mh_parser/vol_split/31 - Obadiah/Chapter 1.xml

<div2 id="Obad.ii" n="ii" next="Jonah" prev="Obad.i" progress="84.29%" title="Chapter I">
<h2 id="Obad.ii-p0.1">O B A D I A H.</h2>
<h3 id="Obad.ii-p0.2">CHAP. I.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Obad.ii-p1" shownumber="no">This book is wholly concerning Edom, a nation
nearly allied and near adjoining to Israel, and yet an enemy to the
seed of Jacob, inheriting the enmity of their father Esau to Jacob.
Now here we have, after the preface, <scripRef id="Obad.ii-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Obad.1.1" parsed="|Obad|1|1|0|0" passage="Ob 1:1">ver. 1</scripRef>. I. Threatenings against Edom, 1. That
their pride should be humbled, <scripRef id="Obad.ii-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Obad.1.2-Obad.1.4" parsed="|Obad|1|2|1|4" passage="Ob 1:2-4">ver.
2-4</scripRef>. 2. That their wealth should be plundered, <scripRef id="Obad.ii-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Obad.1.5-Obad.1.7" parsed="|Obad|1|5|1|7" passage="Ob 1:5-7">ver. 5-7</scripRef>. 3. That their wisdom should
be infatuated, <scripRef id="Obad.ii-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Obad.1.8-Obad.1.9" parsed="|Obad|1|8|1|9" passage="Ob 1:8,9">ver. 8, 9</scripRef>.
4. That their spiteful behaviour towards God's Israel should be
avenged, <scripRef id="Obad.ii-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Obad.1.10-Obad.1.16" parsed="|Obad|1|10|1|16" passage="Ob 1:10-16">ver. 10-16</scripRef>. II.
Gracious promises to Israel; that they shall be restored and
reformed, and shall be victorious over the Edomites, and become
masters of their land and the lands of others of their neighbours
(<scripRef id="Obad.ii-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Obad.1.17-Obad.1.20" parsed="|Obad|1|17|1|20" passage="Ob 1:17-20">ver. 17-20</scripRef>), and that
the kingdom of the Messiah shall be set up by the bringing in of
the great salvation, <scripRef id="Obad.ii-p1.7" osisRef="Bible:Obad.1.21" parsed="|Obad|1|21|0|0" passage="Ob 1:21">ver.
21</scripRef>.</p>
<scripCom id="Obad.ii-p1.8" osisRef="Bible:Obad.1.1" parsed="|Obad|1|1|0|0" passage="Ob 1" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Obad.ii-p1.9">
</div><scripCom id="Obad.ii-p1.10" osisRef="Bible:Obad.1.1-Obad.1.9" parsed="|Obad|1|1|1|9" passage="Ob 1:1-9" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Obad.ii-p1.11">
<h4 id="Obad.ii-p1.12">The Doom of Edom. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Obad.ii-p1.13">b. c.</span> 587.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Obad.ii-p2" shownumber="no">1 The vision of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord
<span class="smallcaps" id="Obad.ii-p2.1">God</span> concerning Edom; We have heard a
rumour from the <span class="smallcaps" id="Obad.ii-p2.2">Lord</span>, 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 <i>is</i> high; that saith in his heart,
Who shall bring me down to the ground?   4 Though thou exalt
<i>thyself</i> as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the
stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Obad.ii-p2.3">Lord</span>.   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 grape-gatherers came to thee,
would they not leave <i>some</i> grapes?   6 How are <i>the
things</i> of Esau searched out! <i>how</i> are his hidden things
sought up!   7 All the men of thy confederacy have brought
thee <i>even</i> to the border: the men that were at peace with
thee have deceived thee, <i>and</i> prevailed against thee; <i>they
that eat</i> thy bread have laid a wound under thee: <i>there
is</i> none understanding in him.   8 Shall I not in that day,
saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Obad.ii-p2.4">Lord</span>, even destroy the
wise <i>men</i> out of Edom, and understanding out of the mount of
Esau?   9 And thy mighty <i>men,</i> O Teman, shall be
dismayed, to the end that every one of the mount of Esau may be cut
off by slaughter.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Obad.ii-p3" shownumber="no">Edom is the nation against which this
prophecy is levelled, and which, some think, is put for all the
enemies of Israel, that shall be brought down first or last. The
rabbin by Edom understand Rome. Rome Christians they understand it
of, and have an implacable enmity to it a such; but, if we
understand it of Rome antichristian, we shall find the passages of
it applicable enough. And though Edom was mortified in the times of
the Maccabees, as it had been before by Jehoshaphat, yet its
destruction seems to have been typical, as their father Esau's
rejection, and to have had further reference to the destruction of
the enemies of the gospel-church; for so shall all God's enemies
perish; and we find (<scripRef id="Obad.ii-p3.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.34.5" parsed="|Isa|34|5|0|0" passage="Isa 34:5">Isa. xxxiv.
5</scripRef>) the <i>sword of the Lord</i> coming down <i>upon
Idumea,</i> to signify the general day of God's recompences for the
controversy of Zion, <scripRef id="Obad.ii-p3.2" osisRef="Bible:Obad.1.8" parsed="|Obad|1|8|0|0" passage="Ob 1:8"><i>v.</i>
8</scripRef>. Some have well observed that it could not but be a
great temptation to the people of Israel, when they saw themselves,
who were the children of beloved Jacob, in trouble, and the
Edomites, not only prospering, but triumphing over them in their
troubles; and therefore God gives them a prospect of the
destruction of Edom, which should be total and final, and of a
happy issue of their own correction. Now we may observe here,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Obad.ii-p4" shownumber="no">I. A declaration of war against Edom,
(<scripRef id="Obad.ii-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:Obad.1.1" parsed="|Obad|1|1|0|0" passage="Ob 1:1"><i>v.</i> 1</scripRef>): "<i>We have
heard a rumour,</i> or rather <i>an order, from the Lord,</i> the
God of hosts; he has given the word of command; it is his counsel
and decree, which can neither be reversed nor resisted, that all
who do mischief to his people shall certainly bring mischief upon
themselves. We have heard a report that God is raised up out of his
holy habitation, and is preparing his throne for judgment; and
<i>an ambassador is sent among the heathen,</i>" a <i>herald</i>
rather, some minister or messenger of Providence, to alarm the
nations, or the Lord's prophets, who gave each nation its burden.
