Obadiah 1 Study Notes: Judgment on Proud Edom
Obadiah's vision announces that the LORD will humble Edom, whose pride made it feel safe in its high rocky home. Edom is condemned for harming its brother nation Judah and gloating over Jerusalem's fall, and the prophecy ends with rescue on Mount Zion and the LORD reigning as King.
General
True or False: Obadiah 1:15 teaches that what Edom did to others would be done back to Edom.
Answer: True
This is true. The LORD announces that His day of judgment is close at hand for every nation, and that Edom's deeds will return upon its own head (1:15). The punishment fits the crime: the nation that looted and betrayed would itself be looted and betrayed. This is God's justice, not chance. Paul teaches that a person reaps what he sows (Galatians 6:7), Jesus says the measure we use will be measured back to us (Matthew 7:2), and Scripture says repaying wrong is the Lord's right (Romans 12:19). Verse 16 adds that every nation will go on drinking without end, until they vanish as though they had never been.
- Obadiah 1:15 (BSB)“For the Day of the LORD is near for all the nations. As you have done, it will be done to you; your recompense will return upon your own head.”The LORD's day is close at hand for every nation, and Edom's conduct will come back on it.
- Galatians 6:7 (BSB)“Do not be deceived: God is not to be mocked. Whatever a man sows, he will reap in return.”Paul states that a harvest matches its sowing, the principle God applies to Edom.
- Matthew 7:2 (BSB)“For with the same judgment you pronounce, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”Jesus teaches that the measure people use will be measured back to them.
- Romans 12:19 (BSB)“Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written: “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord.””Paul says vengeance belongs to the Lord, who will repay, as He does on Edom.
Theological
True or False: Obadiah 1:15 announces that, in the coming day of the LORD's judgment, Edom's own deeds would return upon it.
Answer: True
This is true. Verse 15 widens the horizon to the LORD's day, now close at hand for every nation, and states the principle of just recompense: Edom's conduct will return upon its own head. God's judgment is measured to the deed, so the plunderer is plundered. The principle is general: a man reaps what he sows (Galatians 6:7), the measure used is measured back (Matthew 7:2), and repayment is the Lord's prerogative (Romans 12:19). Verse 16 extends it to every nation: all will drink and keep drinking until they vanish as though they had never been.
- Obadiah 1:15 (BSB)“For the Day of the LORD is near for all the nations. As you have done, it will be done to you; your recompense will return upon your own head.”The LORD's day is close at hand for every nation, and Edom's conduct will come back on it.
- Galatians 6:7 (BSB)“Do not be deceived: God is not to be mocked. Whatever a man sows, he will reap in return.”Paul states that a harvest matches its sowing, the principle God applies to Edom.
- Matthew 7:2 (BSB)“For with the same judgment you pronounce, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”Jesus teaches that the measure people use will be measured back to them.
- Romans 12:19 (BSB)“Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written: “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord.””Paul says vengeance belongs to the Lord, who will repay, as He does on Edom.
General
What contrast does 1:17-18 draw between Mount Zion and Esau's descendants?
Answer: Zion would be delivered and holy, while Esau's house burned like straw
After announcing judgment on Edom, the LORD turns to His own people. On Mount Zion (the hill of Jerusalem where God's temple stood) there would be deliverance and holiness, and Jacob's descendants would take back their possessions (1:17). Jacob and Joseph would be like fire, and Esau like dry stubble that is burned up (1:18). Joel gives the same promise of deliverance on Mount Zion (Joel 2:32), and Amos promises that David's fallen house would be restored and possess what remained of Edom (Amos 9:11-12).
- Obadiah 1:17-18 (BSB)“But on Mount Zion there will be deliverance, and it will be holy, and the house of Jacob will reclaim their possession. Then the house of Jacob will be a blazing fire, and the house of Joseph a burning flame; but the house of Esau will be stubble—Jacob will set it ablaze and consume it. Therefore no survivor will remain from the house of Esau.” For the LORD has spoken.”Mount Zion will see deliverance and holiness, Jacob will reclaim its land, and Esau will be burned like stubble.
- Joel 2:32 (BSB)“And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has promised, among the remnant called by the LORD.”Joel likewise promises deliverance on Mount Zion for the remnant the LORD calls.
