Edom's demise is foretold with a profound sense of sadness, as a lament for a people caught in rebellion against God. There is a fleeting hope that some Edomites might heed the warning and turn from the path of destruction. Yet, the prophecy is grim: Edom will not merely be defeated but utterly annihilated. Unlike a thief who takes only items of value or grape gatherers who leave some fruit behind, Edom's punishment will spare nothing. Everything, even hidden treasures, will be searched out and taken, leaving the land bare as if ransacked by a pillaging army. The prophet expresses grief over this terrible fate, lamenting how Esau will be cut off and searched out. Beyond the loss of wealth, Edom will suffer the diminution of their renowned wisdom and understanding. Their sagacity, once a hallmark of their people, will vanish, leaving them unable to recognize their own peril. Allies and confederates will betray them, showing ambassadors to the border while Edom remains blind to the treachery, sitting down to eat with false friends unaware of the trap being laid. The consequence of this lost wisdom is dire: Edomite leaders and warriors will lose their courage, leading to their complete destruction. Edom will reap what she has sown, rooted in a perpetual hatred born of pride and envy. This hatred, a fundamental flaw, fueled their atrocities against Judah, joining forces with enemies to revel in destruction and commit violence against the defenseless. God takes great offense to these acts, promising that Edom shall be cut off forever for their crimes against His chosen people.

God, in the prophetic book of Obadiah, repeatedly emphasizes a specific time of judgment for Edom, using the phrase "in the day" or "on the day" as a refrain to highlight the moment when the Edomites' iniquity seals their fate. In Obadiah 8, God introduces this period as "in that day," when Edom's allies betray them and their wise men, destroyed by God's hand, fail to foresee the trap set for them. Subsequent verses clarify that this day belongs not to Edom but to their brother Jacob, marked by distress, calamity, captivity, and destruction. God declares in Obadiah 15 that the day of the Lord upon all nations is near, a time of confusion and rebellion when He will intervene to resolve the chaos instigated by the adversary. Edom's great sin, as named in Obadiah 10, is violence against their brother Jacob, with further verses detailing their transgressions. During this distressing time, identified as a period of intense hardship for Israel, the Edomites alive then will gloat over Israel's misfortune. Though lacking significant power, they will mock, pillage, and exploit any weakness, even as God removes their wealth, wisdom, and courage, as stated in Obadiah 6-9. In the Day of the Lord, following this period of tribulation, God proclaims in Obadiah 15-16 that Edom shall drink the wine of His wrath, facing retribution for their actions. As they have done to others, so it shall be done to them, with their reprisal returning upon their own heads. God warns that they shall drink continually until they are as though they had never been, a dire threat of being wiped from existence in His day of vengeance for their gloating and feasting over Israel's suffering on His holy mountain.

Esau, the elder son of Isaac, received a prophecy that was more a curse than a blessing, foretelling that his descendants, the Edomites, would inhabit barren, dry lands far from fertility and face constant conflict while serving Jacob's offspring, with only occasional rebellion. Driven by intense hatred for his brother Jacob, Esau moved his family and possessions away from Canaan to the land of Seir, a mountainous region east of Sinai between the Dead Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba. There, he built a considerable following, including many Horites, relatives of his wife Aholibamah, who were the original inhabitants of Seir. Over time, the descendants of Esau dispossessed and destroyed the Horites, taking their place and becoming identified as both Seir and Edom. In the end-time prophecy of Obadiah, the shortest book in the Old Testament, Edom's fate is laid out with stark clarity. The Edomites continue to dwell in their inhospitable, rocky territory south of the Dead Sea, secure in their pride and belief in their invincibility due to their impregnable fortresses carved from stone. Yet, God Himself declares His purpose to bring Edom down, sending a messenger among the nations to form a military alliance against her. This alliance, though driven by human politics and diplomacy, is ultimately guided by God's will to deflate Edom's national pride. The root of Edom's problem is the pride of their heart, a haughtiness that echoes Esau's own arrogance, boiling up like a stew under heat, making them believe they are self-reliant and untouchable. God challenges this pride, decreeing that no matter how high Edom exalts herself, from there He will bring her down to the ground.