Saviors will go up on Mount Zion to judge the mountains of Esau, and the kingdom will be Yahweh’s.
Parallel Translations
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Saviors will go up on Mount Zion to judge the mountains of Esau, and the kingdom will be Yahweh’s.
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And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’s.
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And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD'S.
Cross-references (30)
Passages linked to Obadiah 1:21 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Zechariah 14:9 Yahweh will be King over all the earth. In that day Yahweh will be one, and his name one.
- James 5:20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.
- Daniel 7:27 The kingdom and the dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole sky, will be given to the people of the saints of the Most High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions will serve and obey him.’
- Revelation 11:15 The seventh angel sounded, and great voices in heaven followed, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ. He will reign forever and ever!”
- Psalms 22:28 For the kingdom is Yahweh’s. He is the ruler over the nations.
- Isaiah 19:20 It will be for a sign and for a witness to Yahweh of Armies in the land of Egypt; for they will cry to Yahweh because of oppressors, and he will send them a savior and a defender, and he will deliver them.
- 1 Timothy 4:16 Pay attention to yourself and to your teaching. Continue in these things, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.
- Judges 2:16 Yahweh raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them.
- Psalms 2:6-9 “Yet I have set my King on my holy hill of Zion.” I will tell of the decree: Yahweh said to me, “You are my son. Today I have become your father. Ask of me, and I will give the nations for your inheritance, the uttermost parts of the earth for your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron. You shall dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
- Daniel 2:44 “In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, nor will its sovereignty be left to another people; but it will break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it will stand forever.
- 1 Corinthians 6:2-3 Don’t you know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Don’t you know that we will judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life?
- Revelation 20:4 I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God, and such as didn’t worship the beast nor his image, and didn’t receive the mark on their forehead and on their hand. They lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
- Judges 3:9 When the children of Israel cried to Yahweh, Yahweh raised up a savior to the children of Israel, who saved them, even Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother.
- 2 Kings 13:5 (Yahweh gave Israel a savior, so that they went out from under the hand of the Syrians; and the children of Israel lived in their tents as before.
- Psalms 102:15 So the nations will fear Yahweh’s name, all the kings of the earth your glory.
- Psalms 149:5-9 Let the saints rejoice in honor. Let them sing for joy on their beds. May the high praises of God be in their mouths, and a two-edged sword in their hand, to execute vengeance on the nations, and punishments on the peoples; to bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; to execute on them the written judgment. All his saints have this honor. Praise Yah!
- Isaiah 9:6-7 For a child is born to us. A son is given to us; and the government will be on his shoulders. His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end, on David’s throne, and on his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from that time on, even forever. The zeal of Yahweh of Armies will perform this.
- Daniel 2:35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were broken in pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors. The wind carried them away, so that no place was found for them. The stone that struck the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.
- Daniel 7:14 Dominion was given him, and glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which will not pass away, and his kingdom that which will not be destroyed.
- Daniel 12:3 Those who are wise will shine as the brightness of the expanse. Those who turn many to righteousness will shine as the stars forever and ever.
- Joel 2:32 It will happen that whoever will call on Yahweh’s name shall be saved; for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be those who escape, as Yahweh has said, and among the remnant, those whom Yahweh calls.
- Micah 5:4-9 He shall stand, and shall shepherd in the strength of Yahweh, in the majesty of the name of Yahweh his God: and they will live, for then he will be great to the ends of the earth. He will be our peace when Assyria invades our land, and when he marches through our fortresses, then we will raise against him seven shepherds, and eight leaders of men. They will rule the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in its gates. He will deliver us from the Assyrian, when he invades our land, and when he marches within our border. The remnant of Jacob will be among many peoples, like dew from Yahweh, like showers on the grass, that don’t wait for man, nor wait for the sons of men. The remnant of Jacob will be among the nations, among many peoples, like a lion among the animals of the forest, like a young lion among the flocks of sheep; who, if he goes through, treads down and tears in pieces, and there is no one to deliver. Let your hand be lifted up above your adversaries, and let all of your enemies be cut off.
- Zechariah 9:11-17 As for you also, because of the blood of your covenant, I have set free your prisoners from the pit in which is no water. Turn to the stronghold, you prisoners of hope! Even today I declare that I will restore double to you. For indeed I bend Judah as a bow for me. I have filled the bow with Ephraim; and I will stir up your sons, Zion, against your sons, Greece, and will make you like the sword of a mighty man. Yahweh will be seen over them; and his arrow will go flash like lightning; and the Lord Yahweh will blow the trumpet, and will go with whirlwinds of the south. Yahweh of Armies will defend them; and they will destroy and overcome with sling stones; and they will drink, and roar as through wine; and they will be filled like bowls, like the corners of the altar. Yahweh their God will save them in that day as the flock of his people; for they are like the jewels of a crown, lifted on high over his land. For how great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty! Grain will make the young men flourish, and new wine the virgins.
