Mar 19, 2019 the book of revelation is by far one of the most challenging books in the bible, yet well worth the effort to study and comprehend. This article is part of the christ in all of scripture series hope and salvation. Nahum, along with obadiah, consists entirely of an oraclethough obadiah makes more explicit mention of salvation and hope obad. It may also be called deliverance or redemption from sin and its effects. Obadiah may have been the earliest of the writing prophets. Some of the ancients imagined him to be the same with that obadiah that was steward to ahabs household 1 ki. One way in which this prophet served jehovah was through his prophecy concerning the destruction of edom. Nothing is known of the author, although his prophecy against edom, a neighbor and rival of israel, indicates a date of composition sometime after the babylonian destruction of jerusalem in 587 b.
Why judaism and christianity interpet the bible differently time. Introduction the author the author of the book is named obadiah which means servant of yahweh. Edoms pride and downfall is disclosed in the book of obadiah. So obadiah is just a prophet who wrote one of the great prophecies of the scripture. Salvation is being saved or protected from harm or being saved or delivered from a dire. The parallels between the story told in the book of jonah and the suffering, death, and resurrection of christ become even more striking as the story continues. Edoms pride and downfall is disclosed in the book of. The book of revelation, a prophecy of warning and hope. Some believe obadiah may have been a contemporary of elisha. Obadiah, the shortest book in the old testament, is only 21 verses long.
The name here is a unique reference in that it does not deal with israel or judah. The book of obadiah is the only one chapter book in the old testament. The book of zephaniah introduction to the book of zephaniah in the bible. The authors name is obadiah, which means servant or worshiper of the lord. Obadiah, with only one chapter consisting of 21 verses, is the shortest of all old testament books and purports to be a record of the vision of obadiah. Winner of the pulitzer prize winner of the new york public librarys helen bernstein book award a new classic of science reporting. Yahweh will judge edom both historically through the. In the context of christian theology, this approach reads the books of the bible as a continuous history. Obadiah predicts the coming of the day of the lord and the establishment of. Obadiah announces edoms downfall to babylon, which is an image of how. Dec 12, 2010 john piper draws out five brief lessons from obadiah which will affect the way we live. The gospel colors are a great way to lead a child to salvation. They believe jeremiah 49 was composed following the battle of carchemish in 605 b. Yahweh will judge edom both historically through the nations and eschatologically through israel.
The book of obadiah stoke poges is a small village in england not too far from windsor castle. Obadiah is a prophet of god who uses this opportunity to condemn edom for sins against both god and israel. The short book of obadiah the shortest in the ot is an oracle against the nation of edom. Show the child the gold spreads at the front and back of the wordless book. The books of joel, obadiah, jonah, and micah the new. Obadiah was the name of a variety of individuals in the ancient world. Short summary of obadiah the bible stories of obadiah taken from the scriptures a short summary of the bible stories of obadiah taken from the scriptures. Obadiah with book summary versebyverse bible commentary. Summary of the book of obadiah the story of the bible. The work of rene girard, an anthropologist, demonstrates that our human culture is founded on the concealing of its own violence in religious myths and symbols. Its authorship is difficult to date but was possibly written about 853841 b. The smallest old testament account, the book of obadiah is a vision written by the lords prophet known as obadiah, who prophesied against israels relative nation edom. Some scholars as reflected in this survey believe it may have been written around 850 b. The book of obadiah contains only one chapter and is the shortest book of the whole old testament.
First, god rules in this world right now and turns the course of nations and history as he pleases. This endearing little book provides a fresh take on the gospel while answering. Some have thought that this is the same obadiah that was ahabs steward in 2 chronicles 17. Presenter jeff cavins will show you how fourteen of the bibles narrative books tell the biblical story from beginning to end and give you the keys to understanding.
Other occurrences of the name are not known to be for the same person. There is a reference to individual resurrection in the book of daniel 165 bce. The book of obadiah was likely written between 848 and 840 b. Heres an excerpt from an article called preparing the way for christ. More than ten persons of the ot bear the same name but none of them is identical with the prophet. Obadiah the lords message about edom and what edom represents in the end times the book has only this one chapter.
