Page 48 - The Minor Prophets - Student textbook

Chronicles 21:16-17). The later date would be approximately 586 B.C., following the invasion of
Babylon (2 Kings 24-25).

If the earlier date is correct, Obadiah would be the earliest of the prophetic books in the Old
Testament. Those who hold this position refer to 2 Kings 8:20, which mentions Edom setting up its own
king: “In his days Edom revolted from the rule of Judah and set up a king of their own.” Also used to
support this date are comparisons of 2 Chronicles 21:16-17 with Joel 3:3-6 and Obadiah 1:11-12; as well
as similarities between Obadiah 1:1-9 and Jeremiah 49:7-22.

If the later date is correct, the prophecy of Obadiah regarding Edom’s doom is more dramatic. Babylon
completed its invasion of Jerusalem under King Nebuchadnezzar in 586 B.C. In the fifth century B.C., a
people called the Nabateans defeated the Edomites and forced them from the city of Petra. The
interval between prediction and fulfillment would, therefore, have been very short.

Regardless of the exact date, the predictions against Edom have already been fulfilled. Edom was
removed from its land in the fifth century B.C., and there are no survivors of Edom today. This fulfilled
the prediction in Obadiah vs.18: “They shall burn them and consume them, and there shall be no
survivor for the house of Esau.” Some first-century leaders, such as Herod the Great, still traced their
ancestry to Edom, but all mention of Edomites fades after the Jewish Wars of that era. At the end of
the 4th century, Jerome referenced the land of Idumea (Edom), but the people of the region had long
since disappeared.

Foreshadowings: Verse 21 of the Book of Obadiah contains a foreshadowing of Christ and His Church.
“Then saviors shall come to Mount Zion to judge the mountains of Esau, And the kingdom shall be the
LORD’s” (NKJV). These “saviors” (also called “deliverers” in several versions) are the apostles of Christ,
ministers of the word, and especially the preachers of the Gospel in these latter days. They are called
"saviors," not because they obtain our salvation, but because they preach salvation through the Gospel
of Christ and show us the way to obtain that salvation. They, and the Word preached by them, are the
means by which the good news of salvation is delivered to all men. While Christ is the only Savior who
alone came to purchase salvation, and is the author of it, saviors and deliverers of the Gospel will be
more and more in evidence as the end of the age draws near.

Practical Application: God will overcome in our behalf if we will stay true to Him. Unlike Edom, we
must be willing to help others in times of need. Pride is sin. We have nothing to be proud of except
Jesus Christ and what He has done for us.

47