(Calvin, Commentary on ObadiahLecture Seventieth. , part 3)
We observed in our yesterday's Lecture, that it nothing avails
the ungodly, when they set up their fortresses against the judgment
of God, as though they could escape safe from his hand; for as God
has heaven and earth under his control, he can, whenever it pleases
him, draw down all who now despise his power, and, therefore, deride
his Prophets, or regard as nothing their threatening. This passage
then ought to be carefully noticed; for God declares that it is in
his power to draw down from the very clouds those who so raise
themselves up, as to think themselves to be elevated above all
dangers. The Prophet now says -
Obadiah 1:5
If thieves came to thee, if robbers by night, (how art thou cut
off!) would they not have stolen till they had enough? if the
grapegatherers came to thee, would they not leave [some] grapes?
The Prophet shows in this verse that the calamity with which
God was resolved to afflict the Idumeans would not be slight, for
nothing would be left among them; and he amplifies what he says by a
comparison. When one is plundered of his property by thieves, he
grieves, that what he had acquired by much labour through life, has
been in one moment taken from him: and when any one has spent labour
and expense in cultivating his vineyard, and another takes away its
fruit, he complains of his great misfortune, that he had lost his
property and big labour in the cultivation of his vineyard, while
another devours its fruit. But the Prophet intimates that God would
not be content with such kind of punishment as to the Idumeans.
Hence he says, "Have night thieves or robbers come to thee?"
They must doubtless have stolen, and have taken away what they
thought sufficient for them; but now nothing shall be left to thee.
In short, the Prophet intimates that the Assyrians would not be like
thieves or night robbers, who stealthily and privately take away
what comes to their hands; but he means, that the Idumeans would be
so plundered, that their houses would be left wholly empty, and he
declares that the Assyrians would thus spoil them like night thieves
or robbers, who are wont to proceed with unbridled liberty; for none
dares to resist them, or even to say a word against them. This
plundering then will not be, says the Prophet, of an ordinary kind;
but the enemies will make thee entirely empty.
The same is the object in view when he says, "Have vintagers
come to thee?" To be sure, they commonly leave some clusters; but
the Assyrians will leave, no, not one: they shall depart so laden
with plunders, that thou shalt be left empty.
But all this, as we have reminded you, was said in order to
alleviate or to mitigate the grief of the faithful, who then deemed
themselves very miserable, as they were alone plundered by enemies;
for they saw that their neighbours were dwelling in safety, and even
becoming partakers of the spoil. Their condition therefore was very
miserable and degraded. Hence the Prophet, that he might moderate
this bitter grief, says, that the Idumeans would in no common way be
plundered, for not a hair could be left them. This is the import of
the passage.
But some regard the verb "nidmeitah" as signifying, "Thou art
reduced to silence;" for the verb "dum" or "damah" means to be
silent: and they give this exposition, "How dost thou not endeavor
at least to meet thine enemies?" for they take "to be silent" in the
sense of being still, as "damah" is often so taken in Scripture,
"How then have they been silent?" but he speaks of the future in the
past tense, as though God had already inflicted punishment on the
Idumeans, that faith in the prediction might be made more certain:
thou hast been reduced to silence, that is, how couldest thou remain
quiet on seeing thine enemies plundering with so much violence - how
then hast thou been reduced to silence? Others say, How hast thou
been consumed? for "damah" often means to destroy. But to this point
belongs no great importance; for the Prophet means, that it could
not be ascribed to chance, that enemies would destroy the whole land
of Edom, for the cruel assault would by no means be of an ordinary
kind: and then as the Idumeans thought that an entrance to their
enemies was on every side closed up, as they inhabited the summits
of mountains, according to what I have already said, and that they
were most safe in their recesses and lofty rocks, the Prophet here
sets it forth as a wonderful thing that God's judgment would yet
reach them. Let us proceed -
Obadiah 1:6
How are [the things] of Esau searched out! [how] are his hidden
things sought up!
