Jeremiah

Chapter 49:1-6 (ESV) - Concerning the Ammonites.

Thus says the LORD:

“Has Israel no sons?
    Has he no heir?
Why then has Milcom dispossessed Gad,
    and his people settled in its cities?
Therefore, behold, the days are coming,
    declares the LORD,
when I will cause the battle cry to be heard
    against Rabbah of the Ammonites;
it shall become a desolate mound,
    and its villages shall be burned with fire;
then Israel shall dispossess those who dispossessed him,
    says the LORD.

“Wail, O Heshbon, for Ai is laid waste!
    Cry out, O daughters of Rabbah!
Put on sackcloth,
    lament, and run to and fro among the hedges!
For Milcom shall go into exile,
    with his priests and his officials.
Why do you boast of your valleys,
    O faithless daughter,
who trusted in her treasures, saying,
    ‘Who will come against me?’
Behold, I will bring terror upon you,
    declares the LORD God of hosts,
    from all who are around you,
and you shall be driven out, every man straight before him,
    with none to gather the fugitives.

“But afterward I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites, declares the LORD.”

Question to consider: Who was Gad?

The LORD’s word to Jeremiah against Ammon provides more details than those given to Ezekiel or Zephaniah concerning them. From the other prophets, we learned that the Ammonites were being judged for cheering on the destruction of Judah by the Babylonians and would therefore be conquered by them as well. However, it goes much deeper than that.

Ammon was in the land just east of the Jordan river in what is modern-day Jordan. This region was given as an inheritance to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh (son of Joseph— not the wicked king). Not only did they cheer on the downfall of Israel and Judah, but they took over the land and dedicated it to their god, Milcom (also known as Moloch). For this, the LORD would send Milcom into Babylonian captivity as well.

They believed they were protected by their valleys and wealth, but none of those things would keep them from judgment. Again, the LORD ended with a promise of restoration. Interestingly enough, the Ammonites were descendants of Ben-ammi who was the other son born from Lot’s incestuous encounter with his daughters (like Moab from yesterday's study). “The younger also bore a son and called his name Ben-ammi. He is the father of the Ammonites to this day.” (Genesis 19:38) As wicked as Lot was, he still shared in the faith of Abraham, and the LORD counted this faith as righteousness. Peter affirmed this in his second letter by calling Lot “righteous” (2 Peter 2:7). Ammon would later become a city in the Decapolis called Philadelphia.

We know that the Decapolis received the gospel early on after Jesus cast a legion of demons out of some men in the Gerasenes. One of these men desired to go with the disciples, but received this command from Jesus, “ As [Jesus] was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. And he did not permit him but said to him, ‘Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.’ And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.” (Mark 5:18-20)

In the region of Philadelphia was a small but faithful church which was commended by Christ in Revelation 3:7-13. Their restoration could be seen in becoming “a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name.” (Revelation 3:12)

Prayer

Dear heavenly Father, thank You for the restoration of Ammon. Help us to be faithful in the midst of persecution as they were in the church at Philadelphia. Amen.