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.
The above is from Obadiah 1:1, which before says it’s “the vision of Obadiah, Thus says the LORD concerning Edom.” As we well know, Edom represents our countrymen, as enemies mixed among destroying us through claiming it’s for peace and safety. Edom is the nation descended from Esau, Jacob’s (Israel’s) older brother, spoken of in Hebrews 12:16 & 17, saying “Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. For you know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.”
They (Edom), in these last days, are those mixed among us, who while claiming to be Christian or Jew, seek to destroy every vestige of our Judaea-Christian culture, by destroying God’s people and nation in whose ruins we now remain. It is of and to this, the LORD God speaks through Obadiah, his name telling us he represents the servants of Jehovah, through which He calls us to “rise up against her [the nation of Edom mixed among us] in battle.”
Later in verse 7, speaking of these men: confederated against us with all the enemies of God’s people, we’re told of them claiming they’re at peace with us, while in reality they’re at war and hell-bent on our destruction. “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.”
This is the same confederacy spoken of in Psalms 83:5, which speaking of these enemies, in verse 12, says they are saying, “Let us take to ourselves The houses of God in possession.” The word “possession” is the Hebrew word yarash, meaning here the inheritance spoken of, in Hebrews 12, as the “birthright” Esau sold to Jacob. This inheritance is seeing the LORD and our rest in His peace with Him, which the wicked will never achieve (because their bitterness {defiling by their ways and ideas} can never bring it).
Hebrews 12
14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the LORD:
15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;
16 Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.
17 For you know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.
Psalms 83
1 Keep not silence, O God: hold not your peace, and be not still, O God.
2 For, lo, your enemies make a tumult: and they that hate you have lifted up the head.
3 They have taken crafty counsel against your people, and consulted against your hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against you:
6 The tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites; of Moab, and the Hagarenes;
7 Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre;
8 Assur also is joined with them: they have helped the children of Lot. Selah.
9 Do unto them as unto the Midianites; as to Sisera, as to Jabin, at the brook of Kison:
10 Which perished at Endor: they became as dung for the earth.
11 Make their nobles like Oreb, and like Zeeb: yea, all their princes as Zebah, and as Zalmunna:
12 Who said, Let us take [yarash] to ourselves the houses of God in possession [yarash].
13 O my God, make them like a wheel [as in these past times]; as the stubble before the wind.
14 As the fire burns a wood, and as the flame sets the mountains on fire;
15 So persecute them with your tempest, and make them afraid with your storm.
16 Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek your name, O LORD.
17 Let them be confounded and troubled forever; yea, let them be put to shame, and perish:
18 That men may know that you, whose name alone is Jehovah, are the Most High over all the earth.
Obadiah 1
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.
2 Behold, I have made you small among the heathen: you are greatly despised.
3 The pride of your heart has 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?
4 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.
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 you, would they not leave some grapes?
6 How are the things of Esau searched out! how are his hidden things sought up!
7 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.
8 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?
9 And your mighty men, O Teman [the wise men of this world – where the LORD appears to reclaim His seat and cast out their corruption and ignorance], shall be dismayed, to the end that every one of the mount of Esau [the enemies mixed among us, risen into power and control over God’s people] may be cut off by slaughter.
10 For your violence against your brother Jacob shame shall cover you, and you shall be cut off forever.
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.
12 But you should not have looked on the day of your brother in the 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.
13 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;
14 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.
15 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.
16 For as you have drunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the heathen drink continually, yea, they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not been.
17 But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess [yarash] their possessions.
18 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.
19 And they of the south shall possess [yarash] the mount of Esau; and they of the plain the Philistines: and they shall possess [yarash] the fields of Ephraim, and the fields of Samaria: and Benjamin shall possess Gilead.
20 And the captivity of this host of the children of Israel shall possess [yarash] that of the Canaanites, even unto Zarephath; and the captivity of Jerusalem, which is in Sepharad, shall possess the cities of the south.
