Obadiah
The Vision verse 1
The vision of Obadiah
Thus says the Lord GOD concerning Edom
We have heard a rumor from the LORD
and an ambassador is sent among the heathen
Arise you – and let us rise up against her in battle
Edom trusted in their location verse 2- 4
BEHOLD – I have made you small among the heathen
you are greatly despised
The pride of your heart hath deceived you
you that dwell in the clefts of the rock – whose habitation is high
That says in his heart – Who shall bring me down to the ground?
though you exalt yourself as the eagle
and though you set your nest among the stars
thence will I bring you down – says the LORD
Thieves leave conquered nations something verse 5
If thieves came to you – if robbers by night (how are you cut off)
Would they not have stolen till they had enough?
if the grape gatherers came to the
Would they not leave some grapes?
Allies of Edom examined verse 6- 7
How are the things of Esau searched out! – How are his hidden things sought up!
all the men of your confederacy have brought you even to the border
the men that were at peace with you have deceived you
and prevailed against you
They that eat your bread have laid a wound under you
there is none understanding in him
LORD judges wise and mighty men of Edom verse 8- 9
Shall I not in that day – says the LORD
even destroy the wise men out of Edom
and understanding out of the mount of Esau?
and the mighty men – O Teman – shall be dismayed
to the end that every one of the mount of Esau
may be cut off by slaughter
Reason for judgment: Mistreatment of brother verse 10
FOR your violence against your brother Jacob shame shall cover you
and you shall be cut off forever
Reason for judgment: Working with enemy verse 11
In the day that you stood on the other side
in the day that the strangers carried away captive his forces
and foreigners entered into his gates
and cast lots upon Jerusalem
even you were as one of them
Reason for judgment: Rejoicing over fall of Israel verse 12- 14
BUT you should not have looked on the day of your brother in that day
that he became a stranger
Neither should you have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the
day of their destruction
Neither should you have spoken proudly in the day of distress
you should not have entered into the gate of MY people in the
day of their calamity
YEA – you should not have looked on their affliction in the
day of their calamity
nor have laid hands on their substance in the
day of their calamity
Neither should you have stood in the crossway
to cut off those of his that did escape
Neither should you have delivered up those of his that did remain
in the day of distress
Edom received recompense for their actions verse 15- 16
FOR the day of the LORD is near upon all the heathen
as you have done – it shall be done unto you
your reward shall return upon your own head
FOR as you have drunk upon my holy mountain
so shall all the heathen drink continually
YEA – they shall drink
and they shall be as though they had not been
Hope for future of Israel verse 17- 18
BUT upon mount Zion shall be deliverance – and there shall be holiness
and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions
And the house of Jacob shall be a fire – and the house of Joseph a flame
and the house of Esau for stubble – and they shall kindle in them
and devour them
And there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau
for the LORD has spoken it
Victory over nations in future verse 19- 21
AND they of the south shall possess the mount of Esau
and they of the plain the Philistines
and they shall possess the fields of Ephraim
and the fields of Samaria
and Benjamin shall possess Gilead
AND the captivity of this host of the children of Israel shall possess
that of the Canaanites – even unto Zarephath
AND the captivity of Jerusalem – which is in Sepharad
shall possess the cities of the south
AND saviors shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau
and the kingdom shall be the LORD’S
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 3 The pride of your heart has deceived you, you that dwell in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that say in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground? (2087 “pride” [zadown] means arrogance, presumptuousness, insolence, over-confidence, or unreasonable and inordinate self-esteem.)
DEVOTION: Each of us faces the idea that we think we are better than other people. We can sometime look down on people because they are poor or not as smart as we think we are. We can be caught by the enemy of “pride.”
Edomites were caught by this bug. They thought that their location was better than any other location. They thought the mountain would protect them from invasion. They even stated: Who can ever reach us way up here?
They were thinking in human terms. We sometimes get caught thinking that nothing can touch us. We sometimes think that we are protected because we are a believer. That is true if we don’t trust in our own thinking rather than the LORD.
