Obadiah 1:5

"“If thieves came to you, if robbers by night—oh, what disaster awaits you—wouldn’t they only steal until they had enough? If grape pickers came to you, wouldn’t they leave some gleaning grapes?"

Key Reflection

In Obadiah 1:5, the prophet contrasts the fate of the Edomites with that of ordinary thieves and grape pickers. For the original audience, this imagery would highlight the stark difference between temporary, limited theft by everyday criminals and the complete devastation coming upon them. Thieves and grape pickers, who come for a specific purpose, would only take what they need and leave the rest, but the disaster described here is so severe that it suggests total destruction without any remnants left behind.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

If thieves came to thee -The prophet describes their future punishment, by contrast with that which, as a marauding people, they well knew. Thieves and robbers spoil only for their petty end. They take what comes to hand; what they can, they carry off shortness of time, difficulty of transport, necessity of providing for a retreat, limit their plunder. When they have gorged themselves, they depart. “Their” plunder is limited. The “grape-gatherer” leaves gleanings. God promises to His own people, under the same image, that they should have a remnant leftIsaiah 17:6;Isaiah 24:13.

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