bible, descendants of Esau, the brother of Jacob. (Genesis 36, Episode 18)
I will destroy the wise men of Edom and everyone on Mount Esau will be slaughtered. (8-9)
For more about God's plans to destroy Edom and kill its people see Jeremiah 49:7-22.
The wording of this passage from Jeremiah is so similar to the first verses of Obadiah are so similar that it seems that one was used as a source for the other. (But there is some debate about who was copying who?)
When foreigners entered and looted Jerusalem, you were with them. (11)

The Edomites are not mentioned in the accounts of the destruction of Jerusalem. (See 2 Kg 25:1-26 and 2 Chr 36:17-21)

But elsewhere the Bible claims they assisted the Babylonians - or at least did something to upset God (Ps 137:7, Lam 4:21-22, Ezek 35:12-14).

Now they'll drink, swallow, and die. (16)
God is going to force people to drink something that will kill them. But what? Wine, blood, or poison?
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