Edom's fundamental flaw is hatred of Israel, rooted in the pride of Esau, who nursed wounded feelings of superiority because Jacob received the blessing. God commanded Israel to treat the Edomites as brothers (Deuteronomy 2:2-6; 23:7), so Obadiah writes with sadness and an imploring tone, a brotherly warning that some might yet turn, though they will not. Edomite hatred expressed itself in gloating over Israel's calamities, pillaging, selling captives into slavery, seizing territory, and joining Babylon against Jerusalem in 586 BC (Psalm 137; Ezekiel 25, 35, 36; Amos 1:11-12; Joel 3:19). God sums up their guilt in one word, chamas, "violence," and because Israel is the apple of His eye, attacking her is war against God Himself. Edom has refused to bow to His will that the older serve the younger. Having sown violence, Edom will reap it: she will be ransacked far more thoroughly than thieves or grape-gatherers would strip her, with nothing left, even hidden treasures. She will also lose the wisdom for which Teman was famous, and will not perceive that her allies are betraying her. Her leaders and warriors will be dismayed and slaughtered, and Edom will be cut off forever when God intervenes in the last days. The source suggests the similarity of chamas to Hamas may hint at Edom's modern identity.

Edom's great sin is violence against its brother Jacob, and the repeated phrase "in the day" in Obadiah 11-14 points to the time when that iniquity comes to a head: the Great Tribulation, the time of Jacob's trouble (Jeremiah 30:5-7; Matthew 24:21-22). The Edomites stood aloof, too proud to stand with Israel, and so revealed that their loyalties lay with Israel's enemy. Read in the Hebrew future tense, verses 12-14 are a stern warning against gloating, looting, and betraying Israel's fugitives in that day. Edomites may have little power then, since God will strip away their wealth, wisdom, and courage (Obadiah 6-9), but they can still mock and exploit Israel's weakness, as in the celebrations seen after September 11, 2001. In the Day of the Lord, the biblical law of retribution applies: "As you have done, it shall be done to you." Edom and its confederates will drink the cup of God's wrath until they drink themselves out of existence (Obadiah 16). God's sovereign choice of Jacob over Esau (Malachi 1:2-3) means opposite destinies: deliverance on Mount Zion for Jacob, and no survivor for the house of Esau, though perhaps a few converted Edomites might join spiritual Israel. All the proud and gloating will be annihilated. Israel will be a fire devouring Edom and will resettle the whole Promised Land. Saviors, glorified saints who return with Christ, will judge the mountains of Esau and help govern the earth under God's Kingdom.