(The previous post covered prophecies against Gentile powers: Egypt and north African countries, Philistia, and Moab. Chapters 49-51 continued the theme of prophecies against Gentile powers…)
Jeremiah 49
1 Of the children of Ammon. Thus saith Jehovah: Hath Israel no sons? hath he no heir? why then doth Malcam possess Gad, and his people dwell in the cities thereof?
(These verses transitioned to a focus on the Ammonites. Remember, Ammon was from Lot.)
2 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will cause an alarm of war to be heard against Rabbah of the children of Ammon; and it shall become a desolate heap, and her daughters shall be burned with fire: then shall Israel possess them that did possess him, saith Jehovah.
3 Wail, O Heshbon, for Ai is laid waste; cry, ye daughters of Rabbah, gird you with sackcloth: lament, and run to and fro among the fences; for Malcam shall go into captivity, his priests and his princes together.
(Mourning was proclaimed to the Ammonites. Ai and Rabbah were cities of Ammon, Rabbah being its capital. The word Malcam meant "king." The king of the Ammonites would be taken captive along with his priests and princes.)
4 Wherefore gloriest thou in the valleys, thy flowing valley, O backsliding daughter? that trusted in her treasures, saying, Who shall come unto me?
5 Behold, I will bring a fear upon thee, saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, from all that are round about thee; and ye shall be driven out every man right forth, and there shall be none to gather together the fugitives.
(The Ammonites would be driven out of their land because they had gloried in and trusted in the physical.)
6 But afterward I will bring back the captivity of the children of Ammon, saith Jehovah.
(Just as Moab, Ammon would be restored in the "latter days": the Millennium.)
7 Of Edom. Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Is wisdom no more in Teman? is counsel perished from the prudent? is their wisdom vanished?
(The focus of God's Words turned to Edom. Remember, Edom was from Esau.)
8 Flee ye, turn back, dwell in the depths, O inhabitants of Dedan; for I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him, the time that I shall visit him.
(The inhabitants of Dedan were warned of the coming judgment and told to flee from the coming invasion.)
9 If grape-gatherers came to thee, would they not leave some gleaning grapes? if thieves by night, would they not destroy till they had enough?
10 But I have made Esau bare, I have uncovered his secret places, and he shall not be able to hide himself: his seed is destroyed, and his brethren, and his neighbors; and he is not.
(Edom's secret places were in the mountains of Seir-Petra. Edom's seed referred to the many nations joined to him. His neighbors being Dedan, Tema, Buz, and others in the great Arabian desert.)
11 Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; and let thy widows trust in me.
12 For thus saith Jehovah: Behold, they to whom it pertained not to drink of the cup shall assuredly drink; and art thou he that shall altogether go unpunished? thou shalt not go unpunished, but thou shalt surely drink.
(God would protect the orphans and widows, but the men of war would be destroyed.)
13 For I have sworn by myself, saith Jehovah, that Bozrah shall become an astonishment, a reproach, a waste, and a curse; and all the cities thereof shall be perpetual wastes.
(Bozrah, another city in Edom, would be destroyed.)
14 I have heard tidings from Jehovah, and an ambassador is sent among the nations, saying, Gather yourselves together, and come against her, and rise up to the battle.
15 For, behold, I have made thee small among the nations, and despised among men.
(Babylon was to be sent to destroy Edom and make him "small among the nations.")
16 As for thy terribleness, the pride of thy heart hath deceived thee, 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 Jehovah.
(Edom was in pride and God would humble Edom through judgment.)
17 And Edom shall become an astonishment: every one that passeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss at all the plagues thereof.
(Edom would be so desolate that everyone that passed by would be astonished.)
18 As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbor cities thereof, saith Jehovah, no man shall dwell there, neither shall any son of man sojourn therein.
(The destruction of Edom was compared to the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah.)
19 Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the pride of the Jordan against the strong habitation: for I will suddenly make them run away from it; and whoso is chosen, him will I appoint over it: for who is like me? and who will appoint me a time? and who is the shepherd that will stand before me?
(This verse referred to Nebuchadnezzar and his invasion of Edom.)
