The dukes of Esau are listed here. Three terms were used: kings, princes, and dukes. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob received promises in regard to kings; Ishmael received a promise in regard to princes; and Esau received a promise in regard to dukes. A duke is a lower rank than a prince.

Esau lost the spiritual blessing but was certainly blessed temporally. He had a large family, many flocks, and numerous servants. His son Eliphaz was associated with Job. Amalek was the forebear of the Amalekites. The Israelites later fought with the Amalekites when they crossed the Red Sea and entered the wilderness.

For those of you who are not familiar with today’s most prevalent prophetic news pervading the Christian and Jewish scholarly communities, you should study Ezekiel 38 and 39, with the understanding that it alludes to a nuclear equipped Russian – Iranian led confederacy, which forms to invade the nation of Israel in the end times.

This was a day of vengeance, not the day of vengeance. For now, we will just say that a time frame of 3 1/2 years leads up to Jacob’s Trouble. Therefore, the antitype is the end time of the Gospel Age but not the final battle. A lot of events will take place before Gog and Magog come down.

Chapter 47 is a prophecy of the destruction of the Philistines. In verse 1, God told Jeremiah to prophesy against the Philistines before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, smote Gaza. Then, starting with verse 2, the account seems to radically change, for it talks about a flood coming down from the north with noise, chariots, and a wild commotion, whereas Egypt would attack Gaza from the south. However, the chapter talks about the destruction of the Philistines and not about Egypt.

The judgment was against nations that are Israel’s immediate Arab neighbors today. Is the antitype the Psalm 83 setting prior to the destruction of mystic Babylon?

The voice of mirth, gladness, the bridegroom, and the bride and lighted candles and the sound of millstones were removed not only from Judah but also from the surrounding nations. Right away we can see a spiritual connotation because of Revelation 18:23, “And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.” In other words, the natural picture, from which we can extrapolate valuable information, is a past historical fulfillment that embodies a prophecy of the future. As we continue, we will become more and more convinced that chapter 25 was not wholly fulfilled by the king of Babylon and his confederates, for some of the details did not happen back there but are prophesied elsewhere as events in the near future.

“We [Jeremiah and Obadiah] have heard a rumour [confidential information] from the LORD.” God originated this information, and He let certain individuals know what He intended to do. Then the trusted individuals, such as Obadiah, transmitted the information to the public. Such confidential information should make us bestir ourselves to righteousness.

The Book of Obadiah is fourth in the listing of the 12 minor prophets. Generally speaking, the listing is in chronological order with the exception of Obadiah, which stands out like a sore thumb as not fitting the sequence. Although no specific king’s reign is mentioned to pinpoint the time setting and Obadiah’s relationship to the chronology of the kings, internal evidence in the book helps us to know when Obadiah gave his message, as will be seen.

We think the reason Ezra, who superintended the compilers of the Old Testament, inserted Obadiah after Amos, rather than much further on, is that this book concerns only Edom (or Esau) from beginning to end. Moreover, it seems to be a sequel to the prophecy of Amos, part of which pertains to Edom, and provides more details with regard to that message of rebuke.

The Book of Deuteronomy is the fifth (and last) book in the Pentateuch. The name is somewhat an abbreviation of the Latin Deuteronomium, meaning “second law.” It has been suggested that this word indicates a reiteration of the Law to Israel, with which the previous generation was acquainted. However, since that generation died in the wilderness, not all of the current generation were cognizant of the experiences of the earlier generation. Therefore, Moses reviewed the experiences of Israel, who had departed from Egypt to meet God at Mount Sinai, where they were instructed as to the course they would subsequently follow as His people. All of these thoughts seem to be embodied in the expression “Deuteronomy.”

In addition, the latter part of the name, “onomy” (onomos), is like astronomy, which means the law of the stars, and “Deuter” means two, second, or repetition. God’s method in instructing His people is always to have two or three confirmatory witnesses to attest whatever important lesson He wishes to convey to His people (both natural and spiritual Israel). Hence those who profess to honor and serve Him will be without excuse as to the availability of instruction. They will not be able to say in the future, “Why didn’t you tell me?”