The Lord will start by reminding the Ammonites of something they once did to God’s people in northern Israel. It turns out that roughly 150 years before Jeremiah’s time, when Israel went into exile, Ammon conquered the land (722 BC). Two items, The tribe of Israel known as Gad lived in Ammon’s immediate west. Gad was situated halfway between Ammon and the Jordan River. Second, according to God, “their ruler” inherited ownership of this Gadi territory, according to the KJV. And given the context, you might assume that the ruler being discussed is the king of Israel. However, the Hebrew word translated as “their king” is Malcam. Ammon would have worshiped Molech, one of the false gods, under the name Malcam.
In other words, God is posing the rhetorical question of whether Israel had descendants who will inherit the Gad-given country. Then he claims that because Molech and his worshippers have established themselves in the area of Gad, it is as though Israel is without sons. Israel does have sons, and someday they would take back the land, which is the problem. Therefore, God is stating that Ammon should not be allowed to conquer Israel’s country, particularly Gad. And when God mentions Ammon capturing the territory, he actually refers to their fictitious deity Malcam doing it. God is aware that their idol is a false deity. But he is here associating the people with their God.
Israel Will Regain Ammon’s Stolen Land from God
God states that he would eventually return Israel’s stolen land to them because Ammon stole it in the first place. And he’s going to destroy Ammon to accomplish this. Of course, once God dealt with the Ammon, their haughtiness would look as ridiculous as it really was. God would indeed deal with Ammon by sending a dreadful invader to expel them, just as He had done with the previous countries. Nevertheless, God ends his prophecy against that nation by vowing to restore Ammon in the future, despite the disaster that He would bring to that nation.
And after Babylon was conquered by Persia, it’s most likely that Ammon was let to return to its home. The area under discussion is still populated today. Modern Amman, the capital of Jordan, is located where Rabbah, the ancient capital of Ammon, formerly stood. The key element is that individuals are present.
God’s pledge to judge Edom’s nation follows next. That is the ethnic group that is descended from Jacob’s brother Esau. They were located south of Moab, which was itself south of Ammon, and south and east of Israel. But first, I want to fix something from our previous session before we read the section. In that sermon, I claimed that the book of Obadiah described Moab’s treatment of Israel during the Assyrian invasion. Obadiah actually addresses Edom’s treatment of Israel. Obadiah actually focuses on Judah rather than Israel. And rather than the Assyrian conquest of northern Israel, the events alluded to in that book are the result of the Babylonian invasion of Judah.
Having said that, let’s go on to God’s pledge to judgment Edom.
Wise Advisors Became Foolish
God first intended to judge the country as he frequently does. Even their most knowledgeable citizens are rendered foolish by him. The name of one of Esau’s grandsons was Teman. In the southern region of Edom, a city bears his name. And in this sense, Teman essentially poetically depicts all of Edom.
Foreign Countries to Leave Edom
It’s also not unheard of for resident aliens in a country to recognize the signs of the times and depart when the wise folks of that country start acting foolishly and God’s judgment is clearly upon that country. And in verse 8, we see that being urged on some of Edom’s resident immigrants.
It’s also not unheard of for foreign nationals living there to see the signs of the times and leave when the locals start behaving foolishly and God’s punishment is evidently coming upon that nation. And in verse 8, we observe that some of Edom’s resident immigrants are being persuaded to do it.
Edom’s Misfortune Worse Than Robbery
Verse 9 and 10 tell us that Edom’s situation is worse than if a man were robbed by robbers. Yes, an old grape gatherer usually leaves some grapes behind, to address the first question. Similar to how a burglar typically leaves something behind, he does not take everything in the house he robs. But when God judged Edom, he wasn’t going to act in that way. When he was finished with them, there would be nothing left.
However, God Will Provide for the Needy
However, it’s noteworthy to note that God claims to care for the poor in Edom in the next sentence.
God frequently mentioned being concerned for two categories in the Old Testament: orphans and widows. He also states that he will care for any widows and orphans that are still in Edom. And perhaps God would wish to be gentle with Edom because of his concern for the nation’s orphans and widows. But as we’ll see in a moment, he won’t let them avoid this punishment. In other words, some of those orphans and widows mentioned before as well as other relatively innocent persons will be subject to this punishment. When conflict starts, innocent people will inevitably die. But given that this is the case, God cannot spare Edom from this judgment. Unjustified deaths have occurred. And should Edom, who committed the crime, escape the same fate?
