Transcription
Shalom and welcome to Via hafta Israel, a Hebrew phrase which means "you shall love Israel." We hope you'll stay with us for the next 30 minutes as our teacher, Dr. Baruch, shares his expository teaching from the Bible. Dr. Baruch is the senior lecturer at the Zera Avraham Institute, based in Israel. Although all courses are taught in Hebrew at The Institute, Dr. Baruch is pleased to share this weekly address in English. To find out more about our work in Israel, please visit us on the web at loveisrael.org. That's one word, loveisrael.org.
Now, here's Baruch with today's lesson.
There is a subject that is very disputed, and the subject I'm speaking of is eschatology, the study of the end times, the last days. People have a variety of different opinions, views, and perspectives, and that's fine. But here's the problem, and that is when our views, our perspectives for this issue, are based simply upon what we've heard from others, what seems right to us, what we've been taught in some group, rather than basing them upon what the Word of God says. And even when, in sincerity, we attempt to do that, we will still have disagreements. That's okay. No one understands everything perfectly about the last days. We can all learn from others. And sometimes, when we hear something that we don't agree with, it can have a very good outcome. That dispute, that different view, can cause us, and should cause us, to go back to the Bible to study thoroughly to see what indeed God is revealing. And that might produce in my life a conclusion: "I was wrong. I didn't understand it. I was relying upon this view when I didn't consider a different possibility." And having a conflict with a fellow believer corrected me. That can have a great outcome. Or it may mean that by thorough study, that I have become stronger, strengthened in that view. But here's what's so foundational and so important: It's all about learning what God reveals. It's not championing a particular group, a specific theology, but rather it's being faithful to the revelation of God, being led by the Spirit, doing diligent study for His truth to be received by us.
Take out your Bible and let's look at one prophetic book in the Bible. We're going to do it in one lesson, so it has to be a relatively short prophecy. And of course, I'm speaking about the prophecy of Ovadia. Now, that is Obadiah in English. But this term, Ovadia, speaks of the servant of the Lord, one who wants to work, work for God, one who wants to do that which is pleasing to God. And this is really where it begins for each of us. God's not going to teach us, He's not going to illuminate biblical texts for us, He's not going to give us insight if we're not interested in serving Him, doing His work.
And before we look at this text, several times when someone will state something like, "I believe God is finished with Israel. There's no longer any theological, biblical, last day significance to the land of Israel." People frequently make such statements. And oftentimes, if it's done in person, I'll ask them, "Well, what do you think about this prophecy in regard to your perspective?" And what will happen? A kind of glaze will come upon their eyes. They will have a confusing expression upon their face. And it's obvious they're not familiar with that prophecy. And therefore, the reason why usually I'm wrong, you're wrong, other people are confused, is because we have not been diligent in looking at all of God's revelation. How many people who have very strong opinions and views and teach on the last days, if they're asked about this prophecy of Ovadia, what is its message? What does it deal with? What was its purpose? And what does it say about the land of Israel and the Jewish people in the last days? So frequently, when I have confronted people, hopefully with respect and love, but nevertheless, asked them, I see an emptiness. They don't know what this prophecy says. And it is such a significant one. And my belief is that you will agree with me that Ovadia, the prophecy of Obadiah, is a very important one.
So let's begin. Now, for our sake, we're going to begin at the end of this prophecy. We'll begin in a moment with the first verse and go through it word by word, phrase by phrase, verse by verse, until we come to the end. But I want us to see where we're going. I want us to understand what the book of Ovadia is about. If you look at the last verse, the prophecy of Obadiah, there's only one chapter, 21 verses. Look at now in the Hebrew text, it's the last three words, and it says, "Hashem," which means, "and it will come about to the Lord the kingdom." So we learn something here, and I don't believe anyone would dispute this, and that is the prophecy of Ovadia is going to reveal to us what must happen for this world, God's creation, to become the Lord's Kingdom. Now, He is sovereign, He is ruling. But the Bible reveals there's a prince of this world, Satan. And even though God is a just God, His throne is in heaven. But from the Book of Revelation, we know that He's bringing that throne to Earth for the millennial Kingdom. And therefore, what we're doing is learning the events that have to happen for God to take authority over His creation, for the Kingdom of God to be established in this world. That's why this prophecy is so important.
