The LORD s Message To The Nations Jeremiah 49:1-39 Introduction

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Elfrieda Karin Russell
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1 Introduction The final chapters of Jeremiah consist of a series of prophetic judgments against the surrounding nations of Judea and Jerusalem. In chapter 46 we looked at the prophecy against Egypt; in chapter 47 we looked at the prophecy against Philistia; in chapter 48 we looked at the prophecy against Moab; now we see a series of prophecies against Ammon (chapter 49:1-6); against Edom (vv.7-22); and then against Syria or Damascus, Kedar, Elam (vv.23-39). In chapters we will look at the prophecies against Babylon (mentioned some 168 times in the book of Jeremiah). The conflicts of the past sometimes give us a window into the conflicts of the future. The Bible teaches that God will judge the world because of sin. God is in charge of History. And God is in charge of the future. The Lord s Message To Ammon (vv.1-6) Jeremiah 49:1 (NKJV) 1Against the Ammonites. Thus says the Lord: Has Israel no sons? Has he no heir? Why then does Milcom inherit Gad, And his people dwell in its cities? The Ammonites were related to the Moabites. You will remember in the book of Genesis the sad story of Lot; while fleeing Sodom his wife was turned into a pillar of salt; he and his daughters escaped into what they thought were a post-apoclyptic cave. The girls decided their father was the last man on earth;got him drunk and their offspring became the descendants known as the Moabites and the Ammonites (Genesis 19:20-38). The Ammonites like the Moabites were enemies of Israel and Judah. When Assyria invaded the Northern Kingdom of Israel (722 B.C.); the Ammonites took the province of Gad (good fortune) and other cities as if the Jews would never return. Has Israel no sons? The descendants of the Transjordan were Gad--Reuben--and one half of Manasseh (see Joshua 22:1-9). Joshua 32--the tribe of Gad requested the territory of the Ammonites--and Moses assigned it to them, on CONDITION that their soldiers help the Israelites with the conquest to the west of Jordan. Why then does Milcom (may mean their king--molech); inherit Gad? Molech was the chief deity of the Ammonites (also called Malcam, Malik, possibly Melkart). The Ammonites believed their god (deity) was stronger than the God of Israel and Judah--but the Lord knows that one day Israel will drive the Ammonites out of the land. 2Therefore behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, That I will cause to be heard an alarm of war In Rabbah of the Ammonites; It shall be a desolate mound, And her villages shall be burned with fire. Then Israel shall take possession of his inheritance, says the Lord. 1

2 MacArthur s notes; Nebuchadnezzar defeated Ammon in the fifth year after the destruction of Jerusalem, around 582/581 B.C. Rabbah (the great capital city) located at the headwaters of the river Jabbok--about 23 miles east of the Jordan. Uriah the Hitite was killed in an attack against Rabbah (2 Sam.11:1,17). David later took the city and forced its inhabitants into forced (slave) labor. The modern city of Amman is the Capital of Jordan. 3 Wail, O Heshbon, for Ai is plundered! Cry, you daughters of Rabbah, Gird yourselves with sackcloth! Lament and run to and fro by the walls; For Milcom shall go into captivity With his priests and his princes together. In 48:2 the city is called a Moabite city--(it lay on the border--whichever nation was stronger would lay claim to it). Ai (ruin)--not the city in Joshua near Bethel. Sackcloth is the clothes of mourning. 4Why do you boast in the valleys, Your flowing valley, O backsliding daughter? Who trusted in her treasures, saying, Who will come against me? What was the Ammonites boast? Their fertile valley--surrounded on three sides by mountains-- was secure. But their secure position would not be able to stop the advancing armies of Babylon. The Lord had pronounced judgment. Nothing would stop that judgment--nothing the people of Ammon trusted--could stop the invasion. The valley seems to be flowing with the blood of those killed. 5Behold, I will bring fear upon you, Says the Lord God of hosts, From all those who are around you; You shall be driven out, everyone headlong, And no one will gather those who wander off. 6But afterward I will bring back The captives of the people of Ammon, says the Lord. In the prophecy Jeremiah included the reason for punishment (v.1); the results (vv.2-5); and now a word of reassurance; but afterward I will bring back the captives of the people of Ammon ; says the Lord. The goodness and mercy of God promises a future restoration. A partial fulfillment seems to have taken place under Cyrus (the Persian King); but the fulfillment seems yet future--in the coming Kingdom of the Messiah. Why does God restore the people of Ammon? Not because of their own merits--but they will share in the glories that Israel will experience when King Jesus sits on the throne of David. Salvation is of the Jews (see Wiersbe p. 169). 2

