Because of the violence against your brother Jacob, you will be covered with shame; you will be destroyed forever. – Obadiah 1:10

Today’s Scripture Reading (October 27, 2016): Obadiah 1

I don’t remember a time when there Israel did not exist. I have read about it in my history books. I recognize the titanic struggle that the nations of the Middle East have gone through to give Israel a home in the midst of the Levant. And I know that that fight continues today, almost seventy years after the rebirth of Israel. But I have no first-hand knowledge of a world, as it existed for almost 1900 years, without a country named Israel. For me, at least experientially, Israel has always been there.

The question, “Does Israel have a right to exist?” is an important one. And in many ways, it is also unanswerable. History is of no help. Yes, this is the traditional stomping grounds of the descendants of Jacob, but Palestine has a history that extends back before the existence of Israel in the Middle East, so an argument on the grounds of history for the existence of Israel makes little sense. But maybe two realities do argue for the existence of a nation called Israel. First, the Israeli people have maintained a culture, an identity, and a religion for the 1900 years that they went without a country. That in itself is an astounding accomplishment. Second, and this is the argument that held sway after the Second World War, the Jewish people have a history of being persecuted and put down, a history that reached its pinnacle in the concentration camps of Adolf Hitler. Maybe more than any other homeless culture, Israel needed a place where they could call home and worship and live without fear of someone deciding that their lifestyle and very existence was offensive. And so, for as long as I have been alive – and a bit longer, there has been an Israel.

Israel lost its home in the First Jewish-Roman War (66-73 C.E.). The Temple and the City of Jerusalem were destroyed in about the middle of the war, around the year 70 C.E., and at that moment Israel ceased to exist. While the Jewish wars would rage until 136 C.E., Jewish control over Jerusalem and Israel was a feat that was not accomplished again until after the Second World War in the 20^th Century.  But Israel did not fight against Rome by itself. They were joined by the Edomites. Maybe this is not a huge surprise, after all, the family of King Herod who ruled over Israel were Edomites, not Jews - they were descendants of Esau and not Jacob. For most of their history, the Jews and Edomites warred and cheered against each other, but at this moment they were united against a common enemy – Rome. Herod Agrippa II, the Herod that we know of from his dealings with Paul, tried to convince his countrymen not to go to war with Rome, but he was ejected from Jerusalem at the beginning of the First Jewish-Roman War. Israel was destroyed in that war, but so was Edom.

And it is at this moment in time that the Edomites disappear from the pages of history. Herod Agrippa II would die childless in Rome in the mid 90’s C.E., and with his death, Edom would officially come to an end. Scholars point back to this prophecy in Obadiah for the reason of their demise – Esau (meaning the Edomites) opposed Jacob (meaning Israel) through most of their history. And by opposing Israel, they were opposing the movements of God. Through the 1900 years when there was no nation of Israel, God would protect her. But Edom would disappear forever, just as Obadiah had prophecied.    

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 2 Chronicles 18