So, what does Obadiah say concerning the last days? Well, first, he's going to give us a perspective, and that is he's going to speak about a battle. Realize, the kingdom will not be established until there is this war, a war throughout all of His creation. And it's going to be between Yaakov, Jacob, and Esav, that is Esau. These two brothers, twins, that were in the womb of their mother, Rivka. We're going to see while they were in the womb, we know from the Book of Genesis, they were struggling. When they came out, there was conflict. And we learned that Yaakov, he followed after God. That's the name that he was given. Yaakov means "he will follow after." It comes from an image where he's grabbing his brother's heel. Why the term "ekev," which the term Yaakov is also derived from, can speak about a reward. Jacob was pursuing the reward. And what was that? The calling to serve God, to be part of God's purposes, His plan. So Yaakov, Jacob, means to pursue this, to follow after. But Esav, he despised his birthright. He says, "What is this to me?" He didn't see any personal benefit. And he despised, he had contempt for his birthright. And therefore, the Bible says, "Esau I have hated," but "Yaakov, Jacob, I love." Why? Their perspective with God's plan, His purpose, it's not based upon works. It's based upon commitment. Yaakov was committed. He desired the things of God. Esav had contempt for the things of God. And therefore, as the fulfillment of that call, that call, Abraham's call, that covenant was a covenant of blessing. It's clear on this. But also a covenant of judgment: "I will bless those who bless you, I will curse those who curse you." So it's judgment. But that judgment is eventually going to produce a time of blessing. This is the Kingdom of God. So a conflict between Jacob and Esau is at the heart of this prophecy. And the question is, what side should you be on? Which side is God for? That's a side we should be committed to.
So let's begin. We'll just take this prophecy in the way, with the words that were given to us, to see what Ovadia is revealing to us.
Verse 1. "The vision of Ovadia." So he received this prophetic vision. And then we read, "Thus said the Lord." Here again, if your Bible says "thus says the Lord," it's wrong. It's incorrect. It shows a carelessness. Because literally, that word that appears here, "amar," it's in the past. Why? It's telling us that this is something, although it's in the future, and although God is speaking of it in the days of Obadiah, so it makes sense from a logical standpoint to say "thus says," because He's saying it at that time to this prophet. But it's in the past to show what He's saying is as good as done, meaning it comes to us with authority. God is promising. The use of the past tense is for the confirmation, a promise that what God says will be. Once again, "The vision of Ovadia. Thus said the Lord God to Edom." So this is a prophecy about Edom. Now, we're going to see that this is unique as a prophecy because in a moment, we're going to see that its audience is not Israel, but this ambassador, this envoy, this one who is sent forth like an apostle, he is sent among the nations, not to Israel uniquely, not to the Jewish people solely, but the emphasis is upon the nations. Listen carefully to what it says. It's concerning Edom. And who is Edom? Edom is the people that came from Esau. And if you do a good study of Edom in the Bible, God hates these people. God will condemn eternally these people. Why? Because they walk in the spirit of their father, Esav, who had contempt for the purpose, the will of God. So, "Thus said the Lord concerning," He spoke to Edom about Edom. And then we had the phrase, "Shama' na," which means, "we have heard." And usually the word "shama" is a rumor. But in the scripture, it's simply something that's been heard, a report. So it's better to translate this, "A report we have heard from the Lord." And what is this report? Well, keep reading in the second half of verse 1. "The seer." Now, it's very important that we pay attention to the original language because we have a unique word. Now, if you would say "seer" to an Israeli today and say, "Maseer," what is this? A seer? Well, they would probably say it's a hinge for a door. But that's not how it's being used here. It's being used as, probably your Bible translates it, as an ambassador, someone who is sent forth, a person who goes to proclaim something, who has a message. So very similar to the concept of an apostle. So why this word "seer"? What's the connection between that word and a door hinge? Well, what does a door hinge allow? The door to open up. Without the hinges, you have a wall. But the door requires that you can open it up and pass through. What we find here is a message, a message of events, what must happen in order for humanity, and of course, the redeemed of humanity, to pass through this world into the Kingdom of God. So that's why it's so significant that the word here for a messenger and ambassador is the word "seer." So we hear a report from the Lord that an ambassador, a proclaimer, an apostle, is sent. And here's the key: "among the nations." His message is for the nations, not solely for Israel, but there's an emphasis