20 Therefore hear ye the counsel of Jehovah, that he hath taken against Edom; and his purposes, that he hath purposed against the inhabitants of Teman: Surely they shall drag them away, even the little ones of the flock; surely he shall make their habitation desolate over them.
21 The earth trembleth at the noise of their fall; there is a cry, the noise whereof is heard in the Red Sea.
22 Behold, he shall come up and fly as the eagle, and spread out his wings against Bozrah: and the heart of the mighty men of Edom at that day shall be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.
(The destruction and crying of the Edomites would be heard from afar off. The mighty men would become faint and weak as a woman in childbirth.)
23 Of Damascus. Hamath is confounded, and Arpad; for they have heard evil tidings, they are melted away: there is sorrow on the sea; it cannot be quiet.
(The prophecy changed focus to judgment on Damascus.)
24 Damascus is waxed feeble, she turneth herself to flee, and trembling hath seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken hold of her, as of a woman in travail.
(Damascus had heard of the evil coming upon them and they were weak and sorrowful.)
25 How is the city of praise not forsaken, the city of my joy?
26 Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be brought to silence in that day, saith Jehovah of hosts.
27 And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall devour the palaces of Ben-hadad.
(Like the other Gentile nations, Damascus would be invaded by Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians.)
28 Of Kedar, and of the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon smote. Thus saith Jehovah: Arise ye, go up to Kedar, and destroy the children of the east.
(The prophecy changed focus to judgment on Kedar.)
29 Their tents and their flocks shall they take; they shall carry away for themselves their curtains, and all their vessels, and their camels; and they shall cry unto them, Terror on every side!
(There would be terror on every side of Kedar because of the smiting of them by Nebuchadnezzar.)
30 Flee ye, wander far off, dwell in the depths, O ye inhabitants of Hazor, saith Jehovah; for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath taken counsel against you, and hath conceived a purpose against you.
(The people were warned of Nebuchadnezzar and told to flee.)
31 Arise, get you up unto a nation that is at ease, that dwelleth without care, saith Jehovah; that have neither gates nor bars, that dwell alone.
(Kedar and the inhabitants of Hazor were very wealthy and lived without defenses. They trusted that their peaceful ways would be respected by the nations around them.)
32 And their camels shall be a booty, and the multitude of their cattle a spoil: and I will scatter unto all winds them that have the corners of their hair cut off; and I will bring their calamity from every side of them, saith Jehovah.
33 And Hazor shall be a dwelling-place of jackals, a desolation for ever: no man shall dwell there, neither shall any son of man sojourn therein.
(Kedar would be made a spoil and Hazor a desolation forever.)
34 The word of Jehovah that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying,
(The prophecy changed focus to judgment on Elam. Elam was a country east of the Tigris River.)
35 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the chief of their might.
(The Elamites depended mainly on the use of the bow to protect themselves in war. God would break this main source of protection.)
36 And upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven, and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come.
(The "four winds" was symbolic for the four directions. Elam would be scattered in every direction.)
37 And I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies, and before them that seek their life; and I will bring evil upon them, even my fierce anger, saith Jehovah; and I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed them;
38 and I will set my throne in Elam, and will destroy from thence king and princes, saith Jehovah.
(Nebuchadnezzar would be the evil brought upon the Elamites and his throne would be set up in Elam.)
39 But it shall come to pass in the latter days, that I will bring back the captivity of Elam, saith Jehovah.
(Elam will eventually be restored in the "latter days.")
Jeremiah 50
1 The word that Jehovah spake concerning Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, by Jeremiah the prophet.
(The prophecy changed focus to judgment on Babylon and its destruction.)
2 Declare ye among the nations and publish, and set up a standard; publish, and conceal not: say, Babylon is taken, Bel is put to shame, Merodach is dismayed; her images are put to shame, her idols are dismayed.
(Jeremiah was told to declare to the nations that Babylon was taken. Bel and Merodach were gods of the Babylonians. These gods would be destroyed.)
3 For out of the north there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they are fled, they are gone, both man and beast.
