--- title: "Obadiah 1 - Study King James Bible with barnes notes on the whole bible" description: "Read Obadiah 1 with barnes notes on the whole bible commentary. 1 The vision of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning Edom; We have heard a rumour from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent among the heathen, Arise" image: "/_app/immutable/assets/missing.C7wGMEZ6.jpg" url: "https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/barnes-notes-on-the-whole-bible/obadiah/1" --- [ Read](/kjv/obadiah/1)[ Commentary](/study/obadiah/1)[ Interlinear](/interlinear/obadiah/1) Audio 1 The vision of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning Edom; We have heard a rumour from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent among the heathen, Arise ye, and let us rise up against her in battle. 2 Behold, I have made thee small among the heathen: thou art greatly despised. 3 ¶ The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation *is* high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground? 4 Though thou exalt *thyself* as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the LORD. 5 If thieves came to thee, if robbers by night, (how art thou cut off!) would they not have stolen till they had enough? if the grapegatherers came to thee, would they not leave *some* grapes?* 6 How are *the things* of Esau searched out! *how* are his hidden things sought up! 7 All the men of thy confederacy have brought thee *even* to the border: the men that were at peace with thee have deceived thee, *and* prevailed against thee; *they that eat* thy bread have laid a wound under thee: *there is* none understanding in him.*** 8 Shall I not in that day, saith the LORD, even destroy the wise *men* out of Edom, and understanding out of the mount of Esau? 9 And thy mighty *men*, O Teman, shall be dismayed, to the end that every one of the mount of Esau may be cut off by slaughter. 10 ¶ For *thy* violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever. 11 In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, in the day that the strangers carried away captive his forces, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even thou *wast* as one of them.* 12 But thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day that he became a stranger; neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress.* 13 Thou shouldest not have entered into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; yea, thou shouldest not have looked on their affliction in the day of their calamity, nor have laid *hands* on their substance in the day of their calamity;* 14 Neither shouldest thou have stood in the crossway, to cut off those of his that did escape; neither shouldest thou have delivered up those of his that did remain in the day of distress.* 15 For the day of the LORD *is* near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head. 16 For as ye have drunk upon my holy mountain, *so* shall all the heathen drink continually, yea, they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not been.* 17 ¶ But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.** 18 And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them, and devour them; and there shall not be *any* remaining of the house of Esau; for the LORD hath spoken *it*. 19 And *they of* the south shall possess the mount of Esau; and *they of* the plain the Philistines: and they shall possess the fields of Ephraim, and the fields of Samaria: and Benjamin *shall possess* Gilead. 20 And the captivity of this host of the children of Israel *shall possess* that of the Canaanites, *even* unto Zarephath; and the captivity of Jerusalem, which *is* in Sepharad, shall possess the cities of the south.* 21 And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’s. [Amos 9](/study/amos/9) [Jonah 1](/study/jonah/1) ## Commentary To verse 1 **The vision of Obadiah -**, i. e., of “the worshiper of God.” The prophet would be known only by that which his name imports, that he worshiped God. He tells us in this double title, through whom the prophecy came, and from whom it came. His name authenticated the prophecy to the Jewish Church. Thenceforth, he chose to remain wholly hidden. He entitles it “a vision,” as the prophets were called “seers” [1 Samuel 9:9](/kjv/1-samuel/9/9), although he relates, not the vision which he saw, but its substance and meaning. Probably the future was unfolded to him in the form of sights spread out before his mind, of which he spoke in words given to him by God. His language consists of a succession of pictures, which he may have seen, and, in his picture language, described . “As prophecy is called “the word,” because God spoke to the prophets within, so it is called “vision,” because the prophet saw, with the eyes of the mind and by the light wherewith they are illumined, what God willeth to be known to them.” The name expresses also the certainty of their knowledge . “Among the organs of our senses, sight has the most evident knowledge of those things which are the object of our senses. Hence, the contemplation of the things which are true is called “vision,” on account of the evidence and assured certainty. On that ground the prophet was called “seer.” **Thus saith the Lord God concerning