If thieves came to you,
if plunderers came by night—
how you have been destroyed!—
would they not steal only enough for themselves?
If grape gatherers came to you,
would they not leave gleanings?
How Esau has been pillaged,
his treasures sought out!
Gods discipline is complete, thorough and devasting. That is the lesson from the above verses. The book of Obadiah is the prophecy against the country of Edom. Edom is the country that was established by Jacob’s brother, Esau. Esau was the brother who sold his birthright to Jacob and was swindled out of his father’s blessing by Jacob. So, the hatred that Edom had for Israel was long standing and very apparent. God sends Obadiah to speak a prophecy against Edom about the punishment that God is going to bring on them for how they treated their “brother” Israel. In the above verses we read Obadiah’s comments about the devastation God’s punishment will bring. We are told in Hebrews that God brings discipline in our lives (Hebrews 12). We seldom think about the devastation of God’s discipline. In these verses Obadiah makes that comment that although a thief steals, they only steal what they want. They don’t steal everything. The grape gathers only pick the grapes they want and not all the grapes. But, God’s devastation on Edom will not be like those things. That is the point of the passage. When God disciplines mankind He does so with compete and utter devastation.
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