Those whom God employs cry to each other, <i>Arise ye,</i> stir up
yourselves and one another, and let <i>us rise up against Edom in
battle.</i> The confederate forces under Nebuchadnezzar thus
animate themselves and one another to make a descent upon that
country: <i>Gather yourselves together, and come against her;</i>
so it is in the parallel place, <scripRef id="Obad.ii-p4.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.14" parsed="|Jer|49|14|0|0" passage="Jer 49:14">Jer.
xlix. 14</scripRef>. Note, When God has bloody work to do among the
enemies of his church he will find out and fit up both hands and
hearts to do it.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Obad.ii-p5" shownumber="no">II. A prediction of the success of that
war. Edom shall certainly be subdued, and spoiled, and brought
down; for all her confidences shall fail her and stand her in no
stead, and in like manner shall all the enemies of God's church be
disappointed in those things which they stayed themselves upon.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Obad.ii-p6" shownumber="no">1. Do they depend upon their grandeur, the
figure they make among the nations, their influence upon them, and
interest in them? That shall dwindle (<scripRef id="Obad.ii-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Obad.1.2" parsed="|Obad|1|2|0|0" passage="Ob 1:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>): "<i>Behold, I have made thee
small among the heathen,</i> so that none of thy neighbours will
court thy friendship, or court an alliance with thee; <i>thou art
greatly despised</i> among them, and looked upon with contempt, as
an infatuated and unfaithful nation." And thus (<scripRef id="Obad.ii-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:Obad.1.3" parsed="|Obad|1|3|0|0" passage="Ob 1:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>) <i>the pride of thy heart has
deceived thee.</i> Note, (1.) Those that think well of themselves
are apt to fancy that others think well of them too; but, when they
come to make trial of them, they will find themselves mistaken, and
thus their pride deceives them and by it slays them. (2.) God can
easily lay those low that have magnified and exalted themselves,
and will find out a way to do it, for he <i>resists the proud;</i>
and we often see those small and greatly despised who once looked
very big and were greatly caressed and admired.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Obad.ii-p7" shownumber="no">2. Do they depend upon the fortifications
of their country, both by nature and art, and glory in the
advantages they have thereby? Those also shall deceive them. They
<i>dwelt in the clefts of the rock,</i> as an eagle in her nest,
and their <i>habitation</i> was <i>high,</i> not only exalted above
their neighbours, which was the matter of their pride, but
fortified against their enemies, which was the matter of their
security, so high as to be out of the reach of danger. Now observe,
(1.) What Edom says in the pride of his heart: <i>Who shall bring
me down to the ground?</i> He speaks with a confidence of his own
strength, and a contempt of God's judgments, as if almighty power
itself could not overpower him. As for <i>all his enemies,</i> even
God himself, he <i>puffs at them</i> (<scripRef id="Obad.ii-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.10.5" parsed="|Ps|10|5|0|0" passage="Ps 10:5">Ps. x. 5</scripRef>), sets them all at defiance. Their
father Esau had <i>sold his birthright,</i> and yet they lifted up
themselves, as if to them had still pertained the <i>excellency of
dignity and power.</i> Many forfeit their privileges, and yet boast
of them. Because Edom is high and lifted up, he imagines none can
bring him down. Note, Carnal security is a sin that most easily
besets men in the day of their pomp, power, and prosperity, and
does, as much as any thing, both ripen men for ruin and aggravate
it when it comes. (2.) What God says to this, <scripRef id="Obad.ii-p7.2" osisRef="Bible:Obad.1.4" parsed="|Obad|1|4|0|0" passage="Ob 1:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>. If men will dare to challenge
Omnipotence, their challenge shall be taken up: <i>Who shall bring
me down?</i> says Edom. "<i>I will,</i>" says God. "<i>Though thou
exalt thyself as the eagle</i> that soars high and builds high,
nay, <i>though thou set thy nest among stars,</i> higher than ever
any eagle flew, it is but in thy own imagination, and <i>thence
will I bring thee down.</i>" This we had <scripRef id="Obad.ii-p7.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.15-Jer.49.16" parsed="|Jer|49|15|49|16" passage="Jer 49:15,16">Jer. xlix. 15, 16</scripRef>. Note, Sinners will
certainly be made ashamed of their pride and security of their
pride when it has a fall and of their security when their
confidences fail their expectation.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Obad.ii-p8" shownumber="no">3. Do they depend upon their wealth and
treasure, the abundance of which is looked upon as the sinews of
war? Is their money their defence? Is that their strong city? It is
so only in their own conceit, for it shall rather expose them than
protect them; it shall be made a prey to the enemy, and they for
the sake of it, <scripRef id="Obad.ii-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:Obad.1.5-Obad.1.6" parsed="|Obad|1|5|1|6" passage="Ob 1:5,6"><i>v.</i> 5,
6</scripRef>. Much to this purport we had <scripRef id="Obad.ii-p8.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.9-Jer.49.10" parsed="|Jer|49|9|49|10" passage="Jer 49:9,10">Jer. xlix. 9, 10</scripRef>. Only here comes in, in a
parenthesis, <i>How art thou cut off!</i> thou and all thy stores.
The prophet foretels it, but laments it, that the thread of their
prosperity was cut off. How art thou fallen, and how great is thy
fall! <i>How art thou stupefied!</i> so the Chaldee words it. How
senseless art thou under these desolating judgments, as if they
were but common strokes! But he shows that it should be an utter
ruin, not a usual calamity; for, (1.) It is indeed a usual calamity
for those that have wealth to have it stolen, and to lose a little
out of their great deal. <i>Thieves come to them</i> (for where the
carcase is, there will the birds of prey be gathered together),
<i>robbers come by night,</i> and they <i>steal till they have
enough,</i> what they have occasion for, what they have a mind for;
they steal no more than they think they can carry away, and out of
a great stock it is scarcely missed. Those that rob orchards, or
vineyards, carry off what they think fit; but they <i>leave some
grapes,</i> some fruit for the owner, who easily bears his loss
perhaps and soon recruits it. But, (2.) It shall not be so with
Edom; his wealth shall all be taken away, and nothing shall escape
the hands of the destroying army, not that which is most precious
and valuable, <scripRef id="Obad.ii-p8.3" osisRef="Bible:Obad.1.6" parsed="|Obad|1|6|0|0" passage="Ob 1:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>.
