Jeremiah 49

Throughout the centuries of human existence there have undoubtedly been many, many people groups that have come and gone, of whom we can say that there is no common knowledge of them remaining. There may be some few scholars who have a handful of artifacts or copies of written records. There may be a few sentences of ancient citations from historians who have known of certain cities and languages. Their descendants have no knowledge of their ancestors, for they have been folded into many other streams of human heritage without any sense of the names of places and people who were once formidable powers to be reckoned with. Now they are all gone. All that remains of them, all that even refer to them as primary or secondary sources could be boxed up in one trunk and put away in an attic, and almost no one would care, or even notice. Many other groups have absolutely no remaining record of their existence, though scholars search diligently for some sign of who once inhabited one part of the world or another. How many people over the centuries are from such unknown tribes? Yet the Lord made them, and He knows all. Even though they were not a part of His covenant people Israel, He knows all about them. They were raised up for their time in the sun, but they seemed to fade away with no remaining trace or even a whimper. Yet God knows.

Among such peoples there were surely many false gods. They also had leaders, men of pride who were important for their moment. Now their bones are unidentifiable. This is a sad fact for those created in the image of the eternal God. Even in the case of those groups that have some biblical record of their existence, of what worth are a few verses that speak of their pride and their destruction?

The Ammonites, part of the descendents of Lot, are remembered because they would not help the Israelites on the way from Egypt to the Promised Land. They had an eye for the weak, that they might take advantage of them in their distress. When some within Israel were in a bad way, the Ammonites were right there to be their captors and helpers, provided that all the Israelite men would submit to having their right eyes gouged out. Yet some of their women were mothers of a few important people in Israel, and in this way of intermarriage, they became a part of the Jewish people. Jeremiah announced that God would bring terror upon the remaining Ammonites. A city of theirs would become a desolate mound. As they had harassed the tribe of Gad, they would face trouble from other powers, but afterward God promised to restore the fortunes of the Ammonites.

The Edomites were the descendants of Esau, the brother of Jacob. Again the Edomites were not helpful to the Israelites when the Hebrews were leaving Egypt. For centuries the Edomites were adversaries. When Israel was stronger, the Edomites served the Israelites. When Edom was stronger they threw off the rule of the descendants of Jacob. Amazingly, certain kings of God’s people became interested in the gods of Edom, and this idolatry brought great trouble upon God’s people. According to Jeremiah, the descendants of Esau would face serious difficulties. Wisdom would flee from her counselors. She would be stripped bare by conquerors. God would be the one who would appoint leaders for her. He would also appoint the rise and fall of her prospects. Yes, there would be great trouble ahead for Edom.

Syria or Aram was the old country for the descendants of Abraham. It was part of the confession of the Israelite concerning his heritage to say publicly “My father was a wandering Aramean.” In the land of the Syrians were the old gods that continued to have such a pull upon the hearts of the Lord’s children. Damascus, the capital of Syria, would also face devastating days according to the prophesy of Jeremiah.

We know much less about the remaining lands mentioned in this chapter. Kedar, Hazor, and Elam would face sorry prospects. The Babylonians would prove to be formidable opponents for all the nations within their reach. They brought terror on every side. Though some of these tribes may have once enjoyed tranquility, now there was danger everywhere. All of this was from the fierce anger of the Lord. Once again, some of these peoples would have descendants within various people groups that have perhaps continued to this day. For some of them the word of God included a message of some restoration in latter days, suggesting New Testament hopes for their descendants, though tracing the fulfillment of that Word might prove difficult for us.

The problem that any nation of the ancient world or of modern days faced was not only the threat of the superpower of their era. Ultimately their most frightening adversary was the Lord God Almighty. His wrath is the greatest problem that any nation or person can face. There is only one way to make peace with Him, to live, and to have a future hope that will be secure and good. That way is through the blood of Christ. With Christ, even Ammonites and inhabitants of strange lands unknown to us are now Israelites indeed. They are not Jews by birth, but today as they hear the gospel, believe and repent, they have the right to be sons of God. It is part of God’s glory that He would display His righteous wrath, but it is also part of His glory that there is a way of mercy for peoples that men have largely forgotten.