Today, I am reading and commenting on Jeremiah 49-50.

When I think of the area ruled by the ancient Israelites, I think of the area of modern Israel plus Gaza and the West Bank territories.  Yet this passage makes clear that even in the time of Jeremiah, when the Kingdom of Judah was at its weakest, they still considered the land settled by Gad. Reuben, and half of the tribe of Manasseh to be part of the land of Israel.  That is basically the land east of the Jordan River which makes up the Jordan River valley and is now part of the nation of Jordan.  I’m not sure that has any significance today, but it reminds me that the land of Israel in the Old Testament was larger than I tend to think of it.  The last couple of days I have written about Jeremiah looking like an agent of Babylon because of the way he prophesied the downfall of Jerusalem.  However, today we see that Jeremiah also prophesied the downfall of other nations, including Babylon itself.  The reason that most of his prophesies were directed at Judah was because the people of Judah thought of themselves as the people of God.  In the same way, a prophet today will have more to say to those who consider themselves the people of God than to the society around us, but that does not mean that he will not have a message for society as well.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Jeremiah 49-50.

I am not sure how I am going to tie my thoughts about today’s passage together.  Jeremiah prophesied the destruction of Ammon, Edom, Damascus, Kedar and Hazor, Elam, and finally Babylon.  Jeremiah warned Ammon that their trust in wealth would prove misplaced, and he warned Edom that their trust in their geographic protections would prove to have been foolish.  He went on to prophesy that each of the other nations would suffer because they had not relied on God, because they had not followed His directions.  Actually, his prophecy against Babylon was more a warning to those who put their trust in Babylon’s might.  Do we put our trust in our riches? Or our geographic locations?  Or, perhaps we put our trust in the power of our government?  If we put our trust in anything other than God, we will face terrible suffering.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Jeremiah 49-50.

I mentioned yesterday that it is unclear when Jeremiah made the prophecies against the nations surrounding Judah.  These are relevant today because today’s passage contains more “undated” prophecies (that is, we do not know when during Jeremiah’s career he made these prophecies).  In today’s passage these other nations all thought that they had not suffered the fate of Israel because their gods were able to protect them.  Yet God gave Jeremiah a prophecy predicting that they would suffer the fate which they thought their gods had protected them from.  Even Babylon, through whom God brought punishment upon Jerusalem for its people’s sins, would face God’s judgement.  At the same time, God would provide relief to His people.  In the same way today, God will bring judgement upon the nations which oppose His will, while rescuing those who faithfully repent of their sins and turn their faces towards Him.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Jeremiah 49-50.

It is not clear when Jeremiah gave the prophecies against various nations listed in today’s passage.  However, what is noteworthy is that Jeremiah prophesied that God would use Babylon to bring judgement against the nations which neighbored Israel, then He would bring judgement against Babylon.  So, while God used Babylon to bring judgement on the wicked in many lands, He did not approve the way in which they oppressed the people in the lands they conquered.  I really struggled with what this passage said to me today until it finally hit me: Jeremiah prophesied against the people of Judah and called on them to forsake their wicked ways.  He said again and again that God would allow the Babylonians to destroy the city of Jerusalem if its people did not repent.  Yet, at no time did he say that any of the peoples around them were righteous.  Here he declares that God will pour out His judgement against them as well, and against the Babylonians whom He used to end the wickedness of these other nations.  Jeremiah called on the people of Judah to do what was right/  He did not call on them to imitate any other nation.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Jeremiah 49-50.

Jeremiah gave a prophecy of condemnation against the Ammonites which condemned them for two wrongs.  The first one he mentions is that they inhabited the land of Gad (one of the Israelite tribes which settled east of the Jordan River).  The second one is their worship of the idol Molech.  That first one makes me wonder about the people living in that land today.  Is God planning to turn that land over to the modern state of Israel?  Will they face destruction because of their idolatry?  I am hesitant to apply Old Testament prophecy concerning the Land of Israel to the modern nation of Israel, but from time to time as I read the Bible I wonder about whether and how the prophecies apply.

Later, in the prophecy against Babylon there are two things of which I want to take special note.  Jeremiah says that the people of Israel will come seeking the Lord and bind themselves to Him.  This new covenant will never be forgotten and will be eternal.  God’s people were like lost sheep who could not find their way back to the sheepfold; they were scattered, but God is going to gather them once more.  Those who attacked and scattered God’s people said that they did nothing wrong.  They justified their attacks by saying that these people had sinned against God.  They had plundered God’s people and rejoiced in the misery they had caused them.  Jeremiah tells us that God’s anger will pour forth against those who did these things.  We should keep this latter in mind when we interact with those who have sinned.  It is our job to warn sinners of God’s coming judgement, not to mete it out (and always remember that we too are sinners deserving of God’s judgement).

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Jeremiah 49-50.

Today’s passage contains some of Jeremiah’s prophecies against the nations surrounding Judah.  These prophecies condemn them for their idolatry.  My first thought as I read Jeremiah’s prophecy against Ammon was of the Muslim Arabs living in lands which Jeremiah would have considered part of Israel’s land.  God promised the destruction of Ammon for its idolatry, but also promised to restore its people after a time.  I am really hesitant to apply Old Testament prophecies to the modern world because I have seen so many people read their own understanding of the world back into these prophecies and then use them to support their own bias.  We should instead seek to discover God’s message for us in these passages.  Which leads me to the following point: these prophecies have one common thread.  All of the nations Jeremiah prophecies against held enmity towards God’s chosen people.

When Jeremiah speaks of the fall of Edom, he tells us that in the midst of the death and destruction God will protect the orphans and the widows.  This reflects a theme which comes up again and again in the Old Testament.  God comes to the defense of the powerless when the powerful abuse them.  We should take two things away from this.  If we use whatever power we have to take advantage of the powerless we make ourselves God’s enemies.  When we help those in need, we act on God’s behalf.