Most people don’t know the book of Obadiah even exists, let alone what it contains. In fact, you would be hard pushed to find a Christian who could tell you anything about it. You could make a good case for Obadiah being the least among Bible books—it’s certainly the shortest. It isn’t quoted in the New Testament and, to be honest, it isn’t very quotable.

But, as Andrew Thomson demonstrates throughout this practically applied commentary, we can’t dismiss Obadiah as irrelevant. It warns about the approaching ‘day of the LORD’, a day that is relevant to us all. Obadiah wants us to live our lives now in light of that day: to be sobered by it, but also to be spurred on by it.

To Edom that was bad news, but to us it can be good news—the gospel!

Although the Bible can seem incomprehensible, the Opening Up the Bible series is designed to provide a basic grounding and introduction to the individual books within it. These simple (but not simplistic) tools will help individuals and small groups understand God’s Word, no matter what background or knowledge they already have.

Each volume takes you section-by-section through the covered book, opening up God's word with wisdom, insight, and practical application. Additionally, the "For Further Study" points at the end of a section provide guidance to other areas of scripture that further illuminate the lesson, and the "To Think About and Discuss" section provides thought-provoking questions that can be used by both individuals and groups to gain understanding and apply the subject matter to life today.

Andrew Thomson has been pastor of Kesgrave Baptist Church, Suffolk, since 2010. He became a Christian through a university mission while studying at Oxford and ran a Christian bookshop for some years before being called to the ministry. He is the author of the commentaries on 1 and 2 Chronicles and Isaiah in the Opening Up series. He and his wife, Helen, are blessed with three children.