Jeremiah 49:1-19
“Concerning the
Ammonites, thus saith the LORD; Hath Israel no sons? hath he no heir? why then
doth their king inherit Gad, and his people dwell in his cities? Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the
LORD, that I will cause an alarm of war to be heard in Rabbah of the Ammonites;
and it shall be a desolate heap, and her daughters shall be burned with fire:
then shall Israel be heir unto them that were his heirs, saith the LORD.
Howl, O Heshbon, for
Ai is spoiled: cry, ye daughters of Rabbah, gird you with sackcloth; lament,
and run to and fro by the hedges; for their king shall go into captivity, and
his priests and his princes together.
Wherefore gloriest thou in the valleys, thy flowing valley, O
backsliding daughter? that trusted in her treasures, saying, Who shall come
unto me? Behold, I will bring a fear
upon thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts, from all those that be about thee; and
ye shall be driven out every man right forth; and none shall gather up him that
wandereth. And afterward I will bring again the captivity of the children of
Ammon, saith the LORD.” (Jeremiah 49:1-6)
The Ammonites were descendants of Lot and lived to the east
of the Jordan River. God says that they
were treating the land like Israel had no future or heirs to claim the land As Assyrian power waned they had crossed the
Jordan, claiming land as far west as Ai.
As the northern kingdom of Israel lost power the Ammonites had taken
over the land along the Jordan, claiming it as their own. As the Babylonians took over the Assyrian
Empire they were taking regions the Ammonites had claimed. Eventually they would take all of Ammon as
well and when they finished, the Ammonites would be completely dispersed and cease
to exist as a nation, although eventually God will set them free. The
collapse of the Persian Empire and rise of the Greeks allowed Arabic groups
such as the Nabateans to take control of the area.
“Concerning Edom, thus
saith the LORD of hosts; Is wisdom no more in Teman? is counsel perished from
the prudent? is their wisdom vanished? Flee ye, turn back, dwell deep, O inhabitants
of Dedan; for I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him, the time that I will
visit him.” (Genesis 49:7-8)
The Edomites were descendants of Esau and lived along the
south and east of the Dead Sea. For centuries
they had alternated between being allies or enemies of Israel and Judah. In recent years they had taken advantage of
Judah’s conflicts with other nations to attack, forgetting about God and his
power. God asks if they have completely forgotten how
he has worked in the past.
“If grapegatherers
come to thee, would they not leave some gleaning grapes? if thieves by night,
they will destroy till they have enough. But I have made Esau bare, I have uncovered
his secret places, and he shall not be able to hide himself: his seed is
spoiled, and his brethren, and his neighbours, and he is not. Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve
them alive; and let thy widows trust in me. For thus saith the LORD; Behold, they whose
judgment was not to drink of the cup have assuredly drunken; and art thou he
that shall altogether go unpunished? thou shalt not go unpunished, but thou
shalt surely drink of it. For I have
sworn by myself, saith the LORD, that Bozrah shall become a desolation, a
reproach, a waste, and a curse; and all the cities thereof shall be perpetual
wastes.” (Jeremiah 49:9-13)
A person picking grapes almost always misses a few, and thieves
usually take only things they can sell or use.
When Edom is taken, nothing will be left. Even their neighboring countries will be
robbed. Despite the total destruction of
the nation. God will protect their poor and widows, while destroying those who
have considered themselves above punishment.
The Edomite cities would never
be rebuilt, and the area largely unoccupied.
“I have heard a rumour
from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent unto the heathen, saying, Gather ye
together, and come against her, and rise up to the battle. For, lo, I will make thee small among the
heathen, and despised among men. Thy
terribleness hath deceived thee, and the pride of thine heart, O thou that
dwellest in the clefts of the rock, that holdest the height of the hill: though
thou shouldest make thy nest as high as the eagle, I will bring thee down from
thence, saith the LORD.
Also Edom shall be a
desolation: every one that goeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss at
all the plagues thereof. As in the
overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith the
LORD, no man shall abide there, neither shall a son of man dwell in it. Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the
swelling of Jordan against the habitation of the strong: but I will suddenly
make him run away from her: and who is a chosen man, that I may appoint over
her? for who is like me? and who will appoint me the time? and who is that
shepherd that will stand before me?” (Jeremiah 49:14-19)
Edom had survived as a country for about a thousand years, with
the rough terrain making occupation difficult.
Constant fighting with the nations around them kept them in a constant
state of preparedness. And they were sure they could repel most
attacks. God said he would completely
wipe them out. They would attack Judah like
a lion and be destroyed almost as completely as the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah,
leaving the land unoccupied. They will
have no leader to stand before God.
“Therefore hear the
counsel of the LORD, that he hath taken against Edom; and his purposes, that he
hath purposed against the inhabitants of Teman: Surely the least of the flock
shall draw them out: surely he shall make their habitations desolate with them.
The earth is moved at the noise of their
fall, at the cry the noise thereof was heard in the Red sea. Behold, he shall come up and fly as the eagle,
and spread his wings over Bozrah: and at that day shall the heart of the mighty
men of Edom be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.” (Jeremiah 49:20-22)
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