upon the Gentile, the non-Israel world. So this spokesman that has revelation from God, he has been sent among the nations. And what is written at the end of verse 1? It says, "Rise up, let us rise up unto her for war." Very clear. The message is this: We are called by God to rise up and be against Edom. Now, the question we have to ask ourselves is, who is Edom today? And if we look at the area which is close to Israel, it's in modern-day Jordan. And when we look at Edom and the description of Edom, we find that today it's speaking about a group of people who are still in conflict with the Jewish people, the sons of Jacob. And whom I'm speaking to, the Palestinians. More and more, the nations are supporting the Palestinians. They want a Palestinian state. The United Nations, the EU, and other organizations throughout the world are highly supportive of the Palestinians. They want to establish a Palestinian state. They want Israel to give up land. And they speak so adversely towards the descendants of Jacob. But what God is saying here is, "I have sent forth." We have it. Obadiah, we have the message of this apostle, this ambassador, this messenger that God said. And He says, "Rise up, let us rise up and go to war against Edom. Do not be supportive of Edom." Now, Edom is going to represent a nation that is going to get the support of the world, under the leadership, and hear this, ultimately under the leadership of the Antichrist. Now, it's not hard for us to understand this because this is speaking about events that will bring about the establishment of the Kingdom of God. We saw that when we looked at the last three Hebrew words in verse 21. There's going to be a war, and that war is going to be between the sons of Jacob and the sons of Esau. And when we look at this, things are coming into place for this war. And we know that that final war, the enemy is going to be led by the Antichrist.
Let's go to verse, verse 2. Now, God is going to speak to Edom and about Edom. He says, "Behold." We know what that means. "Pay attention to this." He says, "Small." This is word for "little" in this context, insignificant, little. And God is speaking, "I have set you among the nations." So it's small among all the nations of the world. The Palestinians are a small people, smaller even than the Israelis, the Jewish people. So God has said, "I have set you small among the nations." And then notice how verse 2 ends. It is the same word that is used in the Book of Genesis where it says that Esau despised, he had contempt, he thought little of his birthright. He despised the birthright. We're going to learn a principle: how we think concerning the things of God is how God will think concerning us. Messiah said, "The measure that you measure with will be measured back to you." We're going to see that same principle in different words in a few moments. But what we see here is God is speaking, and He says to Edom, "You are insignificant as a people." And secondly, He says, "And you are our disgrace. You have contempt among the nations in a large way, contemptible are you." "Me'od," very or exceedingly. So God's not pleased with them. Why? Keep reading. Now, some Bibles will say, "because of the pride of your heart." It doesn't say "pride." It is so frustrating for me to see translators being so careless with the Word of God. Now, if the word was "gavah," we would translate it "pride." This is the word "zadon." Understand biblically. When we look at the scripture, we see in a general sense, there are two types of sin. Every rabbi knows this. They know the terms in the Bible. The term "tam" and "mazeed" means to do something that's wrong, but without intent, by a type of accident, perhaps you were negligent, careless, you did wrong, but you didn't have the intent to do wrong. It's still a sin, it still needs to be dealt with. It's not just a pure accident, there's responsibility. But one did not intend that. Then we had the word "pesha," which is when we sin intentionally. It has a degree of rebelliousness. And we see that every sin that is by the means of an intent, an ungodly intent, a rebelliousness, God sees this as "pesha" as more serious, as something that is contemptible. And this describes Esau and the people in the last days, Edom. He says, "Through the unrighteous, the rebellious intent of your heart, you have been lifted up." And "your dwelling place is in the clefts of the rock," which means you have put yourself in what you think a secure position. You're thinking about yourself, about your own rebellious desires, and you've tried to lift yourself up in a secure position. And you're done. "Mayrom shifto," elevated. Now, this can mean elevated as in out of reach. And that's the original context. But some point out that it does relate to a type of pride, a type of self-exaltation. So he says, "An exalted place is where you dwell." Says, "And you have said in your heart, 'Who will bring me down to the land?'" So he's saying, "I'm exalted, I am high up, I am safe, I am secure." And "who is it that can bring me down to the ground?" That's his question. I hope you know who the answer is. What the answer is? It's God. God humbles the pride. God judges the one who is rebellious against Him.