He confirms the former sentence, - that the Idumeans in vain
trusted that their riches would be safe, because they had hidden and
deep recesses. Even when a country is plundered by enemies, the
conquerors dare not to come to places of danger; when there are
narrow passes, they avoid them, for they think that there is there
some evil design. Hence conquerors, fearing hidden places, plunder
only those which are open, and always consider well whether their
advance is safe: but Idumea, as we have said, had hidden recesses,
for its rocks were almost inaccessible, and there were many
conveniences there for hiding and concealing its riches. But the
Prophet says, that all this would be useless: and that he might more
effectually rouse them, he speaks with astonishment, as of something
incredible. "How have been sought the things of Esau, and thoroughly
searched his hidden places!" Who could have thought this? for they
might have concealed their treasures in rocks and caverns, and
thence repelled their enemies. But in vain would be all their
attempts: how could this possibly be? Here then he awakens the minds
of men, that they might acknowledge the judgment of God; and at the
same time he laughs to scorn the vain confidence with which the
Idumeans were inflated; and besides, he strengthens the minds of the
godly, that they might not doubt but that God would perform what he
declares, for he can indeed penetrate even to the lowest deep.
In short, the Prophet intimates that the faithful did not act
wisely, if they measured God's vengeance, which was impending on the
Idumeans, by their own understanding or by what usually happens; for
the Lord would make a thorough search, so that no hiding-places
would escape his sight; and then all their treasures would be
exposed as a prey to their enemies. We hence learn, that as men in
vain seek hiding places for themselves that they may be safe from
dangers; so in vain they conceal their riches; for the hand of God
can penetrate beyond the sea, land, heaven, and the lowest deep.
Nothing then remains for us but ever to offer ourselves and all our
things to God. If he protects us under his wings, we shall be safe
in the midst of innumerable dangers; but if we think that
subterfuges will be of any avail to us, we deceive ourselves. The
Prophet now adds -
Obadiah 1:7,8
All the men of thy confederacy have brought thee [even] to the
border: the men that were at peace with thee have deceived thee,
[and] prevailed against thee; [they that eat] thy bread have laid a
wound under thee: [there is] none understanding in him.
Shall I not in that day, saith the LORD, even destroy the wise [men]
out of Edom, and understanding out of the mount of Esau?
Here the Prophet expresses the manner in which God would punish
the Idumeans: trusting in their confederacies, they despised God, as
we have already had to observe. The Prophet now shows that it is in
the power of God to change the minds of men, so that they who were
their friends being suddenly inflamed with rage, would go forth to
destroy the Idumeans. Seeing then that they regarded the Assyrians
not only as a shield to them, but also as a defense against God
himself, the Prophet here declares that when it would be God's
purpose to punish them, there would be no need to send to a distance
for agents or instruments to execute his vengeance; for he would arm
the Assyrians themselves and the Chaldeans, inasmuch as he could
turn the hearts of men as he pleased. We now see the Prophet's
meaning; for he here takes away and shakes off the vain confidence
of the Idumeans, that they might not harden themselves for being
fortified by confederacies and for having powerful friends, for the
Lord would turn friends into enemies. "To thy border, he says, have
they driven thee". "Shalach" is properly to send forth or to throw
away; some render it, they have followed; as though the Prophet here
spoke of the neighboring nations, and according to their view the
meaning is, "However much thy neighbors may love thee, yet nothing
will they show of this love, except that they will follow thee with
feigned tears, when thine enemies shall lead thee away captive." But
this is a strained exposition, and corresponds not with the context.
