Obadiah 1:18

The Israelites would then consume the Edomites, as a fire burns up stubble (cf. Exodus 15:7; Isaiah 10:17; Joel 2:5; Zechariah 12:6; Malachi 4:1; Matthew 3:12; Luke 3:17). Fire is often a tool of divine judgment in Scripture (cf. Deuteronomy 28:24; Deuteronomy 32:22). There would be no Edomites left (cf. Deuteronomy 32:8-9; Numbers 24:18; Isaiah 11:13-14; Ezekiel 25:13-14; Amos 9:12), though Israelites would escape from Jerusalem (Obadiah 1:17).

"Obadiah distinctly mentions the house of Joseph, i.e. of the ten tribes, in this passage and in this alone, for the purpose of guarding against the idea that the ten tribes are to be shut out from the future salvation." [Note: Keil, 1:370.]

The house of Jacob, in contrast, refers to the Southern Kingdom. This prediction will find ultimate fulfillment during the judgment of the nations after the Second Coming and before the messianic rule of Christ in the Millennium begins. Yahweh again guaranteed the accuracy of this prophecy with His own word (cf. Amos 9:4; Amos 9:8).

"Some passages, like Obadiah 1:18, speak of a military participation by Israel in the judgment of the nations just prior to the Millennium (Zechariah 12:1-9; Malachi 4:3 [MT 3:21]), while others depict the Lord carrying out the judgment on behalf of His people (Joel 3:12 [Matthew 4:12]; Zechariah 14:3-5; cf. Matthew 25:31-46). It is difficult to reconstruct the precise order of events. In any case much of the material is evidently not strictly chronological." [Note: Finley, p. 373.]

The Edomites’ fortunes ebbed and flowed for centuries following Obadiah’s prophecy. The Herods, including Herod the Great (Matthew 2:1-17), Herod Antipas (Luke 13:31-32; Luke 23:7-12), and Herod Agrippa I (Acts 12:1-11; Acts 12:23) were all of Edomite descent. But in the second century B.C. the Jews and other enemies virtually consumed the Edomites. It was then that the Edomites lost their national identity and autonomy, which they never regained. So the final destruction of the nation of Edom by Israel took place long before the eschaton.

". . . one could speak of a partial fulfillment of Obadiah’s oracles when the Maccabeans and Hasmoneans reclaimed these areas for Israel." [Note: Ibid., p. 374.]

This took place in the second century B.C. However, Obadiah spoke of the nations as well as Edom. He foresaw the destruction of all Gentile powers that dominated the Israelites. Had the Jews accepted Jesus Christ as their Messiah, He would have begun to rule shortly after His crucifixion and resurrection. Since they rejected Him, the final judgment of the nations that the prophets predicted is still future.