Too often we can think we are OK and don’t need to pray or confess our sins. We don’t need church or anyone to teach us the Bible. We are wrong to think those thoughts. It is pride which precedes a fall.
CHALLENGE: Don’t fall like Edom for the false hope found only in humans or location.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 10 For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off forever (2555 “violence” [chamac] means wrong, cruelty, injustice, or oppressor.
DEVOTION: The relationship between Esau and Jacob was that they were brothers. They had conflict. Jacob took Esau’s blessings and birthright from Isaac. The trouble between them has lasted for generations. Does this sound like something that happens in some churches? Esau lived on mount Seir. The nation he founded was called Edom.
When the nations invaded Israel, Edom was there to pick up the people and possessions that were left behind. They even turned those who escaped over to the invading armies. They hurt their Jacob’s children over an age-old fight.
The LORD was using the prophet Obadiah to tell them that judgment was coming. They had hurt Jacob in his day of affliction. He had hurt Jacob in is day of distress. Relatives are supposed to help one another. There is supposed to be support for one another in the family. This is not true even today. Families are fractured.
Edom thought they had a natural defense against all enemies because they lived in the mountains. They were wrong. If the LORD is against them- they are going to fall. HE was against them for their treatment of Jacob. God promised that they would not only fall but they would be cut off forever. Many people have never heard of the nation of Edom. They have heard of the nation of Israel.
We have to realize that nothing can protect us from the judgment of the LORD except the blood of Christ. Those who are outside of a relationship with Christ will have the judgment of God on them. They will be cut off from heaven for all eternity.
One other thought is that those who treat fellow Christians poorly will have to answer to the LORD. Are we doing harm to our fellow believers or brothers in the LORD? Are we carrying bitterness in our lives toward someone else? If the answer is YES, we need to change soon. Remember that judgment is going to BEGIN at the house of the LORD!!!
CHALLENGE: Don’t pick on others. Especially, don’t pick on those who are in the family of God. Judgment is going to begin at the household of God but the rest are going to face HIS wrath.
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:15 For the day of the LORD is near on all the heathen: as you have done, it shall be done to you: your reward shall return on you own head. (1576 “reward” [gamuwl] means recompense, benefit, deserve, requital, ill done, retribution, or what you deserved.)
DEVOTION: One of the teachings of the Word of God is that what we sow we will also reap. Farmers understand these things better than most. They go out into the fields in the spring and get the ground ready for planting. They have to clear the fields of anything that the winter has left. Then they break up the soil and plant the seeds. They are going to reap according to the number of seeds they plant.
Weather has a lot to do with the harvest. If there is too much rain, cold, heat or other weather conditions the crop will be small. If all works right, there will be a large harvest.
God wants us to know that the same thing is true in our life. If we get rid of our fallow ground and plow it up it is ready for seeds to be planted. Too often we just allow the ground of our heart to get hard. We think we can’t change. We think the LORD can’t use us. We are wrong. Those are thoughts that come from the enemy. God wants to use us for HIS service.
What type of seeds are you planting in your mind? Are they Biblical seeds or worldly seeds? God’s Word is full of seeds that can grow into much fruit in our life if we allow it to happen.
CHALLENGE: Watch what you sow into your life. Change is necessary. There is no status quo in the Christian life.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 21 And saviors shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau’ and the kingdom shall be the LORD’S. (3467 “saviors” [yasha] means deliverer, liberate, to set free, preserver, aid, receive help, be victorious, or rescue.)
DEVOTION: Israel has been taken into captivity. The LORD judged her because of their refusal to follow HIS commandments. However, every prophet informs us that there is still a future hope for Israel.
Here we find a nation that was related to Israel who mistreated them while the enemy had them surrounded and was taking them captive. This relative helped the enemy. The people of Edom who were cousins to Israel rejoiced over their captivity and helped in every way they could capture more Israelites.