3 The Lord s Message To Edom (vv.7-22) Jeremiah 49:7 22 (NKJV) 7Against Edom. Thus says the Lord of hosts: Is wisdom no more in Teman? Has counsel perished from the prudent? Has their wisdom vanished? The Edomites were the descendants of Esau--Jacob s older brother; you remember the story of how Esau neglected his birthright and the blessing was given to Jacob (see Gen. 25:19-34; and also Genesis 36). The Edomites were considered closer than either Ammonites or Moabites. The Edomites remained distant from their cousins the Jews--but joined them in their common desire not to be ruled by the Babylonians. The book of Obadiah has as its theme God s judgment on Edom; and mirrors the prophetic pronouncements by Jeremiah. This has caused some scholars to speculate whether Obadiah borrowed from Jeremiah or Jeremiah borrowed from Obadiah (we don t really know when Obadiah was written). In the book of Obadiah a prophecy is given of the future possession of Edom by Israel (Obadiah 1:15-22). The people of Edom had the reputation of profound wisdom and insight (see Job 2:11). Yet the smartest people in the world will not be able to think themselves out of the predicament called judgment. The people would not be able to devise a plan or strategy that would hinder the armies of Babylon and their invasion. 8Flee, turn back, dwell in the depths, O inhabitants of Dedan! For I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him, The time that I will punish him. It would seem that Esau was cursed by God--for his refusal to embrace God and his punishment persisted in his offspring (see Hebrews 12:11; 17). Dedan (a descendant of Ham--related to Abraham who gave his name to the territory his tribe occupied. The oasis of el- ula--is considered the site. The expression here means the southern part of Edom. 9If grape-gatherers came to you, Would they not leave some gleaning grapes? If thieves by night, Would they not destroy until they have enough? 10But I have made Esau bare; I have uncovered his secret places, And he shall not be able to hide himself. His descendants are plundered, His brethren and his neighbors, And he is no more. 3

4 I have made Esau bare --a metaphor for complete harvest--where nothing is left for the gleaners; we might say picked clean. Some have suggested that Edom--ceased with the occupation of the Roman Army--and the eventual passing of the royal offspring Herod (himself half Jewish/ half Edomite). 11Leave your fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; And let your widows trust in Me. 12For thus says the Lord: Behold, those whose judgment was not to drink of the cup have assuredly drunk. And are you the one who will altogether go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, but you shall surely drink of it. To drink the cup is a reoccurring metaphor in the Bible; it means to drink the last drop of judgment. They drink the cup because of their pride and rebellion against the Lord (see verse 16). The Jews had a covenant with God. But not the surrounding nations. 13For I have sworn by Myself, says the Lord, that Bozrah shall become a desolation, a reproach, a waste, and a curse. And all its cities shall be perpetual wastes. Several ancient cities shared the same name; Bozrah (fortress) fortified place, sheepfold, not Moab (48:24); the site might be Buseirah--about 20 miles southeast of the Dead Sea; about 35 miles north of Petra. 14I have heard a message from the Lord, And an ambassador has been sent to the nations: Gather together, come against her, And rise up to battle! Note: Judgment is not accidental--but the consequence of human acts and attitudes. 15 For indeed, I will make you small among nations, Despised among men. 16Your fierceness has deceived you, The pride of your heart, O you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, Who hold the height of the hill! Though you make your nest as high as the eagle, I will bring you down from there, says the Lord. Your fierceness or horror has deceived you...the horror you inspire has deceived you. Again divine judgment comes from human conduct; in the clefts of the rock or the clefts of Sela--known to us as PETRA the rose red city half as old as time. 4

5 Some of the people lived in the rock city of Petra--in modern Jordan. The people thought Petra invincible. The city is impossible to get through unless you go through a narrow crack between two solid rock canyons. 17 Edom also shall be an astonishment; Everyone who goes by it will be astonished And will hiss at all its plagues. 18As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah And their neighbors, says the Lord, No one shall remain there, Nor shall a son of man dwell in it. The judgment will be like Sodom and Gomorrah. For centuries the rock city of Petra was abandoned and was not rediscovered by the western world until Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the floodplain of the Jordan Against the dwelling place 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? Who will arraign Me? And who is that shepherd Who will withstand Me? The prophet describes the armies of Nebuchadnezzar coming upon Edom like a lion coming out of the thick forest around the Jordan River. And like the lion--the prey will not be spared. Who will arraign Me? Who can haul God into court? 20Therefore hear the counsel of the Lord that He has taken against Edom, And His purposes that He has proposed against the inhabitants of Teman: Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out; Surely He shall make their dwelling places desolate with them. MacArthur; The weakest of the Chaldeans shall drag them away captive. 21The earth shakes at the noise of their fall; At the cry its noise is heard at the Red Sea. (yam suf) the sea of reeds ; the place where Israel escaped captivity. 22Behold, He shall come up and fly like the eagle, And spread His wings over Bozrah; The heart of the mighty men of Edom in that day shall be Like the heart of a woman in birth pangs. The image is of an eagle flying and so frighten the inhabitants they will be like pregnant women. We can take comfort that even in judgment God remembers mercy (Hab.3:2) and is willing to show compassion to widows and orphans (Jeremiah 49:11). 5

