mh_parser/vol_split/24 - Jeremiah/Chapter 49.xml

<div2 id="Jer.l" n="l" next="Jer.li" prev="Jer.xlix" progress="45.56%" title="Chapter XLIX">
<h2 id="Jer.l-p0.1">J E R E M I A H.</h2>
<h3 id="Jer.l-p0.2">CHAP. XLIX.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Jer.l-p1" shownumber="no">The cup of trembling still goes round, and the
nations must all drink of it, according to the instructions given
to Jeremiah, <scripRef id="Jer.l-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.25.15" parsed="|Jer|25|15|0|0" passage="Jer 25:15"><i>ch.</i> xxv.
15</scripRef>. This chapter puts it into the hands, I. Of the
Ammonites, <scripRef id="Jer.l-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.1-Jer.49.6" parsed="|Jer|49|1|49|6" passage="Jer 49:1-6">ver. 1-6</scripRef>. II.
Of the Edomites, <scripRef id="Jer.l-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.7-Jer.49.22" parsed="|Jer|49|7|49|22" passage="Jer 49:7-22">ver.
7-22</scripRef>. III. Of the Syrians, <scripRef id="Jer.l-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.23-Jer.49.27" parsed="|Jer|49|23|49|27" passage="Jer 49:23-27">ver. 23-27</scripRef>. IV. Of the Kedarenes, and the
kingdoms of Hazor, <scripRef id="Jer.l-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.28-Jer.49.33" parsed="|Jer|49|28|49|33" passage="Jer 49:28-33">ver.
28-33</scripRef>. V. Of the Elamites, <scripRef id="Jer.l-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.34-Jer.49.39" parsed="|Jer|49|34|49|39" passage="Jer 49:34-39">ver. 34-39</scripRef>. When Israel was scarcely
saved where shall all these appear?</p>
<scripCom id="Jer.l-p1.7" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49" parsed="|Jer|49|0|0|0" passage="Jer 49" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Jer.l-p1.8" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.1-Jer.49.6" parsed="|Jer|49|1|49|6" passage="Jer 49:1-6" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Jer.l-p1.9">
<h4 id="Jer.l-p1.10">The Judgment of Ammonites. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.l-p1.11">b. c.</span> 595.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Jer.l-p2" shownumber="no">1 Concerning the Ammonites, thus saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.l-p2.1">Lord</span>; Hath Israel no sons? hath he no
heir? why <i>then</i> doth their king inherit Gad, and his people
dwell in his cities?   2 Therefore, behold, the days come,
saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.l-p2.2">Lord</span>, that I will cause an
alarm of war to be heard in Rabbah of the Ammonites; and it shall
be a desolate heap, and her daughters shall be burned with fire:
then shall Israel be heir unto them that were his heirs, saith the
<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.l-p2.3">Lord</span>.   3 Howl, O Heshbon, for
Ai is spoiled: cry, ye daughters of Rabbah, gird you with
sackcloth; lament, and run to and fro by the hedges; for their king
shall go into captivity, <i>and</i> his priests and his princes
together.   4 Wherefore gloriest thou in the valleys, thy
flowing valley, O backsliding daughter? that trusted in her
treasures, <i>saying,</i> Who shall come unto me?   5 Behold,
I will bring a fear upon thee, saith the Lord <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.l-p2.4">God</span> of hosts, from all those that be about thee;
and ye shall be driven out every man right forth; and none shall
gather up him that wandereth.   6 And afterward I will bring
again the captivity of the children of Ammon, saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.l-p2.5">Lord</span>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.l-p3" shownumber="no">The Ammonites were next, both in kindred
and neighbourhood, to the Moabites, and therefore are next set to
the bar. Their country joined to that of the two tribes and a half,
on the other side Jordan, and was but a bad neighbour; however,
being a neighbour, they shall have a share in these circular
predictions. 1. An action is here brought, in God's name, against
the Ammonites, for an illegal encroachment upon the rightful
possessions of the tribe of Gad, that lay next them, <scripRef id="Jer.l-p3.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.1" parsed="|Jer|49|1|0|0" passage="Jer 49:1"><i>v.</i> 1</scripRef>. A writ of enquiry is
brought to discover what title they had to those territories,
which, upon the carrying away of the Gileadites, by the king of
Assyria (<scripRef id="Jer.l-p3.2" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.15.29 Bible:1Chr.5.26" parsed="|2Kgs|15|29|0|0;|1Chr|5|26|0|0" passage="2Ki 15:29,1Ch 5:26">2 Kings xv. 29, 1