The Prophet then describes here, I doubt not, the change, such as
would take place, that the Idumeans might know, that they trusted in
vain in their power and defenses. "The men of thy covenant, he says,
have driven thee away"; as though he said, "See what thou gainest in
anxiously seeking the friendship of those who will yet be thy
enemies; hadst thou remained quiet in thy clefts, it would have been
much better for thee: but now thou runnest to Assyria and Chaldea,
and this will be the cause of thy ruin. Hence the men of thy
covenant shall banish thee to the border: but if thou hadst had no
friendship nor commerce with them, thou mightest have lived safely
in thy recesses, no one would have driven thee out: just, then, has
been the reward of thy ambition, for having thus resorted to the
Assyrians and Chaldeans."
Continuing the same subject, the Prophet says, "Deceived thee
have the men of thy peace" - friends and confederates; for the
Hebrews call those men of peace, who are connected together by any
kind of alliance. The men then of thy peace, that is those whom thou
thoughtest thou mightest trust, and on whom thou midst rely; - these
have deceived thee, even these have prevailed against thee, and
oppressed thee through craft and treachery. "The men of thy bread
have placed under thee a wound": the men of bread were those who
were guests or friends. Some give this rendering, "Who eat thy
bread;" and it is an admissible interpretation, for the Assyrians
and Chaldeans, as they were insatiable, had taken booty from the
Idumeans; for whosoever then hunted for their friendship, must have
brought them some gifts. Since then they thus sold their friendship,
the Prophet rightly calls them the men of bread with regard to those
whose substance and wealth they devoured. If then we take the men of
bread in this sense, there is a probability in the meaning. But we
may give another interpretation, as though he had said that they
were guests and friends: these then have fixed under thee a wound,
that is, they have been thy destruction, and that through guile and
hidden artifices. When one attacks another openly, he who is
attacked can avoid the stroke; but the Prophet says, that the
Assyrians and Chaldeans would be perfidious to the Idumeans, so as
to conquer them through treachery. Fix then shall they a wound under
thee, as when one hides a dagger between the bed and the sheet, when
a person intends to go to sleep. So also he says that a wound is
placed underneath, when a feigned friend hides himself, that he may
more easily hurt him whom he assails deceitfully and craftily.
He at length thus concludes, There is no intelligence in him.
Here the Prophet no doubt derides in an indirect way the foolish
confidence with which the Idumeans were blinded; for they thought
themselves to be in a superlative degree wary, so that they had no
reason to fear, as they could see afar off, and arrange their
concerns with the utmost prudence. Since then they thought that they
excelled in wisdom, and could not be surprised by any craft, the
Prophet says here, that there would be in them no understanding.
But he immediately subjoins the reason, "Shall I not in that
day, saith Jehovah, destroy, or extinguish, the wise from Edom?"
While the Idumeans were prosperous, because they acted wisely, it
was incredible that they could thus in a moment be overthrown: but
the Prophet says, that even this was in the hand and power of God;
"Can I not," he says, "put an end to whatever there is of wisdom in
the Idumeans? Cannot I destroy all their prudent men? This will I
do." We now then perceive the import of the words.
But this place deserves notice: the Prophet upbraids the
Idumeans, and says, that their confederates and friends would prove
their ruin, because they had conspired among themselves beyond what
was just and right. When men thus mutually join together, there are
none of them who do not greedily seek their own advantage; in the
meantime, both sides are deceived; for God disconcerts their
counsels, and blasts the issue, because they regard not the right
end. And when the wicked seek friendships, they ever blend something
that is wrong; they either try to injure the innocent, or they seek
some advantage. All the compacts then which the ungodly and the
despisers of God make with one another, have always something
vicious intermixed; it is therefore no wonder that the Lord
disappoints them of their hope, and curses their counsels. This is
then the reason why the Prophet declares to the Idumeans, that
those, whom they thought to be their best and most faithful friends,
would be their ruin.
