The Book of Obadiah and the Pig

In 1878 Floyd Hatfield had a pig. Somehow this pig got a tiny bit of its ear bitten off or otherwise severed, or so Hatfield claimed. You see, on the other side of Tug Fork river in West Virginia lived a family called the McCoys. The McCoys notched their pigs’ ears in order to identify them.

When Randolph McCoy saw the notched hog in a Hatfield sty, he accused Floyd Hatfield of swine theft. The matter soon escalated into a bitter lawsuit. Randolph McCoy took Floyd Hatfield to court over the issue, but the conflict was exacerbated because the local justice of the peace happened to be the honourable Judge Anderson Hatfield.

He found no evidence that Floyd Hatfield had stolen the pig and ruled in favour of his kinsman. He wisely made his ruling based on the testimony of one Bill Staton, a relative of both families, and thus was seen to be impartial. The case was closed. Or was it?

Two years later, Bill Staton was killed, supposedly in self-defence, by two McCoy brothers. Around that time Roseanna McCoy was courting Johnson Hatfield and the McCoys arrested the young man for bootlegging. The Hatfields rescued Johnson by force. Then Johnson Hatfield abandoned the pregnant Roseanna McCoy and married her cousin. Two years later, Roseanna’s brothers killed a Hatfield (I forget which one). The Hatfields then hunted down the three McCoy brothers, tied them to pawpaw bushes, and shot them. The Hatfields were arrested but mysteriously evaded punishment. So the McCoys used political connections to reinstate the charges. Then the Hatfields burnt down a McCoy cabin to flush out Randolph McCoy. Two McCoy children were killed that night, and eight Hatfields were arrested. One of them was executed.

Well, to cut a long story short(er), the notorious Hatfield-McCoy blood feud raged bitterly for decades, claiming at least twelve lives from both families, injuring several, involving the governors of Kentucky and West Virginia, very nearly leading to a civil war between the two states, and eventually, the families got the US Supreme court involved in an extradition dispute. Like I said, it’s a long story.

I have no idea what happened to the pig.

What I do know is that when family feuds turn violent, the resolution of conflict is never initiated by the feuding families. The dispute must be settled by the supreme powers that be.

There is a family feud in the Bible that begins in eternity past; is evidenced in a mother’s womb, is played out by twin brothers, and is perpetuated by their descendants for centuries until it is finally put to rest by God himself, and resolved in the eschatological future.

It is an epic struggle that makes the Hatfield-McCoy feuding seem like friendly banter. I’m referring to the shortest book in the Bible, which tells a long, long story, cut short by the justice of God.

When you turn to the Book of Obadiah, there is no shame in using the Table of Contents. It is a seldom-read prophecy, addressed to Israel’s enemies, but on that can bring comfort to us, as God’s children, as we listen in on God addressing his enemies.

1. BRIEF HISTORY OF A SHORT BOOK

Obadiah 1a The vision of Obadiah.

Title: The book, like that of Nahum, Habakkuk, and Ezekiel, is called a vision.  In other words, this is a direct revelation from God to his prophet, who had a visual experience, and who then wrote it in his own words, guided by the Holy Spirit so that the prophecy was authoritative, inerrant, and predictive.

Author: The book is written by a man called Obadiah. There are twelve Obadiahs in the Bible, but the date of this writing rules out the other eleven. So, regrettably, we know absolutely nothing about this man, except that his name means “Servant of Yahweh” and that he is a really good writer—his little prophecy is rich with literary tools such as irony, satire, rhetorical questions, and vivid imagery.

Date: Commentators say there are three possibilities for this prophecy: either before the Babylonian Exile, or during the Exile, or after the Exile. Well, duh. That could be said of everything ever written. But anyway…

The date ranges from the 9th Century BC to the 6th Century BC. Obadiah must have prophesied after Jerusalem had been attacked (because Edom is rebuked for gloating over the destruction of Jerusalem), but before Edom was destroyed (or it wouldn’t be much of a prophecy).

Jerusalem was attacked five times and there is no indication of which one he is talking about. So, the earliest would be just after the 1st attack on Jerusalem by Egyptian King Shishak in 925BC, and the latest is just before the destruction of Edom, which Malachi says already happened by his day, in the early 500s BC.

Themes:

• If you side against God’s people, you side against God, and you will lose.
• If you pride yourself in your own power to secure yourself, you will be disappointed.
• Israel might be in trouble with God now, but it is only temporary; Israel’s enemies on the other hand will get their turn and it will be permanent.

What is fascinating about this book is that it is the only whole book in the Bible addressed not to Israel at all, but directly to Israel’s enemies. Think about it. The Bible is written to mankind in general, and specifically to those who know God and believe in him. Prophecies in the Old Testament are usually written to Israel to warn her to repent, to exhort her to keep the covenant, and/or to comfort her when she is being punished, that the punishment will be followed by restoration.

But here, nestled in the middle of a collection of such prophecies, is a little pamphlet intended not for God’s people, but for their enemies.

It is an eviction notice. It is a death sentence.

But it was delivered to Obadiah – a Jewish prophet. Why would God reveal this judgment of Edom to a Jewish prophet whom the Edomites would most certainly ignore?

Because, although the book is addressed to the Edomites, it was intended for Israel to see and draw comfort from.

God gave Edom a death sentence for refusing to help Israel, for gloating over Israel’s punishment, and for siding with Israel’s enemies. And God sent that death sentence via an Israelite messenger named Obadiah.

CONCLUSION

If you are reading this and you are not a believer in Jesus then you are in a very dangerous feud. Not with a human, but with the God of the Universe, your Creator, and your Judge.

But I have a verse of hope for you:

Romans 5:10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.

Jesus Christ came from His Father and became one of us so that he could die for us, pay the blood price we incurred against God, and free us from the enmity we had with God.

To cut a long story short… we have now been reconciled by his blood, to be adopted into his family, thanks be to our Savior, Jesus Christ.