- Zechariah 10:5-12 They shall be as mighty men, treading down muddy streets in the battle; and they shall fight, because Yahweh is with them; and the riders on horses will be confounded. “I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will bring them back; for I have mercy on them; and they will be as though I had not cast them off: for I am Yahweh their God, and I will hear them. Ephraim will be like a mighty man, and their heart will rejoice as through wine; yes, their children will see it, and rejoice. Their heart will be glad in Yahweh. I will signal for them, and gather them; for I have redeemed them; and they will increase as they have increased. I will sow them among the peoples; and they will remember me in far countries; and they will live with their children, and will return. I will bring them again also out of the land of Egypt, and gather them out of Assyria; and I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon; and there won’t be room enough for them. He will pass through the sea of affliction, and will strike the waves in the sea, and all the depths of the Nile will dry up; and the pride of Assyria will be brought down, and the scepter of Egypt will depart. I will strengthen them in Yahweh; and they will walk up and down in his name,” says Yahweh.
- Matthew 6:10 Let your Kingdom come. Let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
- Matthew 6:13 Bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen.’
- Luke 1:32-33 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. There will be no end to his Kingdom.”
- Luke 22:30 that you may eat and drink at my table in my Kingdom. You will sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”
- Revelation 19:6 I heard something like the voice of a great multitude, and like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of mighty thunders, saying, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns!
- Revelation 19:11-13 I saw the heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it is called Faithful and True. In righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has names written and a name written which no one knows but he himself. He is clothed in a garment sprinkled with blood. His name is called “The Word of God.”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (15 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain Here the Prophet says, that there are in God’s…
Here the Prophet says, that there are in God’s hand ministers, the labor of whom he employs to preserve his own people. He alludes here, I have no doubt, to the history of the judges. We indeed know that the people of Israel were often so distressed, that their deliverance was almost incredible; and that yet they were also delivered in such a way as to have made it evident that the hand of God had appeared from heaven. Since this then was well known to the Jews, the Prophet here reminds them that God had still in his hand redeemers, whenever it might please him to gather his people. God then shall send preservers, even as he did send them formerly to your fathers. They had indeed found true by experience what the Prophet says here, not only once, but more than ten times. This then ought to have served much to confirm this prophecy.
Ascend then shall they who will judge the mount of Esau, — who, being endued with the power of God and his authority, will execute judgment on mount Seir and on the whole nation, and will avenge the cruelty which Edom had exercised towards the children of Abraham.
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But this passage shows, that Christ came not to be the minister of our deliverance and salvation in an ordinary way, but that he became our savior in a special manner; so that he stands alone in that capacity: and this is a very strong argument against the Jews. They confess that the Messiah would be the Redeemer of his people, but they ascribe this office to him in a general way, as they do to David and other kings. But it certainly appears from this passage, that the Messiah would not be of the common class, for saviors would be under him as his ministers. This the Jews dare not to deny, though they grumble: for it would be absurd that he should be one of their number. Since then he was sent to be a Redeemer and Savior in a way different from others, it follows that he is not man only, but that he is the Author of salvation. It would indeed be easy to reply, “Why do you speak to us of many redeemers? Do you not hope for one Savior? If God will commit this office to many in an equal degree, why are there so many glorious promises respecting the Messiah? Why are we ever reminded of him alone? Why is he alone set forth to us as the ground of our salvation?” It hence certainly appears that Christ is to be distinguished from all others, and that others are saviors under his authority; and such were the apostles, and such are all at this day, the labor and ministry of whom God employs to defend and support his Church.
Now he adds, Jehovah’s shall be the kingdom. But as it is certain, that it was God’s purpose to rule among his people after having restored them, in no other way than by the power of Christ, the Prophet, by saying that the kingdom of Christ would be Jehovah’s, means, that it would be really divine, and more illustrious than if he had employed the labor of men. But two things must be here observed by us, — that God himself really rules in the person of Christ, — and that it is the legitimate mode of ruling the Church, that God alone should preside, and hold alone the chief power. Hence it follows, that when God does not appear as the only King, all things are in confusion, without any order. Now God is not called a King by way of an empty distinction: but then only is he regarded a King in reality, when all submit themselves to him, when they are ruled by his word; in short, when all creatures become silent in his presence. To God then belongs the kingdom. We hence see that the Church has no existence, where the word of God does not so prevail in its authority, as to keep down whatever height there is in men, and to bring them under the yoke, so that all may depend on God alone, that all may look up to him, and that he may have all in subjection to himself.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Meaning that God will raise up in his Church…
Meaning that God will raise up in his Church such as shall rule and govern for the defense of the same, and destruction of his enemies under Messiah, whom the Prophet calleth here, the Lord and head of this kingdom.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Oba 1:21 And saviours shall come up on mount…
Oba 1:21 And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’S.
