Obadiah

In the Bible, it’s good to know
Who wrote each book,
To whom,
And why.

I thought to demonstrate with a one-chapter book,
Like Philemon,
Except the boys already knew
Paul wrote to Philemon on behalf of
Nemesis, er,
Onesimus, escaped slave,
Now beloved brother.

So we turned to Obadiah,
That minor prophet,
Who wrote “concerning Edom.”
Jadon knew that the Edomites
Descended from Esau.

And bad things were coming.
A robber would have left some things behind,
And a harvester wouldn’t have gathered all grapes,
But the destruction coming to Edom would be absolute.

I kept reading, waiting for an out, a promise that
If they turned, the judgment would be stayed.
“But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance”
Sounded hopeful, except it was followed with
The dire picture of the house of Jacob as a flame and
The house of Esau as the stubble that would be burned up.

And whether the book is supposed to be
A warning for Esau, an encouragement for revenge-minded
Israelites, or simply a prediction of what’s to come
For God’s glory, we never decided.

In any case, it’s harsh.

How interesting, then, to note the next book,
Jonah. His message was simple:
“Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown.”
Nothing helpful, like, “Repent.” Simply a promise of
Impending judgment.

Yet the city repented, unprompted, and God spared them,
For a few generations.

A message of judgment, unsoftened by hope.
Yet there was hope for those who looked.
In the room of judgment without an exit,
The Ninevites made an exit anyway.

It makes me rethink Obadiah.
Judgment is promised for the Edomites.
But if they would have just turned, perhaps
The judgment would have been stayed.