(The nation out of the north was Media-Persia.)
4 In those days, and in that time, saith Jehovah, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together; they shall go on their way weeping, and shall seek Jehovah their God.
(In those days the children of Israel and Judah would be regathered and reenter the land God gave them…with Ezra, Nehemiah, and Zerubbabel.)
5 They shall inquire concerning Zion with their faces thitherward, saying, Come ye, and join yourselves to Jehovah in an everlasting covenant that shall not be forgotten.
6 My people have been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray; they have turned them away on the mountains; they have gone from mountain to hill; they have forgotten their resting-place.
(God's people, Israel and Judah, were scattered…this was before the people were regathered.)
7 All that found them have devoured them; and their adversaries said, We are not guilty, because they have sinned against Jehovah, the habitation of righteousness, even Jehovah, the hope of their fathers.
(God was described as "the habitation of righteousness" and "the hope of their fathers" by the very nations that devoured Israel and Judah.)
8 Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as the he-goats before the flocks.
(God wanted His people to leave Babylon before it was destroyed by the Medes and Persians…)
9 For, lo, I will stir up and cause to come up against Babylon a company of great nations from the north country; and they shall set themselves in array against her; from thence she shall be taken: their arrows shall be as of an expert mighty man; none shall return in vain.
10 And Chaldea shall be a prey: all that prey upon her shall be satisfied, saith Jehovah.
11 Because ye are glad, because ye rejoice, O ye that plunder my heritage, because ye are wanton as a heifer that treadeth out the grain, and neigh as strong horses;
12 your mother shall be utterly put to shame; she that bare you shall be confounded: behold, she shall be the hindermost of the nations, a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.
(The reasons Babylon would be destroyed was because they were glad when Israel was destroyed and they became as animals…focused on short term fulfillment.)
13 Because of the wrath of Jehovah she shall not be inhabited, but she shall be wholly desolate: every one that goeth by Babylon shall be astonished, and hiss at all her plagues.
(Babylon would be another place that was so desolate that passersby would be astonished at its condition.)
14 Set yourselves in array against Babylon round about, all ye that bend the bow; shoot at her, spare no arrows: for she hath sinned against Jehovah.
(The Medes and Persians were commanded to war against Babylon.)
15 Shout against her round about: she hath submitted herself; her bulwarks are fallen, her walls are thrown down; for it is the vengeance of Jehovah: take vengeance upon her; as she hath done, do unto her.
(God was Just. As Babylon had done, so would be done to her.)
16 Cut off the sower from Babylon, and him that handleth the sickle in the time of harvest: for fear of the oppressing sword they shall turn every one to his people, and they shall flee every one to his own land.
17 Israel is a hunted sheep; the lions have driven him away: first, the king of Assyria devoured him; and now at last Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones.
(Israel was scattered because of Assyria and Babylon...)
18 Therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, as I have punished the king of Assyria.
(…therefore, God would punish Babylon as He did Assyria. God was Just.)
19 And I will bring Israel again to his pasture, and he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan, and his soul shall be satisfied upon the hills of Ephraim and in Gilead.
(Just as was mentioned in verse 4, Israel would be regathered and would reenter the land God gave them.)
20 In those days, and in that time, saith Jehovah, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found: for I will pardon them whom I leave as a remnant.
(In the days when Israel and Judah reenter the Promised Land, their sins would not be found. This was after God had judged them, they had paid for their transgressions. Justice had been equaled out.)
21 Go up against the land of Merathaim, even against it, and against the inhabitants of Pekod: slay and utterly destroy after them, saith Jehovah, and do according to all that I have commanded thee.
(Merathaim and Pekod were symbolic names for Babylon. God was commanding the destruction of Babylon.)
22 A sound of battle is in the land, and of great destruction.
23 How is the hammer of the whole earth cut asunder and broken! how is Babylon become a desolation among the nations!
(The "hammer" here was symbolic of Nebuchadnezzar.)
24 I have laid a snare for thee, and thou art also taken, O Babylon, and thou wast not aware: thou art found, and also caught, because thou hast striven against Jehovah.