- Amos 9:11-12 (BSB)““In that day I will restore the fallen tent of David. I will repair its gaps, restore its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old, that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations that bear My name,” declares the LORD, who will do this.”Amos promises the rebuilding of David's fallen tent so that God's people would hold what is left of Edom.
Theological
How does 1:17-18 set the future of Mount Zion against the future of Esau's line?
Answer: Zion would be delivered and holy, while Esau's house burned like straw
The oracle pivots from judgment to restoration. Mount Zion will be the place of deliverance and holiness, and Jacob's line will regain what was theirs (1:17); Jacob and Joseph become fire, and Esau stubble consumed without survivor (1:18). The same hope of deliverance on Zion appears in Joel 2:32. Amos likewise ties the possession of what remains of Edom to the rebuilding of David's fallen tent (Amos 9:11-12), much as verses 19-21 picture God's people possessing Esau's mountains.
- Obadiah 1:17-18 (BSB)“But on Mount Zion there will be deliverance, and it will be holy, and the house of Jacob will reclaim their possession. Then the house of Jacob will be a blazing fire, and the house of Joseph a burning flame; but the house of Esau will be stubble—Jacob will set it ablaze and consume it. Therefore no survivor will remain from the house of Esau.” For the LORD has spoken.”Mount Zion will see deliverance and holiness, Jacob will reclaim its land, and Esau will be burned like stubble.
- Joel 2:32 (BSB)“And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has promised, among the remnant called by the LORD.”Joel likewise promises deliverance on Mount Zion for the remnant the LORD calls.
- Amos 9:11-12 (BSB)““In that day I will restore the fallen tent of David. I will repair its gaps, restore its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old, that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations that bear My name,” declares the LORD, who will do this.”Amos promises the rebuilding of David's fallen tent so that God's people would hold what is left of Edom.
General
What did Edom do when foreigners attacked Jerusalem, according to 1:11-14?
Answer: Edom stood by, gloated, looted, and handed over fugitives
When strangers carried off Jerusalem's wealth, Edom stood aloof and acted like one of the attackers (1:11). The LORD then lists what Edom should never have done: gloat over Judah's misfortune, boast, enter the city gate to loot, and wait where roads meet to catch and hand over those trying to escape (1:12-14). Psalm 137:7 remembers Edom cheering on Jerusalem's destruction, Proverbs 24:17-18 warns against rejoicing when an enemy falls, and Ezekiel 35:15 says Edom would be made desolate for rejoicing over Israel's ruin.
- Obadiah 1:11-14 (BSB)“On the day you stood aloof while strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gate and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were just like one of them. But you should not gloat in that day, your brother’s day of misfortune, nor rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their destruction, nor boast proudly in the day of their distress. You should not enter the gate of My people in the day of their disaster, nor gloat over their affliction in the day of their disaster, nor loot their wealth in the day of their disaster. Nor should you stand at the crossroads to cut off their fugitives, nor deliver up their survivors in the day of their distress.”Edom stood aloof as strangers took Jerusalem, then gloated, looted, and cut off the survivors.
- Psalm 137:7 (BSB)“Remember, O LORD, the sons of Edom on the day Jerusalem fell: “Destroy it,” they said, “tear it down to its foundations!””The psalmist asks the LORD to remember how Edom's people urged on the destruction of Jerusalem.
- Proverbs 24:17-18 (BSB)“Do not gloat when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart rejoice when he stumbles, or the LORD will see and disapprove, and turn His wrath away from him.”The proverb warns against rejoicing when an enemy falls, the very thing Edom did.
- Ezekiel 35:15 (BSB)“As you rejoiced when the inheritance of the house of Israel became desolate, so will I do to you. You will become a desolation, O Mount Seir, and so will all of Edom. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”Ezekiel says Edom rejoiced over Israel's ruin and would itself become desolate.
Theological
How does 1:11-14 describe Edom's conduct during Jerusalem's calamity?
Answer: Edom stood by, gloated, looted, and handed over fugitives
Edom's guilt escalates from passive complicity to active cruelty. First it stood aloof while foreigners plundered Jerusalem and so became no different from the invaders (1:11); then the series of prohibitions in 1:12-14 names its further sins: gloating over Judah's misfortune, boasting, entering the gate to loot, and blocking the escape routes to deliver up survivors. Psalm 137:7 records Edom urging the city's destruction, Proverbs 24:17-18 forbids rejoicing at an enemy's fall, and Ezekiel 35:15 announces desolation on Edom for rejoicing over Israel's ruin.