Notice what He says in verse 4. God is speaking directly to Edom. And He says, "If you raise yourself up on high, high like an eagle, if you are between the stars, this is where you put your nests, He says, 'From there I will bring you down,' declares the Lord." And this is also a term of promise. So even though you have exalted yourself up high, up like an eagle, you put your nests among the stars, God's able, even from there, He says, "I will bring you down."
Verse 5. Now, He's going to be speaking about in verse 5, the character, the inner condition, how Edom thinks. And notice what He says. Verse 5. "If thieves, robbers, those who steal, they come unto you, if the thieves at night, then it says, 'How you will be made silent, still.' Surely they will still, according to what's sufficient for them." So he's speaking about how thieves come and they take what's sufficient. Now, the view was that these robbers that would come at night, they would take according to their need. And he gives an example to help us understand it right with the right interpretation. When he says, "And if those who harvest the grapes, they should come unto you, surely they would remain, leave the little grapes. They wouldn't take everything." Now, what he's saying is that Esau is different. These unrighteous people, they only take to their need, their desire, what they believe that they need, and they even leave some things. But Esau, Esau wanted to annihilate, totally destroy the Jewish people, not to leave any remnant whatsoever. And he's going to give an example of what he's talking about, so we don't have to guess or estimate or conjure up something. Notice what the scripture says.
Look at verse 6. Now, it's still dealing at this time with Esau's character, how Esau will be sought. And that means exposed. He is going to be desired for the purpose of exposing him. And then it says, "All your hidden things are going to be sought also to be revealed." There's going to be a disclosure. Esau is going to be discovered for what he truly is, revealed for the wicked one that he is.
And now we see how verse 7. "Unto the border they will send you." Who's that? "All the men of your covenant," that is a confederacy. So Esau is going to be part of this, this Edom, the people from Esau, of a group, an alliance, a confederacy. And in the end, they are going to be brought to their border. Now, God says He did give Esau a plot of land, but they're not satisfied with that. They want to take what belongs to their brother. And in this confederacy, they're going to do it. They're going to keep reading. They are going to be deceived. They're going to lift themselves up. Whenever we lift ourselves up arrogantly, we're going to be deceived. And it says that they're going to be defeated by who? "The men of your peace." Individuals that were supposed to be at peace with you, for you, behind you. It's going to be a divided house. That's what He's saying. "And your bread," what you have, the implication, it's going to be taken. And they will set a trap, some will say a blow, a punishment in exchange for you. Meaning that they are going to turn against Esau. It's going to be a divided house that cannot stand. And He says, "And you will not understand this. You won't perceive what the enemy is going to do to you because you're part of this coalition."
Verse 8. Now, He's going to say why this is going to happen. Now, remember where we're going. We're going to see that the measure that we use will be measured back to us. The sword that we kill with is going to kill us. The methodology, how we behave to others, God's going to treat us in that same way. So Esau, he is a wicked one against his brother, against Jacob. And now one that he's in confederacy with, he's going to betray Esau. Why? What goes around comes around. Now, we're going to see the why. Look at verse 8. "Surely on that day," what day? Well, that day is the day of judgment. And here we're going to go back and see what He's talking about, an example that was greatly displeasing to God. Verse 8. "Surely on that day," declares the Lord, "I will destroy." Meaning, "I am going to destroy the wise men of Edom." And there is going to be the ones of understanding on the Mount of Esau. Same thing. He's going to destroy the ones with understanding, those that think they're wise, they have understanding, that they know things. God's going to bring destruction upon them. He says in verse 9, "And your mighty ones are going to be confused." The mighty ones of Teman. Teman is Yemen, it's south of what's traditionally part of Edom. So one of their coalition partners. It says here that the wise men, your wise men are going to be confused. Literally, in this context, the mighty ones are going to be confused of Teman, of Yemen. And on account of this, "a man will be cut off." And the implication is, "every man will be cut off from the Mount of Esau because of the slaughter, because of a massacre." So what's happening? And this is going to come about because we know, for example, in Isaiah 63, that Messiah is going to come in the last days. And He is going to go to three places. The Bible reveals this. One, we're talking about now. It speaks at other places as well. He is going to destroy the Mount of Esau, just what He's saying here. There's going to be a great day of slaughter, judgment upon Edom. He is also going to go to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, that is the battle of Armageddon. And after those two places of judgment, He's going to go to the third and final place, which is the Mount of Olives, where He's going to descend into the Temple, the Holy of Holies, to establish His Kingdom. But here, it's just speaking about that there's going to be punishment upon Esau. Why? What was his great sin? Well, look now to the answer.