Ver. 21. And saviours shall come up on mount Zion] Judas Maccabeus and Hircanus in the history: as in the mystery, the apostles and others of Christ’s ministers, who are here and elsewhere called saviours, a very high style, because God maketh use of their ministry, as he doth likewise of the angels, for the good of them that are heirs of salvation, Heb 1:14, and by their help the faithful are saved. Hence those expressions, 1Ti 4:16, "thou shalt save thyself and those that hear thee"; Jas 5:20, he "shall save a soul from death"; Job 33:24, "Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have received a ransom." See also Mic 5:6 Jdg 1:23 1Co 3:6-7; 1Co 3:9; 1Co 4:1; 1Co 9:22. Let ministers hence learn their dignity and their duty. Christ hath communicated to them many of his own most honourable titles, as Light of the world, Doctor, Pastor, Saviour, Redeemer, &c. True it is, he alone is the principal Saviour, and therefore it followeth in the closure of this shortest, but most difficult prophet ( Brevissimus sed difficilimus Propheta. Mercer), "the kingdom shall be the Lord’s," he, to speak properly, is the sole both Sovereign and Saviour of his body, the Church. Sed servatores dicuntur, saith Mercer, but they are called saviours, because they preach the word of this salvation, and are instrumental to Christ in that great work; like as the apothecary is to the skilful physician, in curing his patient of a deadly disease.
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To judge the mount of Esau] Antichrist with his adherents; all other infidels also, and atheists, condemned here by Christ and his faithful ministers, as rebels against God, and sinners against their own souls. "Wilt thou judge them, son of man, wilt thou judge them? cause them to know their abomination," Eze 20:4, and to judge themselves worthy to be destroyed; that judging themselves, they may not be judged, 1Co 11:31, but of Esauites may become true Jacobites; as Jetur, by nature an Ishmaelite, 1Ch 1:31, is, for his faith and piety, called an Israelite, 2Sa 17:25. To thus "judge the mount of Esau," ought to be the ambition of Christ’s ministers; for to gain them to Christ, by convincing "the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment," that is, of the mischief of sin, the necessity of justification by Christ’s merit, and of sanctification by his Spirit, Joh 16:8. This is to be both judges and saviours; as those judges of old were, whereunto the prophet here seemeth to allude. This is to save people "with fear, pulling them out of the fire," Jdg 1:23. This is to proclaim Christ King, and to set the crown upon his head, as Son 3:11, with that glorious acclamation, "The Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king, and he will save us," Isa 33:22.
The kingdom shall be the Lord’s] Not only the kingdom of power over all creatures, 1Ch 29:11, and of grace in the hearts of his people here (called often the kingdom of heaven in the gospel), but also of righteousness, and of glory hereafter, to be chiefly exercised at that great and dreadful day.
“Now to this King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.” {1Ti 1:17}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain And, or For, so the Gallic version, printed at…
And, or For, so the Gallic version, printed at Rochelle, 1616.
Saviours; deliverers; literally, the governors or leaders of those captive troops, who shall come up from Babylon to their own country, such as Zerubbabel, Ezra, Nehemiah, of whom it was said he came to seek the good of the Jews, Neh 2:10, and successively after these many others, to the times of Hyrcanus and the Maccabees; mystically, Christ and his apostles, and other preachers of the gospel.
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Shall come; literally, with leave and commission from the kings of Persia, such as Cyrus and Darius Hystaspes, to manage the affairs of the returned captives.
Upon Mount Zion; in Judea, at Jerusalem and the temple, and whatever might concern them, with their neighbours round about.
To judge; to avenge Israel upon Edom, to fight, subdue, and give laws to them, as Hyrcanus did when the Edomites were glad to be circumcised to keep their country.
The Mount of Esau; the whole country, so called from thee father of that nation, who chose those mountainous countries for his habitation, as most suitable to his wild and rambling humour, which delighted in hunting.
The kingdom shall be the Lord’s; the government, called here the kingdom, shall manifestly appear to be set up, maintained, and prospered by a power, wisdom, and goodness greater than human. The God of Israel, who is Jehovah, shall be honoured, obeyed, and worshipped by them, and they shall not, as formerly, rely on idols, or foreign aids. All which most fully is accomplished by Christ the Saviour, and now known in the Christian church, who do believe he will, and pray that he would, save his Zion, and destroy Edom, i.e. antichrist and his kingdom.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And saviours shall come upon Mount Zion,.... Which according…
And saviours shall come upon Mount Zion,.... Which according to some, is to be understood literally, either of Zerubbabel and Joshua, after the return of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity, who were the restorers of, their civil and church state; or rather of Judas Maccabeus and his brethren, who saved the people of the Jews from Antiochus and his generals, called "saviours", as the judges of old were, Neh 9:27; but it is best to interpret these saviours of the apostles of Christ, and ministers of the word; and especially of the preachers of the Gospel in the latter days; called "saviours", because they publish salvation, preach the Gospel of it, show unto men the way of salvation; and so they, and the word preached by them, are the means and instruments of the salvation of men; otherwise Christ is the only Saviour of God's appointing and sending; and who came to effect salvation, and is become the author of it, nor is it in any others; see Ti1 4:16; these in great numbers, in the latter day, wilt appear on Mount Zion, or in the church of Christ, and, shall openly and publicly, as on a mountain, declare the everlasting Gospel; these will be with Christ the Lamb, among the 144,000 upon Mount Zion, Rev 14:1. Kimchi and Ben Melech say, these are the King Messiah and his companions, the seven shepherds and eight principal men, Mic 5:5. Aben Ezra says the words refer to time to come; according to Baalhatturim on Gen 32:4; they will be fulfilled about the end of the sixth Millennium, when they expect the Messiah; and they are applied to times of the Messiah both by ancient and more modern Jews. In their ancient book of Zohar (q) it is said,
"when the Messiah shall arise, Jacob shall take his portion above and below; and Esau shall be utterly destroyed, and shall have no portion and inheritance in the world, according to Oba 1:18; but Jacob shall inherit two worlds, this world and the world to come; and of that time is it written, "and saviours shall come upon Mount Zion", &c.''