- Obadiah 1:11-14 (BSB)“On the day you stood aloof while strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gate and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were just like one of them. But you should not gloat in that day, your brother’s day of misfortune, nor rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their destruction, nor boast proudly in the day of their distress. You should not enter the gate of My people in the day of their disaster, nor gloat over their affliction in the day of their disaster, nor loot their wealth in the day of their disaster. Nor should you stand at the crossroads to cut off their fugitives, nor deliver up their survivors in the day of their distress.”Edom stood aloof as strangers took Jerusalem, then gloated, looted, and cut off the survivors.
- Psalm 137:7 (BSB)“Remember, O LORD, the sons of Edom on the day Jerusalem fell: “Destroy it,” they said, “tear it down to its foundations!””The psalmist asks the LORD to remember how Edom's people urged on the destruction of Jerusalem.
- Proverbs 24:17-18 (BSB)“Do not gloat when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart rejoice when he stumbles, or the LORD will see and disapprove, and turn His wrath away from him.”The proverb warns against rejoicing when an enemy falls, the very thing Edom did.
- Ezekiel 35:15 (BSB)“As you rejoiced when the inheritance of the house of Israel became desolate, so will I do to you. You will become a desolation, O Mount Seir, and so will all of Edom. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”Ezekiel says Edom rejoiced over Israel's ruin and would itself become desolate.
General
How complete would Edom's downfall be, according to 1:5-7?
Answer: Its hidden wealth would be searched out and its allies would turn on it
The LORD compares Edom's coming ruin to a robbery. Ordinary thieves take only what they want, and grape pickers leave some fruit behind, but Esau (another name for Edom, the nation descended from Jacob's brother Esau) would have even his hidden treasures searched out (1:5-6). Worse, those allied with Edom, even those who shared its table, would deceive it, push it to its border, and lay a snare for it (1:7). Jeremiah's oracle against Edom uses the same picture of thieves and harvesters (Jeremiah 49:9-10), and Malachi later speaks of Esau's land made a wasteland (Malachi 1:2-3).
- Obadiah 1:5-7 (BSB)““If thieves came to you, if robbers by night—oh, how you will be ruined—would they not steal only what they wanted? If grape gatherers came to you, would they not leave some gleanings? But how Esau will be pillaged, his hidden treasures sought out! All the men allied with you will drive you to the border; the men at peace with you will deceive and overpower you. Those who eat your bread will set a trap for you without your awareness of it.”Thieves and harvesters leave something behind, but Esau will be fully plundered and betrayed by his own allies.
- Jeremiah 49:9-10 (BSB)“If grape gatherers came to you, would they not leave some gleanings? Were thieves to come in the night, would they not steal only what they wanted? But I will strip Esau bare; I will uncover his hiding places, and he will be unable to conceal himself. His descendants will be destroyed along with his relatives and neighbors, and he will be no more.”Jeremiah's oracle against Edom uses the same picture of thieves and grape gatherers and says God will leave Esau with nothing.
- Malachi 1:2-3 (BSB)““I have loved you,” says the LORD. But you ask, “How have You loved us?” “Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the LORD. “Yet Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated, and I have made his mountains a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.””Malachi later says the LORD has made Esau's hill country a desolate waste.
Theological
What does the comparison with thieves and grape gatherers in 1:5-7 show about Edom's judgment?
Answer: Its hidden wealth would be searched out and its allies would turn on it
The comparison stresses how total Edom's plunder will be. Robbers by night and grape gatherers leave something behind, but Esau will be ransacked down to his hidden treasures (1:5-6). The treaty partners and table companions on whom Edom relied will deceive, overpower, and ensnare it (1:7), so that the alliances Edom trusted become the instruments of its fall. Jeremiah's parallel oracle uses the same imagery (Jeremiah 49:9-10), and Malachi looks back on Esau's mountains laid waste (Malachi 1:2-3).
