Audio Download

Book of Obadiah – Oba 1:11 The Lot has Been Cast Against Jerusalem

[Study Aired February 14, 2024]

Oba 1:11  In the day of thy standing over-against, In the day of strangers taking captive his force, And foreigners have entered his gates, And for Jerusalem have cast a lot, Even thou art as one of them!

Oba 1:11  In the day^H3117 that thou stoodest^{H5975 (H8800 Qal)} on the other side,^{H4480 H5048} in the day^H3117 that the strangers^{H2114 (H8801 Qal)} carried away captive^{H7617 (H8800 Qal)} his forces,^H2428 and foreigners^H5237 entered into^{H935 (H8804 Qal)} his gates,^H8179 and cast^{H3032 (H8804 Qal)} lots^H1486 upon^H5921 Jerusalem,^H3389 even^H1571 thou^H859 wast as one^H259 of^H4480 them.

H3117 – Yome, day, time, year, a working day, a day’s journey, days, lifetime, period (general), today, yesterday, tomorrow, from an unused root meaning to be hot

H5975 – Amad, (Qal) to stand, remain, endure, take one’s stand, be in a standing attitude, stand forth/up/upright/with, take/make a stand, present oneself, attend upon, be or become servant of, stand still, stop, cease, tarry, delay, remain, continue, abide, endure, persist, be steadfast, hold one’s ground, remain standing, rise, be erect, be upright, arise, appear, come on the scene, appear, rise up/against, be appointed, grow flat/insipid, a primitive root

H4480 – Min, from, out of, on account of, off, on the side of, since, above, than, so that not, more than, some of, after (of time), from…even to, both…and, either…or, too much for, through, because, from H4482, Mane, musical chord, a stringed instrument from an unused root to apportion

H5048 – Neged, what is conspicuous, what is in front of, in front of, straight forward, before, in sight of, in front of oneself, straightforward, before your face, in your view/purpose, corresponding to, in the sight or presence of, parallel to, over, for, in front, opposite, at a distance, from the front of, away from, from before the eyes of, opposite to, at a distance from, from before, in front of, as far as the front of, from a primitive root H5046, Nagad, to be conspicuous, tell, make known, declare, announce, report, expound, inform of, publish, proclaim, avow, acknowledge, confess, messenger, be told, be announced, be reported

H3117 – see above

H2114 – Zoor, (Qal) to become estranged, strange, another, stranger, foreigner, an enemy, loathsome, strange woman, prostitute, harlot, a primitive root

H7617 – Shabah, (Qal) to take captive, captive, lead captive, a primitive root

H2428 – Khayil, strength, might, efficiency, wealth, army, ability, force, from a primitive root H2342, Khool, to twist, whirl, dance, writhe, fear, tremble, travail, be in anguish, be pained, whirl, whirl about, bear, bring forth, wait anxiously, be made to writhe/bear, be brought forth, be born, whirling, writhing, suffering torture, wait longingly, be distressed (Used five times in OT)

H5237 – Nokriy, foreign, alien, foreigner, foreign woman, harlot, unknown, unfamiliar, from H5235, Neker, calamity, disaster, misfortune, from a primitive root 

H5234, Nakar, to recognise, acknowledge, know, respect, discern, regard, be recognised, observe, pay attention to, pay regard to, notice, perceive, be willing to recognise/acknowledge, acknowledge with honour, be acquainted with, distinguish, understand, make oneself known, act or treat as foreign or strange, disguise, misconstrue, disguise oneself, act as alien

H935 – Bo, (Qal) to enter, come, go, come in/with/upon, fall or light upon, attack, come to pass, attain to, be enumerated, a primitive root

H8179 – Shahar, gate, from a primitive root H8176, Shawar, to split open, reason out, reckon, estimate, (Qal) to calculate, think Proverbs 23:7 (Used once in OT)

H3032 – Yadad, (Qal) to throw lots, cast lots, love, loving-one, friend, a primitive root

H1486 – Gowral, lot, pebbles used for systematically making decisions, portion, recompense, retribution, from an unused root meaning to be rough (as stone)