21 And saviors shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’s.
The “saviors” are the servants (‘abad – as in the name Obadiah) of Jehovah, the “small” among who the “ambassador” is loosed, to muster the LORD’s army into the battle they NOW realize. The “rumor,” the shmuw’ah, the report and doctrine, which when believed, is the arm of the LORD revealed in His work.
John 14
10 Believe you not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwells in me, he does the works.
11 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake.
12 Truly, truly, I say unto you, He that believes on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
13 And whatsoever you shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14 If you shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
15 If you love me, keep my commandments.
16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever;
17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it sees him not, neither knows him: but you know him; for he dwells with you, and shall be in you.
18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
19 Yet a little while, and the world sees me no more; but you see me: because I live, you shall live also.
20 At that day you shall know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.
21 He that has my commandments, and keeps them, he it is that loves me: and he that loves me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
22 Judas [Judah – the elect remnant to who He is revealed] said unto him, not Iscariot [not the leaders who’ve betrayed Him, for mere morsels, as has Edom], LORD, how is it that you will manifest yourself unto us, and not unto the world?
23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man loves me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
24 He that loves me not keeps not my sayings: and the word which you hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.
25 These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you.
26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world gives, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. [“you believe in God, believe also in me.”]
The “small” (people) spoken of in Obadiah 1:2, is from the word qatan, the same word used to describe Jacob and the “younger” brother of Esau, Ephraim as “younger” than Manasseh, David as the “youngest” among his brothers, the “small one” in Isaiah 60:22, and the saviors who come up on mouth Zion (Obadiah 1:21)
Isaiah 60
1 Arise, shine; for your light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon you.
2 For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon you, and his glory shall be seen upon you.
3 And the Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.
4 Lift up your eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to you: your sons shall come from far, and your daughters shall be nursed at your side.
5 Then you shall see, and flow together, and your heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto you, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto you.
6 The multitude of camels shall cover you, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall show forth the praises of the LORD.
7 All the flocks of Kedar [those who’ve been held in darkness] shall be gathered together unto you, the rams of Nebaioth [those who were in endless strife and agitation] shall minister unto you: they shall come up with acceptance on mine altar, and I will glorify the house of my glory.
8 Who are these that fly as a cloud [in the heavens, in the clear air, with understanding], and as the doves to their windows [to see the hastening of the expected end]?
9 Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first [those who fled their vows, will return first, as Jonah from the belly of {Hell on} the earth, calling all to repent], to bring your sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the LORD your God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because he has glorified you.
10 And the sons of strangers shall build up your walls, and their kings shall minister unto you: for in my wrath I smote you, but in my favor have I had mercy on you.
11 Therefore your gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto you the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought.
12 For the nation and kingdom that will not serve you shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted.
13 The glory of Lebanon shall come unto you, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my feet glorious.
14 The sons also of them that afflicted you shall come bending unto you; and all they that despised you shall bow themselves down at the soles of your feet; and they shall call you; The city of the LORD, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
15 Whereas you have been forsaken and hated, so that no man went through you, I will make you an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations.
16 You shall also suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shall suck the breast of kings: and you shall know that I the LORD am your Savior and your Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.
17 For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver, and for wood brass, and for stones iron: I will also make your officers peace, and your exactors righteousness.
18 Violence shall no more be heard in your land, wasting nor destruction within your borders; but you shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise.
19 The sun shall be no more your light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto you: but the LORD shall be unto you an everlasting light, and your God your glory.
20 Your sun shall no more go down; neither shall your moon withdraw itself: for the LORD shall be your everlasting light, and the days of your mourning shall be ended.
21 Your people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land forever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified.
22 A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I the LORD will hasten it in his time. [Obadiah 1:21 And saviors shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’s.]
