Obadiah 15-18 For the day of the LORD is near upon all the nations

Introduction

As we have been working through Obadiah, we have seen that it is a heavy book. It builds toward a sobering truth, the Day of the LORD is coming. What was once revealed in glimpses against individual nations will one day be poured out upon every nation at once. The message is dark and somber, yet it does not leave us without hope. There is a hope available to all who believe. Though it may seem hidden at first, the key of salvation has already been given and secured for us through the Gospel of Christ. But if we reject Him, we are no different than Edom, who mocked God’s faithfulness until the day wrath came.

The Day of the LORD for all nations

Obadiah declares that the day of the LORD is near upon all the nations and that as you have done, it shall be done to you, your deeds shall return on your own head. This day is not a secret, and we should not be ashamed to speak of it.

The prophets spoke of it repeatedly. Alas for the day, for the day of the LORD is near, and as destruction from the Almighty it comes (Joel 1:15). Wail, for the day of the LORD is near, as destruction from the Almighty it will come (Isaiah 13:6). Jeremiah calls it a day of vengeance to avenge Himself on His foes, when the sword shall devour and be sated and drink its fill of their blood, for the Lord GOD of hosts holds a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates (Jeremiah 46:10). Ezekiel describes it as a day of clouds and a time of doom for the nations (Ezekiel 30:2 to 3). Amos warns, Woe to you who desire the day of the LORD, why would you have the day of the LORD, it is darkness and not light (Amos 5:18). Zephaniah says it is a great day, near and hastening fast, a day of wrath, distress, anguish, ruin, devastation, darkness, gloom, clouds, and thick darkness (Zephaniah 1:14 to 15).

The New Testament confirms this reality. The day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar (2 Peter 3:10). Jesus says, Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end (Revelation 22:12 to 13).

The LORD has always raised up prophets to declare that all creation will one day give account to Him. And now we know clearly who the Judge is.

The Judge revealed

What the prophets once revealed in shadow has now been made clear. It is fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth. God has fixed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom He has appointed, and He has given assurance to all by raising Him from the dead (Acts 17:30 to 31). The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son (John 5:22). We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ (Second Corinthians 5:10). The Son of Man is going to come with His angels in the glory of His Father, and then He will repay each person according to what he has done (Matthew 16:27).

His coming was not a sudden reaction, as though God the Father were scrambling to solve a problem. It was His sovereign plan from the beginning.

For all nations

Paul explains that God’s judgment is comprehensive. All who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. The work of the law is written on every heart, and consciences bear witness, so that thoughts accuse or even excuse on the day when God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus (Romans 2:12 to 16).

A common objection raises the question of those who have not heard. This overlooks the clear command of evangelism and missions, the active warfare of the enemy who seeks to hinder the gospel from reaching the nations, and even the well known political resistance tied to Israel. Still, the law of God is already written and known across the world. What must be made just as clear, and just as exhaustive, is the finished work of Jesus Christ.

Scripture shows that judgment will come by the law for those under the law, and judgment will come without the law for those apart from it. In the end, the same standard people used in life will be applied to them. Think of how often someone justifies a demand by saying, Because I said so. That same measure will be turned back as their own bar of judgment. This drives home the point, Jesus is the only hope of salvation.

Glimpses of the cup

Obadiah says, as you have drunk on my holy mountain, so all the nations shall drink continually, they shall drink and swallow, and shall be as though they had never been. We have already seen glimpses of this in history. The LORD rained sulfur and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah and overthrew the cities, the valley, the inhabitants, and what grew on the ground (Genesis 19:24 to 25). An entire generation of Israel perished in the wilderness because of unbelief so that not one remained except Caleb and Joshua, according to the word of the LORD (Numbers 26:64 to 65). These were previews. What was seen on a smaller scale will be revealed globally in the Day of the LORD.

The cup drunk by Christ

Here Obadiah turns. But in Mount Zion there shall be those who escape, and it shall be holy. How can there be escape if all nations must drink the cup of wrath?

Jesus Himself tells us. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink (Matthew 20:22). In Gethsemane He prayed, My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me, nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will, and again, My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done (Matthew 26:39 and 42). To Peter He said, Shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me (John 18:11).

On the cross we see it fulfilled. Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said to fulfill the Scripture, I thirst. A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to His mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, It is finished, and He bowed His head and gave up His spirit (John 19:28 to 30).

What cup was He drinking if not the wrath of God? He drained it fully. He thirsted because He had taken the last drop. He declared, It is finished, because the cup of wrath was empty.

Christ crucified for our transgressions

This is the foundation of our faith, the very reason we gather and worship Christ. The wrath that should have been poured out on us for our sins was taken by Him. Then what sin can remain uncovered by His work? What stain is too deep for Him to cleanse Other than outright rejection of His gift, what could be too far gone for Him to absolve?

