Verses 17-21 portray the issue of Jehovah’s dealing: Jehovah will save the house of Jacob and sanctify them (v. 17a); the house of Jacob will overcome Edom (v. 18) and will possess Edom’s possessions (vv. 17, 19-20); and saviors will come up on Mount Zion to judge the mountain of Esau, and the kingdom will be Jehovah’s (v. 21). All the aforementioned items were fulfilled at the time of the Maccabees, and they will be much more fulfilled in glory at the time of restoration for the kingdom of God (Matt. 19:28; Rev. 11:15). The Maccabees, taking Mount Zion as their ground to judge Edom, gained a victory over Antiochus Epiphanes in about 165 B.C. (Dan. 8:9-14 and notes; Zech. 9:11-17 and notes). The victory of the Maccabees was a type of the victory Israel will gain immediately before the age of restoration.
The Minor Prophets, including Obadiah, reveal that the nations used by God to chastise sinful Israel do things in excess. Therefore, God will come in to judge the nations. This judgment will issue in Israel’s gaining the victory and enlarging their territory for the kingdom of God on earth, especially for God’s kingdom in the time of restoration. Cf. note Gen. 15:181.