<i>How are the things of Esau,</i> the things he sets his heart
upon and places his happiness in, his good things, his best things,
how are these things, which were so carefully treasured up and
concealed, now <i>searched out</i> by the enemy and seized! <i>How
are the hidden things,</i> his hidden treasures, plundered, rifled,
and <i>sought up!</i> His hoards, that had not see the light for
many years, are now a spoil to the enemy. Note, Treasures on earth,
though ever so fast locked up and ever so artfully hidden, cannot
be so safely laid up but that thieves may break through and steal;
it is therefore our wisdom to <i>lay up for ourselves treasures in
heaven.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Obad.ii-p9" shownumber="no">4. Do they depend upon their alliances with
neighbouring states and potentates? Those also shall fail them
(<scripRef id="Obad.ii-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:Obad.1.7" parsed="|Obad|1|7|0|0" passage="Ob 1:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>): "The <i>men of
thy confederacy,</i> all of them, the Ammonites and Moabites, and
other thy high allies that were at <i>peace with thee,</i> that
entered into a league offensive and defensive with thee, that
solemnly engaged not only to do thee no hurt, but to do thee all
the service the could, <i>did eat thy bread,</i> were magnificently
treated and entertained by thee, lived upon thee; their soldiers
had free quarter in thy country, and took pay as thy auxiliaries;
they <i>brought thee even to the border</i> of thy land, were very
respectful to thy ambassadors, and brought them on their way home,
even to the utmost limits of their country; they seemed forward to
serve thee with their forces when thou hadst occasion for them, and
came along with thee <i>to the border,</i> till thou wast just
ready to engage the invading enemy; but then," (1.) "They had
<i>deceived thee;</i> they flew back and retreated when thou wast
in extremity, and proved as a broken reed to the traveller that is
weary, and as the brooks in summer to the traveller that is
thirsty; they bear no weight, yield no relief." Nay, (2.) "They
have <i>prevailed against thee;</i> they were too hard for thee in
the treaty imposed upon thee, and by cheating thee ruined thee,
brought thee into danger, and there left thee an easy prey to thy
enemy." Note, Those that make flesh their arm arm it against them.
Yet this was not the worst. (3.) "They have <i>laid a wound under
thee;</i> that is, they have laid that under thee for a stay and
support, for a foundation to rely on, for a pillow to repose on,
which will prove a wound to thee; not as thorns only, but as
swords." If God lay under us the arms of his power and love, these
will be firm and easy under us; the God of our covenant will never
deceive us. But if we trust to <i>the men of our confederacy,</i>
and what they will lay under us, it may prove to us a <i>wound</i>
and <i>dishonour.</i> And observe the just censure here passed upon
Edom for trusting to those who thus played tricks with him:
"<i>There is no understanding in him,</i> or else he would never
have put it into their power to betray him by putting such a
confidence in them." Note, Those show they have no understanding in
them who, when they are encouraged to trust in the Creator, put a
cheat upon themselves by reposing a confidence in the creature.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Obad.ii-p10" shownumber="no">5. Do they depend upon the politics of
their counsellors? These shall fail them, <scripRef id="Obad.ii-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:Obad.1.8" parsed="|Obad|1|8|0|0" passage="Ob 1:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>. Edom had been famous for great
statesmen, men of learning and experience, that sat at the help of
government, and were masters of all the arts of management, that in
all treaties used to outwit their neighbours; but now the
<i>counsellors</i> have become <i>fools,</i> and the wise God makes
them so: <i>Shall I not in that day destroy the wise men out of
Edom?</i> As men they shall fall by the sword in common with others
(<scripRef id="Obad.ii-p10.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.49.10" parsed="|Ps|49|10|0|0" passage="Ps 49:10">Ps. xlix. 10</scripRef>), and their
wisdom shall not secure them; as wise men they shall be infatuated
in all their counsels; their best-laid designs shall be baffled,
their measures broken, and those very projects by which they
thought to establish themselves and the public interests shall be
the ruin of both. Thus <i>wisdom perishes from Teman,</i> as it is
in the parallel place, <scripRef id="Obad.ii-p10.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.7" parsed="|Jer|49|7|0|0" passage="Jer 49:7">Jer. xlix.
7</scripRef>. This was, (1.) The just punishment of their folly in
trusting to an arm of flesh: <i>There is no understanding in
them,</i> <scripRef id="Obad.ii-p10.4" osisRef="Bible:Obad.1.7" parsed="|Obad|1|7|0|0" passage="Ob 1:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>. They
have not sense to trust in a living God, and a God of truth, but
put confidence in men that are frail, fickle, and false; and
therefore God will <i>destroy their understanding.</i> Note, God
will justly deny those understanding to keep out of the way of
danger that will not use their understanding to keep out of the way
of sin. He that will be foolish, let him be foolish still. (2.) It
was the forerunner of their destruction. A nation is certainly
marked for ruin when God hides the things that belong to its peace
from the eyes of those that are entrusted with its counsels.
<i>Quos Deus vult perdere, eos dementat—God infatuates those whom
he designs to destroy.</i> <scripRef id="Obad.ii-p10.5" osisRef="Bible:Job.12.17" parsed="|Job|12|17|0|0" passage="Job 12:17">Job xii.