The word “hasten” is chuwsh, meaning “to hurry; figuratively, to be eager with excitement or enjoyment:–(make) haste(-n), ready.” Its meaning implies the opposite of shame (the disappointment and dishonor when what is foretold, and therefore expected, doesn’t come).
It (chuwsh) is the elation (rapture) occurring when what is expected is seen coming, as we rush toward it, hurrying its meeting. As we know, this is also a facet in the word harpazo, rendered “caught up” in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 (which the false prophets and false teachers of our time have twisted into their fly away false doctrines).
The word (harpazo) means to seize, by force, and is rendered “pulling” in Jude 1:23 where we’re told to, with fear, pull some from the fire caused by their garments spotted by the flesh. The referenced “spot” is that spoken of earlier in the chapter, in verse 12, when describing the false prophets among us, who “are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water [without God-given understanding], carried about of winds [of false doctrine]; trees whose fruit wither [as it now does in the presence of the LORD], without fruit, twice dead [the “second death” in this judgment], plucked up by the roots; 13 Raging waves [proud men] of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness [ignorance] forever.”
Jude 1
14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the LORD comes with ten thousands of his saints,
15 To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.
16 These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaks great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage.
17 But, beloved, remember you the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our LORD Jesus Christ;
18 How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts.
19 These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.
20 But you, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,
21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our LORD Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
22 And of some have compassion, making a difference:
23 And others save with fear, pulling [harpazo] them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh [false prophets, from where we are pulled into His clear air].
24 Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,
25 To the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.
As we’ve seen, the LORD forcefully pulling us to Him, implies we (the church) don’t want to go there, and neither can we get to Him by ourselves (by our own means). He is the only way, through His truth and light. This aspect is what He speaks of, recorded in John 21:18, saying “Truly, truly, I say unto you, When you were young, you girded yourself, and walked where you would: but when you shall be old, you shall stretch forth your hands, and another shall gird you [prepare you with things needed], and carry you where you would not [and could not, go yourself].”
What hastens our return to Him is our, “eager with excitement or enjoyment,” taking His now stretched-out hand. This same event is the calamity that falls upon those who’ve scattered and now hold down (katecho) God’s people, who will hold them down (let) until taken out of the way.
Deuteronomy 32
9 O that they [My people] were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!
30 How should one [a little one who shall become the many thousands, and tens of thousands times tens of thousands] chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the LORD had shut them up?
31 For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges.
32 For their vine is of the vine of Sodom [burning flames], and of the fields of Gomorrah [ruin – of the world now “become without form, and void”]: their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter:
33 Their wine is the poison of dragons [devouring mouths], and the cruel venom of asps, [against which, the son of man must be lifted up, and all who look to Him shall be saved].
34 Is not this laid up in store with me, and sealed up among my treasures?
35 To me belongs vengeance and recompense; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste [chuwsh].
36 For the LORD shall judge his people, and repent himself for his servants, when he sees that their power is gone, and there is none shut up, or left.
37 And he shall say, Where are their gods, their rock [idols] in whom they trusted,
38 Which [false prophets and false teachers with their false god, whose god is their belly] did eat the fat of their sacrifices, and drank the wine of their drink offerings? let them rise up and help you, and be your protection.
39 See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.
40 For I lift up my hand to heaven, and say, I live forever.
41 If I whet my glittering sword, and mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to mine enemies, and will reward them that hate me.
42 I will make mine arrows drunk with blood, and my sword [this word of truth] shall devour flesh; and that with the blood of the slain and of the captives, from the beginning of revenges upon the enemy.
43 Rejoice, O you nations, with his people: for he will avenge the blood of his servants, and will render vengeance to his adversaries, and will be merciful unto his land, and to his people.
This event is described in Job 20, as one of Job’s accusers tells of a truth He’s known, speaking of the disappointment of the hypocrites (of which, he is unknowingly among – who by his own words judges himself).