But here it may be objected and said, that the same thing
happens to the children of God. For David, though he acted towards
all with the utmost faithfulness and the greatest sincerity, yet
complains, that the man of his peace and a friend had contrived
against him many frauds, 'Raised up his heel against me,' he says,
'has the man of my peace; eat bread together did I with him, and he
with me,' (Ps. 41: 9.) It was necessary also that this should have
been the case with Christ himself. Now, if the children of God must
be conformed to the image of Christ, what the Prophet says is no
more than what applies to the whole Church, and to every member of
it. This may appear strange at the first view; but a solution may be
easily given: for while we strive to maintain peace with all men,
though they may perfidiously, through treachery, oppress us, yet the
Lord himself will succor us; and in the meantime, however hard may
this trial be, we yet know that our patience is tried by God, that
he may at last deliver us, so that we may confidently flee to him
and testify our sincerity. But while the ungodly mutually cheat one
another, while with wicked and sideway artifices they oppress and
circumvent each other, while they cast forth their hidden virulence,
while they turn peace into war, they know that their recompense is
just and merited: they cannot flee to God, for their conscience
restrains them. They indeed understand that they have deserved what
the Lord has justly repaid them. It is then no wonder that the
conspiracy in which the Idumeans trusted, when they made the
Chaldeans their friends, should have been accursed; for the Lord
turned to their ruin whatever they thought useful to themselves.
This then is the import of the whole, - that if we wish not to
be deceived, we must not attempt anything without an upright heart.
Provided then we exceed not the limits of our calling, let us
cultivate peace with all men, let us endeavor to do good to all men,
that the Lord may bless us; but if it be his purpose to try our
patience, he will be still present with us, though false friends try
us by their treacheries, though we be led into danger by their
malice, and be for a time trodden under their feet; if, on the
contrary, we act with bad faith, and think that we have fortunate
alliances, which have been obtained by wicked and nefarious
artifices, the Lord will turn for our destruction whatever we think
to be for our safety.
We must now notice what the Prophet says, "Shall I not in that
day destroy the wise from Edom?" Though men be in many respects
blind, whom God guides not by his Spirit, and on whom he shines not
with his word, yet the worst blindness is, when men become
inebriated with the false conceit of wisdom. When therefore any one
thinks himself endued with understanding, so that he can perceive
whatever is needful, and that he cannot be circumvented, his wisdom
is insanity and extreme madness: it would indeed be better for us to
be idiots and fools than to be thus inebriated. Since then the wise
of this world are insane, the Lord declares that they will have no
wisdom when the time of trial comes. God indeed permits the ungodly
for a long time to felicitate themselves on account of their own
acumen and counsels, as he suffered the Idumeans to go on
prosperously. And there are also many at this day who felicitate
themselves on their successes, and almost adore their own cunning.
Who indeed can persuade the Venetians that there is anywhere
consummate wisdom but among themselves, by which, forsooth, they
surpass all others in deception? For no other reason do they, amidst
many agitations, retain their own position, except that they seem to
see farther into what is for their own advantages; nay, that kings
in general stand, and continue safe amidst so many shakings, this
they ascribe to their own wisdom: "Except I had looked well in this
respect to my own affairs, except I had anticipated danger, and
except I had foreseen it, it would have been all over as to my
condition." Thus they think within themselves: but the Lord at
length infatuates them, that it may be evident, that this was not
formerly said in vain to the Idumeans, Shall I not in that day,
saith Jehovah, &c. and it was emphatically added, in that day: for
the Prophet means, that it was no wonder that the Idumeans had been
hitherto wary and adopted the best counsel; for it was not the
Lord's purpose to deprive them of wisdom; but when the suitable time
of vengeance came, he instantly took away whatever prudence there
was in them; for it is indeed in God's hand to take away whatever
there is either of understanding or of acuteness in men.