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So, in the Jerusalem Talmud (r),
"says R. Hona, we do not find that Jacob our father went to Seir (see Gen 33:14;) R. Joden, the son of Rabbi, says, in future times (the world to come, the days of the Messiah), is it not said, "and saviours shall come upon Mount Zion, to judge the mount of Esau?"''
And to much the same purpose it is said in one of their ancient Midrasses (s) or expositions,
"we have turned over all the Scripture, and we do not find that Jacob stood with Esau on Seir; he (God) said, until now it is with me to make judges and saviours stand, to take vengeance on that man, as it is said, "and saviours shall come up", &c.''
And the Cabalistic writers (t) thus paraphrase the words,
""and saviours shall come up"; who are the Lord of hosts, and the God of hosts: "on Mount Zion"; which is, the mystery of the living God: "to judge the mount of Esau"; which is Mount Seir.''
So Maimonides (u), quoting the passage in Num 24:18, "Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies", adds, by way of explanation, this is the King Messiah, of whom it is said, "and saviours shall come upon Mount Zion". The work and business of these saviours will be,
to judge the mount of Esau; to take vengeance on the Edomites, for their ill usage of the children of Judah, as the Jewish commentators generally interpret it: or rather, as Gospel ministers are these saviours, it expresses their business; which as it is to declare that whoever believes in Christ shall be saved, so that whoever does not shall be damned; and to convince impenitent and believing sinners of their sin and danger, and their need of Christ, judging and condemning, those that remain so: and moreover, as Esau and Edom signify antichrist, the sense is, that they shall publish proclaim the judgment of God upon antichrist, declare it to be near, yea, to be done; and shall express their approbation of the justice: of God in it, and shall call upon the saints to rejoice at it, Rev 14:6; yea, these saviours may include the Christian princes, that shall pour out the vials of God's wrath upon the antichristian states;
and the kingdom shall be the Lord's: the Lord Christ's, who is the one Jehovah with the Father and Spirit; meaning not the government of the world, to which he has a natural right as Creator, and which is generally ascribed to Jehovah the Father; nor the government of the church in this present state, which is Christ's already, and ever was: but the government of it in the latter day, when he will take to himself his great power, and reign; when his kingdom will be more visible, spiritual, glorious; and extensive; when the kingdoms of this world will become his, the Pagan, Papal, and Mahometan kingdoms, even all the kingdoms and nations of the earth; he will be King over all the earth; there will be but one Lord and King, and whose kingdom is an everlasting one; it shall never come into other hands; this will continue till the personal reign takes place, and that will issue in the ultimate glory; see Rev 11:15.
(q) In Gen. fol. 85. 1. (r) T. Hieros. Avoda Zara, fol. 40. 3. (s) Debarim Rabba, fol. 234. 4. (t) Kabala Denudata, par. 1. p. 283. (u) Hilchot Melachim, c. 11. sect. 1.
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John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain saviours - Deliverers, literally the leaders of those captive…
saviours - Deliverers, literally the leaders of those captive troops, who shall come up from Babylon, such as Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah. Mystically, Christ and his apostles, and other preachers of the gospel. To judge - To avenge Israel upon Edom. The Lord's - The God of Israel, Jehovah, shall be honoured, obeyed, and worshipped by all.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 21. And saviours shall come up] Certain persons…
Verse 21. And saviours shall come up] Certain persons whom God may choose to be deliverers of his people; such as Zerubbabel, Ezra, Nehemiah, and the Maccabees.
Some think these saviours, מושיעים moshiim, mean the apostles of our Lord. Several MSS. have מושעים mushaim, the preserved; those that are saved, i.e., they who were delivered from the captivity; and those of Mount Zion shall judge, that is, shall execute judgment on the Edomites. And as the Asmonean princes joined the priesthood to the state, it might be what the prophet means when he says, "the kingdom shall be the Lord's," the high priest having both the civil and ecclesiastical power in his own hands. And these actually were masters of Edom, and judged and governed the mountain of Esau. And thus this prophecy appears to have had a very literal fulfilment.
