petra

Obadiah is the shortest book in the OT and the least is known about its author. Obadiah was a very common name in those days, and so was its nickname, Obed. Obadiah is a minor prophet but his words were nonetheless striking and powerful.

Through the words the LORD told the prophets to say, we can see clearly that the prophets, minor and major, spoke to all the nations. The prophets were not just speaking to Israel or Judah, they spoke to Edom (Obadiah), to Nineveh (Nahum and Jonah), to the Gentile nations (Zephaniah.) This shows us that God is the God of all nations and peoples.

Obadiah’s prophecy is against Edom. Edom is part of what we know today as Jordan. Jordan is comprised of the three tribes of Edom, Moab, and Ammon. Amman is the capital of Jordan today. Edom was the land founded by Esau, the hated twin brother of Jacob. If you remember, Esau despised his birthright and sold it for a bowl of soup. (Gen. 25:29-34). After that, Esau took off and left his brother.(Gen 36:6). Obadiah’s prophecy is rife with the reap-sow principle, and what Esau did in despising his Godly birthright will come back to him, heaped upon his head. “See, I will make you small among the nations; you will be utterly despised.” (Obadiah 1:2).

Jacob and Esau, “Jacob I have loved, Esau I have hated.” (Romans 9:13) and Malachi 1:2-3 “Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” the LORD says. “Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his mountains into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.”

Edom had always fought against Israel, even in the womb, “And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padan-aram, the sister of Laban the Syrian. And Isaac entreated the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord was entreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived. And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to inquire of the Lord.” (Gen 25:20-22). The LORD replied,

“And the Lord said unto her, ‘Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.” (Gen 25:23). And so if you ever wonder why there is always so much hatred against Israel, why the Jews and the Arabs cannot seem to get along, it was that way from the beginning. So saith the LORD.

Edom usually lost the battles and was subjugated to Israel, but when Edom wasn’t fighting against Israel the nation was laughing and taunting its brother, or joining in with pillaging when it seemed safe to do so. God however is not mocked and Edom’s culpability at even standing silent when Israel was raped and pillaged will be judged in the latter days. “On the day you stood aloof while strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were like one of them. You should not look down on your brother in the day of his misfortune,” (Obadiah 1:11).

And of course, Edom’s culpability at performing violence against Israel will also be judged. “Because of the violence against your brother Jacob, you will be covered with shame; you will be destroyed forever.” (Obadiah 1:10)

None of this has happened yet. Jordan is certainly not destroyed forever. Richard T. Ritenbaugh of Forerunner Commentary writes, “Recognizing the internal time markers in Obadiah is vital to understanding the prophecy. This little book confirms, not only Edom’s part in the confederacy against Israel, but also that the evil alliance is joined at the end time. In Obadiah 1:15, 21, clear indicators of the end time appear:”

“For the day of the Lord upon all the nations is near; as you have done, it shall be done to you; your reprisal shall return upon your own head. . . . Then saviors shall come to Mount Zion to judge the mountains of Esau, and the kingdom shall be the Lord’s. The prophecy will begin to be fulfilled in the years prior to the Day of the Lord, and ends as the millennial reign of Jesus Christ commences.”

Obadiah’s prophecy can be outlined simply, Ritenbaugh says:

» Verses 1-4: God’s pronouncement of judgment on Edom.
» Verses 5-9: How Edom will be annihilated.
» Verses 10-14: Why Edom will be annihilated.
» Verses 15-16: Edom and the Day of the Lord.
» Verses 17-21: Israel’s complete triumph over Edom.

The prophecy upon the twins’ birth that the elder shall serve the younger is seen in the final days prophecy. (Gen 25:23, Rom 9:12)

Jordan today is one of only two Arab nations to hold a peace treaty with Israel, Egypt being the other. Yet both these peace treaties are fast fading pieces of paper. King Abdullah of Jordan has said more than once he wishes they did not have a treaty with Israel. Just last week in a protest in Amman, protesters called for the scrapping of the peace treaty with Israel.

The elder will serve the younger…this will happen in the Tribulation. Daniel 11:41 says that: “He [antichrist] will also invade the Beautiful Land. Many countries will fall, but Edom, Moab and the leaders of Ammon will be delivered from his hand.” Jordan will be a lone nation who escapes conquest of the Antichrist. Why? It is the place that Jesus told the Jews to flee to when they see the Abomination of Desolation: to the mountains. (Mt 24:16). The mountains are the border between Israel and Jordan, and over those mountains is the rose-red city of Petra. I wrote about Petra and its function as sheepfold in the Tribulation, here.

Petra is the city you know from Indiana Jones, where a single person on a horse or in a small jeep can enter the protected cavern where the magnificent city had been carved from red stone. Its impregnability is one thing that gave Edom its pride in thinking they could never be vanquished. They will be vanquished, and the city will remain impregnable for the fleeing remnant, and thus, Esau’s Edom serves the younger brother Jacob in protecting Israel throughout the rest of the Tribulation. The LORD’S word is true!

Ritenbaugh wrote, “Obadiah is a study in God’s punishment of a people for the things that they have done. They will be made to suffer the consequences of their hostile attitudes and aggression against Israel, as well as their constant attempts to impede the purpose of God through Israel.” Yet God’s purposes can never be impeded, hallelujah!

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Jordan and Israel’s relationship during the Tribulation is an interesting one. In researching the facts behind the Arab League for yesterday’s post, I learned that Egypt and Jordan are the only two Arab nations to have normalized relations with Israel. Jordan’s peace treaty with Israel was signed in 1994 with President Bill Clinton as mediator, between Hussein I of Jordan and Yitzhak Rabin of Israel. King Hussein, of the Hashemite dynasty, died in 1999, and his designated son King Abdullah II became King. King Hussein had guided his country through the Cold War and four decades of Arab-Israeli conflict, balancing the pressures of Arab nationalism and the allure of Western-style development against the stark reality of Jordan’s geographic location. He worked throughout his life to advance the cause of peace between Jordan and Israel (which he successfully achieved in 1994. (Wikipedia). Above, Petra, the Rose-red city. That peace will be broken, and soon.