Now they were rejoicing and trusting in their mountain location to save them from any enemies. They had allies they thought they could count on if there was an attack. It was not true. They were placing their trust in the wrong place.
Israel was gone. Jerusalem was destroyed. The LORD was not finished with Israel. HE had a plan to deliver them in the future. HE had a plan that would have them ruling of the nations in the future. They were going to be victorious in the end.
Why was this going to happen in the future? Israel is the chosen people of the LORD throughout the Bible. They have been set aside for a time period called the “Church Age.” When this age ends there is going to be a final judgment of the world. Once that is done, Israel will reign over the world because the “the Kingdom is the LORD’S.”
CHALLENGE: We need to understand that the LORD never stops working HIS plan for the nations of this world. Don’t trust in anyone but the LORD for help in times of trouble because HE always blesses those who faithfully serve HIM.
DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
- Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
- Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
- Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
- Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
- Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
- Frugality (wise use of resources)
- Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
- Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
- Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
- Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
- Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
- Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
- Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
- Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
Lord – Adonai (Owner, Master) verse 1
GOD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal) verse 1
Lord GOD verse 1
LORD – Jehovah verse 1, 4, 8, 15, 18, 21
Bring down Edom verse 4
God’s people verse 13
Day of the LORD verse 15
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Edom verse 1- 21
Heathen verse 1, 2, 15, 16
Esau verse 6, 8, 9, 18,19, 21
Teman verse 9
Foreigners verse 11
Philistines verse 19
Canaanites verse 20
Zarephath verse 20
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Heathen verse 1, 2, 15, 16
Despised verse 2
Pride verse 3
Deceived verse 3
Exalt self verse 4
Thieves verse 5
Robbers verse 5
Confederacy verse 7
Deceived verse 7
No understanding verse 7
Dismayed verse 9
Violence verse 10
Rejoicing over destruction verse 12
Spoken proudly verse 12
Entered Jerusalem to do evil verse 13
Affliction verse 13
Drunk verse 16
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Ambassador verse 1
Deliverance verse 17
Holiness verse 17
Possessions verse 17
Saviors verse 21
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Obadiah verse 1
Brother verse 10, 12
Jacob verse 10, 17, 18
Jerusalem verse 11,
Children of Judah verse 12
Zion verse 17, 21
Joseph verse 18
Ephraim verse 19
Samaria verse 19
Benjamin verse 19
Gilead verse 19
Children of Israel verse 20
Jerusalem verse 20
Sepharad verse 20
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
In that day verse 8
Day of the LORD verse 15
QUOTES
3 Edom’s problem was pride. “The pride of your heart” is emphatic in the sentence by virtue of its placement ahead of the verb. The Edomites’ haughty pride tricked them into believing they were self-sufficient. Pride was their preeminent sin, giving them false hope of being secure in their mountain fortress.
Edom’s source of pride was where they lived, “in the clefts of the rocks” and in their “home on the heights.” The two expressions suggest hiding places among their rocky settlements and secure location high in the mountains. They thought they were out of sight and out of reach. The term translated “rocks” (selaʿ) may be a pun on the name of Edom’s capital city, Sela (cf. 2 Kgs 14:7; Isa 16:1; 42:11). Identification of Sela with Petra cannot be established absolutely for lack of adequate evidence. Individuals, nations, and religious bodies must guard against the dangers of pride, which often creates the illusion of self-sufficiency. Edom affords an excellent illustration of Prov 16:18: “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.”