6 But Edom s pride would bring her low--as pride always does (Wiersbe p. 170). The Lord s Message To Damascus (vv.23-27) Jeremiah 49:23 27 (NKJV) 23Against Damascus. Hamath and Arpad are shamed, For they have heard bad news. They are fainthearted; There is trouble on the sea; It cannot be quiet. Damascus (alertness); three major caravan routes; the city is very old; mentioned in the time of Abraham (Gen.14:15). David seized Damascus--but the city obtained its freedom during the time of Solomon (and of course Saul-Paul Acts 9). Damascus is not listed in the nations that drink the cup of wrath in 25: Hamath was a city on the Orontes River that marked the Northern boundary of Solomon s Kingdom (see 2 Chron.8:4). Arpad (105 miles SW of modern Aleppo in Northern Syria--as well as Damascus--conquered in 605 B.C. Wiersbe (p.171) The Prophet Isaiah condemned Damascus, the capital of Syria (Isa.17). Amos accused the Syrians of treating the people of Gilead like grain on a threshing floor (Amos 1:3-5). God would judge them for their inhumanity and brutality to His people. Note Syria s circumstance at this moment. GENEVA, Sept 17 (Reuters) - United Nations investigators said on Monday they had expanded a secret list of Syrians and military units suspected of committing war crimes during the 18-monthold conflict between President Bashar al-assad's forces and his opponents. The human rights investigators, led by Paulo Pinheiro, said they had gathered "a formidable and extraordinary body of evidence" and urged the U.N. Security Council to refer the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court (ICC). Britain and France said the time had come for Syria to be referred to the Hague-based U.N. war crimes court, but diplomats noted this would require acceptance by veto-wielding Russia and China, which have blocked all previous efforts to condemn Syria. "Gross human rights violations have grown in number, in pace and in scale," Pinheiro told the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva. "There is no statute of limitations on these crimes." More than 20,000 people have been killed in the 18-month-old conflict, 1.2 million are uprooted within Syria and more than 250,000 have fled abroad, the United Nations says. 6

7 Food, water and medical supplies have run short in areas subjected to Syrian government air strikes, shelling and siege, Pinheiro said, adding that investigators had received "numerous accounts...of civilians barely managing to survive". 24Damascus has grown feeble; She turns to flee, And fear has seized her. Anguish and sorrows have taken her like a woman in labor. The Prophet Jeremiah describes Damascus as the judgment approaches; as the people hear that the army of Babylon approaches--they become weak, troubled, like the restless sea, weak and shaky like a patient--sick from head to toe; and as full of pain as woman getting ready to give birth. 25Why is the city of praise not deserted, the city of My joy? the city of renown famous for...its oasis and trade. 26Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, And all the men of war shall be cut off in that day, says the Lord of hosts. People abandon the ancient cities; and try to escape; but their best young men are killed in the streets and their fortresses are burned to the ground. 27 I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, And it shall consume the palaces of Ben-Hadad. What happened in the wall of Damascus? What happened in the palaces of Ben-Hadad? Why this is the place and palace where so much evil was plotted against Israel. The message is brief but powerful. What else must be said? What else do people need to hear to understand that God s wrath is about to fall? The Lord s Message To Kedar And Hazor Arab Tribes (vv.28-33) Jeremiah 49:28 33 (NKJV) 28Against Kedar and against the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon shall strike. Thus says the Lord: Arise, go up to Kedar, And devastate the men of the East! Who are these men? These are the desert people--kedar was related to Ishmael (Genesis 25:13). We aren t sure of the origin of Hazor--but this is not the famous city Hazor in the plains of Northern Jezreel (see Joshua 11). These desert areas are east of Judah. 7