17</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Obad.ii-p11" shownumber="no">6. Do they depend upon the strength and
courage of their soldiers? They are not only able-bodied, but men
of spirit and courage, that can face an enemy and stand their
ground; but now (<scripRef id="Obad.ii-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Obad.1.9" parsed="|Obad|1|9|0|0" passage="Ob 1:9"><i>v.</i>
9</scripRef>), <i>Thy mighty men, O Teman! shall be dismayed;</i>
their courage shall fail them, <i>to the end that every one of the
mount of Esau may be cut off by slaughter,</i> and none escape. The
weak, and feeble, and unarmed must fall of course into the hand of
the destroyer when the <i>mighty men are dismayed,</i> and not only
lose the day, but lose their lives, because they have lost their
spirit. <i>Howl, fir-trees, if the cedars be shaken.</i> Note, The
death or disuniting of the mighty often proves the death and
destruction of the many; and it is in vain to depend upon mighty
men for our protection if we have not an almighty God for us, much
less if we have an almighty God against us.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Obad.ii-p11.2" osisRef="Bible:Obad.1.10-Obad.1.16" parsed="|Obad|1|10|1|16" passage="Ob 1:10-16" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Obad.ii-p11.3">
<h4 id="Obad.ii-p11.4">The Guilt of Edom. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Obad.ii-p11.5">b. c.</span> 587.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Obad.ii-p12" shownumber="no">10 For <i>thy</i> 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 <i>wast</i> 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 <i>hands</i>
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 <span class="smallcaps" id="Obad.ii-p12.1">Lord</span> <i>is</i> 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, <i>so</i> 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.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Obad.ii-p13" shownumber="no">When we have read Edom's doom, no less than
utter ruin, it is natural to ask, <i>Why, what evil has he
done?</i> What is the ground of God's controversy with him? Many
things, no doubt, were amiss in Edom; they were a sinful people,
and <i>a people laden with iniquity.</i> But that one single crime
which is laid to their charge, as filling their measure and
bringing this ruin upon them, that for which they here stand
indicted, of which they are convicted, and for which they are
condemned, is the injury they had done to the people of God
(<scripRef id="Obad.ii-p13.1" osisRef="Bible:Obad.1.10" parsed="|Obad|1|10|0|0" passage="Ob 1:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>): "It is
<i>for thy violence against thy brother Jacob,</i> that ancient and
hereditary grudge which thou hast borne to the people of Israel,
that all this <i>shame shall cover thee</i> and <i>thou shalt be
cut off for ever.</i>" Note, Injuries to men are affronts to God,
the righteous God, that loveth righteousness and hateth wickedness;
and, as the Judge of all the earth, he will give redress to those
that suffer wrong and take vengeance on those that do wrong. All
violence, all <i>unrighteousness, is sin;</i> but it is a great
aggravation of the violence if it be done either, 1. Against any of
our own people; it is violence <i>against thy brother,</i> thy near
relation, to whom thou shouldst be a <i>goël—a redeemer,</i> whom
it is thy duty to right if others wronged him; how wicked is it
then for thee thyself to wrong him! Thou <i>slanderest</i> and
abusest <i>thy own mother's son;</i> this makes the sin
<i>exceedingly sinful,</i> <scripRef id="Obad.ii-p13.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.50.20" parsed="|Ps|50|20|0|0" passage="Ps 50:20">Ps. l.
20</scripRef>. Or, 2. Much more if it be done against any of God's
people; "it is thy brother Jacob that is in covenant with God, and
dear to him. Thou hatest him whom God has loved, and because God
espouses and will plead with jealousy, and in whose interests God
is pleased so far to interest himself that he takes the violence
done to him as done to himself. <i>Whoso touches Jacob touches the
apple of the eye of Jacob's God.</i>" So that it is <i>crimen læsæ
majestatis—high treason,</i> for which, as for high treason, let
Edom expect an ignominious punishment: <i>Shame shall cover
thee,</i> and a ruining one; <i>thou shalt be cut off for
ever.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Obad.ii-p14" shownumber="no">In the <scripRef id="Obad.ii-p14.1" osisRef="Bible:Obad.1.12-Obad.1.16" parsed="|Obad|1|12|1|16" passage="Ob 1:12-16">following verses</scripRef> we are told more
particularly,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Obad.ii-p15" shownumber="no">I. What the violence was which Edom did
against his brother Jacob, and what are the proofs of this charge.
It does not appear that the Edomites did themselves invade Israel,
but that was more for want of power than will; they had malice
enough to do it, but were not a match for them. But that which is
laid to their charge is their barbarous conduct towards Judah and
Jerusalem when they were in distress, and ready to be destroyed,
probably by the Chaldeans, or upon occasion of some other of the
calamities of the Jews; for this seems to have been always their
temper towards them. See this charged upon the Edomites (<scripRef id="Obad.ii-p15.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.137.7" parsed="|Ps|137|7|0|0" passage="Ps 137:7">Ps. cxxxvii. 7</scripRef>), that <i>in the day
of Jerusalem they said, Rase it, rase it,</i> and <scripRef id="Obad.ii-p15.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.25.12" parsed="|Ezek|25|12|0|0" passage="Eze 25:12">Ezek. xxv. 12</scripRef>. They are here told
particularly what they did, by being told what they should not have
done (<scripRef id="Obad.ii-p15.3" osisRef="Bible:Obad.1.12-Obad.1.14" parsed="|Obad|1|12|1|14" passage="Ob 1:12-14"><i>v.</i> 12-14</scripRef>):
"Thou <i>shouldst not have looked,</i> thou <i>shouldst not have
entered;</i> but thou didst so." Note, In reflecting upon ourselves
it is good to compare what we have done with what we should have
done, our practice with the rule, that we may discover wherein we
have done amiss, have <i>done those things which we ought not to
have done.</i> We should not have been where we were at such a
time, should not have been in such and such company, should not
have said what we said, nor have taken the liberty that we took.
Sin thus looked upon, in the glass of the commandment, will appear
exceedingly sinful. Let us see,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Obad.ii-p16" shownumber="no">1. What was the case of Judah and Jerusalem
when the Edomites behaved themselves thus basely and insulted over
them. (1.) It was a day of distress with them (<scripRef id="Obad.ii-p16.1" osisRef="Bible:Obad.1.12" parsed="|Obad|1|12|0|0" passage="Ob 1:12"><i>v.</i> 12</scripRef>): It was the <i>day of their
calamity,</i> so it is called three times, <scripRef id="Obad.ii-p16.2" osisRef="Bible:Obad.1.13" parsed="|Obad|1|13|0|0" passage="Ob 1:13"><i>v.</i> 13</scripRef>. With the Edomites it was a day
of prosperity and peace when with the Israelites it was a day of
distress and calamity, for judgment commonly <i>begins at the house
of God.</i> Children are corrected when strangers are let alone.
(2.) It was the day of <i>their destruction</i> (<scripRef id="Obad.ii-p16.3" osisRef="Bible:Obad.1.12" parsed="|Obad|1|12|0|0" passage="Ob 1:12"><i>v.</i> 12</scripRef>), when both city and country were
laid waste, were laid <i>in ruins.</i> (3.) It was a day when
<i>foreigners entered into the gates of Jerusalem,</i> when the
city, after a long siege, was broken up, and the great officers of
the king of Babylon's army came, and sat in the gates, as judges of
the land; when they cast lots upon the spoils of Jerusalem, as the
soldiers on Christ's garments, what shares each of the conquerors
shall have, what shares of the lands, what shares of the goods; or
they cast lots to determine when and where they should attack it.