Between 1999 and 2009 relations between Israel and Jordan have maintained the same level of respect and courtesy. However, that has to change, because Jordan is listed among the nations that attack Israel during the Psalm 83 war.

“With one mind they plot together; they form an alliance against you- the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, of Moab and the Hagrites, Gebal, Ammon and Amalek, Philistia, with the people of Tyre. Even Assyria has to lend strength to the descendants of Lot.” (Psalm 83:5-8). Edom, Moab and Ammon are today’s Jordan. Ammon is the capital.

Yet…Jordan is one place the antichrist is not able to overcome. “He will also invade the Beautiful Land. Many countries will fall, but Edom, Moab and the leaders of Ammon will be delivered from his hand.” (Daniel 11:41)

And…Petra in Jordan is the place the Jews flee to when the antichrist begins his persecution, and it is where they remain in safety, protected by God during the Great Tribulation and led out by Him to Jerusalem at the conclusion of the Day of the LORD. (Isaiah 63:1-6). Here is an excellent, scriptural basis for the supposition that Petra/Bozrah/Sela in Jordan is the place to which the Jews flee and are sheltered, I recommend it. “Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God, so that there she would be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days.” (Rev 12:6) “But the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, so that she could fly the wilderness to her place, where she was nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent.” (Rev 12:14)

So it appears that though peace has held between Israel and Jordan for over a decade, something will change to cause Jordan to pile on in the Psalm 83 war and attack Israel. However, Jordan will remain intact enough so that the antichrist will not overcome her.

Whatever that “something” is to change Jordan’s mind about Israel, it is happening now. These are but a few of the headlines from the last two months and are an indication that Jordan is becoming impatient with Israel:
King of Jordan accuses Israel of ‘underhand’ plot to thwart nuclear project.
King Abdullah accuses Israel of blocking Jordan nuclear bid
Report: Jordan queen rejects Hebrew translation of book

I thought that last one was interesting: Queen Rania of Jordan wrote a children’s book which is a bestseller, was translated into Arabic and English, proceeds of which are being used to renovate 500 Jordanian schools. However, she refuses to allow a translation into Hebrew, even though further sales will help children.

Obama and King Abdullah of Jordan are pushing Israel to accept a two-state solution, which would create a Palestinian State and divide Jerusalem. East Jerusalem would become the capital of this newly created Palestinian State. When you hear of the “two-state solution” that is what it means: dividing Jerusalem. God has something to say about that:

“I will gather all the nations And bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat. Then I will enter into judgment with them there On behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel, Whom they have scattered among the nations; And they have divided up My land.” (Joel 3:2)

A couple of further points before I reach my conclusion: Jordan’s full name is the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The Hashemites trace their ancestry from Hashim ibn Abd al-Manaf (died c. 510 AD), the great-grandfather of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The early history of the Hashemites saw them in a continuous struggle against the Umayyads for control over who would be the caliph (successor) to Muhammad. The Umayyads were of the same tribe as the Hashemites, but a different clan. This rivalry eventually would lead to the split between the Sunni and Shia. (Wikipedia). And we see the tension between the ever-widening split beteen Sunni and Shia Muslims today.

It is interesting to note that the Kings of Jordan claim direct ancestry to Muhammad. I speculate that this may be one reason that Jordan escapes the antichrist’s domination: he may not even try, if he is a Muslim as many suspect he will be. It also may be why the “Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan” commands so much respect in the Arab world. Today Hashemites have spread in many places where Muslims have ruled, namely Uzbekistan, India, Pakistan, Turkey, and Iran. Above, the cleft in the rock to Petra, at places only 9-12 feet wide.

The second curious thing before conclusion is that Petra is also known as Sela, which means rock. It is referred to in Judges 1:36; Isaiah 16:1, Is 42:11; Obad. 3 where Petra is known as the “cleft in the rock”. Petra is also known as Bozrah, which means sheepfold. Sheepfold or sheep pen is an enclosure designed with overhangs or other protection from the elements, and is solid enough to keep the sheep in and the wild animals out. It always has one narrow gate for entry. Bozrah is the perfect sheepfold! Our Shepherd Jesus will protect His remnant during the Great Tribulation at Bozrah, the sheepfold, the Cleft in the Rock. It is there He returns at the Second Coming and becomes stained with blood of the armies attempting to wipe out the remnant, and leads them to victory at Mt. Olive.

God’s Vengeance on the Nations

Who is this who comes from Edom,

With garments of glowing colors from Bozrah,

This One who is majestic in His apparel,

Marching in the greatness of His strength?

“It is I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save.”

Why is Your apparel red,

And Your garments like the one who treads in the wine press?

“I have trodden the wine trough alone,

And from the peoples there was no man with Me

I also trod them in My anger

And trampled them in My wrath;

And their lifeblood is sprinkled on My garments,

And I stained all My raiment. (Isaiah 63:1-3)

Finally, back at the beginning of this entry, I noted that one of the verses said of the Jews during the Great Tribulation that “Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God.” (Rev 12:6) In John 14:3 He promised His church that “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am”. All this time He has been preparing a place for the church believers. He also had prepared a place for His people, the Jews, to reside at Bozrah in protection and safety. He is a God who cares for His people, He prepares places for us. For US! And that is a mighty thing indeed. Hallelujah to the One True and Mighty God, who prepares for us a place!

Category: petra

Obadiah’s future prophecy regarding Jordan

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