Verse 10. "Me'od," the word "me'od" is from "because of the violence." And this is violence for the sake of violence. It's not generated in any purpose, something that was done unfair to you. It's because one loves the suffering of another, causing them to derive pleasure from that. It's sick, it's demented. So he says, "You are going to find that you're going to be cut off from your mountain. There's going to be a great slaughter, and there's not going to be anyone that survives." Why? He tells us why. Look at verse 10. "Because of the violence to your brother Jacob." The violence of your brother Jacob. What you did to him. In other words, "that you shall be covered up." Because of what he did to Israel, Jacob, Israel, the Jewish people, "you are going to be covered up with shame and you will be cut off forever." Now, this is what God is saying. It's a last days prophecy concerning Edom. And by the way, if you do a study, just put "Edom" into a concordance, look at it, and you'll find that Edom consistently, God hates. God's at war with. God will do just what He says, utterly and eternally destroy them. And you're going to find that frequently, there's a Messianic prophecy surrounding this word of judgment, this prophecy of judgment against Edom. Why? Because it's going to be Messiah ultimately that's going to the Mount of Esau, to render forth His judgment, His destruction upon this people. Why? For what they did to His brother Jacob. He's going to be covered with shame and cut off forever. Why? Well, He's going to tell us exactly what it was.
Verse 11. "On the day that you stood in opposition, on the day that foreigners, they took captive his army." And this can mean his populace. And what are we talking about? He's talking about the Babylonian captivity. God allowed, He raised up Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians to execute punishment upon Judah, the Jewish people at that time. But what did Esau do? They did not receive a call to participate, but they joined in. We'll see that in no uncertain terms. So, "on the day that you stood in opposition, on the day that foreign ones came and took captive his possessions, his wealth, his army," it says, "and foreigners, these strangers, they came," and the implication is, "to his gates, unto Jerusalem." It says, "and Esau, he was a partner. He stretched forth, he placed, he threw his lot in," the implication, "with Babylon." It says, "Also you, or as one of them." So God never called Esau, Edom, the descendants of Esau, to participate with Babylon. And if you look at the historical account in some of the prophets and in some of the historical writings in the Hebrew Bible, in the Old Testament, you will find that Esau wanted to annihilate every survivor, everyone that was getting away, every refuge. They wanted to cut down. That's what the scripture says.
Now look at verse 12. "You should not have looked upon the day of your brother." The implication is, your brother's punishment day. You shouldn't have gazed upon it. See, the implication is Esau, they took pleasure. They looked at it with delight. This is their brother. They should have been grieved over it, but they weren't. They looked upon it on the day that he was taken captive. It says, "You should not have rejoiced concerning the children of Judah on the day of their destruction. You should not have exalted, lifted up, made great your mouth on the day of tribulation." So it's very clear here. Edom, they see the suffering, the judgment of Judah. They rejoice. They were glad. They looked upon it with delight. And they spoke words in opposition to the Jewish people. They praised this judgment upon them.