(4.) It was a day when the <i>strangers carried away captive his
forces</i> (<scripRef id="Obad.ii-p16.4" osisRef="Bible:Obad.1.11" parsed="|Obad|1|11|0|0" passage="Ob 1:11"><i>v.</i> 11</scripRef>),
took the men of war prisoners of war, and carried them off, in
poverty and shame, to their own country, or such a multitude of
captives that they were as an army. (5.) "It was a day when thy
brother himself, that had long been at home, at rest in his own
land, <i>became a stranger,</i> an exile in a strange land." Now,
when this was the woeful case of the Jews, the Edomites, their
neighbours and brethren, should have pitied them and helped them,
condoled with them and comforted them, and should have trembled to
think that their own turn would come next; for, <i>if this was done
in the green tree, what shall be done in the dry?</i> But,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Obad.ii-p17" shownumber="no">2. See what was the conduct of the Edomites
towards them when they were in this distress, for which they are
here condemned. (1.) They looked with pleasure upon the affliction
of God's people; they <i>stood on the other side</i> (<scripRef id="Obad.ii-p17.1" osisRef="Bible:Obad.1.11" parsed="|Obad|1|11|0|0" passage="Ob 1:11"><i>v.</i> 11</scripRef>), afar off, when they
should have come in to the relief of their distressed neighbours,
and <i>looked upon them,</i> and <i>their day, looked on their
affliction</i> (<scripRef id="Obad.ii-p17.2" osisRef="Bible:Obad.1.12-Obad.1.13" parsed="|Obad|1|12|1|13" passage="Ob 1:12,13"><i>v.</i> 12,
13</scripRef>), with a careless unconcerned eye, as the priest and
Levite looked upon the wounded man, and <i>passed by on the other
side.</i> Those have a great deal to answer for that are idle
spectators of the troubles and afflictions of their neighbours,
when they are capable of being their active helpers. But this was
not all; they looked upon it with a scornful eye, with an eye of
complacency and satisfaction; they looked and laughed to see Israel
in distress, saying, <i>Aha! so we would have it.</i> They fed
their eyes with the rueful spectacle of Jerusalem's ruin, and
looked at it as those that had long looked for it and often wished
to see it. Note, We must take heed with what eye we look upon the
afflictions of our brethren; and, if we cannot look upon them with
a gracious eye of sympathy and tenderness, it is better not to look
upon them at all: <i>Thou shouldst not have looked</i> as thou
didst <i>upon the day of thy brother.</i> (2.) They triumphed and
insulted over them, upbraided their brethren with their sorrows,
and made themselves and their companions merry with them. They
<i>rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their
destruction.</i> They had not the good manners to conceal the
pleasure they took in Judah's destruction and to dissemble it, but
openly declared it, and rudely and insolently declared it <i>to
them; they rejoiced over them,</i> crowed, and hectored, and
trampled upon them. Those have the spirit of Edomites that can
rejoice over any, especially over Israelites, in the day of their
calamity. (3.) They <i>spoke proudly-magnified the mouth</i> (so
the word is), against Israel, talked with a great disdain of the
suffering Israelites, and with an air of haughtiness of the present
safety and prosperity of Edom, as it if might be inferred from
their present different state that the tables were turned, and now
Esau was beloved, and the favourite of heaven, and Jacob hated and
rejected. Note, Those must expect to be in some way or other
effectually humbled and mortified themselves that are puffed up and
made proud by the humiliations and mortifications of others. (4.)
They went further yet, for they <i>entered into the gate</i> of
God's people in the day of their calamity, and <i>laid hands on
their substance.</i> Though they did not help to conquer them, they
helped to plunder them, and put in for a share in the prey,
<scripRef id="Obad.ii-p17.3" osisRef="Bible:Obad.1.13" parsed="|Obad|1|13|0|0" passage="Ob 1:13"><i>v.</i> 13</scripRef>. Jerusalem was
thrown open, and then they entered in; its wealth was thrown about,
and they seized it for themselves, excusing it with this, that they
might as well take it as let it be lost; whereas it was taking what
was not their own. Babylon lays Jerusalem waste, but Edom, by
meddling with the spoil, becomes <i>particeps
criminis</i>—<i>partaker of the crime,</i> and shall be reckoned
with as an accessary <i>ex post facto</i>—<i>after the fact.</i>
Note, Those do but impoverish themselves that think to enrich
themselves by the ruins of the people of God; and those deceive
themselves who think they may call all that substance their own
which they can lay their hands on in a day of calamity. (5.) They
did yet worse things; they not only robbed their brethren, but
murdered them, in the day of their calamity; laid hands not only on
their substance, but on their persons, <scripRef id="Obad.ii-p17.4" osisRef="Bible:Obad.1.14" parsed="|Obad|1|14|0|0" passage="Ob 1:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>. When the victorious sword of the
Chaldeans was making bloody work among the Jews many made their
escape, and were in a fair way to save themselves by flight; but
the Edomites basely intercepted them, <i>stood in the cross-way</i>
where several roads met, by each of which the trembling Israelites
were making the best of their way from the fury of the pursuers,
and there they stopped them: some they barbarously and cowardlike
cut off themselves; others they took prisoners, and delivered up to
the pursuers, only to ingratiate themselves with them, because they
were now the conquerors. They <i>should not have been</i> thus
<i>cruel</i> to those that lay at their mercy, and never had done,
nor were every likely to do, them any hurt; they should not have
betrayed those whom they had such a fair opportunity to protect;
but such are the <i>tender mercies of the wicked.</i> One cannot
read this without a high degree of compassion towards those who
were thus basely abused, who when they fled from the sword of an
open enemy, and thought they had got out of the reach of it, fell
upon and fell by the sword of a treacherous neighbour, whom they
were not apprehensive of any danger from. Nor can one read this
without a high degree of indignation towards those who were so
perfectly lost to all humanity as to exercise such cruelty upon
such proper objects of compassion. (6.) In all this they joined
with the open enemies and persecutors of Israel: <i>Even thou wast
as one of them,</i> an accessary equally guilty with the
principals. He that joins in with the evil doers, and is aiding and
abetting in their evil deeds, shall be reckoned, and shall be
reckoned with, as one of them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Obad.ii-p18" shownumber="no">II. What the shame is that shall cover them
for this violence of theirs. 1. They shall soon find that the cup
is going round, even the cup of trembling; and, when they come to
be in the same calamitous condition that the Israel of God is now
in, they will be ashamed to remember how they triumphed over them
(<scripRef id="Obad.ii-p18.1" osisRef="Bible:Obad.1.15" parsed="|Obad|1|15|0|0" passage="Ob 1:15"><i>v.</i> 15</scripRef>): <i>The day