Edom -**This second title states, that the whole which follows is from God. What immediately follows is said in Obadiah’s own person; but all, whether so spoken or directly in the Person of God, was alike the word of God. God spake in or by the prophets, in both ways, since [2 Peter 1:21](/kjv/2-peter/1/21) “prophecy came not by the will of man, but holy men of God spake” as they were “moved by the Holy Spirit.” Obadiah, in that he uses, in regard to his whole prophecy, words which other prophets use in delivering a direct message from God, ascribes the whole of his prophecy to God, as immediately as other prophets did any words which God commanded them to speak. The words are a rule for all prophecy, that all comes directly from God. **We have heard a rumor -**, rather, “a report;” literally “a hearing, a thing heard,” as Isaiah says [Isaiah 53:1](/kjv/isaiah/53/1), “Who hath believed our report? A “report” is certain or uncertain, according to the authority from whom it comes. This “report” was certainly true, since it was “from the Lord.” By the plural, we, Obadiah may have associated with himself, either other prophets of his own day as Joel and Amos, who, with those yet earlier, as Balaam and David, had prophesied against Edom, or the people, for whose sakes God made it known to him. In either case, the prophet does not stand alone for himself. He hears with “the goodly company of the prophets;” and the people of God hear in him, as Isaiah says again [Isaiah 21:10](/kjv/isaiah/21/10), “that which I have heard from the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have I declared unto you.” **And an ambassador is sent among the pagan -**The “ambassador” is any agent, visible or invisible, sent by God. Human powers, who wish to stir up war, send human messengers. All things stand at God’s command, and whatever or whomsoever He employs, is a messenger from Him. He uses our language to us. He may have employed an angel, as He says [Psalms 78:49](/kjv/psalms/78/49), “He sent evil angels among them,” and as, through the permission given to a lying spirit [1 Kings 22:21-23](/kjv/1-kings/22/21-23). He executed His judgments upon Ahab, of his own free will believing the evil spirit, and disbelieving Himself. So [Judges 9:23](/kjv/judges/9/23) “God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem,” allowing His rebellious spirit to bring about the punishment of evil men, by inflaming yet more the evil passions, of which they were slaves. Evil spirits, in their malice and rebellion, while stirring up the lust of conquest, are still God’s messengers, in that He overrules them; as, to Paul [2 Corinthians 12:7](/kjv/2-corinthians/12/7), “the thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet him,” was still the gift of God. “It was given me,” he says. **Arise ye and let us rise -**He who rouseth them, says, “Arise ye,” and they quickly echo the words, “and let us arise.” The will of God is fulfilled at once. While eager to accomplish their own ends, they fulfill, the more, the purpose of God. Whether, the first agent is man’s own passions, or the evil spirit who stirs them, the impulse spreads from the one or the few to the many. But all catch the spark, cast in among them. The summons finds a ready response. “Arise,” is the commend of God, however given; “let us arise,” is the eager response of man’s avarice or pride or ambition, fulfilling impetuously the secret will of God; as a tiger, let loose upon man by man, fulfills the will of its owner, while sating its own thirst for blood. So Isaiah hears [Isaiah 13:4](/kjv/isaiah/13/4) “the noise of a multitude in the mountains, like as of a great people, a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together.” The Medes and Persians thought at that time of nothing less, than that they were instruments of the One God, whom they knew not. But Isaiah continues; “The Lord of hosts mustereth the host of the battle;” and, when it was fulfilled, Cyrus saw and owned it [Ezra 1:1-2](/kjv/ezra/1/1-2). ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#website","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com","name":"Real Bible Believers","description":"RBB","publisher":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/search?q={search_term_string}","query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/barnes-notes-on-the-whole-bible/obadiah/1#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/_app/immutable/assets/missing.C7wGMEZ6.jpg","contentUrl":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/_app/immutable/assets/missing.C7wGMEZ6.jpg","width":672,"height":448,"caption":"Real Bible Believers"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/barnes-notes-on-the-whole-bible/obadiah/1#webpage","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/barnes-notes-on-the-whole-bible/obadiah/1","name":"Obadiah 1 - Study King James Bible with barnes notes on the whole bible","isPartOf":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/barnes-notes-on-the-whole-bible/obadiah/1#primaryimage"},"author":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509"},"description":"Read Obadiah 1 with barnes notes on the whole bible commentary. 1 The vision of Obadiah. 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