But upon mount Zion
shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall
possess their possessions — Obadiah 1:17
Introduction
It
represents an famous and age-old rivalry between two brothers, Jacob and Esau.
This conflict extends to the New Testament with Herod the Great’s attempt to
destroy the young child Jesus. We are refer to the regions of Edom versus Judah
and the Book of Obadiah, shortest of all the Old Testament prophetic books, is
very clear who will win this struggle.
Obadiah
predicts the fall of the nation of Edom, neighbour to Judah, especially because
they gloated at the suffering and conquest of this region and its capital
Jerusalem.
The
great symbol of Edom is its majestic mountains that tower over 2,000 metres
above sea level. Edom is the eastern neighbour to the Arabah, Valley of the
Desert, which is a sub-region of the Great Rift Valley and shares a north-south
border between Jordan and Israel.
Edom
comes from the Hebrew word ‘red,’ and this is because of the colour of the
lentil stew Esau ate in exchange for his birthright. Jacob’s brother moved to
Mount Seir and set up residence. From the time of the twins until the fall of
Jerusalem, the rivalry between the two siblings and their respective regions
continued unabated.
Edom
would not allow Moses and Israel to pass through its territory on the way to
Canaan. David’s Joab helped subdue Edom, but it fought against Judean king
Jehoshaphat and successfully rebelled against Jehoram. Judean king Amaziah
conquered Edom, but the pride of his conquest was also his undoing. Under
feckless Judean king Ahaz, Edom regained its independence. The Nabateans, an
Arabian type people, forced the Edomites to migrate to Southern Judah, where
they were forcibly converted to Judaism and became known as the Idumeans (Edom
and Judean). The most famous, even notorious Idumean was Herod the Great, the
Roman puppet king who tried and failed to kill the Christ child.
While
Edom applauded the destruction of Jerusalem by Babylon in 586 BC, they
paradoxically tried to defend the city - and failed - when the Romans destroyed
it in AD 70. After that date, we hear no more about the Edomites. They
disappeared from history, along with Herod’s temple.
If
one place in Edom illustrates its greatness, it is Petra, the rose-red city
carved in the rock. This vast ancient city that encompasses many hectares can
only be reached by a narrow, natural 1.2 kilometre canyon called ‘The Siq.’ Its
lofty position, with 200 plus metres cliffs, and difficult to access entrance
made it very aloof and prideful. They felt they could go out, raid caravans on
the King’s Highway, and safely retreat to their stronghold. The pride of
thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock,
whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to
the ground? (verse 3). Such a stance guarantees disaster. Proverbs 16:18
states: Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a
fall.
Obadiah
confirms the pride and fall of Edom. TO BE CONTINUED
Comments
Post a Comment