God knew what the people of Edom thought of themselves, as reflected in their haughty boast, “Who can bring me down to the ground?” “No one” is the answer they expected, but Edom had failed to reckon with the knowledge of God and the judgment of God. The nation thought no one could conquer them, but God vowed to bring them down. Lillie commented, “Drunk on pride and deceived by a false sense of security, Edom will tumble from its heights and become an object of derision among the nations.” The real answer to the question is “God can!” And God did. (Smith, B. K., & Page, F. S. (1995). Amos, Obadiah, Jonah (Vol. 19B, p. 183). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
3–4These verses reiterate the sentence of abasement in the final, climactic line (“I will bring you down”), analyzing its causes in terms of pride and deception, the concomitant of pride. “Pride” (zāḏôn; cf. zēḏ, “proud”) is derived from a verb meaning “to boil up, seethe” (zēḏ; cf. Gen 25:29; Ps 124:5). A cognate noun denotes food that has been boiled (nāzîd); the root occurs three times in the account of Esau’s squandered birthright. In its literal usage, the root thus describes food or water that boils up under pressure, from which the figurative application of inflated self-exaltation logically follows. The essence of this “pride” is insubordination, rooted in an inordinate self-estimation: the proud man rejects authority, whether from God or man, and arrogates it to himself.
Edom’s pride is grounded in its geographical location “on the heights,” from which it draws its sense of security and self-sufficiency: it can flaunt external control, having the physical resources to evade it. And, indeed, Edom’s natural defenses were imposing. Its main centers of civilization were situated in a narrow ridge of mountainous land southeast of the Dead Sea (cf. v.1). This ridge exceeded a height of 4,000 feet throughout its northern sector, and it rose in places to 5,700 feet in the south. Its height was rendered more inaccessible by the gorges radiating from it toward the Arabah on the west and the desert eastwards. Baly (p. 235) describes travel along this ridge, the route of the ancient King’s Highway: “The road, of course, keeps to the more level ridgeland, but from time to time it approaches the rim and the traveler peers dizzily down into a bizarre world of dark, gigantic cliffs and deep, terrifying gorges. Here is a region altogether apart, forbidding, and inaccessible, the home still of the leopard and such other animals as man in his ferocity has not yet succeeded in destroying” (cf. Num 20:17).
The frontiers of this lofty plateau were formed on the west by the Arabah, to which the land dropped over 4,000 feet within the space of a few miles. The northern border was similarly defended by the deep canyon of the Wadi Zered, and to the south the precipitous walls of the Wadi Hismeh mark the abrupt descent of the tableland to the desert. In addition to these natural fortifications, Edom was strongly defended by a series of Iron Age fortresses, particularly on the eastern frontier where the land descended more gradually to the desert.
Such was Edom’s refuge “in the clefts of the rocks” (ḇeḥagwê-selaʿ; so Song of Songs 2:14; Jer 49:16), whose austere environment might well foster thoughts of invulnerability. The term “rocks” (selaʿ) is used of large rock strata; and here it describes the sandstone and granite cliffs Edom drew its security from. “Sela” is also the name of an Edomite settlement captured by Amaziah (c. 800–783, 2 Kings 14:7; cf. NIV mg., “Sela”). It is commonly associated with the subsequent Nabataean capital, Petra, whose name also signifies “rock” (cf. Matt 16:18) an identification now disputed on the basis of excavations at the site. It is in any case preferable to follow NIV in omitting the geographical allusion from the text.
Edom’s sense of security has “deceived” it (nāšāʾ; cf. Jer 49:16). Although virtually impregnable to human forces, Edom is still utterly vulnerable before the wisdom and power of God. Edom’s deceived pride has been expressed in the confident question “Who can bring me down?” It is echoed in the unanticipated answer; “I will bring you down” (both from yāraḏ a blunt statement of a single Hebrew word that embodies the heart of the prophecy. All that follows develops and amplifies the reversal of conditions heralded in this message from the Lord (cf. Jer 49:21) (Armerding, C. E. (1986). Obadiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Daniel and the Minor Prophets (Vol. 7, pp. 342–343). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
V.2. Edom prided herself in her great wealth (obtained by trading, looting, and by iron and copper mining in the region) and in her almost impregnable position geographically.