But we are warned by these words, that if we excel in
understanding, we are not to abuse this singular gift of God, as we
see the case to be with the ungodly, who turn to cunning whatever
wisdom the Lord has bestowed on them. There is hardly one in a
hundred to be found, who does not seek to be crafty and deceitful,
if he excels in understanding. This is a very wretched thing. What a
great treasure is wisdom? Yet we see that the world perverts this
excellent gift of God; the more reason there is for us to labour,
that our wisdom should be founded in true simplicity. This is one
thing. Then we must also beware of trusting in our own
understanding, and of despising our enemies, and of thinking that we
can ward off any evil that may impend over us; but let us ever seek
from the Lord, that we may be favored at all times with the spirit
of wisdom, that it may guide us to the end of life: for he can at
any moment take from us whatever he has given us, and thus expose us
to shame and reproach.
When he says, from mount Esau, he means mount Seir, as I have
already reminded you. But he meant to point out their whole country;
for they were almost surrounded by mountains, and dwelt, as it is
well known, in that Arabia which is called Patraea. It follows -
Obadiah 1:9
And thy mighty [men], O Teman, shall be dismayed, to the end that
every one of the mount of Esau may be cut off by slaughter.
The Prophet, after having spoken of one kind of God's
vengeance, adds another, - that he would break whatever there was of
strength in Idumea: and thus he shows that the courage and strength
of men, no less than their understanding, are in the hand of God. As
then God dissipates and destroys, whenever it pleases him, whatever
wisdom there may be in men, so also he enervates and breaks down
their hearts: in a word, he deprives them of all strength, so that
they fail and come to nothing of themselves. Were they who are proud
of their strength and counsels rightly to consider this, they would
at length learn to submit themselves in true humility to God. But
this truth is what the world cannot be made to believe: yet God
shows to us here, as in a picture, that however men may flourish for
a time, they would immediately vanish, were not he to sustain them,
and to support his gifts in them, and keep them entire; and,
especially, that empty smoke is everything, that seems to be
understanding and strength in men; for the Lord can easily take away
both, whensoever it may please him.
We ought therefore carefully to observe what he says here,
"Broken down shall be thy brave men, O Teman". Some think that a
particular country is here pointed out; for Teman is the south, that
is, with regard to Judea. But as Teman, we know, was one of the
grandsons of Esau, (Gen. 37: 11,) and as a part of Arabia was called
by this name, it is the more probable, that the Prophet turns here
his discourse to Idumea. But as to the word Teman, it is, a part
taken for the whole.
"For cut off, he says, shall be man": by saying, cut off shall
man, he means, that all to a man would be destroyed. How? "by
slaughter". But "katel" means a slaughter in which no one remains
alive. We hence see what the Prophet means, - that all the Idumeans
would be so broken down, that all would fall, for there would be no
heart nor strength to resist. It now follows -
Obadiah 1:10,11
For [thy] violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee,
and thou shalt be cut off for ever.
In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, in the day that the
strangers carried away captive his forces, and foreigners entered
into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even thou [wast] as
one of them.
The Prophet here sets forth the reason why God would deal so
severely and dreadfully with the Idumeans. Had he simply prophesied
of their destruction, it would have been an important matter; for
the Jews might have thereby known that their ruin was not chance,
but the scourge of God; they might have known that they themselves
were with others chastised by God, and this would have been a useful
instruction to them: but what brought them the chief consolation was
to hear, that they were so dear to God that he would undertake the
defense of their wrongs and avenge them, that he would have a regard
for their safety. Hence, when they heard that God, because he loved
them, would punish the Idumeans, it was doubtless an invaluable
comfort to them in their calamities. To this subject the Prophet now
comes.
"For the unjust oppression of thy brother Jacob", &c. The word
"chamas", violence, is to be taken passively; as though he said,
"See, how thou hast acted towards thy brother Jacob." And he calls
him his brother, not for honor's sake, but, on the contrary, for the
purpose of showing forth more fully the cruelty of the Idumeans; for
consanguinity had had no effect in preventing them from raging
against their own brethren, and as it were against their own bowels.