Job 20
2 Therefore do my thoughts cause me to answer, and for this I make haste [chuwsh].
3 I have heard the check of my reproach, and the spirit of my understanding causes me to answer.
4 Know you not this of old, since man was placed upon earth,
5 That the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment?
6 Though his excellency mount up to the heavens, and his head reach unto the clouds [though he is given understanding, because he doesn’t know the One to whom it appertains];
7 Yet he shall perish forever like his own dung: they which have seen him shall say, Where is he?
8 He shall fly away as a dream [a deception created by his own mind], and shall not be found: yea, he shall be chased away as a vision of the night.
9 The eye also which saw him shall see him no more; neither shall his place any more behold him.
10 His children shall seek to please the poor, and his hands shall restore their goods.
11 His bones are full of the sin of his youth, which shall lie down with him in the dust.
12 Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth, though he hide it under his tongue;
13 Though he spare it, and forsake it not; but keep it still within his mouth [his devouring poison – words and ideas]:
14 Yet his meat in his bowels is turned, it is the gall of asps within him.
15 He has swallowed down riches [God’s people and all truth] and he shall vomit them up again: God shall cast them out of his belly [the belly of Hell].
16 He shall suck the poison of asps [he shall eat His own venomous words]: the viper’s tongue shall slay him.
17 He shall not see the [these] rivers [flowing from the mouth of God], the floods, the brooks of honey and butter.
18 That which he labored for shall he restore, and shall not swallow it down: according to his substance shall the restitution be, and he shall not rejoice therein.
19 Because he has oppressed and has forsaken the poor; because he has violently taken away a house which he built not;
20 Surely he shall not feel quietness in his belly, he shall not save of that which he desired [this is his disappointment and shame].
21 There shall none of his meat be left; therefore shall no man look for his goods.
22 In the fullness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits: every hand of the wicked shall come upon him.
23 When he is about to fill his belly, God shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him, and shall rain it upon him while he is eating.
24 He shall flee from the iron weapon, and the bow of steel shall strike him through.
25 It is drawn, and comes out of the body; yea, the glittering sword comes out of his gall: terrors are upon him [by his own words he shall be judged].
26 All darkness [his ignorance] shall be hid in his secret places: a fire not blown shall consume him; it shall go ill with him that is left in his tabernacle [therefore, “Come out of her, My people, that you be not partakers of her sins, and that you receive not of their plagues.” Revelation 18:4].
27 The heaven shall reveal his iniquity; and the earth shall rise up against him.
28 The increase of his house shall depart, and his goods shall flow away in the day of his wrath.
29 This is the portion of a wicked man from God, and the heritage appointed unto him by God.
The only other time chuwsh appears in Job is in Job 31:5, which we saw in previous posts described as a “heinous crime,” to be “eager with excitement or enjoyment,” thinking you’re going to reach the end you expect when reaching for it through “vanity” and “deceit.”
Job 31
2 For what portion of God is there from above? and what inheritance [the end to be expected] of the Almighty from on high?
3 Is not destruction to the wicked? and a strange punishment to the workers of iniquity?
4 Does not he see my ways, and count all my steps?
5 If I have walked with vanity, or if my foot has hasted [chuwsh] to deceit;
6 Let me be weighed in an even balance that God may know mine integrity.
11 For this [verse 5] is a heinous crime; yea, it is an iniquity to be punished by the judges.
12 For it [verse 5] is a fire [of Hell] that consumes to destruction [‘abaddown], and would root out all mine increase.
13 If I did despise the cause of my manservant or of my maidservant, when they contended with me; [hereafter are the questions of judgment – judge yourself: what have you done, are your works vanity and deceit, as God sees them and has properly assessed?]
14 What then shall I do when God rises up? and when he visits, what shall I answer him?
The “ambassador” mentioned in Obadiah 1:1 is the chief savior sent among the heathen; meaning to those who don’t know it’s the LORD in Him, come to save and deliver them. The rumor (shmuw’ah) He reports calls God’s people to “rise up” against Edom: the enemies mixed among us making war against us, calling it peace, and thereby, with deception destroying us.