Yet God said He would cause her to be made small (emphatic in the Heb.) in contrast with her self-exaltation, and to be … despised (also emphatic in the Heb.).
vv.3–4. Her pride would be her undoing, for it would deceive her into thinking that no one could conquer her. “Pride” translates zeḏôn, from zîḏ, “to boil up, to be presumptuous.” This recalls Jacob’s cooking (zîḏ) the stew (nāzîḏ) which Esau bought with his birthright (Gen. 25:29). The Edomites’ arrogance was presumptuous, whelming over their bounds, portrayed by the stew their ancestor ate.
Contributing to this self-deception was the supposed security of Edom’s geographical location in the mountains of Seir. She trusted in the natural protection provided by the clefts of the rocks. Living in caves high (on the heights) above the ground level she felt totally safe from enemy attacks. Some of the Edomites had settled in such high caves and other places up in the mountains that it was as if they, hyperbolically speaking, were soaring like the eagle and nesting among the stars.
In response to Edom’s self-confident, arrogant question, Who can bring me down to the ground?… the Lord answered that He would bring them down! God, like an eagle, would swoop down (Jer. 49:22) on those who thought they were safe as eagles. Though Edom was almost impregnable to man, she was not inaccessible to God. (Baker, W. L. (1985). Obadiah. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, pp. 1455–1456). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
What kind of judgment did God promise to send to the nation of Edom? To begin with, He said He would bring down their pride (vv. 2–4). Edom was a proud nation that considered itself impregnable and invulnerable because it was situated “in the clefts of the rock” (v. 3), a region of rugged mountains with high cliffs and narrow valleys that would dissuade any invader from attacking. Like the eagles, the Edomites lived on the rocks and looked down from the heights with disdain upon the nations around them. The Edomites thought they were a great people, but God said He would make them small, which means “paltry.” “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall” (Prov. 16:18 niv). (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be concerned (p. 78). Colorado Springs, CO: Chariot Victor.)
3 the clefts of the rock.Dwelling in difficult mountain terrain, Edom’s imposing, impregnable capital city of Petra was virtually inaccessible, giving her a sense of security and self-sufficiency. Deep, terrifying gorges emanating from peaks reaching 5,700 ft. surrounded her like a fortress, generating a proud, false sense of security.
3, 4 Who will bring me down … I will bring you down.Edom’s pride was answered decisively by the Sovereign Ruler (cf. Mt 23:12). The calamity against Edom, though brought about by her enemies, was truly God’s judgment of her pride (cf. Pr 16:18; 1Co 10:12). (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Ob 3). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
IN one chapter God has embodied for us such part of the ministry of Obadiah the prophet as He foresaw would be for our admonition and edification. Brief as it is, its twenty-one verses are fraught with needed instruction, and may well be laid to heart by each saint of the Lord.
Who Obadiah was, where he was born, of what tribe and family in Israel, his occupation, and the exact time in which he lived—all these are matters which God has not been pleased to reveal. There was Obadiah in the court of king Ahab, of whose care for the persecuted prophets of the Lord we have knowledge; but he is not to be confounded with the writer of the little book now before us. Other Obadiahs are briefly mentioned in 1st and 2nd Chronicles; but whether any of them is identical with the prophet, we have no means of determining—nor is it at all important that we should know. It is the message, not the bearer of it, that God would occupy us with.
The first sixteen verses are concerned with the sin and the doom of Edom. The last five verses set forth the deliverance that is to come to the house of Jacob when the house of Esau shall have fallen to rise no more.
Many important lessons are connected with the history of the two sons of Isaac and that of their respective houses. Before either child was born God made choice of Jacob, saying, “The elder shall serve the younger.” It was electing grace, and wondrous grace, surely! For who so unworthy as cowardly Jacob; and who, from certain worldly standpoints, more to be admired than the apparently brave and magnanimous Esau? But God choseJacob, and thus manifested His purpose of grace. Let the reader be clear as to what is here spoken of. It was not a question of selecting Jacob for heaven and reprobating Esau to hell. Theologians have so dreamed; but not in this way does Scripture speak. God chose Jacob to inherit the blessing of Abraham, and to be the conservator of the promise. In so doing He made Esau subject to his brother. It was the carrying out of a principle often noticed in the book of Genesis—the setting aside of the elder, and the giving the birthright to the youner; thus reminding us that God ever sets aside the first man to make the Second Man first. For “that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual” (1 Cor. 15:46). This mystery is told out in the cases of Cain and Abel, Ishmael and Isaac, Esau and Jacob, Reuben and Joseph, and of Manasseh and Ephraim.