of the Lord is near upon all the heathen,</i> when God will
recompense tribulation to the troublers of his church. Though
judgment begin at the house of God, it shall not end there. This
should effectually restrain us from triumphing over others in their
misery, that we know not how soon it may be our own case. 2. Their
enmity to the people of God, and the injuries they had done them,
shall be recompensed into their own bosoms: <i>As thou hast done,
it shall be done unto thee.</i> The righteous God will render both
to nations and to particular persons <i>according to their
works;</i> and the punishment is often made exactly to answer to
the sin, and those that have abused others come to be themselves
abused in like manner. The just and jealous God will find out a
time and way to avenge the wrongs done to his people on those that
have been injurious to them. <i>As you have drunk upon my holy
mountain</i> (<scripRef id="Obad.ii-p18.2" osisRef="Bible:Obad.1.16" parsed="|Obad|1|16|0|0" passage="Ob 1:16"><i>v.</i> 16</scripRef>),
that is, as God's professing people, who inhabit his holy mountain,
have drunk deeply of the cup of affliction (and their being of the
holy mountain would not excuse them), <i>so shall all the heathen
drink,</i> in their turn, of the same bitter cup; for, if God
<i>bring evil on the city that is called by his name, shall those
be unpunished</i> that never knew his name? See <scripRef id="Obad.ii-p18.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.25.29" parsed="|Jer|25|29|0|0" passage="Jer 25:29">Jer. xxv. 29</scripRef>. And it is part of the burden
of Edom (<scripRef id="Obad.ii-p18.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.12" parsed="|Jer|49|12|0|0" passage="Jer 49:12">Jer. xlix. 12</scripRef>),
<i>Those whose judgment was not to drink of the cup</i> (who had
reason to promise themselves an exemption from it) have assuredly
drunken, and <i>shall Edom</i> that is the generation of God's
wrath <i>go unpunished?</i> No, <i>thou shalt surely drink of
it;</i> the <i>cup of trembling shall be taken out of the hand</i>
of God's people, and put <i>into the hand of those that afflict
them,</i> <scripRef id="Obad.ii-p18.5" osisRef="Bible:Isa.51.22-Isa.51.23" parsed="|Isa|51|22|51|23" passage="Isa 51:22,23">Isa. li. 22,
23</scripRef>. Nay, they may expect their case to be worse in the
day of their distress than that of Israel was in their day; for,
(1.) The afflictions of God's people were but for a moment, and
soon had an end, but their enemies shall <i>drink continually</i>
the <i>wine of God's wrath,</i> <scripRef id="Obad.ii-p18.6" osisRef="Bible:Rev.14.10" parsed="|Rev|14|10|0|0" passage="Re 14:10">Rev.
xiv. 10</scripRef>. (2.) The dregs of the cup are reserved for the
<i>wicked of the earth</i> (<scripRef id="Obad.ii-p18.7" osisRef="Bible:Ps.75.8" parsed="|Ps|75|8|0|0" passage="Ps 75:8">Ps. lxxv.
8</scripRef>); they shall <i>drink and swallow down,</i> or <i>sup
up</i> (as the margin reads it), shall drink it to the bottom. (3.)
The people of God, though they may be made to drink of the wine of
astonishment for a while (<scripRef id="Obad.ii-p18.8" osisRef="Bible:Ps.60.3" parsed="|Ps|60|3|0|0" passage="Ps 60:3">Ps. lx.
3</scripRef>), shall yet recover, and come to themselves again; but
the heathen shall drink and be <i>as though they had not been;</i>
there shall be neither any remains nor any remembrance of them, but
they shall be wholly extirpated and rooted out. <i>So let all thy
enemies perish, O Lord!</i> so they shall perish, if they turn
not.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Obad.ii-p18.9" osisRef="Bible:Obad.1.17-Obad.1.21" parsed="|Obad|1|17|1|21" passage="Ob 1:17-21" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Obad.ii-p18.10">
<h4 id="Obad.ii-p18.11">Promises to Israel and
Judah. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Obad.ii-p18.12">b. c.</span> 587.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Obad.ii-p19" shownumber="no">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
<i>any</i> remaining of the house of Esau; for the <span class="smallcaps" id="Obad.ii-p19.1">Lord</span> hath spoken <i>it.</i>   19 And
<i>they of</i> the south shall possess the mount of Esau; and
<i>they of</i> the plain the Philistines: and they shall possess
the fields of Ephraim, and the fields of Samaria: and Benjamin
<i>shall possess</i> Gilead.   20 And the captivity of this
host of the children of Israel <i>shall possess</i> that of the
Canaanites, <i>even</i> unto Zarephath; and the captivity of
Jerusalem, which <i>is</i> 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 <span class="smallcaps" id="Obad.ii-p19.2">Lord</span>'s.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Obad.ii-p20" shownumber="no">After the destruction of the church's
enemies is threatened, which will be completely accomplished in the
great day of recompence, and that judgment for which Christ came
once, and will come again, into this world, here follow precious
promises of the salvation of the church, with which this prophecy
concludes, and those of Joel and Amos did, which, however they
might be in part fulfilled in the return of the Jews out of Babylon
notwithstanding the triumphs of Edom in their captivity, as if it
were perpetual, are yet, doubtless, to have their full
accomplishment in that great salvation wrought out by Jesus Christ,
to which all the prophets bore witness. It is promised here,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Obad.ii-p21" shownumber="no">I. That there shall be salvation upon Mount
Zion, that holy hill where God sets his anointed King (<scripRef id="Obad.ii-p21.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.2.6" parsed="|Ps|2|6|0|0" passage="Ps 2:6">Ps. ii. 6</scripRef>): <i>Upon Mount Zion shall be
deliverance,</i> <scripRef id="Obad.ii-p21.2" osisRef="Bible:Obad.1.17" parsed="|Obad|1|17|0|0" passage="Ob 1:17"><i>v.</i>
17</scripRef>. There shall be <i>those that escape;</i> so the
margin. A remnant of Israel, <i>upon the holy mountain</i> shall be
saved, <scripRef id="Obad.ii-p21.3" osisRef="Bible:Obad.1.16" parsed="|Obad|1|16|0|0" passage="Ob 1:16"><i>v.</i> 16</scripRef>. Christ
said, <i>Salvation is of the Jews,</i> <scripRef id="Obad.ii-p21.4" osisRef="Bible:John.4.22" parsed="|John|4|22|0|0" passage="Joh 4:22">John iv. 22</scripRef>. God wrought deliverances for the
Jews, typical of our redemption by Christ. But Mount Zion is the
gospel-church, from which the New-Testament law <i>went forth,</i>
<scripRef id="Obad.ii-p21.5" osisRef="Bible:Isa.2.3" parsed="|Isa|2|3|0|0" passage="Isa 2:3">Isa. ii. 3</scripRef>. There salvation
shall be preached and prayed for; to the gospel-church those are
added who <i>shall be saved;</i> and for those who come in faith
and hope to this Mount Zion deliverance shall be wrought from wrath
and the curse, from sin, and death, and hell, while those who
continue afar off shall be left to perish.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Obad.ii-p22" shownumber="no">II. That, where there is salvation, there
shall be sanctification in order to it: <i>And there shall be
holiness,</i> to prepare and qualify the children of Zion for this
deliverance; for wherever God designs glory he gives grace.