• Disobedience, like Adam
• Fear of the world, like Gideon
• Adultery and murder, like David
• Idolatry, like Paul
• Ignorance and opposition, like Peter

Christ bore it all. He removed our condemnation by taking the full penalty in His body. If He has paid the debt in full, what bill remains for us to cover? Our hope is now secure, we will enter the heavenly city under His name.

The blueprint in Genesis

This salvation is not a new pattern. From the beginning, God has been covering sinners. Adam and Eve tried to cover their shame with fig leaves, but it was insufficient (Genesis 3:7). God Himself clothed them with garments of skin through sacrifice (Genesis 3:21). This was the blueprint. The guilty are covered through the shedding of blood, and we now can see the meaning of the crucifixion.

That pattern moved forward through every offering, and every lamb, until it was fulfilled in Christ. God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, and whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. This is the judgment, the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil (John 3:17 to 19). Now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in His divine forbearance He had passed over former sins. It was to show His righteousness at the present time, so that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus (Romans 3:21 to 26). Therefore He had to be made like His brothers in every respect, so that He might become a merciful and faithful High Priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people (Hebrews 2:17). In this is love, not that we have loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins (First John 4:7 to 10).

The Lamb has drunk the cup.

Peace with God

Where does this lead us? It leads to peace with God. Since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him we have obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us (Romans 5:1 to 5). We no longer need to be uncertain about our standing. We are His children, beloved, cared for, protected, and called to glorify His name and exalt the King. And we can rest with confidence, knowing it is not up to us to maintain this status. Jesus has finished the work. Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, In you shall all the nations be blessed. So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith (Galatians 3:7 to 9).

Nothing can separate us from His love.

Conclusion

1. The Day of the LORD is still coming.
2. The mercy of God is revealed in Christ.
3. The cup of wrath was taken at the Cross.
4. Peace with God is found in trusting Jesus.

The wrath of God is real. The Day of the LORD is near. But the cup has been drunk by Christ. The only question left is whether you will believe Him, or call Him a liar. Or will you continue in disbelief and laugh at the faithfulness of God like Edom did.

Scripture References

• Joel 1:15 – The prophets consistently warned that the Day of the LORD would bring destruction from the Almighty.
• Isaiah 13:6 – A call to wail, because the Day of the LORD comes with unstoppable judgment.
• Jeremiah 46:10 – The Day is described as vengeance, when the sword devours in God’s justice.
• Ezekiel 30:2–3 – The Day is a time of clouds and doom for the nations.
• Amos 5:18 – A warning that the Day of the LORD is not light but darkness for the unrepentant.
• Zephaniah 1:14–15 – A vivid description of the Day as wrath, anguish, ruin, and gloom.
• 2 Peter 3:10 – The Day of the Lord will come like a thief, bringing cosmic destruction and judgment.
• Revelation 22:12–13 – Jesus promises to return soon, bringing recompense as the Alpha and Omega.
• Acts 17:30–31 – God has appointed a day and a man, Jesus Christ, to judge the world in righteousness.
• John 5:22 – The Father has entrusted all judgment to the Son.
• 2 Corinthians 5:10 – All must appear before the judgment seat of Christ to receive what is due.
• Matthew 16:27 – The Son of Man will come in glory and repay each person according to their deeds.
• Romans 2:12–16 – God will judge both Jew and Gentile, for His law is written on every heart.
• Genesis 19:24–25 – The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah foreshadows final judgment.
• Numbers 26:64–65 – An entire generation perished in the wilderness for unbelief.
• Matthew 20:20–23 – Jesus speaks of the cup He must drink, pointing to His unique mission of suffering.
• Matthew 26:39, 42 – In Gethsemane, Jesus prays about the cup, submitting to the Father’s will.
• John 18:11 – Jesus accepts the cup given to Him by the Father.
• John 19:28–30 – On the cross, Jesus thirsts, receives sour wine, and declares, “It is finished.”
• Genesis 3:7 – Adam and Eve attempt to cover their shame with fig leaves, but it is insufficient.
• Genesis 3:21 – God provides garments of skin, pointing to covering through sacrifice.
• John 3:17–19 – God sent His Son to save, yet many reject the light for darkness.
• Romans 3:21–26 – The righteousness of God is revealed through faith in Christ, who is the propitiation for sins.
• Hebrews 2:17 – Jesus became like His brothers to be a merciful High Priest who makes propitiation.
• 1 John 4:7–10 – God’s love is revealed in sending His Son as the propitiation for sins.
• Romans 5:1–5 – Justified by faith, we have peace with God and hope that does not disappoint.
• Galatians 3:7–9 – Those of faith are sons of Abraham, blessed along with him through the promise.