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But if we take the whole as referring to the times of the Gospel, which I believe is not its primary sense, it may signify the conversion and restoration of the Jews, and that under JESUS CHRIST the original theocracy shall be restored; and thus, once more, in the promised land, it may be said, -
המלוכה ליהוה והיתה
hammeluchah laihovah vehayethah.
"And the kingdom shall belong to Jehovah"
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain And saviors shall ascend on Mount Zion - The…
And saviors shall ascend on Mount Zion - The body should not be without its head; saviours there should be, and those, successively. The title was familiar to them of old Jdg 3:9, Jdg 3:15. “The children of Israel cried unto the Lord, Who raised them up a savior, and he saved them. And the Lord gave unto Israel a savior” 2Ki 13:5, in the time of Jehoahaz. Nehemiah says to God, Neh 9:27. “According to Thy manifold mercies, Thou gavest them saviours, who should save them from the hands of their enemies.” So there should be thereafter. Such were Judas Maccabeus and his brothers, and Hyrcanus, Alexander, Aristobulus. They are said to “ascend” as to a place of dignity, to “ascend on Mount Zion;” not to go up thither “ward,” but to dwell and abide “in” it, which aforetime was defiled, which now was to be holy.
He ends, as he began, with Mount Zion, the “holy hill,” where God was pleased to dwell Psa 2:6; Psa 68:16, to reveal Himself. In both, is the judgment of Esau. Mount Zion stands over against Mount Esau, God’s holy mount against the mountains of human pride, the Church against the world. And with this agrees the office assigned, which is almost more than that of man. He began his prophecy of the deliverance of God’s people, “In Mount Zion shall be an escaped remnant;” he ends, “saviors shall ascend on Mount Zion:” he began, “it shall be” holiness;” he closes, “and the kingdom shall be the Lord’s. To judge the mount of Esau.” Judges, appointed by God, judge His people; saviours, raised up by God, deliver them. But once only does Ezekiel speak of man’s judging another nation, as the instrument of God Eze 24:14. “I, the Lord, have spoken it - and I will do it; I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I repent; according to thy ways and according to thy doings shall they judge thee, saith the Lord God.” But it is the prerogative of God. And so, while the word “saviours” includes those who, before and afterward, were the instruments of God in saving His Church and people, yet, all saviours shadowed forth or back the one Saviour, who alone has the office of Judge, in whose kingdom, and associated by Him with Him 1Co 6:2, “the saints shall judge the world,” as He said to His Apostles Mat 19:28, “ye which have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of His glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” And the last words must at all times have recalled that great prophecy of the Passion, and of its fruits in the conversion of the Pagan, from which it is taken - Ps. 22.
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The outward incorporation of Edom in Judah through Hyrcanus was but a shadow of that inward union, when the kingdom of God was established upon earth, and Edom was enfolded in the one kingdom of Christ, and its cities, from where had issued the wasters and deadly foes of Judah, became the sees of Christian Bishops. And in this way too Edom was but the representative of others, aliens from and enemies to God, to whom His kingdom came, in whom He reigns and will reign, glorified forever in His saints, whom He has redeemed with His most precious Blood.
And the kingdom shall be the Lord’s - Majestic, comprehensive simplicity of prophecy! All time and eternity, the struggles of time and the rest of eternity, are summed up in those three words ; Zion and Edom retire from sight; both are comprehended in that one kingdom, and God is “all in all” 1Co 15:28. The strife is ended; not that ancient strife only between the evil and the good, the oppressor and the oppressed, the subduer and the subdued; but the whole strife and disobedience of the creature toward the Creator, man against his God. Outward prosperity had passed away, since David had said the great words Psa 22:28, “the kingdom is the Lord’s.” Dark days had come. Obadiah saw on and beyond to darker yet, but knits up all his prophecy in this; “the kingdom shall be the Lord’s.” Daniel saw what Obadiah foresaw, the kingdom of Judah also broken; yet, as a captive, he repeated the same to the then monarch of the world Jer 50:28, “the hammer of the whole earth,” which had broken in pieces the petty kingdom of Judah, and carried captive its people (Dan 2:44, add Dan 7:14, Dan 7:27); “the God of heaven shall set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed.”
Zechariah saw the poor fragments which returned from the captivity and their poor estate, yet said the same;” Zec 14:9, “The Lord shall be king over all the earth.” All at once that kingdom came; the fishermen, the tax gatherer and the tentmaker were its captains; the scourge, the claw, thongs, rack, hooks, sword, fire, torture, the red-hot iron seat, the cross, the wild-beast, not employed, but endured, were its arms; the dungeon and the mine, its palaces; fiery words of truth, its Psa 45:5, “sharp arrows in the hearts of the King’s enemies;” for One spake by them, whose word “is with power.” The strong sense of the Roman, the acuteness of the Greek, and the simplicity of the Barbarian, cast away their unbelief or their misbelief, and joined in the one song Rev 19:6, “The Lord God Omnipotent reigneth.” The imposture of Mohammed, however awfully it rent off countless numbers from the faith of Christ, still was forced to spread the worship of the One God, who, when the prophets spake, seemed to be the God of the Jews only.