- Obadiah 1:5-7 (BSB)““If thieves came to you, if robbers by night—oh, how you will be ruined—would they not steal only what they wanted? If grape gatherers came to you, would they not leave some gleanings? But how Esau will be pillaged, his hidden treasures sought out! All the men allied with you will drive you to the border; the men at peace with you will deceive and overpower you. Those who eat your bread will set a trap for you without your awareness of it.”Thieves and harvesters leave something behind, but Esau will be fully plundered and betrayed by his own allies.
- Jeremiah 49:9-10 (BSB)“If grape gatherers came to you, would they not leave some gleanings? Were thieves to come in the night, would they not steal only what they wanted? But I will strip Esau bare; I will uncover his hiding places, and he will be unable to conceal himself. His descendants will be destroyed along with his relatives and neighbors, and he will be no more.”Jeremiah's oracle against Edom uses the same picture of thieves and grape gatherers and says God will leave Esau with nothing.
- Malachi 1:2-3 (BSB)““I have loved you,” says the LORD. But you ask, “How have You loved us?” “Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the LORD. “Yet Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated, and I have made his mountains a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.””Malachi later says the LORD has made Esau's hill country a desolate waste.
General
How does Obadiah's prophecy end in 1:21?
Answer: The LORD Himself will hold the kingship
Verses 19-20 describe God's people taking possession of land on every side, including Esau's mountains. Then 1:21 says deliverers will climb Mount Zion to govern Esau's mountains, and it ends by declaring that kingship is the LORD's. Proud Edom thought it was beyond reach, but the last word belongs to God's rule. Scripture says the same throughout: the LORD is ruler over every nation (Psalm 22:28), His reign extends over everything (Psalm 103:19), and in the end the world's kingdom passes to our Lord and His Christ (Revelation 11:15).
- Obadiah 1:21 (BSB)“The deliverers will ascend Mount Zion to rule over the mountains of Esau. And the kingdom will belong to the LORD.”Deliverers climb Mount Zion to govern Esau's land, and the book closes by naming the LORD as King.
- Psalm 22:28 (BSB)“For dominion belongs to the LORD and He rules over the nations.”The psalm declares that dominion is the LORD's and that He rules the nations.
- Psalm 103:19 (BSB)“The LORD has established His throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all.”The psalmist affirms that the LORD reigns from heaven over everything that exists.
- Revelation 11:15 (BSB)“Then the seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and loud voices called out in heaven: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever.””Heaven announces that rule over the world has passed to the Lord and His Christ.
Theological
With what declaration does Obadiah close in 1:21?
Answer: The LORD Himself will hold the kingship
After the deliverers go up Mount Zion to govern Esau's mountains (1:21a), the book ends with the confession that kingship is the LORD's. The whole oracle moves from Edom's self-exalting pride to the LORD's universal reign, so the final line states the theme of the book. The LORD governs the nations (Psalm 22:28); His reign extends over everything (Psalm 103:19); and the consummation is announced in heaven as the world's kingdom passing to our Lord and His Christ (Revelation 11:15).
- Obadiah 1:21 (BSB)“The deliverers will ascend Mount Zion to rule over the mountains of Esau. And the kingdom will belong to the LORD.”Deliverers climb Mount Zion to govern Esau's land, and the book closes by naming the LORD as King.
- Psalm 22:28 (BSB)“For dominion belongs to the LORD and He rules over the nations.”The psalm declares that dominion is the LORD's and that He rules the nations.
- Psalm 103:19 (BSB)“The LORD has established His throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all.”The psalmist affirms that the LORD reigns from heaven over everything that exists.
- Revelation 11:15 (BSB)“Then the seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and loud voices called out in heaven: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever.””Heaven announces that rule over the world has passed to the Lord and His Christ.
General
What does the LORD say about Edom's feeling of safety in 1:3-4?
Answer: Its arrogance had fooled it, and God would pull it from its heights
The vision opens with word from the LORD that a messenger has gone out to rally the nations against Edom, and God says He will make Edom small and scorned (1:1-2). Edom lived among high cliffs and rocky heights and felt that no one could ever bring it down. The LORD says this pride had deceived Edom: even if it rose as high as an eagle or nested among the stars, He would bring it down (1:3-4). Edom's real problem was not weak defenses but a proud heart that trusted its position instead of God. Scripture teaches the same rule elsewhere: pride comes before a fall (Proverbs 16:18), God resists the arrogant (James 4:6), and whoever lifts himself up will be humbled (Matthew 23:12).
