What is the meaning of Obadiah 1:21? The deliverers • God never leaves His people without help. Throughout history He raises up “deliverers” (Judges 2:16) to rescue and restore. • In Obadiah, these deliverers are instruments of God’s justice against Edom, much like Moses against Egypt (Exodus 3:10) or the judges against Israel’s oppressors. • The focus is not on their identity but on God’s faithfulness: “The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves” (Zephaniah 3:17). will ascend Mount Zion • Mount Zion, the hill where David’s city and the temple stood (Psalm 2:6), is God’s chosen stage for redemption. • Ascending signals victory, not retreat. Just as the ark returned to Jerusalem in David’s day (2 Samuel 6:12), so God’s deliverers rise to Zion to celebrate triumph. • Hebrews 12:22 points to Zion as the gathering place of redeemed saints, foreshadowing a future, joyful assembly. to rule over the mountains of Esau • “The mountains of Esau” represent Edom’s strongholds. Though rugged and seemingly impregnable (Obadiah 1:3), they cannot withstand God’s justice. • Edom’s prideful violence against Jacob (Genesis 27:41; Amos 1:11-12) meets divine reversal: those once oppressed now govern the territory of their oppressors (Isaiah 34:5-6). • This rule is not cruel domination but righteous administration under God’s authority, echoing the promise, “He will judge the nations with equity” (Psalm 96:10). And the kingdom will belong to the LORD • The climax is not political but theological: ultimate authority rests with the LORD alone (Psalm 22:28). • All previous triumphs point to the day when “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ” (Revelation 11:15). • Daniel 2:44 assures us that God’s kingdom “will crush all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, but will itself endure forever.” • Zechariah 14:9 looks ahead: “On that day the LORD will become King over all the earth.” summary Obadiah 1:21 assures believers that God will raise up deliverers, establish His victory from Mount Zion, overturn the pride of Edom, and reveal His unchallenged kingship. Every line points us to a future where Christ rules openly and all creation acknowledges, “The kingdom will belong to the LORD.” |
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