Who could foretell such a kingdom, but He who alone could found it, who alone has for these 18 centuries preserved, and now is anew enlarging it, God Omnipotent and Omniscient, who waked the hearts which He had made, to believe in Him and to love Him? Blessed peaceful kingdom even here, in this valley of tears and of strife, where God rules the soul, freeing it from the tyranny of the world and Satan and its own passions, inspiring it to know Himself, the Highest Truth, and to love Him who is love, and to adore Him who is infinite majesty! Blessed kingdom, in which God reigns in us by grace, that He may bring us to His heavenly kingdom, where is the manifest vision of Himself, and perfect love of Him, blissful society, eternal fruition of Himself ; “where is supreme and certain security, secure tranquility, tranquil security, joyous happiness, happy eternity, eternal blessedness, blessed vision of God forever, where is perfect love, fear none, eternal day and One Spirit in all!”
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Saviours, the Machabees, as figures of Christ. The temporal…
Saviours, the Machabees, as figures of Christ. The temporal power of the Jews ended thirty-seven years after his resurrection. (Calmet) -- The rest of this prophecy (ver. 19.) regards Christ’s kingdom over all nations, which believe in him, and receive the remission of their sins, Acts x. 43. (St. Augustine, City of God xviii. 31.) (Worthington)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain saviours--There will be in the kingdom yet to come…
saviours--There will be in the kingdom yet to come no king, but a prince; the sabbatic period of the judges will return (comparethe phrase so frequent in Judges, only once found in the times of the kings, , "the land had rest"), when there was no visible king, but God reigned in the theocracy. Israelites, not strangers, shall dispense justice to a God-fearing people (; Eze. 45:1-25). The judges were not such a burden to the people as the kings proved afterwards (). In their time the people more readily repented than under the kings (compare ), [ROOS]. Judges were from time to time raised up as saviours or deliverers of Israel from the enemy. These, and the similar deliverers in the long subsequent age of Antiochus, the Maccabees, who conquered the Idumeans (as here foretold, compare II Maccabees 10:15,23), were types of the peaceful period yet to come to Israel.
to judge . . . Esau--to punish (so "judge," ) . . . Edom (compare , ). Edom is the type of Israel's and God's last foes ().
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kingdom shall be the Lord's--under Messiah (; , ; ; ; ; ).
Next: Jonah Introduction
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 21. With the enemies destroyed and the exiles restored,…
21. With the enemies destroyed and the exiles restored, a life of permanent peace and prosperity will begin under the rule of earthly representatives of the Divine King.
Saviours — The same name is given to the champions raised up by Jehovah during the period preceding the establishment of the monarchy (Jdg_2:16; Jdg_3:9; Jdg_3:15, etc.). Nothing is said of the character and nature of these Messianic saviours; their types are the “saviours” of the Book of Judges, and in its general aspects their work may have been expected to resemble that of the latter.
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Judge — Rule (see on Amo_2:3). The saviours will rule on Mount Zion, the center of the kingdom of God during the Messianic age (Oba_1:17; Isa_2:2-4), but their sway will extend beyond the borders of Judah. The territory of Edom, which will be in the possession of the restored exiles (Oba_1:19), will be a part of the dominion of these “saviours”; but it should be noted that they will not rule over the Edomites, for they are annihilated (Oba_1:18).
To this climax the prophet has been moving steadily from the beginning; the arrogance and unrighteous schemes of the Edomites (Oba_1:1) will result in their own annihilation, and in the annexation of their territory by the despised Jews. The “saviours” in this verse correspond to the “Messianic king” of other prophetic utterances.
The kingdom shall be Jehovah’s — Over these “saviours” Jehovah will be the supreme ruler; the expression of his purpose will be supreme law, obedience and loyalty to him will be the chief ambition. With reference to the Messianic significance of Oba_1:21 and the fulfillment of the Messianic expectations see the remarks on Mic_4:5, and at the close of chapter 5.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 21. saviours] i.e. deliverers. The word, enshrined already in…
21. saviours] i.e. deliverers. The word, enshrined already in the name of Joshua, the great deliverer, is frequently applied to the Judges: “The Lord raised up judges, which delivered (saved) them out of the hand of those that spoiled them.” Jdg_2:16. “Thou gavest them saviours, who saved them out of the hand of their enemies.” Neh_9:27. See also Jdg_2:18; Jdg_3:31; Jdg_6:14-15; Jdg_6:36. It is applied once in the later history to king Joash, as the deliverer of Israel from the oppression of the Syrians: “the Lord gave Israel a saviour.” 2Ki_13:5 with 25. Here the immediate reference is to the Maccabees and such like human saviours. But as the long lines of Jewish prophets, and priests, and kings were respectively the manifold types of the one true Prophet, Priest, and King, so their saviours foreshadowed Him, of whom in the fulness of time it was said, “Unto you is born in the city of David a Saviour,” and whom, as “a Saviour,” His Church still looks for. (Philipp. 3:20; Heb_9:28.)
to judge the mount of Esau] The vengeance on Esau, which is the predominant idea of this short prophecy, is still before the prophet’s mind. And yet perhaps we may say that that wider sense of “judging,” which the remembrance of the “judges who judged (i.e. governed) Israel” would suggest, is here prevailing. Esau subdued shall also be incorporated, and share the privileges of that righteous and beneficent rule with which Zion shall be blessed.
