Obadiah 1

Obadiah 1:1-21 . DOOM OF EDOM FOR CRUELTY TO JUDAH, EDOM'S BROTHER; RESTORATION OF THE JEWS.

1. Obadiah--that is, servant of Jehovah; same as Abdeel and Arabic Abd-allah.
We--I and my people.
heard--( Isaiah 21:10 ).
and an ambassador is sent--Yea, an ambassador is already sent, namely, an angel, to stir up the Assyrians (and afterwards the Chaldeans) against Edom. The result of the ambassador's message on the heathen is, they simultaneously exclaim, "Arise ye, and let us (with united strength) rise," &c. Jeremiah 49:14 quotes this.

2. I have made thee small--Thy reduction to insignificance is as sure as if it were already accomplished; therefore the past tense is used [MAURER]. Edom then extended from Dedan of Arabia to Bozrah in the north ( Jeremiah 49:8 Jeremiah 49:13 ). CALVIN explains it, "Whereas thou wast made by Me an insignificant people, why art thou so proud" ( Obadiah 1:3 )? But if so, why should the heathen peoples be needed to subdue one so insignificant? Jeremiah 49:15 , confirms MAURER'S view.

3. clefts of . . . rock--( Solomon 2:14 , Jeremiah 48:28 ). The cities of Edom, and among them Petra (Hebrew, sela, meaning "rock," 2 Kings 14:7 , Margin), the capital, in the Wady Musa, consisted of houses mostly cut in the rocks.

4. exalt thyself--or supply from the second clause, "thy nest" [MAURER] (Compare Job 20:6 , Jeremiah 49:16 , Amos 9:2 ).
set . . . nest among . . . stars--namely, on the loftiest hills which seem to reach the very stars. Edom is a type of Antichrist ( Isaiah 14:13 , Daniel 8:10 , 11:37 ).
thence will I bring thee down--in spite of thy boast ( Obadiah 1:3 ), "Who shall bring me down?"

5. The spoliation which thou shalt suffer shall not be such as that which thieves cause, bad as that is, for these when they have seized enough, or all they can get in a hurry, leave the rest--nor such as grape-gatherers cause in a vineyard, for they, when they have gathered most of the grapes, leave gleanings behind--but it shall be utter, so as to leave thee nothing. The exclamation, "How art thou cut off!" bursting in amidst the words of the image, marks strongly excited feeling. The contrast between Edom where no gleanings shall be left, and Israel where at the worst a gleaning is left ( Isaiah 17:6 , 24:13 ), is striking.

6. How are the things of Esau searched out!--by hostile soldiers seeking booty. Compare with Obadiah 1:5 Obadiah 1:6 here, Jeremiah 49:9 Jeremiah 49:10 .
hidden things--or "places." Edom abounded in such hiding-places, as caves, clefts in the rock, &c. None of these would be left unexplored by the foe.