Verse 13. He says here, "You should not have went into the gates of my people on the day of their calamity. Do not look also you upon their evilness." His evilness, meaning the Jewish people, Jacob's evilness. Meaning God allowed it, but that's not God's will from the very beginning. Now, we need to remember this phrase: "for good and evil." "Good" according to God's will. "Rah," oftentimes translated "evil," that which is against God's will. God's will from the beginning is that no one should perish. God does not will judgment, punishment upon someone. God wants to bless that person. God wants to see that person repent and find grace and not be punished. But when one rebels, when one will not repent, they experience that which was not God's will from the beginning. And that is called "rah" in Hebrew. It's often translated "evil," saying this was not God's will, but God brought it about or allowed it to happen because of Israel's rebelliousness. So he says, "You should not have looked." And you also were one of them that looked upon this bad day, his bad day, on the day of his calamity. "You should not have stretched forth," meaning you should not have taken his wealth, his possessions, on the day of his calamity. Three times we have that word for calamity, disaster, a catastrophe. God, and it's very important, you see the vocabulary here. God, He allowed. The scripture says that He raised up Nebuchadnezzar to come to punish the people. But nevertheless, God sees it as a calamity, a catastrophe. God did not want it. But because God is righteous, He has to punish sin. He has to punish rebelliousness. He punished the idolatry, the wickedness of Jacob. But it was not for the purpose of annihilating the Jewish people. God wanted a remnant to survive. And what did Esau do? They came to stamp out that remnant. How do we know that? We just keep reading.
Look now at verse 14. "You should not have stood upon the intersection, the crossroad. You should not have stood there to cut down his survivors." Now, it's in the singular, his "refu'im," those who were refugees, is what it's saying. Esau stood there as they came fleeing the various intersections, fleeing to go out. That was one of the things that God wanted the people to go into exile. What did Esau do? Instead of allowing them to go into exile as God's will was, what did Esau do? He cut off those survivors. That was his objective. And God says, "You should not have stood upon the crossway, the intersection, to cut down his survivors. You should not have delivered these survivors, his survivors, on the day of trouble." So he either cut them down, that was what some did. Others took them captive and took them back to Babylon so that Babylon could finish the job. But you see here that Esau stood in opposition to God's plan. He wanted to not see Israel punished, but he wanted to see Israel exterminated. Punishment was too good. He wanted to see the annihilation, the destruction, the total destruction of the Jewish people. That's how he behaved. And this is why God is so displeased with him. And we see that phrase, "the day of trouble," "the day of tribulation." It's that same phrase for Jacob's tribulation in the book of Jeremiah. Same vocabulary.
Verse 15. Now, here we see that principle that I shared with you: "The measure that you measure with will be measured back to you." What you have done will be done to you. He says here, verse 15, "For near is the day of the Lord upon all the nations." So this gives us now, He's telling us when is Edom going to be punished? At the very end, during the day of the Lord. Who are the "today"? The Palestinians. And there is indeed a coalition of nations that are supporting them. So he says, verse 15, "For near, close, is the day of the Lord concerning or upon all the nations." All the nations are going to join with Esau. "Just as you have done, here's this phrase, 'just as you have done, it will be done to you.'" "The recompense, your recompense shall return upon your head." So God says, "As you've done, it's going to be done to you. Your payment that you paid out to others is going to be revisited upon your head." Clearly, God is promising to judge Esau for them standing in opposition to God's plan. God says, "I'm going to limit my judgment, my punishment upon them." Esau stepped in and said, "No, it's going to be total." Now, God, of course, is not going to be defeated. But numerous individuals that God wanted to survive and go into exile, Edom cut down. And there's going to be an accountability.
Verse 16. "For just as you drink upon my holy mountain." Edom, they went there and they toasted. This is the image. They toasted the destruction of the Temple. And it says, "All the nations, they drink continuously." Meaning they wanted that to be the eternity, no Temple in Jerusalem, no house of God, no worship of the God of Israel. And that's what we see. And even think of this, and this is something that happened within the last two weeks. The new Prime Minister of Israel, a man by the name of Naftali Bennett. Now, he proposes to be right-wing. And he said, "I want all people to be able to be free to pray upon the Temple Mount. Muslims can do it, so why can't Jews and Christians go up and pray there? Take up a Bible like Jewish people and Christians can do at the Western Wall." Israel doesn't forbid it. But on the Temple Mount, the status is that Jewish people cannot pray there, read scripture on the Temple Mount. So Naftali Bennett, and I applaud him for this statement, there should be equality. Jewish people should be able to worship God on the Temple Mount. Those who want to. He said that. But because of international pressure, within a matter of a day or so, he retracted that statement. Now, this shows what's the problem today. People won't stand up for what is right. They do what is wrong. And we see that same character that was back then, that the nations wanted to see the Temple destroyed always. They drank and they swallowed. And it says, "they that were that which will be." Meaning, "what was, it's not going to be." Meaning, "this is not going to be the future." "That which was will not be." God's going to bring a change. In other words. Now, that last phrase, I want to read it in Hebrew. "Ata," "that which was is not going to be." There's going to be a change.
