Fear No Fear

(All scripture from Lexham English Bible, Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software)

The Ammonites were descended from Lot’s youngest daughter. She did what her elder sister did: got daddy drunk and raped him (Genesis 19:36-38). Had a son and named him Benammi. The Ammonites came from him. After Assyria conquered Israel (124 years before Jeremiah spoke this), the Ammonites came into the country and lived in the cities of the tribe of Gad. But the Lord told Jeremiah that the time would come that the Ammonites would be conquered and driven out. But the tribe of Gad would return.

The Edomites were descendants of Esau (Genesis 36:8). They would be gleaned like grapes from a vine. They would NOT survive and NONE would be left. They wouldn’t be able to hide. They would be plundered and be no more. The Lord told them that the Israelites were His special people and they got punished for their sin. Did the Edomites think they would get a pass? They would not. They would be judged. They could not hide in their secret cities (like Petra). They would be a desolation [indeed, Petra is uninhabited today]. He DID give them hope. If Edom would submit to Babylon, the Lord would preserve them. He would keep them in mercy and not destroy them. But if they fought and resisted, they would be lost.

Damascus was north of Israel and would also be judged. Babylon would conquer them. It had been conquered by David in times past, the furthest point of David’s kingdom and known as the City of Yahweh’s Joy (Jeremiah 49:25). But it was now a Gentile city and had grown feeble in praise. They would be judged and the young men would fall in their streets. It would be put to flame and burnt.

Kedar and Hazor would be struck by Babylon and devastated. They would lose their flocks, their cities, their camels, and all their wealth.

Elam would be broken. They would be scattered and dismayed. The king and the princes would be destroyed. But in the latter days, the Lord would bring back those in captivity.

What of this instrument of divine judgment on sin? What of ungodly Babylon itself?

“The word that Yahweh spoke concerning Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, by the hand of Jeremiah the prophet: “Declare among the nations and proclaim, and lift up a banner. Proclaim, you must not conceal it. Say, ‘Babylon is captured, Bel is ashamed, Merodach is filled with terror, her idols are ashamed, her idols are filled with terror.” (Jeremiah 50:1-2)

Babylon was USED by the Lord to deliver judgment. But Babylon was not sinless. They were not godly. And their sin would also come under judgment. Isaiah prophesied the fall of Babylon (Isaiah 13). Babylon and its deities would fall and fall hard. The Medes and Persians would come from the north and conquer Babylon. During the reign of the Medes and Persians, the children of God would be allowed to return to Israel and Jerusalem (Ezra 1). Cyrus the Persian would let them go – seventy years from when Jeremiah was speaking the words of the Lord. Babylon would be broken. The line of Nebuchadnezzar would be broken. Babylon was the strongest nation in the world at the time Jeremiah was speaking. This was impossible to imagine. But God said it would be. It would happen. And His children would return to His land blameless in His mercy and grace. He was their Redeemer and those who oppressed them (instead of just working them as servants) would be judged too. Babylon’s time would come.

“At the sound, ‘Babylon has been captured,’ the earth will quake, and a cry for help among the nations will be heard.” (Jeremiah 50:46)

Summary

Key Players: God, Jeremiah

Key Verse(s): Jeremiah 49:1-2, 7-8, 23-25, 28-30, 34-36; 50:1-5, 11-13, 18-20, 33-34