- Obadiah 1:3-4 (BSB)“The pride of your heart has deceived you, O dwellers in the clefts of the rocks whose habitation is the heights, who say in your heart, ‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’ Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, even from there I will bring you down,” declares the LORD.”Edom, living in the high rocks, trusts its lofty position, and the LORD says He will bring it low even from the stars.
- Proverbs 16:18 (BSB)“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”The proverb states the general rule that the LORD applies to Edom: arrogance comes right before ruin.
- James 4:6 (BSB)“But He gives us more grace. This is why it says: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.””James shows that God sets Himself against the proud, which is exactly His stance toward Edom here.
- Matthew 23:12 (BSB)“For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”Jesus teaches that self-exaltation ends in humiliation, the pattern Obadiah announces for Edom.
Theological
According to 1:3-4, what is the LORD's verdict on Edom's confidence in its lofty dwelling?
Answer: Its arrogance had fooled it, and God would pull it from its heights
The vision opens with a report that an envoy has summoned the nations to war against Edom, and the LORD vows to make Edom small and scorned among them (1:1-2). The oracle diagnoses Edom's sin as pride of heart: secure in its cliffs and heights, Edom boasted that no one could bring it down. The LORD answers that this pride had deceived it, and that even an eagle's height or a home set among the stars would not put Edom beyond His reach (1:3-4). Human security apart from God is self-deception. The same principle runs through Scripture: pride precedes destruction (Proverbs 16:18), God sets Himself against the proud (James 4:6), and self-exaltation ends in humbling (Matthew 23:12).
- Obadiah 1:3-4 (BSB)“The pride of your heart has deceived you, O dwellers in the clefts of the rocks whose habitation is the heights, who say in your heart, ‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’ Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, even from there I will bring you down,” declares the LORD.”Edom, living in the high rocks, trusts its lofty position, and the LORD says He will bring it low even from the stars.
- Proverbs 16:18 (BSB)“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”The proverb states the general rule that the LORD applies to Edom: arrogance comes right before ruin.
- James 4:6 (BSB)“But He gives us more grace. This is why it says: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.””James shows that God sets Himself against the proud, which is exactly His stance toward Edom here.
- Matthew 23:12 (BSB)“For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”Jesus teaches that self-exaltation ends in humiliation, the pattern Obadiah announces for Edom.
General
What reason does 1:10 give for Edom's coming shame?
Answer: Its violence against its own brother, Jacob
The LORD says Edom will be clothed in disgrace and destroyed for all time because of its violence against its brother Jacob (1:10). Edom came from Esau and Israel from Jacob, the twin sons of Isaac and Rebekah (Genesis 25:23-24), so the two nations were relatives. God's law even told Israel not to despise an Edomite because he was a brother (Deuteronomy 23:7). Edom's cruelty was therefore worse than an ordinary enemy's, and the prophet Amos condemns the same sin of hunting down a brother with weapons (Amos 1:11).
- Obadiah 1:10 (BSB)“Because of the violence against your brother Jacob, you will be covered with shame and cut off forever.”Edom faces disgrace and destruction for the harm it did to Jacob, its own kin.
- Genesis 25:23-24 (BSB)“and He declared to her: “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.” When her time came to give birth, there were indeed twins in her womb.”God told Rebekah two nations would come from her, and she then bore twins, so Israel and Edom came from brothers.
- Deuteronomy 23:7 (BSB)“Do not despise an Edomite, for he is your brother. Do not despise an Egyptian, because you lived as a foreigner in his land.”The law told Israel not to despise an Edomite because he is a brother, showing the bond Edom violated.
- Amos 1:11 (BSB)“This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Edom, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because he pursued his brother with the sword and stifled all compassion; his anger raged continually, and his fury flamed incessantly.”Amos also condemns Edom for hunting down its kin with weapons and showing no pity.
Theological
What specific charge does 1:10 bring against Edom as the ground of its judgment?
Answer: Its violence against its own brother, Jacob
The ground of judgment is violence against kin: because of what Edom did to its brother Jacob, it will be clothed in disgrace and destroyed for all time (1:10). The brotherhood is literal, since Edom and Israel descend from the twins in Rebekah's womb (Genesis 25:23-24), and the Mosaic law honored that tie by forbidding Israel to despise an Edomite (Deuteronomy 23:7). Edom's hostility is thus a betrayal of kinship, the same charge Amos brings when he condemns Edom for hunting down its brother with weapons and smothering all pity (Amos 1:11).