Mar 10, 2018 the simple little salvation story explains gods loving plan of salvation in a way that everyone can understand. Humanity needs a clearer understanding that the gospel has come to redeem. The books of joel, obadiah, jonah, and micah the new international commentary on the old testament. It understands events such as the fall at the beginning of. Perhaps most strikingly, however, we see that the salvation of gods people comes not with chariots or armies but in weakness. The relationship between men and women is deep and nuanced, and one entire book of the writings conjugial love or love in marriage. Salvation story responds to douglas john halls claim that the world is waiting for gospel. As an oracle of judgment, obadiah presents unique challenges for gospel application. The book closes with the promise of deliverance for zion. Minor prophets, books of the bible, old testament, bible study index. Some think that obadiah was a steward in the household of king ahab 1 kings 18. This book, the shortest among the twelve minor prophets, is a single twentyoneverse oracle against edom.
This summary of the book of obadiah provides information about the title, authors, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of obadiah. The text consists of a single chapter, divided into 21 verses, making it the shortest book in the hebrew bible. Nevertheless, i believe that the prophesy occurred sometime immediately after 586 b. Obadiah bible study zion friedheim lutheran church. The purpose of obadiah is to show that god will judge all those who are against his children, his chosen people. The book of obadiah is an oracle concerning the divine judgment of edom and the restoration of israel. Summary of the book of zephaniah the story of the bible. The date the book of obadiah is somewhat uncertain. After reciting a few times have students flip over a name and recite the books in order. Because of the violence done to your brother jacob, shame shall cover you, and you shall be.
With a book as huge as the bible, readers need some kind of key that. Salvation is considered to be caused, depending on the religion or even denomination, either only by the grace of god i. The beginning of the story is the same as the ending. This summary of the book of obadiah provides information about the title, author s, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of obadiah. Jacob and esau were brothers, twins and so they should have cared for each other and looked after each other. Hope and salvation as an oracle of judgment, obadiah presents unique challenges for gospel application. And the house of jacob shall possess their possessions. Obadiah 1 commentary matthew henry commentary on the whole. The book of the prophet obadiah is the shortest book of the ot with 21 verses only. We have heard a rumour from the lord, and an ambassador is sent among the heathen. In latin it is translated as abdias while in arabic it is.
While several options have been proposed by scholars, the best argument places obadiah in the 840s bc, making him the earliest writing prophet, a few years prior to joel, and a contemporary of elisha. Theme obadiah 10 gods vengeance god will avenge edoms mistreatment of israel. The text consists of a single chapter, divided into 21 verses, making it the shortest book in the hebrew bible in judaism and christianity, its authorship is attributed to a prophet who lived in the assyrian period and named himself in the first verse, obadiah. Deliverance for israel the book closes with the promise of deliverance for zion. And jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights 1. Obadiah is only one chapter the shortest book in the old testament yet it tells of gods prophet obadiah as he announces gods powerful and authoritative judgment on the nation of edom. Obadiah announces edoms downfall to babylon, which is an image of how god will bring down all arrogant and violent nations. It is recorded in the bible, which simply means book. If this were not so, he could not promise judah that. The book of obadiah is a book of prophetic oracles. Obadiah prophesies edoms judgment begin with prayer recite the minor prophets. The global message of obadiah obadiah in redemptive history. Like so many of the prophets, little is known of obadiah. Pusey said, god has willed that his name alone and this brief prophecy should be known to the world.