Edom’s haughtiness couldn’t save them.
And that’s fascinating because they were well known for their pride before that setback. And their arrogance led them astray. They believed they could defeat anyone because of their arrogance. But as it turned out, their arrogance couldn’t save them from Babylon.
Babylon will therefore arrive in Edom, much like a lion emerging from the Jordan River’s banks, where he had been hidden in the dense undergrowth. Edom would also be terrified and dispersed in the same way that sheep would be in such a situation.
In light of the symbolic lion of Babylon scattering the metaphorical sheep of Edom, God sees himself as attempting to install a new shepherd and ruler for that nation. And if this arrangement didn’t go well with Edom, God asks, who is going to summon me to court?
God concludes by either declaring that no one is able to oppose him. Or it could be another indication that he is looking for a new shepherd to lead Edom.
Observe that, unlike with the other nations, God does not pledge to restore Edom in the future. Restoration was promised to Egypt and Moab. Judah also was. Such assurances have not been made to Philistia or, as of late, Edom.
God’s pledge to chastise Damascus, Kedar, Hazor, and Elam is what we’ll see next. This section describes what happened to the countries of Jeremiah’s day, namely those that refused to submit to God’s rule. And as a result of their refusal to submit, they would perish. They would need to be punished by God. And he would accomplish that by bringing Babylon to kill them, just as he had done with Judah. Thus, we have seen God’s pledge to destroy Egypt in chapter 46 in this part. Chapter 47 discusses the Philistines. in Chapter 48, Moab. Then, the first 22 verses of chapter 49 from the previous reading discussed the annihilation of Ammon and Edom.
The punishment of four geographical areas—Damascus, Kedar, Hazor, and Elam—is now found in lines 23–39 of chapter 49.
The obliteration of Babylon will subsequently be shown the next time in chapters 50 and 51.
Now, I just want to mention that there’s a phenomenon in the world of running known as “hitting the wall,” which is brought on by the depletion of glycogen in your muscles and liver. This phenomenon is most common in the context of running longer races like marathons. Additionally, the runner frequently experiences unpleasant emotions that make them want to stop.
Kedar and Hazor
Now, Kedar appears to be a collection of individuals descended from Ishmael, one of Abraham’s sons (according to Genesis 25:13). This clan is mentioned in Isaiah 21 along with the Temanites and Dedanites, two tribes of Arabs who lived in the northern Arabian Desert. According to Isaiah 60, these Kedar residents were sheepherders. According to Psalm 120, they camped out. According to Isaiah 42, they resided in unwalled villages.
According to Assyrian records that predate the Bible, this people engaged in conflict with Assyria beginning around 850 BC. Additionally, according to Babylonian records, this faction
was vanquished by Babylon in 599 BC, or roughly 13 years before Judah was conquered by Babylon.
Regarding Hazor, the Bible’s only other mention of this particular Hazor comes in this chapter. Israel does have a Hazor, but this appears to be a separate organization. This Hazor was probably comparable to the Kedar, a group of nomadic Arabs who dwelt east of Ammon, Moab, and Edom in the Arabian desert.
Elam
God then speaks to Elam.
Most likely, 598 BC. a little over ten years before Jerusalem was destroyed in 586 BC.
Elam was currently in what is now Iran. Basically, it’s on the ancient Babylonian boundary to the east. The geographic progression of the predictions in this part intrigues me.
Egypt was our first stop in the far west. Then we traveled to Philistia in the east. Then Ammon, Moab, and Edom followed us as we headed even further east. As Damascus moved north, so did we. Then Kedar and Hazor joined us as we returned to the east. Finally, Elam is pretty far to the east of us. This dates to around 598 BC. 10 years or so before Jerusalem was
destroyed in 586 BC. Elam was presently located in modern-day Iran. It essentially lies on ancient Babylon’s eastern boundary. This section’s prophesies have a fascinating geographic progression, in my opinion. Egypt was where we began in the far west. After that, we traveled east to Philistia. With Ammon, Moab, and Edom, we subsequently proceeded even further east. Along with Damascus, we moved north. With Kedar and Hazor, we then returned to the east. Finally, Elam is in the distance to the east and we are.
God will send Babylon to conquer and expel that nation once its military might has been destroyed.
We have therefore heard a lot about how Babylon intended to punish these nine ancient peoples’ groupings. But ultimately, Babylon itself would be the tenth country that the Lord would judge.