Revelation 10
7 But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel [the arch messenger with the final message], when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he has declared to his servants the prophets.
8 And the voice which I heard from heaven spoke unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which stands upon the sea and upon the earth.
9 And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make your belly bitter, but it shall be in your mouth sweet as honey.
10 And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.
11 And he said unto me, You must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.
Ezekiel 21
7 And it shall be, when they say unto you, Wherefore sigh you? that you shall answer, For the tidings [shmuw’ah – the report and doctrine from the mouth of the LORD through His messenger, His ambassador risen up in {sent into} the midst of confusion]; because it comes: and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be feeble, and every spirit shall faint, and all knees shall be weak as water: behold, it comes, and shall be brought to pass, says the LORD God.
8 Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
9 Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says the LORD; Say, A sword, a sword is sharpened, and also furbished:
10 It is sharpened to make a sore slaughter; it is furbished that it may glitter: should we then make mirth? it [when all discourse turned into ignorance and confusion] contemn the rod of my son [the wicked prince sitting on the throne], as every tree.
11 And he has given it [this word as a sword] to be furbished, that it may be handled: this sword is sharpened, and it is furbished, to give it into the hand of the slayer.
12 Cry and howl, son of man: for it shall be upon my people, it shall be upon all the princes of Israel: terrors by reason of the sword shall be upon my people: smite therefore upon your thigh.
13 Because it is a trial, and what if the sword contemn even the rod? it shall be no more, says the LORD God.
24 Therefore thus says the LORD God; Because you have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are discovered, so that in all your doings your sins do appear; because, I say, that you are come to remembrance, you shall be taken with the hand.
25 And you, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end,
26 Thus says the LORD God; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall not be the same: exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high.
27 I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he comes whose right it is; and I will give it to him.
The messenger sent (the ambassador loosed from confusion) is the one whose work Elihu (Jehovah God speaking in him, heard but unknown) describes in Job 33:23.
Job 33
14 For God speaks once, yea twice, yet man perceives it not.
15 In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep [mass ignorance] fall upon men, in slumbering upon the bed;
16 Then he opens the ears of men, and seals their instruction,
17 That he may withdraw man from his purpose, and hide pride from man.
18 He keeps back his soul from the pit, and his life from perishing by the sword.
22 Yea, his soul draws near unto the grave, and his life to the destroyers.
23 If there be a messenger with him, an interpreter, one among a thousand, to show unto man his uprightness:
24 Then he is gracious unto him, and says, Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom.
25 His flesh shall be fresher than a child’s: he shall return to the days of his youth:
26 He shall pray unto God, and he will be favorable unto him: and he shall see his face with joy: for he will render unto man his righteousness.
27 He looks upon men, and if any say, I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it profited me not;
28 He will deliver his soul from going into the pit, and his life shall see the light [understanding that brings men to life from the dead].
29 Lo, all these things works God oftentimes with man,
30 To bring back his soul from the pit, to be enlightened with the light [understanding] of the living.
The word rendered “sent,” in Obadiah 1:1, is the Hebrew word shalach, meaning “to send away, for, or out (in a great variety of applications).” The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon gives its several other meanings as “to let loose; to let go, set free; and to shoot forth (of branches [tsemach – The Branch]).”
This meaning is cryptically used in Hebrews 13 as the writer reveals the name of the messenger sent: the Branch that shoots forth, the man of God, the soldier of God’s choosing.
Hebrews 13
23 Know you that our brother Timothy is set at liberty [sent on this mission]; with whom, if he comes shortly, I will see you.
The Greek word rendered “set at liberty” is apoluo, meaning “from 575 [apo – away or off] and 3089 [luo – loosen]; to free fully, i.e. (literally) relieve, release, dismiss (reflexively, depart), or (figuratively) let die, pardon or (specially) divorce.”
