Who was Obadiah and when did he live? Nobody knows for sure. His prophecy, one chapter only, was pointed at Edom. The nation of Edom was the descendants of Esau, the oldest son of Isaac and Rebecca. (Gen. 36).
Obadiah’s message was about a family problem. First, Esau wasn’t very wise in his early years. He went hunting for food one day but didn’t find any. When he came back to camp, he was hungry. Jacob was cooking some stew, and Esau wanted some. “Boy, am I starved! Give me a bite of that red stuff there!” (From this came his nickname ‘Edom”, which means ‘Red Stuff’). Jacob saw his chance and said he would give Esau some in exchange for his birthright. Esau made a vow to God selling his birthright to Jacob. (Gen. 25:29-34).
Second, when Isaac got old and couldn’t see very well, he called Esau and asked him to go hunting for a deer, cook it the way he (Isaac) liked and bring it to him, and he would give Esau the blessings that were for a firstborn son. While Esau was gone, Rebecca conspired with Jacob, whom she liked better, to deceive Isaac and steal the birthright blessing. When Esau found out, he threatened to kill Jacob. (Gen. 27).
After 20 years, Esau finally forgave Jacob, but even then they did not have a close relationship. I can imagine Esau related to his children what happened between him and his brother with maybe a hint of “never trust Jacob and his line”.
Even after 400 years in Egypt, the descendants of Jacob, the Israelites, could not get Esau’s descendants (the Edomites) to allow them to pass through their land to get to Canaan. Centuries of hard feelings continued until around 586 BCE when the Babylonians captured and exiled the Israelis. The Edomites aided the Babylonians with a “good riddance” policy. This is the background for Obadiah.
Edom’s allies turned against the Edomites, defeated them, and chased them from their land. The nation completely disappeared from history. They apparently settled in the area of Gaza and probably blended with other people and eventually formed the country known as Idumea with a much smaller land mass.
Bitterness can cause negative consequences. That is why Jesus told us to love one another just as He loves us.