©Laura Haverkamp
Chapter 49:23-39 (ESV) - Concerning Damascus:
“Hamath and Arpad are confounded,
for they have heard bad news;
they melt in fear,
they are troubled like the sea that cannot be quiet.
Damascus has become feeble, she turned to flee,
and panic seized her;
anguish and sorrows have taken hold of her,
as of a woman in labor.
How is the famous city not forsaken,
the city of my joy?
Therefore her young men shall fall in her squares,
and all her soldiers shall be destroyed in that day,
declares the LORD of hosts.
And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus,
and it shall devour the strongholds of Ben-hadad.”
Concerning Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon struck down.
Thus says the LORD:
“Rise up, advance against Kedar!
Destroy the people of the east!
Their tents and their flocks shall be taken,
their curtains and all their goods;
their camels shall be led away from them,
and men shall cry to them: ‘Terror on every side!’
Flee, wander far away, dwell in the depths,
O inhabitants of Hazor!
declares the LORD.
For Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon
has made a plan against you
and formed a purpose against you.
“Rise up, advance against a nation at ease,
that dwells securely,
declares the LORD,
that has no gates or bars,
that dwells alone.
Their camels shall become plunder,
their herds of livestock a spoil.
I will scatter to every wind
those who cut the corners of their hair,
and I will bring their calamity
from every side of them,
declares the LORD.
Hazor shall become a haunt of jackals,
an everlasting waste;
no man shall dwell there;
no man shall sojourn in her.”
The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah.
Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the mainstay of their might. And I will bring upon Elam the four winds from the four quarters of heaven. And I will scatter them to all those winds, and there shall be no nation to which those driven out of Elam shall not come. I will terrify Elam before their enemies and before those who seek their life. I will bring disaster upon them, my fierce anger, declares the LORD. I will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them, and I will set my throne in Elam and destroy their king and officials, declares the LORD.
“But in the latter days I will restore the fortunes of Elam, declares the LORD.”
Question to consider: Why do you think details like “camels becoming plunder” are included in these judgments?
Today we finish up the word of judgment against the nations surrounding Judah and Babylon. I’m sure I could spend several days going into great detail about the significance of the plundering of camels and cutting of the corners of someone’s hair, but I think the point has been driven home over this study of Jeremiah that the LORD was using Babylon as a sword to judge all of the nations, including those containing His people. Generally, the judgments listed are done according to the thing that glorifies each nation above the LORD. Whatever we value above the LORD is an idol, and the LORD is in the business of breaking down our monuments and idols. So a nomadic people like those of Kedar would have placed tremendous value on their tents and camels.
As we’ll discover in the next couple of days, even Babylon would not escape this judgment. Even though these words of judgment were compiled into a single volume, it is important to remember that Jeremiah preached them as warnings to the nations over decades facing persecution and ridicule along the way. We may want to glorify those in scripture like celebrities, but they never experienced this glory in their lifetime. Jeremiah may have felt infamous rather than famous, for from his youth he was openly scorned by the people he loved. All he wanted was for them to repent and turn back to the LORD.
The section ended with a promise that in the latter days, the LORD would restore the fortunes of Elam. In Acts 2, when the Holy Spirit descended at Pentecost, the people all heard the disciples speaking in their own tongue. Among the list of nations was Elam. I believe the phrase “latter days” in Old Testament prophecy was a reference to the end of the age of the earthly temple and the beginning of the final age of the New Testament kingdom. It is possible that the LORD included the Elamites at Pentecost as proof of this prophetic fulfillment. To try and attribute it to a future end times scenario would seem unrealistic since no one is going around declaring themselves to be Elamites today.
Dear heavenly Father, thank You for destroying our idols and turning our hearts back to You. You have the words of eternal life and are the only one worthy of our faith, trust and praise. Amen.