Is Obadiah saying that man would live among the stars?
Question:
On your website is a question about "What does the Bible say about man inhabiting space?" Wouldn't that include man living on other planets and their moons? I think Obadiah 1:4 in the New King James Version says it all: "'Though you ascend as high as the eagle, And though you set your nest among the stars, From there I will bring you down,' says the Lord."
Answer:
"The vision of Obadiah. Thus says the Lord GOD concerning Edom -- we have heard a report from the LORD, and an envoy has been sent among the nations saying, "Arise and let us go against her for battle -- behold, I will make you small among the nations; you are greatly despised. The arrogance of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rock, in the loftiness of your dwelling place, who say in your heart, 'Who will bring me down to earth?' Though you build high like the eagle, though you set your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down," declares the LORD. If thieves came to you, if robbers by night -- O how you will be ruined! -- would they not steal only until they had enough? If grape gatherers came to you, would they not leave some gleanings? O how Esau will be ransacked, and his hidden treasures searched out!" (Obadiah 1-6).
When taken in its context, we see that God is talking about the small nation of Edom on the southern border of Judah. The region was mountainous with many cliffs. Edom apparently thought it was well protected from attacks because of scaling the cliffs to reach their dwellings.
The phrasing of the prophecy is in hyperbole -- a stating of things in the extreme. Even if Edom managed to put homes so high that they were in the stars, God would still bring the nation down. It is neither saying that Edom had done this, nor that it would do this. Therefore, this figure of speech doesn't answer the question that was asked.
