The long, dark shadow of bitterness

The prophet Obadiah is another of the prophets of whom we have no detail or information concerning his person, background or life. All that we know of him is contained and conveyed in his name, which literally means the servant of the Lord. The obscurity of detail is a reminder that the message is more important than the messenger.
The content of his prophecy is short, in fact this book is the smallest in the entire collection of the Old Testament books, but the content is specific and precise.
The prophecy focuses upon the nation of Edom, pronouncing God's judgment upon the Edomites for their violence towards the children of Israel.
The content of the prophecy enables us to locate the time of Obadiah's ministry and message to the period of Babylonian invasion and captivity of Jerusalem in 586 BC. Reference is made repeatedly of the day of calamity and distress for the Israelites and the scene of invasion of Jerusalem is portrayed in graphic and unmistakable language. A foreign army has invaded and ransacked the city, whilst the Edomites looked on from their high vantage point in the rocks. Those Jews who escaped were cut off by the Edomites who gladly handed them over to their pursuers. What was left of the city was plundered by the people of Edom, who acted mercilessly towards their neighbours.
The prophecy of Obadiah was the Lord's response to the brutal actions of the Edomites.