H5921 – Al, upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against, on the ground of, on the basis of, because of, therefore, on behalf of, for the sake of, for, with, in spite of, notwithstanding, in the matter of, as regards, to, over to, unto, in addition to, with, adjoining, next, at, around, down upon, on, from, up upon, up to, towards, over towards, against, because, although, properly, the same as H5920, Al, height, above, upwards, on high, from a primitive root H5927, Alah, to go up, ascend, climb, meet, visit, follow, depart, withdraw, retreat, come up, to spring up, grow, shoot forth, go up over, rise, extend, excel, be superior to, be taken up/away, be brought up, take oneself away, be exalted, bring up, cause to ascend, cause to go up/ascend, bring against, take away, draw up, train, rouse, stir up, offer, exalt, be carried away, be led up, be taken up into, be inserted in, be offered, lift oneself

H3389 – Yerooshahlahim, Jerusalem = teaching of peace, probably from a primitive root H3384, Yarah, to throw, shoot, cast, pour, lay, set, shoot arrows, throw water/rain, be shot, to point out, show, direct, teach, instruct, and a primitive root 

H7999, Shalam, to be in a covenant of peace, be at peace, peaceful one, one in covenant of peace, make peace with, cause to be at peace, live in peace, be complete, be sound, be finished, be ended, be sound, be uninjured, complete, finish, make safe, make whole or good, restore, make compensation, pay, requite, recompense, reward, be performed, be repaid, be requited, perform, make an end of

H1571 – Gam, also, even, indeed, moreover, yea, neither, neither…nor, but, yet, though, yea though, again, alike, by contraction from an unused root

H859 – Attah, you, a primitive pronoun of the second person

H259 – Ekhad, one (number), each, every, a certain, an (indefinite article), only, once, once for all, one…another, the one…the other, one after another, one by one, first, eleven (in combination), eleventh (ordinal), a numeral from a primitive root H258, Akhad, to go one way or another, to be sharp, (Used once in OT)

H4480 – see above

Sibling rivalry, especially among brothers, is a significant theme in scriptures. Here in Obadiah vs 11, instead of Edom being considered a brother, he is labelled as “one of them”. Edom didn’t act like a brother to the Israelites. Instead, Edom is considered to be just as bad as the invading enemy of Jerusalem, because like Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian Empire, Edom was allowed to participate in looting Jerusalem. Instead of acting as a protective brother, Edom acted with violence and treated his brother as a stranger, acting with violence and spite toward Israel. 

Esau hated Jacob because of the original betrayal:

Gen 27:41  And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob.

Pro 18:19  A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city: and their contentions are like the bars of a castle.

Esau hated Jacob in chapter 27 of Genesis, but two chapters prior we are told that in fact it was Esau who hated his birthright and had sold it to Jacob

Gen 25:29  And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint:
Gen 25:30  And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom.
Gen 25:31  And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright.
Gen 25:32  And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?
Gen 25:33  And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.
Gen 25:34  Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.

The spiritual type and shadow of Esau despising his birthright is that Edom despises things of the spirit. Or more accurately, Edom values the things of the flesh (a bowl of pottage, food) more than the things of the spirit (birthright). 

Is it wrong for Esau to be angry for what Jacob did to him? Is it wrong to hate your brother if he trespasses against you? Esau’s hatred for Jacob is contrary to the commandment given in Deuteronomy, Leviticus and in Luke:

Deu 23:7  Thou shalt not abhor an Edomite; for he is thy brother: thou shalt not abhor an Egyptian; because thou wast a stranger in his land.

Deu 23:19  Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother; usury of money, usury of victuals, usury of any thing that is lent upon usury:
Deu 23:20  Unto a stranger thou mayest lend upon usury; but unto thy brother thou shalt not lend upon usury: that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all that thou settest thine hand to in the land whither thou goest to possess it.

Lev 19:17  Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.

Luk 17:3  Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.
Luk 17:4  And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him

Here is a further distinction between how one treats a brother versus a stranger

Cain even asks this question concerning how he is to behave toward his brother:

Gen 4:9  And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?