25 Jehovah hath opened his armory, and hath brought forth the weapons of his indignation; for the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, hath a work to do in the land of the Chaldeans.
26 Come against her from the utmost border; open her store-houses; cast her up as heaps, and destroy her utterly; let nothing of her be left.
27 Slay all her bullocks; let them go down to the slaughter: woe unto them! for their day is come, the time of their visitation.
(Not only would the people of Babylon be judged but their land and possessions as well.)
28 The voice of them that flee and escape out of the land of Babylon, to declare in Zion the vengeance of Jehovah our God, the vengeance of his temple.
29 Call together the archers against Babylon, all them that bend the bow; encamp against her round about; let none thereof escape: recompense her according to her work; according to all that she hath done, do unto her; for she hath been proud against Jehovah, against the Holy One of Israel.
(Just as Babylon had destroyed other nations, Babylon would also be destroyed. Babylon had been proud against God.)
30 Therefore shall her young men fall in her streets, and all her men of war shall be brought to silence in that day, saith Jehovah.
31 Behold, I am against thee, O thou proud one, saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts; for thy day is come, the time that I will visit thee.
32 And the proud one shall stumble and fall, and none shall raise him up; and I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it shall devour all that are round about him.
(The judgment on Babylon would cause the prideful to fall, and not rise up.)
33 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: The children of Israel and the children of Judah are oppressed together; and all that took them captive hold them fast; they refuse to let them go.
34 Their Redeemer is strong; Jehovah of hosts is his name: he will thoroughly plead their cause, that he may give rest to the earth, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.
(Israel and Judah were oppressed by Babylon but God, their Redeemer, was strong…much stronger than the Babylonians.)
35 A sword is upon the Chaldeans, saith Jehovah, and upon the inhabitants of Babylon, and upon her princes, and upon her wise men.
(The swords were those of the Medes and Persians.)
36 A sword is upon the boasters, and they shall become fools; a sword is upon her mighty men, and they shall be dismayed.
37 A sword is upon their horses, and upon their chariots, and upon all the mingled people that are in the midst of her; and they shall become as women: a sword is upon her treasures, and they shall be robbed.
38 A drought is upon her waters, and they shall be dried up; for it is a land of graven images, and they are mad over idols.
(The judgment on Babylon would include a drought.)
39 Therefore the wild beasts of the desert with the wolves shall dwell there, and the ostriches shall dwell therein: and it shall be no more inhabited for ever; neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation.
(Only wild beasts would dwell in Babylon.)
40 As when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbor cities thereof, saith Jehovah, so shall no man dwell there, neither shall any son of man sojourn therein.
(Again, this destruction was compared to the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah.)
41 Behold, a people cometh from the north; and a great nation and many kings shall be stirred up from the uttermost parts of the earth.
42 They lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea; and they ride upon horses, every one set in array, as a man to the battle, against thee, O daughter of Babylon.
(The people from the north (Medes and Persians) were cruel and would not show mercy.)
43 The king of Babylon hath heard the tidings of them, and his hands wax feeble: anguish hath taken hold of him, and pangs as of a woman in travail.
(Just hearing of the Medes and Persians caused Nebuchadnezzar to grow weak.)
44 Behold, the enemy shall come up like a lion from the pride of the Jordan against the strong habitation: for I will suddenly make them run away from it; and whoso is chosen, him will I appoint over it: for who is like me? and who will appoint me a time? and who is the shepherd that can stand before me?
(This was the second time the expression "like a lion" was used. In 49:19 it referred to Nebuchadnezzar but here it referred to Medio-Persia.)
45 Therefore hear ye the counsel of Jehovah, that he hath taken against Babylon; and his purposes, that he hath purposed against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely they shall drag them away, even the little ones of the flock; surely he shall make their habitation desolate over them.
46 At the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth trembleth, and the cry is heard among the nations.
(Babylon was so strong at its peak that the noise of her destruction and fall was heard among the nations.)
(This post continued to cover prophecies against Gentile powers: Ammon, Edom, Damascus, Kedar, Elam, and Babylon.)
Day 239
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