- Obadiah 1:10 (BSB)“Because of the violence against your brother Jacob, you will be covered with shame and cut off forever.”Edom faces disgrace and destruction for the harm it did to Jacob, its own kin.
- Genesis 25:23-24 (BSB)“and He declared to her: “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.” When her time came to give birth, there were indeed twins in her womb.”God told Rebekah two nations would come from her, and she then bore twins, so Israel and Edom came from brothers.
- Deuteronomy 23:7 (BSB)“Do not despise an Edomite, for he is your brother. Do not despise an Egyptian, because you lived as a foreigner in his land.”The law told Israel not to despise an Edomite because he is a brother, showing the bond Edom violated.
- Amos 1:11 (BSB)“This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Edom, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because he pursued his brother with the sword and stifled all compassion; his anger raged continually, and his fury flamed incessantly.”Amos also condemns Edom for hunting down its kin with weapons and showing no pity.
General
True or False: In 1:8-9 the LORD says He will destroy Edom's wise men, and its warriors will be filled with terror.
Answer: True
This is true. The LORD asks whether He will not wipe out Edom's sages and its men of insight in Esau's hill country (1:8). Teman would see its mighty men terrified, and everyone in Esau's mountains would be cut down (1:9). Edom trusted its cleverness and its fighters, but neither could stand when God acted. Scripture says God brings human cleverness to nothing (1 Corinthians 1:19), that no counsel can succeed against the LORD (Proverbs 21:30), and that He traps the crafty in their own schemes (Job 5:12-13).
- Obadiah 1:8-9 (BSB)“In that day, declares the LORD, will I not destroy the wise men of Edom and the men of understanding in the mountains of Esau? Then your mighty men, O Teman, will be terrified, so that everyone in the mountains of Esau will be cut down in the slaughter.”The LORD says He will destroy Edom's wise men, and Teman's warriors will be terrified.
- 1 Corinthians 1:19 (BSB)“For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.””Paul quotes God's promise to bring human cleverness to nothing, the same action God takes against Edom's wise men.
- Proverbs 21:30 (BSB)“There is no wisdom, no understanding, no counsel that can prevail against the LORD.”The proverb affirms that no human wisdom or counsel can succeed against the LORD.
- Job 5:12-13 (BSB)“He thwarts the schemes of the crafty, so that their hands find no success. He catches the wise in their craftiness, and sweeps away the plans of the cunning.”Eliphaz describes God trapping clever schemers by their own cunning, as He does with Edom's counselors.
Theological
True or False: In 1:8-9 the LORD declares that Edom's sages will be destroyed and Teman's mighty men will be terrified.
Answer: True
This is true. The LORD's rhetorical question in 1:8 promises the destruction of Edom's wise men and men of understanding, and 1:9 adds that Teman's warriors will be terrified and Esau's mountains emptied by slaughter. Both pillars of Edom's self-confidence, its counsel and its might, collapse before the LORD. God brings the cleverness of the clever to nothing (1 Corinthians 1:19); no counsel prevails against Him (Proverbs 21:30); He catches the crafty in their own craftiness (Job 5:12-13).
- Obadiah 1:8-9 (BSB)“In that day, declares the LORD, will I not destroy the wise men of Edom and the men of understanding in the mountains of Esau? Then your mighty men, O Teman, will be terrified, so that everyone in the mountains of Esau will be cut down in the slaughter.”The LORD says He will destroy Edom's wise men, and Teman's warriors will be terrified.
- 1 Corinthians 1:19 (BSB)“For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.””Paul quotes God's promise to bring human cleverness to nothing, the same action God takes against Edom's wise men.
- Proverbs 21:30 (BSB)“There is no wisdom, no understanding, no counsel that can prevail against the LORD.”The proverb affirms that no human wisdom or counsel can succeed against the LORD.
- Job 5:12-13 (BSB)“He thwarts the schemes of the crafty, so that their hands find no success. He catches the wise in their craftiness, and sweeps away the plans of the cunning.”Eliphaz describes God trapping clever schemers by their own cunning, as He does with Edom's counselors.