Temporal deliverances are indeed wrought for us in mercy when with
them there is holiness, when there is wrought in us a disposition
to receive them with love and gratitude to God; when we are
sanctified, they are sanctified to us. Holiness is itself a great
deliverance, and an earnest of that eternal salvation which we look
for. <i>There,</i> upon Mount Zion, in the gospel-church, <i>shall
be holiness;</i> for that is it which <i>becomes God's house for
ever,</i> and the great design of the gospel, and its grace, is to
plant and promote holiness. There shall be the Holy Spirit, the
holy ordinances, the holy Jesus, and a select remnant of holy
souls, in whom, and among whom, the holy God will delight to dwell.
Note, Where there is holiness there shall be deliverance.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Obad.ii-p23" shownumber="no">III. That this salvation and sanctification
shall spread, and prevail, and get ground in the world: The
<i>house of Jacob,</i> even this <i>Mount Zion,</i> with the
deliverance and their holiness there wrought, shall <i>possess
their possessions;</i> that is, the gospel-church shall be set up
among the heathen, and shall replenish the earth; the apostles of
Christ by their preaching shall gain possession of the hearts of
men for him whose messengers and ministers they are, and when they
possess their hearts they shall <i>possess their possessions,</i>
for those who have given up themselves to the Lord give up all they
have to him. When Lydia's heart was opened to Christ her house was
opened to his ministers. When the Gentile nations became <i>nations
of those that were saved,</i> were disciplined, <i>walked in the
light</i> of the Lord, and <i>brought their glory and honour into
the new Jerusalem</i> (<scripRef id="Obad.ii-p23.1" osisRef="Bible:Rev.21.24" parsed="|Rev|21|24|0|0" passage="Re 21:24">Rev. xxi.
24</scripRef>), then the <i>house of Jacob possessed their
possessions.</i> This is the part fulfilled by the planting of the
Christian religion in the world, and shall be fulfilled yet more
and more by the setting up of Christ's throne where Satan's seat
is, and the erecting of trophies of his victory upon the ruins of
the devil's kingdom. Now here is foretold,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Obad.ii-p24" shownumber="no">1. How this possession shall be
<i>gained,</i> and the opposition given to it got over (<scripRef id="Obad.ii-p24.1" osisRef="Bible:Obad.1.18" parsed="|Obad|1|18|0|0" passage="Ob 1:18"><i>v.</i> 18</scripRef>): <i>The house of Jacob
shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame,</i> for their God
is, and will be, a <i>consuming fire;</i> and the house of Esau
shall be for <i>stubble,</i> easily devoured and consumed by this
fire. This is fulfilled, (1.) In the conversion of multitudes by
the grace of Christ; the gospel, preached in the house of Jacob and
Joseph, and there owned and professed, shall be as a fire and a
flame to melt and to soften hard hearts, to burn up the dross of
sin and corruption, that they may be purified and refined with the
<i>spirit of judgment and</i> the <i>spirit of burning.</i> Christ,
when he comes, shall be <i>as a refiner's fire,</i> <scripRef id="Obad.ii-p24.2" osisRef="Bible:Mal.3.1-Mal.3.2" parsed="|Mal|3|1|3|2" passage="Mal 3:1,2">Mal. iii. 1, 2</scripRef>. (2.) In the
confusion of all the impenitent implacable enemies of the gospel of
Christ, that oppose it and do all they can to hinder the setting up
of the kingdom of the Messiah by it. The gospel day is a day that
<i>burns like an oven,</i> in which <i>all the proud, and all that
do wickedly, shall be a stubble,</i> <scripRef id="Obad.ii-p24.3" osisRef="Bible:Mal.4.1" parsed="|Mal|4|1|0|0" passage="Mal 4:1">Mal. iv. 1</scripRef>. Jacob and Joseph shall be as a
fire and a flame; for those that meddle with them, to do them hurt,
will find that they do so at their peril; they shall be to them as
<i>a torch of fire in a sheaf,</i> <scripRef id="Obad.ii-p24.4" osisRef="Bible:Zech.12.6" parsed="|Zech|12|6|0|0" passage="Zec 12:6">Zech. xii. 6</scripRef>. The word of God in the mouth of
his ministers is said to be like fire, and the people as wood to be
devoured by it, <scripRef id="Obad.ii-p24.5" osisRef="Bible:Jer.5.14" parsed="|Jer|5|14|0|0" passage="Jer 5:14">Jer. v. 14</scripRef>.
And the <i>man of sin</i> is to be <i>consumed by the breath of
Christ's mouth,</i> <scripRef id="Obad.ii-p24.6" osisRef="Bible:2Thess.2.8" parsed="|2Thess|2|8|0|0" passage="2Th 2:8">2 Thess. ii.
