Transcript

Podcast Introduction

Today is prophecy Friday, and we’re going to read the entire book of Obadiah. All one chapter.  I’ll have some comments after the reading. And of course I’ll have an “On This Date In Church History” segment for you, too. I’m calling today’s episode  “Treat Your Brother Well.”

Comments on Obadiah

Obadiah is the shortest book in the Old Testament, but that does not take away from its value. It is, after all, the Word of God. 

The name Obadiah means “Worshipper of Yahweh” or “Servant of Yahweh.”

We don’t really know who this Obadiah fellow was, though. There are thirteen Obadiahs in the Old Testament. Some think that he is the Obadiah that was a servant in Ahab’s household as in 1 Kings 18:3. If this is he, then he was the man who hid and fed the prophets spoken about in that chapter. Others think that this Obadiah was a man who lived some time later, at around the same time as Hosea, Joel and Amos. And still others believe that he lived around the time that the Edomites destroyed Jerusalem.

All of the other Old Testament prophets delivered messages either to Israel or Judah. Obadiah was sent only to Edom. 

So who were the Edomites? They were descended from Esau. Esau was the brother of Jacob. Both of them were the sons of Isaac and Rebekah. Esau was sometimes called Edom, which means “red”, so Esau may have had red hair.

In Numbers 20 when Israel was still wandering in the wilderness on the way to the Promised Land, Moses asked for permission to pass through the Edomites’ land, and they were denied. Instead, Edom threatened to attack Israel if they tried to go through.

There were many times in the Old Testament when Edom came against Israel or Judah. Sometimes they were defeated. Other times they were the victors. And they fought alongside the Jews against Rome in 66-70 A.D. In this war, Edom was completely annihilated, fulfilling verses 10 and 18 of Obadiah’s prophecy.

The judgement of God against Edom because of their intense pride and treatment of Israel and Judah (who were descendants of Jacob) over the years.

Obadiah concludes with the words “And the kingdom will be the Lord’s.” These are encouraging words to God’s people, that even when they may suffer at the hands of evil people, He will judge them for their misdeeds. There will be justice.

Today’s Bible Translation

Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 1 NASB

Support

This a value for value podcast. There are no advertisers because advertising=censorship. If you enjoy the Lifespring Family Audio Bible, decide how much value it brings to you. Only you can make that determination. Then put a number on the value and send it to me here: SUPPORT.

Transcript

Download .txt file.

STEVE WEBB – 0:00
There will be justice.

INTRO S12E268 – 0:09
Coming to you from Riverside, California, this is the Lifespring Family Audio Bible. Podcasting since 2004, I’m your OG Godcaster Steve Webb. Welcome. I’m so glad you’re here today. This is the daily show where we’re reading through the entire Bible in a year.

As you probably know, I usually record the show the day before it’s published. But this show’s a little bit different. This show is different. If you’re listening to this on May 27th, 2022, the publication of the episode, this is the day of my catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation, or cardiac ablation for short. So here’s the deal. My plan is to record this show and hopefully the following two episodes in advance. If everything goes according to plan, I’ll be able to go home today, but I don’t know if I’ll feel like producing any shows over the next couple of days. So Monday’s episode will probably be the first almost-live show you get from me.

Alright, on with the show. Today is PROPHECY Friday, and we’re going to read the entire book of Obadiah, all one chapter of it. I’ll have some comments after the reading and of course, I will have an On This Date in Church History segment. The title of today’s episode is “Treat Your Brother Well”. The show notes page for today’s episode is at lifespringmedia.com/s12e268. My email address is st***@*************ia.com. And I’m ready to get going. How about you?

OBADIAH 1 (NASB) – 1:37
Obadiah, chapter 1.