And now we get to a very important part of this prophecy. The last part. What's going to bring about a change? The world doesn't want a Temple. They want it to be continuously destroyed. God wants to build a new Temple. He's going to do that. And what's going to be the events that bring that about in the last days? Well, here's where it comes down to the main part of what Ovadia is revealing. And what is that? Well, let's just look at what He says beginning in verse 17.
"On Mount Zion there is going to be," and here's that same word in the text, "Pletah." It has to do with a refugee. And it means it collectively, in the plural. There's going to be deliverance. There's going to be refugees. Meaning those that the world, under the leadership of Esau, Edom, wanted to destroy. There's going to be a remnant from that previous generation all the way through. God's going to support them. And He says, "On the Mount of Zion," that is a kingdom term, "there's going to be deliverance." And "it shall be holy." God's going to bring about holy, what is holy? The purposes of God. God's going to fulfill His purposes. And the key is this deliverance, these refugees that are going to be brought back. It says that they are going to, who's that? "The house of Jacob." Now, it's amazing to me how many people favor Esau prophetically. You read about the birthright, what Jacob did under the leadership of his mother's prophetic insight that she got from God. And they scold, they call Jacob a liar. He's not a liar. He's not a deceiver. He's obedient. He's pursuing properly, prophetically, the things that God has for His people. He wants to pursue them. That's what his name means. And therefore, it says, "And the house of Jacob will possess their inheritance." Their inheritance. This is a promise. God is not going to establish the kingdom. Remember the last three words of the Hebrew text. God is not going to establish His kingdom before the house of Jacob takes possession of their inheritance, what God has promised. And this has to do with the land. Some say, "Well, that's your interpretation." Just keep reading. The scripture tells us what the Word of God means by this. So he says, "The house of Jacob will take possession, inherit their inheritance."
Verse 18. "And it shall come about that the house of Jacob," remember, He's been speaking about Edom and Esau. Now we're speaking about Israel, the Jewish people, under the term Jacob. "The house of Jacob shall be fire, and the house of Joseph," this is the northern kingdom, "shall be a flame." So fire and a flame. "But the house of Esau is going to be hay or straw." You know what happens when you put fire and straw together? And it says, "They are going to ignite among them and devour them." So the Bible reveals in the last days that God is going to work, and Jacob, Israel, is going to devour the descendants of Esau, Edom. So once more, "and there will be no survivor from the house of Esau." Did you hear that? "There will be no survivor." "Lo yish'er," won't be a survivor to Esau. How do I know that? "For the Lord has spoken."
Now look at verse 19. 19 and 20 tells us God is still interested in the land. That God, as He says in so many other prophecies, He's going to bring back the people so that they can settle and take possession of the land. And that's why the United Nations, the European Union, all these world organizations, all these governments, they're so against the settlers. The settlers are heroes. The settlers are obedient to the purpose of God, coming back. They've heard God placed upon their heart the call to return to the land. They're doing it in the very heartland, in Judah and Samaria. Praise God for this. And it says, look at verse 19. "And the one of the negative." Now, this means it can be understood in the plural. "The one of the negative," meaning the people, the naked. "They will take possession. They will inherit the mountain of Esau." Meaning Israel is going to expand from its current border and it's going to move into southern Jordan. "And those of the," I live in the Shephelah, it's along the Mediterranean coast. "We're going to take possession of the Palestinians." The Palestine, the modern-day Palestinians. And it says, "They will take possession of the field of Ephraim." Where is that? By Ramallah, by some of the key area of where they want a Palestinian state. Says that those people are not going to have a state eternally. God's going to come. And we, the descendants of Jacob, those in the south, they are going to take possession of the field of Ephraim. And the field of Shimron, that's Samaria, that is further north in Samaria, in what the world calls the West Bank. And Benjamin is going to, and the implication is also take possession of where's that? This is in northern Jordan. So both southern Jordan and northern Jordan are going to be given, may be part of Israel before, before the Kingdom of God is established. Now, people hear this and they can't imagine that God laughs. You know the expression, "A thousand years is like a day, and a day is like a thousand years." What does that mean? It means this: What the world couldn't do in a thousand years, God could do it in a day. And what the world thinks is going to happen today may take a thousand years. God's timing is not our timing. God can bring great change quickly, or He can bring no change for a long period of time. But when God moves, He's going to move. Yes, those of Benjamin, this area is going to take possession of northern Jordan.