8</scripRef>. Those that are not refined as gold by fire of the
gospel shall be consumed as dross by it; for it will be a savour
either of life or of death. When idols and idolatry were abolished,
and the wealth and power of nations were brought into the service
of Christ and his gospel, and the spoils of the <i>strong man
armed</i> were divided by him that was <i>stronger than he,</i>
then the house of Jacob and Joseph devoured <i>the house of
Esau,</i> so that there was none of them left remaining. This the
Lord <i>spoke</i> by his prophets, and this he did by his
apostles.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Obad.ii-p25" shownumber="no">2. How far this possession shall extend,
<scripRef id="Obad.ii-p25.1" osisRef="Bible:Obad.1.19-Obad.1.20" parsed="|Obad|1|19|1|20" passage="Ob 1:19,20"><i>v.</i> 19, 20</scripRef>. This is
described in Jewish language, which speaks the accession made to
the land of Israel, after the return out of captivity into Babylon.
The <i>captivity of this host of Israel,</i> that is, this host of
Israel that have been so long in captivity and now they have come
back are still called the <i>children of the captivity,</i> these
shall not only recover their own land, but shall gain ground upon
their neighbours adjoining to them, some of whom shall become
proselytes and shall incorporate with the Jews, who, by possessing
them in a holy communion, possess their land. We must reckon
ourselves truly enriched by the conversion of our neighbours to the
fear of God and the faith of Christ, and their coming to join with
us in the worship of God. Such an accession to our Christian
communion we must reckon to be more our wealth and strength than an
accession to our estates. Or, The ancient inhabitants of those
lands that were carried away into captivity being lost, and never
returning to their estates, the children of Israel shall take
possession of that which lies next them; for their numbers shall so
increase that their own land shall be too strait for them, and
their neighbours' estates shall escheat to them <i>ob defectum
sanguinis—through default of heirs.</i> They shall enter upon that
which is adjoining to them. The country of Esau shall be possessed
by those <i>of the south</i> parts of Canaan, for to them it lies
contiguous. Those <i>of the plain,</i> on the <i>west</i> of
Canaan, which was a champaign country, shall enter upon <i>the land
of the Philistines,</i> their neighbours. Those of Judah, which was
the chief of the two returning tribes, shall possess <i>the field
of Ephraim and Samaria,</i> which before belonged to the ten
tribes; and Benjamin, the other tribe, shall possess Gilead on the
other side of Jordan, which had belonged to the two tribes and a
half. The kingdom of Israel shall join with that of Judah both in
civil and sacred interests, and, as friends and brethren, shall
mutually possess and enjoy one another; and both together shall
<i>possess the Canaanites,</i> even to Zarephath, which
<i>belongeth to Zidon;</i> and Jerusalem shall possess the
<i>cities of the south,</i> even to Sepharad. Thus did the Jews
enlarge their borders on all sides. The modern rabbin teach their
scholars by Zarephath and Sepharad to understand France and Spain,
grounding upon this a foolish groundless expectation that some time
or other the Jews shall be masters of those countries; and they
call and count the Christians <i>Edomites,</i> over whom they are
to have dominion. But the promise here, no doubt, has a spiritual
signification, and had its accomplishment in the setting up of the
Christian church, the gospel-Israel, in the world, and shall have
its accomplishment more and more in the enlargement of it and the
additions made to it, till the mystical body is completed. When
ministers and Christians prevail with their neighbours to come to
Christ, to yield themselves to the Lord, they possess them. The
converts that Abraham had are said to be the <i>souls that he had
gotten,</i> <scripRef id="Obad.ii-p25.2" osisRef="Bible:Gen.12.5" parsed="|Gen|12|5|0|0" passage="Ge 12:5">Gen. xii. 5</scripRef>. The
possession is gained, not <i>vi et armis—by force and arms;</i>
for the <i>weapons of our warfare are not carnal,</i> but
<i>spiritual;</i> it is by the preaching of the gospel, and the
power of divine grace going along with it, that this possession is
got and kept.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Obad.ii-p26" shownumber="no">IV. That the kingdom of the Redeemer shall
be erected and maintained, to the comfort of his loyal subjects and
the terror and shame of all his enemies (<scripRef id="Obad.ii-p26.1" osisRef="Bible:Obad.1.21" parsed="|Obad|1|21|0|0" passage="Ob 1:21"><i>v.</i> 21</scripRef>): <i>The kingdom shall be the
Lord's,</i> the Lord Christ's. God shall give it to him, by putting
all things into his hand, all power both in heaven and in earth;
men shall give it to him, by resigning themselves to him as his
willing people, and appointing him their head. Now the work of
kings is to protect their subjects and suppress their enemies; and
this Christ will do; he will both reward and punish. 1. The
mountain of Zion shall be saved; on it <i>saviours</i> shall
<i>come,</i> the preachers of the gospel, who are called saviours,
because their business is to save themselves and those that hear
them; and in this they are <i>workers together with Christ,</i> but
to little purpose if he by his grace did not <i>work together with
them.</i> 2. The mountain of Esau shall be judged; and the same
that come as saviours on Mount Zion shall <i>judge</i> the
<i>mountain of Esau;</i> for the word of the gospel in their mouth,
that saves believers, judges unbelievers, convinces and condemns
them. Christ's ministers are <i>saviours on Mount Zion</i> when
they preach that he <i>that believes shall be saved;</i> but they
judge the mount of Esau when they preach <i>that he that believeth
not shall be damned,</i> which they are not only commissioned, but
commanded to do, <scripRef id="Obad.ii-p26.2" osisRef="Bible:Mark.16.16" parsed="|Mark|16|16|0|0" passage="Mk 16:16">Mark xvi.
16</scripRef>. And in the course of God's providence his scripture
is fulfilled; when God raises up friends to the church in her
distress (as he <i>raised up judges</i> to deliver Israel of old,
<scripRef id="Obad.ii-p26.3" osisRef="Bible:Judg.2.16" parsed="|Judg|2|16|0|0" passage="Jdg 2:16">Judg. ii. 16</scripRef>), then
<i>saviours come on Mount Zion,</i> to save it from being sunk and
ruined; and when the enemies of the church are brought down, and
their power broken, then is the <i>mount of Esau judged;</i> and
this shall be done in every age in such a way as God thinks best;
we may depend upon it that the gates of hell shall not prevail
against the church, but the church shall prevail against them;
<i>for the kingdom shall be the Lord's;</i> the kingdoms of the
world shall become his, and he has taken, and will take, to himself
his great power and reign.</p>
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