John Calvin Commentary Obadiah 1:2-4

"Behold, I have made thee small among the nations: thou art greatly despised. The pride of thy heart hath deceived thee, O thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground? Though thou mount on high as the eagle, and though thy nest be set among the stars, I will bring thee down from thence, saith Jehovah." — Obadiah 1:2-4 (ASV)

Jeremiah uses nearly the same words, but the sense of the expression is ambiguous when he says, Lo, little have I set thee. To me, it appears probable that the Prophet reproves the Idumeans because they became arrogant, as it were, against the will of God and in opposition to it, when, at the same time, they were confined to the narrow passes of mountains.

It is said elsewhere (Malachi 1:2), Jacob and Esau, were they not brethren? "But I have given to you the inheritance promised to your father Abraham; I have transferred the Idumeans to Mount Seir." Now it is less bearable if anyone is elated with pride when his condition is not so honorable.

I therefore think that the Idumeans are here condemned because they vaunted so much and arrogated to themselves more than what was right, when they were still contemptible, when their condition was lowly and obscure, for they dwelt on Mount Seir. But others think that the punishment, which was impending over them, is here denounced: Lo, little have I made thee among the nations, and Jeremiah says, and contemptible among men; he omits the two words, "thou" and "exceedingly"; he says only, and contemptible among men. But as to the substance, there is hardly any difference.

If then we understand that that nation was proud without reason, the sense is evident: that is, that they, like the giants, carried on war against God, that they vaunted themselves, though confined to the narrow passes of mountains. Though I leave to others their own free opinion, I am still inclined to the former view, while the latter has been adopted nearly by the consent of all; and that is, that God was resolved to forcibly constrain to order those ferocious men who, for no reason and even in opposition to nature, have become insolent.

But if a different interpretation is more approved, we may say that the Prophet begins with a threatening and then adds a reason why God determined to diminish and even to destroy them. For though they dwelt on mountains, it was still a fertile region; and further, they had gathered much wealth over a long time, when they attained security, when no enemy disturbed them.

This then is the reasoning: Lo, I have made thee small and contemptible in the mountain — and why? Because the pride of thy heart has deceived thee; and Jeremiah adds terror, although some render תפלצתך (taphlatastae), "image"; but this seems not appropriate. Jeremiah then, I doubt not, mentions terror in the first place, for it almost always happens that the proud strike others with fear: such, then, were the Idumeans.

Now if we follow the first meaning I explained, the two verses may be read as connected, Lo, I have made thee small and contemptible among the nations; but the pride of thy heart has deceived thee; some render it, "has raised thee up," deriving it from נשא (nusha); but they read ש (shin) pointed on the left side. For if נשא (nusha) has the point in the branch of the shin on the right hand, it means "to deceive," but if on the left, it signifies "to raise up."

Then they give this translation: “The pride of thine heart has raised thee up.” But we clearly learn from Jeremiah that it ought, as almost all interpreters agree, to be rendered thus: “The pride of thine heart has deceived thee.” For he says not השיאך (eshiac) but השיא אותך (eshia autea), that is, it was to you the cause of error and of madness. Of the sense, then, of this verb there can be no doubt.

The Prophet now derides the Idumeans because they relied on their own fortresses and thought themselves, according to the common saying, to be beyond the reach of darts; and hence they petulantly insulted the Israelites and despised God himself. The Prophet therefore says that the Idumeans in vain congratulated themselves, for he shows that all they promised to themselves were mere delusions. The import of what is said, then, is: “Whence is this your security, that you think that enemies can do you no harm? Yes, you despise God as well as men; whence is this haughtiness? whence also is the great confidence with which you are puffed up? Truly, it comes only from mere delusions. The pride of thine heart has deceived thee.”

And yet a reason was not lacking why the Idumeans were so insolent, as the Prophet also states. But he at the same time shows that they had deceived themselves, for God did not care for their fortresses; indeed, he counted them as nothing.

You dwell, he says (this is to be regarded as a concession), in the clefts of the stone; some read, “between the windings of the rock”; though others think סלע (Salo) is the name of a city, I still do not see how their assertion can stand, for clefts do not fit with a city situated on a plain, though within the ranges of mountains.

I do not then doubt that סלע (Salo) here means Mount Seir. Since, then, the Idumeans had fortresses amidst rocks, they thought that all enemies could easily be kept out.

And hence it follows, The height is his habitation, that is, he dwells in lofty places; and hence he says in his heart, Who shall draw me down to the ground?

He afterwards adds what I have already stated—that though their region was exceedingly well fortified, yet the Idumeans were greatly deceived and indulged themselves in vain delusions: “If you should raise up your seat,” he says, like the eagle, — literally, ‘If you should rise as the eagle,’ — “and if you should among the clouds set and nest, I will from there draw you down, says Jehovah.”

We now see that the Prophet did not deride without reason the confidence with which the Idumeans were inflated, by setting up their fortresses in opposition to God: for it is the greatest madness for men to rely on their own power and to despise God himself. At the same time, he could, as it were, easily dissipate by one blast every idea of defense or of power that is in us; but this subject will be more fully handled by us tomorrow.

Prayer:

Grant, Almighty God, that as You see us to be on every side today beset by so many enemies, even by those who constantly devise means to destroy us, while we are so very weak and feeble—O grant that we may learn to look up to You, and that our trust may so rest on You, that however exposed we may be to all kinds of danger according to what appears to the flesh, we may not yet doubt that You are ever armed with sufficient power to terrify our enemies, so that we may quietly live even amidst all dangers and never cease to call on Your name, as You have promised to be the sure and faithful defender of our safety in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

[Exposition continues from previous day's lecture]

We observed in yesterday’s lecture that it avails the ungodly nothing when they set up their fortresses against the judgment of God, as though they could escape safely 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 their threatening as nothing. 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—