Verse 20. "And the exile," and this speaks about those who have been exiled, "of the hosts, the armies, the possessions of the children of Israel." It says that these are going to take possession of the Canaanite land unto, notice where it says, "unto Zarephath." Zarephath can be an area in northern Lebanon, or some take it for what it means today. If you say France, that nation in Europe today. "Surfat" speaks about the borders of Israel getting rather large. However you interpret it, Israel is going to expand. And then it says, "the exiles of Jerusalem, which are in Sepharad," what's Sepharad? Spain. They're going to come back. And it says here that they are going to possess the cities of the Negev. Now, what do we see today? Under the current Prime Minister, they gave an Arab man who is not a friend of Israel, who has had too many supportive words for those who are in opposition to the existence of Israel, he is now overseeing that portion of land called the Negev. It is disastrous. It is shameful. But in the end, it says those who were exiled from Jerusalem into Spain, it says they are going to inherit the cities of the Negev.
And then our last verse, verse 21. Now, this is the term for "saviors," and it's related to making salvation. Those who've experienced it, those who are key of it. It says, "They are going to go up to the Mount of Zion." This is a kingdom reference. It is a reference to worship. So those who have been saved, is how I would understand it. Those who are saved ones. It says they are going to go up to worship God. They're going to have a kingdom experience. They will be in the Mount of Zion. And what's going to be done? What's the last thing? "They are going to judge the Mount of Esau." Esau and all those who are with him, all those who have that same desire to thwart the things of God, who believe that God is finished with Israel, that the land is no longer important. It says they are going to be judged. And then finally, after that judgment, it says where we began: "And the kingdom shall be the Lord's." We see what's going to happen. It's undeniable. If your eschatology, your view of the last days, does not take into consideration, have a part of your view, the Jewish people coming back to the land, taking possession of the land of Israel and beyond the borders of Israel, and rendering judgment upon Edom and the coalition of nations. Remember, it says it's a day of judgment upon all nations because all nations are going to join with Esau. Israel is going to be alone. That's why I wrote the book, "Israel Without a Friend." All of the nations are going to turn against this tiny nation of Israel. That's okay, because if God is for us, and He is going to renew His relationship with the Jewish people, He's going to bring them to salvation. That same gospel message. He's going to destroy the enemies of Israel. He's going to bring them to salvation, faith in Messiah Yeshua, in Jesus Christ. And then, as God has promised, He is going to order, set in order the borders of Israel according to His promise. And then, after the judgment of the enemies of Israel, upon Edom primarily, and all the nations with them, then God is going to set up His Kingdom. There is really no other way that we can understand this simple prophecy.
And let me close with this. It's so significant that you hear that this prophecy, that an ambassador, a messenger, a proclaimer went forth among the nations. This is a prophecy for the nations. And it's because most of the nations, most of the believers, they don't know what this says. And that's why they believe false theology. They have a contemptible view of what's going to happen in the last days. Let us study to show ourselves a proof. While closed with that, until next time, may God bless you and Shalom from Israel.
Well, we hope you will benefit from today's message and share it with others. Please plan to join us each week at this time and on this channel for our broadcast of loveisrael.org. Again, to find out more about us, please visit our website, loveisrael.org. There you will find articles and numerous other lectures by Baruch. These teachings are in video form. You may download them or watch them in streaming video. Until next week, may the Lord bless you in our Messiah Yeshua, that is Jesus, as you walk with Him. Shalom from Israel.