Why Study Obadiah?
May 20, 2025
God hates it when we try to live like He doesn’t exist. The prophet Obadiah focused on one such prideful nation: Edom. Back in Genesis 25, Isaac had twin sons—Jacob and Esau. Israel descended from Jacob and the Edomites descended from Esau. In Obadiah’s prophecy, we see pride showing up in Edom just like Esau, their father, who said, “I would rather have a bowl of soup than have a relationship with God.”
Pride says, “I can live without God.”
Every time we read about Edom in the Bible, it’s how they opposed Israel. They had a long history of hate with the Jews. King Herod the Great (who tried to kill Jesus as a baby) was an Edomite. And speaking of heritage, a large part of the Muslim world today has the blood of Esau flowing through their veins.
Obadiah’s message to the nation of Edom: “Pride has deceived you.” Edom lived in a false security, thinking they could take care of themselves.
“Obadiah is a little book, but it is an example of an atomic bomb in the Bible. It might be a small thing, but it has a powerful message.” -Dr. J. Vernon McGee
About the book of Obadiah
Written in 590 b.c., the book of Obadiah overlaps the ministries and writings of Jeremiah, Daniel, Ezekiel, and Joel.
Obadiah is the shortest book in the Old Testament, just 22 verses long.
Obadiah is a series of poems.
When Jerusalem was destroyed in a.d. 70, the Edomites disappeared from history.
The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; you who say in your heart, “Who will bring me down to the ground?” -Obadiah 1:3