John 19
10 Then said Pilate unto him, Speak you not unto me? know you not that I have power to crucify you, and have power to release [apoluo] you?
11 Jesus answered, You could have no power at all against me, except it were given you from above:
John 10
17 Therefore does my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.
18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.
Act 2
22 You men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as you yourselves also know:
23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:
24 Whom God has raised up, having loosed [luo] the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be held of it.
25 For David speaks concerning him, I foresaw the LORD always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved:
26 Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope:
27 Because you will not leave my soul in hell, neither will you suffer your Holy One to see corruption.
28 You have made known to me the ways of life; you shall make me full of joy with your countenance.
Isaiah 4
2 In that day shall The Branch [tsemach] of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel.
3 And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem:
4 When the LORD shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.
5 And the LORD will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defense.
6 And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the day time from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain.
Malachi 3
1 Behold, I will send [shalach – have set at liberty] my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the LORD, whom you seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom you delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.
2 But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap:
3 And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.
Malachi 4
1 For, behold, the day comes, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that comes shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
2 But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and you shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.
3 And you shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, says the LORD of hosts.
4 Remember you the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.
5 Behold, I will send [shalach] you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:
6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
1 Timothy 6
11 But you, O man of God, flee these things [the love of money that subverts the sound mind]; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.
12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto you are also called, and have professed a good profession before many witnesses.
13 I give you charge in the sight of God, who quicken all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession;
14 That you keep this commandment without spot, unrebukable, until the appearing of our LORD Jesus Christ:
15 Which in his times he shall show, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and LORD of lords;
16 Who only has immortality, dwelling in the light [understanding] which no man can approach unto; whom no man has seen, nor can see: to whom be honor and power everlasting. Amen.
2 Timothy 2
1 You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
2 And the things that you have heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit you to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.
3 You therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
4 No man that wars entangles himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who has chosen him to be a soldier.
5 And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully.
6 The husbandman that labors must be first partaker of the fruits [acting upon what he has learned].
7 Consider what I say; and the LORD give you understanding [light] in all things.
8 Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel:
9 Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound.
10 Therefore I endure all things for the elect’s sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.
11 It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him:
12 If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:
13 If we believe not, yet he abides faithful: he cannot deny himself [and, therefore, I confess He is alive in me].
14 Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the LORD that they strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers.
15 Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;
26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.
2 Timothy 3
1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come [and have come as foretold].
2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
4 Traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,
7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Job 38
Thus says the LORD, “Can you send [shalach] lightning [understanding], that they may go and say unto you, Here we are?”
Psalms 17
1 Hear the right, O LORD, attend unto my cry, give ear unto my prayer, that goes not out of feigned lips.
2 Let my sentence come forth from your presence; let your eyes behold the things that are equal.
3 You have proved mine heart; you have visited me in the night; you have tried me, and shall find nothing; I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.
4 Concerning the works of men, by the word of your lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer.
5 Hold up my goings in your paths, that my footsteps slip not.
6 I have called upon you, for you will hear me, O God: incline your ear unto me, and hear my speech.
7 Show your marvelous lovingkindness, O you that save by your right hand them which put their trust in you from those that rise up against them.
8 Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of your wings,
9 From the wicked that oppress me, from my deadly enemies, who compass me about.
10 They are enclosed in their own fat: with their mouth they speak proudly.
11 They have now compassed us in our steps: they have set their eyes bowing down to the earth;
12 Like as a lion that is greedy of his prey, and as it were a young lion lurking in secret places.
13 Arise, O LORD, disappoint him, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, which is your sword:
14 From men which are your hand, O LORD, from men of the world, which have their portion in this life, and whose belly you fill with your hid treasure: they are full of children, and leave the rest of their substance to their babes.
15 As for me, I will behold your face [paniym – presence] in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with your likeness.
Psalms 18
16 He sent [shalach] from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters.