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the kingdom shall be the Lord’s] The grand climax is here certainly, however indistinctly, before the prophet’s mind. It is this that stamps the writings of the Hebrew prophets with a character which is all their own, and proves them to be inspired with an inspiration of God, other and higher far than that of the most gifted seers and poets of other lands and ages. With them the national and the human reach forth ever to the divine and the universal. The kingdom of Israel gives place to and is lost in the kingdom of God. Never in any adequate realisation even of Jewish idea and conception, could it be said of any period of the history of Israel after the return from Babylon, “The kingdom is the Lord’s.” Never of any country or any church, much less of the world at large, has so great a word been true, since in the person and the religion of Christ the kingdom of God has come among us. Still the Church prays as for a thing still future, “Thy kingdom come.” Still Obadiah’s last note of prophecy, “the kingdom shall be the Lord’s,” vibrates on, till at last it shall be taken up into the great chorus of accomplished hope and satisfied expectation, “Hallelujah! for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth.”
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain And saviours shall come up on Mount Zion to…
Oba_1:21
And saviours shall come up on Mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the Lords.
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Christ as a Conqueror
This is a vision concerning Edom, or the Mount of Esau, or Idumea, which are different names of one and the same country, the mountainous region to the south of Judaea. It is a prophecy of ruin to the Edomites, for their treatment of their kindred nation the Jews at the time of their trouble. When the remnant of the Jews were carried into Babylon, the Edomites behaved ill to their subjugated and suffering kindred. They stood on the other side (Oba_1:11-14). Edom came to ruin; but Israel, though sorely chastised and brought low, was never to be crushed. The text shows how the difference is to be effected, and its issue. Esau should have none to help him, but shame should cover him, and he should be cut off for ever. But saviours should come up on Mount Zion, and that for judgment against Esau, and the Lords inheritance should be preserved, and the kingdom should be His. Possibly two, or more than two, events have been purposely mixed up together in the prophets vision.
1. Understand by the Saviours, the great Saviour. The Maccabean princes were saviours, but the Saviour Simeon and Anna hailed is the great Saviour.
2. The purpose for which He came to Mount Zion. For judgment.
(1) The distinguishing between profession and practice, between the literal and the spiritual Israel. He came that the thoughts of many hearts should be revealed.
(2) The same intermixture of judgment with present imperfection in it is visible in every part of the Saviours work on earth. The prince of this world is judged, but he is not cast out. He is not abashed.
(3) It is the same with the spiritual enemies of the soul of man, and of God. Yet we see imperfection in every part,--the imperfection of non-completion.
(4) He is come for judgment upon the enemies within His people, as well as without them, the old heart that holds with the world and the flesh, and is in league with the devil. And the same incompleteness during our present state we mourn over here.
3. Look at the predicted end. The kingdom shall be the Lords. That is promised and certain.
(1) The kingdom shall be His over our rebel hearts. It often seems impossible, or at least hopeless now.
(2) The Gospel kingdom is, and shall be, His.
(3) The kingdom over all the earth, over all that rises up against Him, is His. To this end was He born, that as a Saviour He should come to Mount Zion, to judge the Mount of Esau, and that the kingdom should be the Lords. (G. Jeans, M. A.)
The God of our salvation and His instruments
The vision presented to Obadiah is shadowed all over with calamities of various kinds; but still we see God all the way through, justifying Himself in the eyes of the heathen, lest they should say that the punishment He threatened, was more than equal to the offence. There is a tenderness of spirit in what He says to the opposers of Israel, in the twelfth verse, which, while it does not and cannot alter His purpose, gives us a delightful view of His heart.
I. Who and what are they whom the prophet calls saviours? The redeeming Saviour of man stands apart from all common saviours, because He is exclusively the redeeming Saviour of the Body, the Church. We cannot confound Him with deliverers of any secondary kind. He is separate from all others in this, that though He is without sin, He is in friendship with sinners; though He knows not what it is to commit sin, He does know what it is to take the burthen of sin upon His pure and righteous person. The saviours in the text are the messengers of God to the blessed children of Mount Zion, to those whom He has begotten in Christ Jesus; and they stand here in strong contrast with the enemies of all holiness, who are described as Mount Esau, or the carnally minded children of this world. These helpers of our feebleness are only instrumental; God appoints them and employs them; but they are to Him what the axe is to the woodman, they would be powerless but for the power of the hand that holds them. What a mercy that God sends these saviours among us to publish His will, and to stir us up to our duty! Divine providences are often saviours. The Gospel Word is a Saviour, inasmuch as it guides us immediately to Him who is the great mystery of godliness, and in whom alone is the life which makes a man alive unto God. The preaching of the Word is one of the saviours that is sent upon an embassy of peace to Mount Zion.
