Obadiah 1 is the shortest Old Testament book, and its single chapter is a sharp message against Edom, the nation descended from Esau, for its pride and for its cruelty toward Judah in Judah’s time of ruin. These questions suit a small group, a Sunday class, or personal study. Work through them in order, or choose the set that fits your time.
Obadiah 1 at a Glance
The chapter opens with a vision: God has sent word that Edom will be brought low, and nations are summoned against her. The Lord then speaks to Edom directly, exposing its pride and its sense of being unreachable in its mountain strongholds. He describes how thoroughly Edom will be stripped, and how the very allies who once shared its bread will turn against it.
The second half turns to Edom’s offenses against Jacob’s descendants on the day of Jerusalem’s fall, and then to “the day of the LORD,” when every nation will receive what it has done. The chapter ends with restoration: survivors on Mount Zion, Israel reclaiming its land, and the kingdom belonging to the LORD.
Observation Questions
Use these questions at the start of the session to get everyone reading closely before anyone offers an opinion. Ask a volunteer to read the passage aloud first, then let people answer from the text rather than from memory.
Obadiah 1:3-4
3 The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high, who says in his heart, ‘Who will bring me down to the ground?’ 4 Though you mount on high as the eagle, and though your nest is set among the stars, I will bring you down from there,” says the LORD.
(WEB)
This passage names the pride that deceived Edom and the height it trusted in. Reading it aloud helps the group hear the confidence Edom placed in its position, and the Lord’s firm answer that he will bring it down.
Obadiah 1:10
For the violence done to your brother Jacob, shame will cover you, and you will be cut off forever.
(WEB)
Here the prophet names the violence done to Jacob and the shame that will cover Edom. A single verse read slowly gives the group a clear anchor for the charge against Edom and the consequence that follows.
Obadiah 1:12
But don’t look down on your brother in the day of his disaster, and don’t rejoice over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction. Don’t speak proudly in the day of distress.
(WEB)
This verse forbids looking down on a brother in disaster and rejoicing in his destruction. Reading it aloud invites the group to test their own reactions to other people’s hardship against the standard it sets.
Obadiah 1:15
For the day of the LORD is near all the nations! As you have done, it will be done to you. Your deeds will return upon your own head.
(WEB)
The verse announces that the day of the LORD is near and that deeds return upon the doer’s own head. Hearing it aloud helps the group see the principle of just recompense that runs through the entire chapter.
Obadiah 1:21
Saviors will go up on Mount Zion to judge the mountains of Esau, and the kingdom will be the LORD’s.
(WEB)
The chapter ends with saviors on Mount Zion and the kingdom given to the LORD. Reading it last gives the session a hopeful close and reminds the group where the story finally rests.
Memory Verse for Obadiah 1
A Closing Prayer for the Group
Father, we come before you as people who have been tempted to trust our own strength and to look down on others. Show us where pride has made us careless with those who are struggling, and forgive us for the times we have stood aside when we should have helped. Teach us to be merciful in other people’s disasters and honest about our own failings. Thank you that the kingdom belongs to you and that your justice will finally be done. Help us to rest in that hope, to act with integrity in our daily lives, and to trust you with the outcomes we cannot control. Shape our hearts this week so that our words and actions reflect your character. Amen.