We know that ultimately, it is God’s sovereignty that sparked this original murder, and likewise all brotherly division, since, as it says in Luke 12:

Luk 12:49  ‘Fire I came to cast to the earth, and what will I if already it was kindled?
Luk 12:50  but I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how am I pressed till it may be completed!
Luk 12:51  ‘Think ye that peace I came to give in the earth? no, I say to you, but rather division;
Luk 12:52  for there shall be henceforth five in one house divided—three against two, and two against three;
Luk 12:53  a father shall be divided against a son, and a son against a father, a mother against a daughter, and a daughter against a mother, a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.’

It is better to be divided from the world and united in Christ, and as we know, in God’s time, all shall one day be all in all.

Mat 18:8  Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into (aonion) fire.

1Co 15:28  And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

The Hebrew word for brother is H251 (Awkh) and the Greek word is G80 (Adelphos). Here are some of verses of how it appears in the New testament:

1Jn 2:9  He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.

1Jn 2:10  He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.

1Jn 2:11  But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.

1Jn 3:10  In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.

1Jn 3:12  Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.

1Jn 3:14  We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.

1Jn 3:15  Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.

1Jn 3:17  But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?

1Jn 4:20  If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?

1Jn 4:21  And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.

Here is how we are commanded to treat our brothers, we are commanded to walk charitably with him (G26: Agape, affection and benevolence)

Rom 14:15  But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died.

It is encouraging to see we have brothers who are companions in tribulation, as stated by John.

Rev 1:9  I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.

We show agape (love) to our brothers through showing mercy and compassion, as well as executing true judgment.

Zec 7:9  Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother:
Zec 7:10  And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart

It is encouraging to see that Christ loves us more than a brother.

Pro 27:17  Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend

Pro 18:24  A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

Edom treated Jacob like a stranger instead of a brother. We reap what we sow, and a consequence for Edom treating Jerusalem with violence was they were, in turn, also to be considered as a foreigner.

Oba 1:11  In the day of thy standing over-against, In the day of strangers taking captive his force, And foreigners have entered his gates, And for Jerusalem have cast a lot, Even thou art as one of them!

In turn, Christ treats our old man as a foreigner. Christ is a stranger to our old man, and a loving friend to our new man; a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Rev 21:27  And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Mat 21:42  Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?
Mat 21:43  Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.
Mat 21:44  And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.

The voice of a stranger is treated as a heathen man and a publican.

Mat 18:17  And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.

Conclusion & Spiritual Principle: Christ acts as a stranger to our old man, but as a loving friend/brother to our new man. His love “grinds us to powder.”

Pro 27:6  Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

We have nothing to fear, even if our brothers try to trap us and attempt to kill us, as Joseph’s brothers did. Joseph’s brothers treated him like a stranger (Gen 37:20 “Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams”) but we know that Christ orchestrated all that evil for good, to save many alive. We reap what we sow, and as Joseph’s brothers treated him as a stranger, many years later, it was Joseph’s turn to treat them as a stranger:

Gen 42:7  And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly unto them; and he said unto them, Whence come ye? And they said, From the land of Canaan to buy food

This was not an easy thing for Joseph to do, but he was executing true judgment (Zec 7:9  Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother).

Gen 42:23  And they knew not that Joseph understood them; for he spake unto them by an interpreter.
Gen 42:24  And he turned himself about from them, and wept

After a period of judgment, Joseph reveals himself to his brothers:

Gen 45:2  And he wept aloud: and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard.
Gen 45:3  And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence.
Gen 45:4  And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.
Gen 45:5  Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.

Like Joseph, Christ does not blame us for our poor decisions. We are told not to be angry with ourselves as Christ shows compassion and mercy upon us as the weaker vessel. Christ treats us as a friend. He guides us and walks with us as a true shepherd. We have nothing to fear because Christ and God is within our midst, and the God of Jacob is our refuge:

Psa 46:2  Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
Psa 46:3  Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.
Psa 46:4  There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.
Psa 46:5  God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.
Psa 46:6  The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted.
Psa 46:7  The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.
Psa 46:8  Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations he hath made in the earth.
Psa 46:9  He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.
Psa 46:10  Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
Psa 46:11  The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.