Jeremiah 49 - Bible Study, Explanation, and Application
Jeremiah 49 Bible Study
INTRO AND TIMELINE:
Jeremiah was a priest who lived in Anathoth (3 miles from Jerusalem). His ministry was directed towards the people of Judah, immediately before and during their exile in Babylon. His work as a prophet dates from 627 BC through the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 586 BC.
Jeremiah is the longest book in the English Bible by word count. The book has 52 chapters.
Jeremiah prophesied under the following Kings of Judah:
Manasseh (687-642 BC)
Amos (642-640 BC)
Josiah (640-609 BC)
Jehoiakim (initially known as Eliakim, 609-598 BC)
Jehoiachin (also known as Jeconiah or Coniah, 598-597 BC)
Zedekiah (His reign ended when Babylon conquered Judah, (597-586 BC)
MAP OF AMMON, EDOM, AND DAMASCUS - JEREMIAH 49
OUTLINE:
JUDGEMENT ON AMMON (49:1-6):
Jeremiah prophesied God’s judgement of the Ammonite nation. The Ammonites lived across the Jordan River from Judah, but they had moved west and started inhabiting some of the cities in Israel.
God asked why them and their idol, Milcom, were inhabiting the land of Israel.
God foretold a day when He would judge Ammon and allow His people to dispossess them of the land they had occupied.
Milcom and his priests would be sent into exile.
But God made a similar promise to Ammon as He had to Moab (48:47). One day in the future, God would “restore the fortunes of the Ammonites.”
JUDGEMENT ON EDOM (49:7-22):
God foretold future punishment on the nation of Edom, the relatives of Esau.
God was going to bring calamity on the country and strip them of everything.
Edom had grown proud and confident in their own strength; God promised to make them “small among the nations” (49:15).
Edom would become like Sodom and Gomorrah, an empty place where no one lived.
God was sending the Babylonians against Edom like a swift eagle (49:22), and the courage of the warriors of Edom would fail.
JUDGEMENT ON DAMASCUS/SYRIA (49:23-27):
God’s judgement would also come upon Syria and her capital, Damascus.
The city would be seized with fear and sorrow.
God would kindle a fire in the city which would consume its strength. It’s young men would be struck down in the squares and its soldiers destroyed.
JUDGEMENT ON KEDAR AND HAZOR (49:28-33):
God also commissioned Babylon to punish Kedar and Hazor. The people of Kedar lived in tents in Arabia. The location of Hazor is debated.
God told Nebuchadnezzar to rise up against them and “destroy the people of the east” (49:28).
God would give all their possessions as spoil to the Babylonians.
JUDGEMENT ON ELAM (49:34-39):
In the early years of Zedekiah’s reign in Judah, God spoke to Jeremiah and told him about His coming judgement on Elam.
Elam was a region in the southern part of modern-day Iran.
God was going to bring the 4 winds from the 4 quarters of heaven against them, and it would scatter them across the face of the earth.
God would send His sword against them to consume them, and God would set up His throne in Elam.
As with Ammon, one day, He promised to restore Elam and bless their future days.
APPLICATION:
Today’s application is more of an observation that you can store away in your pursuit to understand the nature and work of God.
God told Kedar and Hazor that Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had “made a plan” against them.
It was God’s will for Nebuchadnezzar to punish Kedar and Hazor, but it was also the will of Nebuchadnezzar.
God, foreknowing the future will of menbefore they are even born, can work His will through the will of men.
God may permit a man’s will to come to fruition when it aligns with His will, or He may thwart a man’s will if it does not achieve His ends.
God works with and through the will of men to perfectly accomplish His will. God’s will is supreme and cannot be overridden, no matter how many men will to do what God will not allow.