(1) The vision of Obadiah.
Thus says the Lord God concerning Edom–

We have heard a report from the Lord,
And an envoy has been sent among the nations saying,
“Arise and let us go against her for battle”–
(2) “Behold, I will make you small among the nations;
You are greatly despised.
(3) The arrogance of your heart has deceived you,
You who live in the clefts of the rock,
In the loftiness of your dwelling place,
Who say in your heart,
“Who will bring me down to earth?”
(4) Though you build high like the eagle,
Though you set your nest among the stars,
From there I will bring you down,” declares the Lord.
(5) “If thieves came to you,
If robbers by night–
O how you will be ruined!–
Would they not steal only until they had enough?
If grape gatherers came to you,
Would they not leave some gleanings?
(6) O how Esau will be ransacked,
And his hidden treasures searched out!
(7) All the men allied with you
Will send you forth to the border,
And the men at peace with you
Will deceive you and overpower you.
They who eat your bread
Will set an ambush for you.
(There is no understanding in him.)
(8) Will I not on that day,” declares the Lord,
“Destroy wise men from Edom
And understanding from the mountain of Esau?
(9) Then your mighty men will be dismayed, O Teman,
So that everyone may be cut off from the mountain of Esau by slaughter.

(10) “Because of violence to your brother Jacob,
You will be covered with shame,
And you will be cut off forever.
(11) On the day that you stood aloof,
On the day that strangers carried off his wealth,
And foreigners entered his gate
And cast lots for Jerusalem–
You too were as one of them.
(12) Do not gloat over your brother’s day,
The day of his misfortune.
And do not rejoice over the sons of Judah
In the day of their destruction;
Yes, do not boast
In the day of their distress.
(13) Do not enter the gate of My people
In the day of their disaster.
Yes, you, do not gloat over their calamity
In the day of their disaster.
And do not loot their wealth
In the day of their disaster.
(14) Do not stand at the fork of the road
To cut down their fugitives;
And do not imprison their survivors
In the day of their distress.

(15) “For the day of the Lord draws near on all the nations.
As you have done, it will be done to you.
Your dealings will return on your own head.
(16) Because just as you drank on My holy mountain,
All the nations will drink continually.
They will drink and swallow
And become as if they had never existed.
(17) But on Mount Zion there will be those who escape,
And it will be holy.
And the house of Jacob will possess their possessions.
(18) Then the house of Jacob will be a fire
And the house of Joseph a flame;
But the house of Esau will be as stubble.
And they will set them on fire and consume them,
So that there will be no survivor of the house of Esau,”
For the Lord has spoken.
(19) Then those of the Negev will possess the mountain of Esau,
And those of the Shephelah the Philistine plain;
Also, possess the territory of Ephraim and the territory of Samaria,
And Benjamin will possess Gilead.
(20) And the exiles of this host of the sons of Israel,
Who are among the Canaanites as far as Zarephath,
And the exiles of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad
Will possess the cities of the Negev.
(21) The deliverers will ascend Mount Zion
To judge the mountain of Esau,
And the kingdom will be the Lord’s.

COMMENTS – 4:59
Well, this probably won’t be surprising to you, but Obadiah is the shortest book in the Old Testament. But that doesn’t take away from its value. It is, after all, the word of God. The name Obadiah means “worshipper of Yahweh” or “servant of Yahweh”. And we don’t really know who this Obadiah fellow was. There are thirteen Obadiahs in the Old Testament. And some think that he is the Obadiah who was the servant in Ahab’s household as in I Kings 18:3. If this is the same guy, then he was the man who hid and fed the prophets spoken about in that chapter. Others think that this Obadiah was a man who lived some time later at around the same time as Hosea, Joel and Amos. And still others believe that he lived around the time that the Edomites destroyed Jerusalem. Now all the other Old Testament prophets delivered messages either to Israel or Judah. Obadiah was sent only to Edom.