II. In what manner are these saviours to judge Mount Esau? Literally, the land of Edom. Typically, the world, which, in its scriptural interpretation, is enmity against God. These saviours will sit in judgment upon the careless, the prayerless, and the ungodly,
1. Every chastening providence of God that has passed away from a sinner unimproved shall be a sentence of condemnation against him. Not to improve a dispensation is to undervalue it.
2. Gods Word also enters into judgment with the unbelieving. The Word preached, but not laid profitably to heart. The Gospel Word has much to testify concerning many sinners in every congregation, who are satisfied with having the olive-leaf in their mouths, whilst there is no savour of fruit in their lives.
3. The ambassador of Christ has also something to testify in this judgment. He is likewise appointed to assist in judging Mount Esau. Can a condemning judgment possibly accord with the good news that we are commissioned to preach? Yes, for it is not the good news simply in itself, but the good news not believed in, not rejoiced in, that makes the judgment.
III. What description of kingdom did the prophet intend? He says, The kingdom shall be the Lord s; He meant to say this, that however Mount Zion shall be blessed, or Mount Esau cursed, the new throne which will be set up from this overthrow of the wicked, and this gathering together of the righteous, shall be Christs. It is called a kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. Of righteousness, because every subject of it is righteous; of peace, because God is at peace with all who rest in it; of joy in the Holy Ghost, because in the Church triumphant there shall be no delight equal to that of calling the glorious God our Father, and the Son of God our Redeemer. One remarkable feature in this kingdom is, that they who are worthiest in the worlds judgment are not selected to fill it, but they who feel themselves to be the unworthiest. This kingdom is also an invisible treasure within the heart of every child of Gods adoption. Inquire concerning two things.
1. Whether the incorruptible seed is within you.
2. Whether you are checking its growth by doing every thing you can to sweeten your journey to the grave, and as little as you can to adorn your self for the happy home that lies beyond it. Each of us should connect the kingdom of God with the spirituality and heavenly character of our own souls. (F. G. Crossman.)
The kingdom shall be the Lords
But we are Christians as well as Britons. We acknowledge Victoria as Queen; but we acknowledge Christ as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. We acknowledge Him as King not of Britain alone, but of all the earth. We acknowledge allegiance to Him in a far deeper sense than to Victoria. Great as are her claims upon us, His are infinitely greater. Our Christian patriotism, then, will be proportionately greater. We shall be still more eager about news of His kingdom from foreign lands than we ever have been of news from Pekin or Port Arthur. If we willingly give up millions for the maintenance of the fleet, we shall gladly give up tens of millions for the extension of that kingdom which is the Lords. The great trouble is that it needs faith to realise the greatness of the kingdom and the certainty of its prospects. The whole realm of the spiritual and eternal is to many of us so shadowy and unreal. The glorious things which are spoken of Zion are difficult to credit. There is a wide door and effectual before us in these days of ours; but there are so many adversaries that faith fails and hope is dim and enthusiasm languishes and dies. But surely, surely faith ought to be much easier for us than it was for Obadiah in his dreary, hopeless exile. He had no tens of thousands to share his hope and expectation; no thrilling tidings from the seat of war, say rather from the seat of desolation; yet see with what confidence he looks forward to the coming time, and with what assurance he declares that saviours shall come up on Mount Zion to judge the Mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the Lords. May his faith, inspire ours; may his patriotism, awaken ours. (J. Monte Gibson.)
The kingdom of God
What is the kingdom of the sun? It is here on earth, and is in everything that lives and moves. It sings in the bird, and waits in the egg not yet hatched out; it is in the fragrant blossom and in the bud unopened; it is in the blades of grass upspringing, and in the germinant seeds just breaking through their shell in the darkness of the earth. Thus this kingdom of God that is to be is already here. This is the second truth that Jesus Christ taught about the kingdom--it is not something postponed; it has already begun. Here, as the day is here when the sun begins to rise; here, as the summer is here when spring begins to come; here, as manhood is here when the babe lies in the cradle, for then the man begins when he is born. The kingdom of God begins when it is first upon the earth, and it is first on the earth when the spirit of righteousness and justice and love and peace is in the hearts of men, and is working its way into the institutions of men. So Christ said to men, Do not say, Lo, here, lo, there: the kingdom of God is among you. Look for it all about you; look for it in the mothers love, in the heros sacrifice, in the patriots devotion; look for it in the honest labourer, the faithful servant, the loyal friend. It is here; it is now. (Lyman Abbott, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain See Kingdom, (See Scofield "Zec 12:8") See Scofield "1Co…
kingdom
See Kingdom, (See Scofield "Zec 12:8") See Scofield "1Co 15:24"
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 1:21 to Mount Zion: God’s people would ascend his…
1:21 to Mount Zion: God’s people would ascend his holy mountain to rule over (or to judge) the mountains of their ancient foe Edom as a precursor to the coming universal Kingdom.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.