Obadiah on Wide Screen
The vision of Obadiah. Obadiah 1 NASB
Vision – Have you read Obadiah? I wouldn’t be surprised if you said, “No.” It’s such a short book that it is often skipped. After all, what can a prophet say in just 21 verses? Before we discover how universal Obadiah really is, it’s worth examining the opening sentence: ḥāzôn ʿÔbadyâh. Just as short as the entire book. Two words—but there’s a lot packed into these two words.
ḥāzôn from חָזָה (ḥāzâ), translated “vision.” The consonants, Chet – Zayin – Hey, suggest pictographically, “private-separate; cut off, cut (weapon); reveal, (behold). Do you suppose Obadiah is delivering a verbal weapon that will divide? Well, as it turns out, he is—and the division isn’t what we might have expected. It’s a division that separates all humanity. Let’ see.
ḥāzôn describes the revelatory vision granted by God to chosen messengers, i.e. prophets. Such apparently was the experience of Balaam the son of Beor (Num 24:4, 16). This vision of the prophets took place sometimes in the waking state, but also in “the spirit” (see Num 24:2). Sometimes the experience of “seeing” a revelatory dream is designated by ḥāzâ and hăzāʾ (Aram.)[1]
Because of the importance of the revelatory vision as means of the prophets’ special knowledge of divine things, the word sometimes means to speak as a prophet (Isa 30:10, “Prophesy not unto us right things”). It might be that this active sense (prophesying, to speak as a prophet), rather than the passive one of receiving prophetic revelation, may be the sense of Isa 1:1 (“which he saw,” etc.) and other similar passages (Isa 2:1; 13:1; Lam 2:14; Ezk 13:8; Amos 1:1, etc.).[2]
So Obadiah has a vision. We aren’t told the mechanics of his revelation, only that it is from God. It deals with the judgment of Edom, a judgment that was precipitated by Edom’s arrogance and their wanton disregard for the family connection to Israel. Isn’t that interesting? Once more we find “family” at the heart of God’s concern about His children. The full scope of Obadiah’s vision—and its universal implication—can be quickly seen in this short video: CLICK HERE
Once you see the larger message, the wide screen vision of Obadiah, you’ll regard this tiny book differently. And since we’ll look at a few more key words in this short message, we’ll discover a few more that are packed full. But it all starts here, with ḥāzôn.
Just one more comment. ḥāzôn is not the kind of “vision” we talk about in our culture. It’s not even what we call “prophecy.” ḥāzôn is very public. God speaks through the prophet to everyone who listened (and to those who don’t), so it’s not a personal prophecy that so often shows up in religious circles today. Secondly, ḥāzôn might be called “being in the spirit,” but that isn’t the same as the way we use the term in some contemporary religious circles. ḥāzôn is a severe mercy, that is, it’s a message that probably gets the messenger killed. Typically, the prophets want nothing to do with delivering God’s verdict because they know what will happen. In Israel’s prophetic tradition, the prophets were tortured souls. Yes, they sometimes experienced physical harm at the hands of their audience, but more importantly, they always experienced personal, existential trauma. They were, as Ezekiel said, raped by God, forced into submission to His will, whether they liked it or not. You might say that the prophets experienced God as an addiction—overwhelming, compulsive, and ultimately harmful. Oh, and there is no cure.
So, when Obadiah begins his pronouncement with this terrifying word, ḥāzôn, you can bet that his lips quivered, his feet shook, and the stomach churned, even if his voice bellowed God’s words. If you want some inkling of what this must have been like, don’t read Obadiah silently as you seek that warm, fuzzy feeling from the Spirit. Read it aloud. Shout it (who cares what the neighbors will think)! Feel the energy—and the terror. Then maybe you’ll want to know a bit more about the smallest book in the Tanakh.
Topical Index: ḥāzôn, vision, Obadiah 1
[1] Culver, R. D. (1999). 633 חָזָה. R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 275). Chicago: Moody Press.
[2] Ibid.
