The true Church; or, the community of the good: 1. A beneficent power.
"But upon Mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions." Obadiah here commences his predictions respecting the restoration of the Jews from Babylonish captivity, their reoccupation of Caanan, and the reign of the Messiah. While the surrounding nations were to disappear, the Jews should regain possession of the land of their fathers. Mount Zion may be taken here as the symbol of the true Church of God, that is, the community of godly men existing on this earth. In this sense it is referred to in Hebrews. Here the whole passage may be taken as representing this true Church, or godly community, in three aspects—as a beneficent power; a consuming power; and an aggressive power. The subject of the sketch is on the Church as the beneficent power, which we have in the seventeenth verse. Three thoughts are suggested by the words concerning the Church as a beneficent power.
I. IT IS CONNECTED WITH DELIVERANCE. "Upon Mount Zion shall be deliverance." Mount Zion was the asylum for those who had escaped. In Mount Zion shall be the escaped. From Babylonian captivity and suffering they returned to Mount Zion, or Jerusalem, and were safe. There they enjoyed their old protection. In the true Church there is spiritual safety; it is a refuge that is built upon a rock, and the gates of hell cannot prevail against it. It is watched by the infinite love and guarded by the almighty power of Christ; its blessed Keeper never slumbers nor sleeps. Oh, ye imperilled spirits pursued by the powers of hell, led by the devil captives, and sold under sin, flee to this Mount Zion, this true Church of God, this community of godly men, which is at once the organ and the residence of Christ.
II. IT IS CONNECTED WITH PURITY. "There shall be holiness." Moral pollution, or sin, is the source of all the calamities that befall men. Mount Zion is a consecrated spot. If there is holiness anywhere it is in connection with that community of men called the Church, which embraces the principles, cherishes the spirit, follows the example of the Son of God. True, the members are not perfect yet; but they are in the process of cleansing, and are already holy as compared with the pollutions of the ungodly world.
III. IT IS CONNECTED WITH ENJOYMENT. "And the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions." "Though the houses of Jacob and Joseph are here spoken of separately, it was not the intention of the prophet to teach that the two kingdoms of Judah and Israel would be re-established. Yet the special mention of Joseph clearly shows that the ten tribes were to return at the same time, and jointly with Judah and Benjamin, to possess the land of Palestine and the neighbouring regions (see Isaiah 11:12-14; Hosea 1:11). The restored Hebrews would unitedly subdue the Idumeans; which they did in the time of John Hyrcanus, who compelled them to be circumcised, and so incorporated them with the Jews that they henceforward formed part of the nation." The word "possess" here means enjoy—enjoy their possessions. The community of the true Church alone enjoy their possessions. They are a happy people; all things are theirs; they are full of joy; they even glory in tribulation. "Blessed am the people that know the joyful sound!" (Psalms 89:15).—D.T.