Through The Bible Study

Obadiah, Jonah, & Micah

March 19, 2003

Obadiah

Shortest book in the Old Testament comprising only 21 verses.

Key verse in Obadiah – verse 15, “...as you have done, it shall be done to you...” Seems to coincide with our modern saying, “What goes around, comes around.”

The Prophet Obadiah...

· Don’t know much about him. Name means, “servant of the Lord.”

· Historical period of Obadiah

o A time after Judah’s exile by Babylonians (586-538 BC).

o Message of judgment targets one particular area – Edom (modern day Jordan) – located in southeastern Palestine.

o Edom had love/hate relationship with Israel. Jacob became known as Israel (Gen. 32.28) and Esau became the founder of Edom (see Genesis 27-32 for story of Jacob and Esau).

o Sometime around the time of Israel’s exile in Babylon, relations between Edom and Israel became quite strained.

Structure of Obadiah

· Book divides into two parts:

o Verses 1-14 deal specifically with judgment against Edom.

§ See 2^nd Kings 25.1-21 for the day of judgment for Israel and how Edom is accused of crimes. Apparently on the day of destruction of Jerusalem, Edom not only stood by and watched but could have even joined in on the destruction.

§ Obadiah seems to talk about two different standards here. One is international – it was God’s judgment through Babylon that destroyed Jerusalem. That is not condemned here. But the family standards is violated. Edom joined in and betrayed a family member.

o Verses 15-21 deal with the results of God’s judgment as they relate to Israel’s restoration.

Jonah

Most people think about “whale” when you say the word “Jonah.”

Story of Jonah is about the prophet’s refusal to acknowledge God’s forgiving love for a repentant, foreign people.

· In short, the story of Jonah is about the scandal of God’s mercy.

· In Jonah, there’s a contrast between the wideness of God’s mercy and the narrowness of human judgment.

· Jonah’s story is our own whenever we prejudge and limit God’s compassion for people – particularly strangers.

Jonah divided into 2 parts...

1. 1:1-2:10 > Jonah is a man in flight who ends up where he began.

2. 3:1-4:11 > Jonah is again called to Nineveh and ends up going but is deeply disappointed.

About Nineveh...

• Located in modern day Iraq on the eastern banks of the Tigris River. It’s north of the capital city of Baghdad.
• One of the greatest cities of Mesopotamia.
• At it’s height under Assyrian kings Sennacherib, Esarhaddon, and Ashurbanipal, the city had no rival in the ancient Orient.
• Israel hated Nineveh because it was the capital of Israel’s oppression in the 8^th and 7^th centuries BC.
• Eventually Nineveh was destroyed in 612 BC when it fell to the combined armies of the Babylonians and Medes.

Can one flee God?

• Our intellectual answer is “no” but how many times don’t we try and run away from what God wants us to do?

Who do we have in our lives that don’t ‘deserve’ God’s mercy?

Micah

Micah’s message is enduring beyond the historical circumstances in which it was originally delivered.

· Worship is empty unless it incorporates a zealous concern for social justice (6.6-8).

· God is the God of both justice and mercy, judgment and forgiveness, conflict and peace. Micah presents a very comprehensive view of God.

· Amid so much destruction, Micah saw hope.

The prophet Micah...

· Little is known about him. His name does appear once in Jeremiah (26.18).

· Contemporary of Isaiah, Hosea, and Amos (742-687 BC).

· Announced judgment on the Northern Kingdom (Israel) and lived to see its downfall at the hands of the Assyrians (722 BC). See 2^nd Kings 17.

Micah’s time...

· Turbulent 8^th century. Powerful nations were clashing, upheaval was constant, and prophets were boldly preaching.

Key passages:

· Micah 3:11 > false security.

· Micah 5:2ff > promise of a new king ... linked to Matthew’s birth narrative.

· Micah 6:6ff > what the Lord requires