Jeremiah 49:14-18

B. The Subsequent Conditions Jeremiah 49:14-18

TRANSLATION

(14) I have heard tidings from the LORD, and an ambassador has been sent to the nations: Gather yourselves and come against her! Rise up to battle! (15) For behold I have made you small among the nations, despised among men. (16) As for your terribleness, the pride of your heart has deceived you, O dweller in the clefts of the rock, O holder of the heights of the hills. Though you have made high your nest like an eagle, from thence I will bring you down (oracle of the LORD). (17) And Edom shall become an astonishment; every one who passes by shall be astonished and shall whistle over all of her wounds. (18) As the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighbors (says the LORD) a man shall not dwell there nor a son of man sojourn there.

COMMENTS

Jeremiah begins the second section of the Edom oracle by announcing that he has heard a rumor or report directly from the Lord. God has revealed to the prophet that He has sent an heavenly ambassador or messenger to the nations urging them to come to battle against Edom (Jeremiah 49:14). God guides the counsels of nations. Often they carry out His plans and fulfill His purposes without even being aware that they are being used of God. The Lord has decreed that Edom shall be small among the nations and despised among men (Jeremiah 49:15). To this end he grants success to the enemies who march against Edom.

Again the finger of accusation points to national arrogance as the supreme cause of Edom's doom. Your terribleness should probably be understood as the terror you inspire. No doubt many enemies upon approaching Edom were overcome with fear as they beheld what seemed to be unconquerable fortresses nestled in the inaccessible clefts of the mountains. This reputation of invincibleness had misled Edom and had given birth to pride or arrogance within the hearts of the inhabitants of that land.After all, even if the other cities of the land fell there was still that impregnable fortress Sela or Petra, the Rock. Accessible only. by a narrow ravine which could easily be defended by a handful of men this city was the ultimate confidence of the Edomites. The inhabitants had cut huge cisterns for the storage of water and supplies so as to be able to withstand a siege of the longest possible duration. The references to the clefts of the rock and the height of the hill likely refer to this desert stronghold. The God of Israel will humble the arrogant pride of Edom. Even though they might build their fortresses as high in those mountains as an eagle might build her nest, God will bring them down to the ground (Jeremiah 49:16).

Suddenly the picture changes. The battle is over and Edom has fallen. Centuries pass and Edom remains uninhabited, a complete desolation. Those who pass by the area will hiss or whistle in astonishment at the extent of the desolation. The destruction of Edom shall remind men of the earlier destruction of the cities of the plain in that the whole region would henceforth be uninhabited (Jeremiah 49:18). Of the Patriarchal accounts mentioned in the prophetic books none is mentioned so frequently as the Sodom account. The number of occurrences and the distribution of the references are truly remarkable. From the eighth century on the cities of the plain, made famous by Genesis 19, became proverbial for divine judgment. Their destruction became the norm for punishmentthe standard which other judgments approximated or equaled. The emphasis here is not on the manner of Sodom's overthrow but on the permanent effects of that destruction.[395] Some commentators call attention to the fact that whereas in the case of Moab and Ammon a promise of restoration is appended to the oracle of doom, no such promise appears in the Edom oracle. Edom will be destroyed as completely as Sodom and Gomorrah; there will be no restoration, That this observation is not particularly significant is indicated by two facts. First, Zephaniah (Jeremiah 2:9) uses the Sodom and Gomorrah simile in reference to Moab and Ammon. Second, the prophet Amos (Jeremiah 9:12) foretold that Edom would be included in the Messianic kingdom, at least that is the interpretation that James put upon the passage (Acts 15:15-18).

[395] Cf. Isaiah 13:19-20; Jeremiah 50:40.