It was therefore a proof of barbarous inhumanity, that the Idumeans,
forgetting their common nature, had been so inflamed with hatred
against their own brethren: for, as it is well known, they had
descended from the same common father, Abraham, and also from Isaac,
and had the symbol of circumcision. The Idumeans indeed professed
that they were the descendants of Abraham, and were God's peculiar
people. Since then God had made his covenant with their common
father Isaac, and since they had equally retained circumcision,
which was the seal of that covenant, how did it happen, that the
Idumeans conducted themselves so cruelly towards their brethren? We
hence see, that the name of brother in this clause - for the
oppression of thy brother Jacob, is mentioned for the purpose of
enhancing their crime.
As then, he says, thou best been so violent against thy
brother, "cover thee shall reproach, and forever shalt thou be cut
off". He intimates that the calamity would not be only for a time as
in the case of Israel, but that the Lord would execute such a
punishment as would prove that the Idumeans were aliens to him; for
God in chastising his Church ever observes certain limits, as he
never forgets his covenant. He proves indeed that the Idumeans were
not his people, however much they might falsely boast that they were
the children of Abraham, and make claim to the sign of circumcision;
for they were professedly enemies, and had entirely departed from
all godliness: it was then no wonder that their circumcision, which
they had impiously profaned, was made no account of. But he
afterwards more fully and largely unfolds the same thing.
"In the day, he says, in which thou didst stand on the opposite
side". But the Idumeans might have made this objection, "Why dost
thou accuse us for having violently oppressed our brother? for we
were not the cause why they were destroyed: they had a quarrel with
the Assyrians, we labored to protect our own interest in the midst
of these disturbances; we sought peace with the Assyrians, and if
necessity so compelled us, that ought not to be ascribed to us as a
crime or blame." In this way the Idumeans might have made a defense:
but the Prophet dissipates all such pretenses by saying, In the day
in which thou didst stand on the opposite side, in the day in which
strangers took away his substance, and aliens entered his gates, and
cast lots on Jerusalem - were not thou there? Even thou were as one
of them. Now this is emphatically introduced - Even thou or, thou
also; for the Prophet exhibits it here as a hateful omen: "It was no
wonder that the Assyrians and Chaldeans shed the blood of thy
brethren, for they were enemies, they were foreigners, they were a
very distant people: but thou, who were of the same blood, thou,
whom the bond of religion ought to have restrained, and further,
even thou, who oughtest by the very claims of vicinity either to
have helped thy brethren, or at least to have condoled with them -
yea, thou were so cruel as to have been as one of his enemies: this
surely can by no means be endured."
We now perceive what the Prophet meant by saying, In the day in
which thou didst stand on the opposite side: it is then as it were,
an explanation of the former sentence, lest the Idumeans should make
a false excuse by objecting that they had not been violent against
their brethren. It was indeed the worst oppression, when they stood
over against them; though they were not armed they yet took pleasure
in a spectacle so mournful; besides they not only were idle
spectators of the calamity of their brethren but were also as it
were a part Of their enemies. "Hast thou then not been as one of
them?" I shall not proceed farther now.
Prayer.
Grant Almighty God, that as thou hast once received us under thy
protection, and hast promised that our salvation would be so much
cared for by thee, that whatever Satan and the whole world may
contrive, thou wilt yet keep us safe and secure, - O grant, that
being endued with perseverance, we may remain within our borders,
and be not carried away here and there either by craft or by wicked
counsels; but be thou pleased to keep us in genuine integrity, that
being protected by thy help, we may, by experience, find that true
which thou declarest in thy word, that they who call on thee in
truth shall ever know thee to be propitious to them: and since thou
hast already made open to us an access to thee in the person of thy
only-begotten Son, O grant, that we the sheep, may rely on him as
our shepherd, and resignedly abide under his protection until we be
removed from all dangers into that eternal rest, which has been
obtained for us by the blood of thy Son Jesus Christ. Amen.
Calvin, Commentary on Obadiah
(continued in part 4...)
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