In accordance with this, Esau and the race that bears his name figure in Scripture as types of the flesh; Jacob, as the new man learning to overcome by discipline. When in the last book of the Old Testament God sums up, as it were, concerning the two families, He declares, “I have loved Jacob, and hated Esau.”
In reading the prophecy of Obadiah, we may trace throughout a typical as well as a natural bearing. What is said of Edom coalesces with the condemnation and final doom of the flesh—that hateful thing which ever vaunts itself, even in the breast of the believer, against all that is of God, but which shall at last be utterly destroyed, and become as though it had not existed. The future triumph of the house of Jacob, in the day of the glory of the kingdom, bespeaks the final enlargement and blessing when the flesh is overcome forever, and the man according to God alone remains.
From the Lord a report had come concerning Edom, as a result of which an ambassador was sent among the nations, with a view to raising up their armies against the mount of Esau. Though once all-powerful, he was to be made small among them, and greatly despised.
Edom had ever been the enemy of Israel, even as the flesh lusteth continually against the Spirit. When calamity came upon the house of Jacob, Edom had rejoiced. But now upon him judgment unsparing was to fall. This, no doubt, goes on to the time of the end; for it is just before the kingdom is established that Edom’s power is to be utterly broken. There will be a people of his lineage dwelling in Idumea in the day of the last great coalition against Israel; but they will be overthrown: and when the rest of the world is brought into blessing under Messiah’s rule, they will be blotted out from under heaven.
As with the flesh, so with Edom; his pride was insufferable. Dwelling in his Idumean heights and rocky fortresses, he considered himself invulnerable, and secure against all attack. But Jehovah declares, “The pride of thy heart hath deceived thee … Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down” (vers. 3, 4). No power can avail when the Lord’s set time for his destruction is come. Edom has fallen into the condemnation of the devil, exalting himself, and seeking his own glory. On the part of the creature this is rebellion against God, and cannot go unpunished. (Ironside, H. A. (1909). Notes on the Minor Prophets. (pp. 186–189). Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers.)
Ver. 3. The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, &c.] The Edomites were proud of their wealth and riches, which they had by robberies amassed together; and of their military skill and courage, and of their friends and allies; and especially of their fortresses and fastnesses, both natural and artificial; and therefore thought themselves secure, and that no enemy could come at them to hurt them, and this deceived them: thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, their country was called Arabia Petræa, the rocky; and their metropolis Petra, the rock: Jerom says that they that inhabited the southern part of the country dwelt in caves cut out of the rock, to screen them from the heat of the sun: or, thou that dwellest in the circumferences of the rock; round about it, on the top of it, in a tower built there, as Kimchi and Ben Melech: Aben Ezra thinks that caph, the note of similitude, is wanting; and that the sense is, thou thoughtest that Mount Seir could secure thee, as they that dwell in the clefts of a rock: whose habitation is high; upon high rocks and mountains, such as Mount Seir was, where Esau dwelt, and his posterity after him. The Targum is, “thou art like to an eagle that dwells in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is in a high place;” this they were proud of, thinking themselves safe, which deceived them; hence it follows: that saith in his heart, who shall bring me down to the ground? what enemy, ever so warlike and powerful, will venture to invade my land, or besiege me in my strong hold? or, if he should, he can never take it, or take me from hence, conquer and subdue me. Of the pride, confidence, and security of mystical Edom or antichrist, see Rev. 18:7. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 6, p. 525). London: Mathews and Leigh.)