8 These appear to be nomadic peoples--who lived by raising sheep and camels in the desert. When the invading armies of Nebuchadnezzar came ( ) they lost everything. 29Their tents and their flocks they shall take away. They shall take for themselves their curtains, All their vessels and their camels; And they shall cry out to them, Fear is on every side! Once again we see the phrase fear is on every side or we are surrounded by fear. 30 Flee, get far away! Dwell in the depths, O inhabitants of Hazor! says the Lord. For Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has taken counsel against you, And has conceived a plan against you. 31 Arise, go up to the wealthy nation that dwells securely, says the Lord, Which has neither gates nor bars, Dwelling alone. Who is the wealthy nation that dwells securely? Whatever else--these two Arab nations were guilty of living a life of ease luxury; isolating themselves from others; manifesting pride and arrogant self confidence! 32Their camels shall be for booty, And the multitude of their cattle for plunder. I will scatter to all winds those in the farthest corners, And I will bring their calamity from all its sides, says the Lord. 33 Hazor shall be a dwelling for jackals, a desolation forever; No one shall reside there, Nor son of man dwell in it. We are given a picture of a people who don t need God and don t need help. But when Nebuchadnezzar arrives they quickly learn how foolish was their attitude. The Lord s Message To Elam (vv.34-39) Jeremiah 49:34 39 (NKJV)34The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet against Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying, 35 Thus says the Lord of hosts: Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, The foremost of their might. Who were the Elamites? They were a Semitic people who were neighbors of the Babylonians. They are briefly mentioned in Genesis 14:1; Isaiah 11:1; Jeremiah 25:25; Ezekiel 32:24; and Daniel 8:2). Their country boundaries were located beyond the Tigris River across from Babylon, and it eventually was absorbed into the Medo-Persian Empire (God apparently gave this prophecy about 597 B.C.; during the reign of Zedekiah). The capitol of Elam (SUSA) became the residence of Darius and became the center of the Persian Empire. 8

9 The Elamites were skilled archers--kind of the ancient version of sharp-shooters--deadly accurate. God promised to break their bows. 36Against Elam I will bring the four winds From the four quarters of heaven, And scatter them toward all those winds; There shall be no nations where the outcasts of Elam will not go. The Lord describes the Babylonian armies as blowing in from every direction and then blowing the Elamites in all directions (north south east west). 37For I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies And before those who seek their life. I will bring disaster upon them, My fierce anger, says the Lord; And I will send the sword after them Until I have consumed them. 38I will set My throne in Elam, And will destroy from there the king and the princes, says the Lord. What does it mean; I will set My throne in Elam. Whenever a nation was defeated--the victor s would set up the king s throne in the city gate (1:15; 39:3; 43:8-13). This is what God promises to do--in Elam. This is God s way of saying-- I will let you know that I am the true and the living God. 39 But it shall come to pass in the latter days: I will bring back the captives of Elam, says the Lord. Once again is the promise of peace and mercy and restoration. But it shall come to pass in the latter days. Interesting. Elam is mentioned in Acts 2:9 among those people who participated at Pentecost. Why does God chose to restore Egypt; Moab, Ammon, and Elam? We are not told. But in some sense--they share in God s Kingdom--they share in God s grace--the Kingdom grace. Conclusion By now you know the message of Jeremiah. Judgment is coming and their is no escape. We can sometimes be deceived and hardened in our own hearts. Just because the message is the same--we can sometimes deceive ourselves into thinking that message is for a long ago time to long ago people. 9

10 When Jeremiah gave these messages--these were real countries, populated by real people--with a real message of judgment. Wiersbe (pp ): Whole civilizations were wiped out because of their sins, and eventually Babylon itself was destroyed. This means that multitudes of people died and went into an eternity of darkness. God sees what the nations do, and He rewards them justly. What King Hezekiah said about the Lord needs emphasized today: O Lord Almighty, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth (Isa. 37:16). Joshua called Him The Lord of all the earth (Josh. 3:11), and both Jesus and Paul called Him Lord of heaven and earth (Luke 10:21; Acts 17:24). Wiersbe reminds the reader that God did not give the Bible--the law--the prophecies to these nations--but he still held them accountable for the sins they committed against Him and His people (and all humanity). Because of the witness of creation and conscience they were without excuse. Has the behavior of the nations really changed? Look at the list---abortion on demand (our country); international terrorism, genocide, child sexual assault, sexual trafficking, exploitation of people and material resources, the abuse of children etc. What will happen when the Judge of the whole earth decides to avenge the innocent and act according to his own perfect nature? It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the true and living God (Heb. 10:31). 10

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12 The LORD s Message To The Nations 12

Jeremiah Chapter 49. Hath Israel no sons? Was the land he had occupied so long to pass into the possession of a stranger?

Jeremiah Chapter 49. Hath Israel no sons? Was the land he had occupied so long to pass into the possession of a stranger? Jeremiah Chapter 49 Verses 1-6: Concerning the Ammonites (compare Ezek. 25:1-7; Amos 1:13-15; Zeph. 2:8-11). These people descended from Lot (compare Gen. 19:38), and lived north of Moab. Though Israel