The book of obadiah shows that god will not forsake his promises to abraham, issac, and jacob. To the jews, its a message of faithfulness and salvation. Watch our overview video on the book of obadiah, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. Obadiah is a prophet of god who uses this opportunity to condemn edom for sins against both. To judge the mountain of esau, and the kingdom will be the lords. The book of jonah, containing the wellknown story of jonah in the stomach of a. In fact, the opening passage contains a blessing to everyone who reads, hears, and keeps the words of this prophecy. An o verview of the main events and biblical characters found in obadiah together with the famous bible stories and brief summary of the book of obadiah from the douay rheims roman catholic. The form of obadiah s name used in the septuagint is obdios. As part of their rebellion against judah, they may have been supporting some of the gentile nations who were harassing and attacking judah. In its introduction to the book of obadiah, the oxford annotated bible suggests. In judaism, obadiah is considered a later prophet, one of the twelve prophets in the final sec. Obadiah verse 1 identifies the author of the book of obadiah as the prophet obadiah.
The prophesy is entirely against edom, the descendants of esau, the brother to jacob who was the father of the israelites. There are a huge number of informative resources in the new esv study bible. Obadiah s name means servant of yahweh, and he delivered a message regarding the edomites who had helped the babylonians in their conquest of jerusalem in 586 bc during the reign of king zedekiah of judah. The jesus focus in the book of obadiah lifecoach4god. Obadiah 17 the first step in the future successes of the jews is the recovery of what was previously their own speakers commentary. In religion, salvation is the saving of the soul from sin and its consequences.
Book of obadiah, also spelled abdias, the fourth of 12 old testament books that bear the names of the minor prophets, in the jewish canon treated as one book, the twelve. Obadiah probably lived in the southern kingdom of judah. In judaism and christianity, its authorship is attributed to a prophet who lived in the assyrian period and named himself in the first verse, obadiah. To understand this story we need to go further back in history to the time of jacob and esau. Who this obadiah was does not appear from any other scripture. In obadiah, we glimpse the coming savior who will defeat his enemies, who will heal the earth and restore it, and we see the coming king who will rule the world obadiah 1921. The name obadiah means servant or worshipper of jehovah.
This summary of the book of obadiah will help with many different forms of bible study. Obadiah is a little book, but it is an example of an atomic bomb in the bible. The authors name is obadiah, which means servant or worship of the lord his was a common name as is found in many other places in the old testament 1 kings 18. Like joel, jonah, nahum, habakkuk, and malachi, it contains no explicit indication of when it was written. This fact makes it difficult to date the time of writing.
Jews and christians share the first books of the bible for christians, they are called the old testament. Since the edomites were descendants of jacobs brother, esau, this betrayal by edom was especially painful to gods people. Note that the second spread should be the dark page. Now the lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up jonah. Obadiah 1 commentary matthew henry commentary on the. This onechapter book of the bible has some important concepts. The simple little salvation story childrens book full. Reading the bible through the jesus lens in obadiah from biblical book to biblical hook charts adapted from dr. John piper draws out five brief lessons from obadiah which will affect the way we live. But the salvation and holiness of the gospel, its spread, and the conversion of the gentiles, seem also to be intended, especially the restoration of israel, the destruction of antichrist, and the prosperous state of the church, to which all the prophets bear witness.
Like a number of prophetic books, it is both a book of judgment and a book of hope. And them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops. We do not know anything of the book s author but his name obadiah servant or worshipper of jehovah. The prophesy is entirely against edom, the descendants of esau, the brother to jacob who was the father of the. Free resources for sunday school worksheets, activities, stories. The books of joel, obadiah, jonah, and micah the new international commentary on the old testament allen, leslie c. The book of obadiah consists of one chapter, concerning edom, its impending doom 1. The bible presents salvation in the form of a story that describes the.
In favor are the many similarities between the book of obadiah and jeremiah 49. Book of obadiah overview insight for living ministries. The book of revelation is by far one of the most challenging books in the bible, yet well worth the effort to study and comprehend. If this were not so, he could not promise judah that he would cut off edom and establish jacob. To the edomites, its a message of judgment and doom. Obadiah is the shortest old testament book one chapter of twentyone verses. Dating the book of obadiah accurately is nearly impossible due to the scant historical information contained in the book. Obadiahs name means servant of yahweh, and he delivered a message regarding the edomites who had helped the babylonians in their conquest of jerusalem in 586 bc during the reign of king zedekiah of judah.
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