So who were the Edomites? Well, they were descended from Esau. You might remember that Esau was the brother of Jacob. And both of them were the sons of Isaac and Rebecca. Esau was sometimes called Edom, which means “red”. So Esau may have been a ginger. He may have had red hair. So what else makes the Edomites notable? Well, in Numbers 20, when Israel was still wandering in the wilderness on the way to the Promised Land, Moses asked for permission to pass through the Edomites land, and they were denied. Instead, Edom threatened to attack Israel if they even tried to go through. And there were many times in the Old Testament when Edom came against either Israel or Judah. You’ll remember that Israel and Judah were the divided nations of what was, at one time, the single nation of Israel. Sometimes the Edomites were defeated, and other times they were the victors. But they did fight along side the Jews against Rome in 66 to 70 AD. And in this war, Edom was completely annihilated, fulfilling verses 10 and 18, of the book of Obadiah. Edom was completely eliminated.

So why was God so against Edom? Well, probably their intense pride was part of it. And verse 10 of Obadiah makes it very clear. It says, “Because of violence to your brother, Jacob, you will be covered with shame, and you will be cut off forever.” So they were a very prideful people, and they came against Israel. The book concludes with the words, “And the kingdom will be the Lord’s.” These are encouraging words to God’s people that even when they may suffer at the hands of evil people, he will judge the evil for their misdeeds. There will be justice.

So what do you think? Do you have any comments, let me know. Go to lifespringmedia.com/s12e268, scroll to the bottom of the page and there you’ll find a box where you can put your comments. Tomorrow is Saturday, which means we’ll be reading from one of the books of the Gospels. We’ll begin the book of Acts. We’ll read the first two chapters.

Boost!

ON THIS DATE IN CHURCH HISTORY – 8:18
On this date in church history, May 27, 1564, John Calvin died, He was born Jean Chauvin, which tells you, perhaps, that he was French-born. Of course, he was a theologian and Swiss ecclesiastical reformer. He was called the organizer of Protestantism, and he built on the premise that the Bible is the only trustworthy source of knowledge and on that he unified the scattered reformed theologies of Europe.

CLOSING PRAYER – 8:53
Let’s pray. Our heavenly Father, Lord, we thank You for Your Word. And today we’re reminded that you are a God of justice. Edom was a proud and arrogant people full of pride. They were against your chosen people, and they paid a high price. The book also reminds us how blessed we are to be your people saved by the blood of Jesus. All of us have sinned and fallen short of your glory, but because of his sacrifice, you see us as blameless. We praise your name, Lord. Hallelujah. Thank you.

Father, I pray that you guide the hands of Dr. Nam today and that you would be in the operating room. This really is like any other day because I’m yours and every breath is a gift from you, no matter where I am. But I do ask that everything does go smoothly and according to plan in the operating room. And I pray that you would be with LeeAnn as she waits for me. Calm her heart, Lord, and I thank you so very much for Sean and Brittaney who are there with her to keep her company. I pray God that you give them a special blessing today.

And bless, Lord, the Lifespring family. I’m quite sure that mine is not the only day with important events and that there are many, many other needs. You know what they are and you hold each of us in your loving hands. We thank you for the assurance that you are aware of even the smallest details of our lives. And if you know the smallest details, you certainly know those things that can weigh heavily on our hearts. Help us, Lord, to trust you with the smallest and the largest needs. I thank you and I pray this in Jesus name, amen.

OUTRO S12E268 – 10:31
Comment on the show at lifespringmedia.com/s12e268. Email me at st***@*************ia.com. Share the show with your friends, with your neighbors, with your enemies, with everybody you know. Thanks so much to the team, Kirsty, Sean of San Pedro and Denise. And remember LeeAnn today in your prayers. She has a tendency to worry sometimes when it comes to my welfare. And I ask that you pray for me today as well. Thank you for sharing your time with me today. I hope to be back semi-live with you Monday, but there will be two other shows following this one. Support the show with your time, talent or treasure go to lifespringmedia.com/support.

And until tomorrow, may God bless you richly. My name is Steve Webb.

Bye.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai
Corrected by Denise