"The House of Jacob will be a fire, and the House of Joseph a flame. The House of Esau
will be as straw. They will kindle and consume them. There will be no survivor from the House of Esau, for Yahveh has
spoken." Obadiah 1:18
This very short Book of Obadiah focuses on the people of Edom - Esau's descendants, (Genesis 36:1) who lived
southeast of Israel. Not only did they rejoice over the sufferings of Jacob's descendants within the Holy Land, but they
also took advantage of their plight to loot their territory and help the invader. Obadiah prophesied that Edom would be punished
and defeated when Messiah comes, along with other nations who were Israel's enemies.
Why was Yahveh angry with Esau?
In many instances Esau appears to have been wronged against. In a moment of personal weakness, he was
beaten by Jacob to the birthright, and later, his father was tricked into giving the blessing meant for him to his brother.
Although Esau intended to avenge Jacob, he did not actually carry out his plan. Backed by his army of four hundred men,
he could easily have done so, when he met Jacob on his way home from Haran. Moreover, Esau allowed Jacob to
participate at his father's burial. (Genesis 35:29) Indeed, the Torah forbids the Israelites to abhor Edom 'for he is your
brother.' (Deuteronomy 23:8)
Thus we see that Esau's sins would be largely in the future - those of his offspring, rather than his
own. As Obadiah states: "for the outrage to your brother Jacob, disgrace will engulf
you, and you will perish for ever." Obadiah 1:10
The 'outrage' spoken of in this prophecy manifested more than a millennium after Esau's death, yet he
was blamed for it. Why?
Abraham's son, Ishmael, was also regarded as wicked during his earlier life - to the
degree that he was expelled from his father's household. Moreover, according to Isaiah 21:13-17, Ishmael's
descendants brought much agony and suffering on Israel as well. Why was only Esau associated with the behavior
of his descendants in the book of Obadiah?
Esau's self-restraint in accepting Jacob rather than attacking him (following Jacob's huge gift to him)
was on impulse. Even though he hated Jacob, at that moment his feelings of mercy were aroused. Indeed, much of Esau's
conduct appears to be on whim. Examples include his readiness to exchange a bowl of soup for his future role of being the
heir and director of the Patriarchal traditions, and his sudden resolve to kill Jacob because he received the blessing meant
for himself.
Esau's momentary acceptance of Jacob on his return from Laban, and his later allowing him to take part
at his father's burial, may be seen as good deeds done on impulse. They do not contradict the fundamental elements in his
character, that he "hated Jacob". Esau's momentary change of behavior was not due to true repentance.
There was no real change in his character and attitudes, and for that reason, the violence of his descendants against
those of Jacob is linked with him.
Ishmael, on the other hand, was recorded to have repented. True repentance is not a single good deed,
but a fundamental change in character. Because Ishmael changed for the good, he was not associated
with the sins of his descendants.
We learn from here the value of perfect (true and complete) repentance. On Yom Kippur we change our conduct
to suit the day, and even make new resolutions, but the true test is whether we maintain them and build on them
during the year.