Chron. v. 26</scripRef>), were left almost dispeopled, at least
unguarded, and an easy prey to the next invader. "What! Does it
escheat <i>ob defectum sanguinis—for what of an heir? Hath Israel
no sons? Hath he no heir?</i> Are there no Gadites left, to whom
the right of inheritance belongs? Or, if there were not, are there
no Israelites, none left of Judah, that are nearer akin to them
than you are?" <i>Why then does their king,</i> as if he were
entitled to the forfeited estates, or Milcom, their idol, as if he
had the right to dispose of it to his worshippers, <i>inherit Gad,
and his people dwell in the cities</i> which fell by lot to that
tribe of God's people. Nay, there were sons and heirs of their own
body, <i>en ventre de sa mere</i>—<i>in their mother's womb,</i>
and the Ammonites, to prevent their claim, most barbarously
murdered them (<scripRef id="Jer.l-p3.3" osisRef="Bible:Amos.1.13" parsed="|Amos|1|13|0|0" passage="Am 1:13">Amos i. 13</scripRef>):
<i>They ripped up the women with child of Gilead, that they might
enlarge their border,</i> that, having seized it, none might rise
up hereafter to recover it from them. Thus <i>they magnified
themselves against their border</i> and boasted it was their own,
<scripRef id="Jer.l-p3.4" osisRef="Bible:Zeph.2.8" parsed="|Zeph|2|8|0|0" passage="Zep 2:8">Zeph. ii. 8</scripRef>. Note, Though
among men might often prevails against right, yet that might shall
be controlled by the Almighty, who <i>sits in the throne, judging
right;</i> and those will find themselves mistaken who think every
thing their own which they can lay their hands on, or which none
yet appears to lay claim to. As there is justice owing to owners,
so also to their heirs, when they are dead, whom it is a great sin
to defraud, though they either know not their right or know not how
to come at it. This shall be reckoned for particularly, when
injuries of this kind are done to God's people. 2. Judgment is here
given against them for this violence. (1.) Terrors shall come upon
them: God <i>will cause an alarm of war to be heard,</i> even <i>in
Rabbah,</i> their capital city and a very strong one, <scripRef id="Jer.l-p3.5" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.1" parsed="|Jer|49|1|0|0" passage="Jer 49:1"><i>v.</i> 1</scripRef>. <i>The Lord God of
hosts,</i> who has all armies at his command, <i>will bring a fear
upon them from all that be about them,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.l-p3.6" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.5" parsed="|Jer|49|5|0|0" passage="Jer 49:5"><i>v.</i> 5</scripRef>. Note, God has many ways to
terrify those who have been a terror to his people. (2.) Their
cities shall be laid in ruins: <i>Rabbah,</i> the mother-city,
<i>shall be a desolate heap, and her daughters,</i> the other
cities that have a dependence upon her, and receive law from her as
daughters, <i>shall be burnt with fire;</i> so that the inhabitants
shall be forced to quit them, and they shall <i>cry,</i> and
<i>gird themselves with sackcloth,</i> as having lost all they had,
and not knowing whither to betake themselves. (3.) Their country,
which they were so proud of, shall be wasted (<scripRef id="Jer.l-p3.7" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.4" parsed="|Jer|49|4|0|0" passage="Jer 49:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>): <i>Wherefore gloriest thou in
the valleys,</i> and <i>trustest in thy treasures, O backsliding
daughter?</i> They are charged with backsliding or turning away
from God and from his worship, for they were the posterity of
righteous Lot. It is true, they had never been so in covenant with
God as Israel was; yet all idolaters may be called
<i>backsliders,</i> for the worship of the true God was prior to
that of false gods. <i>They were untoward and refractory</i> (so
some read it); and, when they had forsaken their God, <i>they
gloried in their valleys,</i> particularly one that was called
<i>the flowing valley,</i> because it flowed with all good things.
These they had violently taken away from Israel, and gloried in it
when they had done so. They gloried in the strength of their
valleys, so surrounded with mountains that they were inaccessible,
gloried in the products of them, gloried <i>in the treasures</i>
they got together out of them, <i>saying, Who shall come unto
me?</i> While they bathed themselves in the pleasures of their
country, they flattered themselves with a conceit that they should
never be disturbed in the enjoyment of them: <i>To-morrow shall be
as this day;</i> therefore they set God and his judgments at
defiance; they are proud, voluptuous, and secure; but wherefore
dost thou do so: Note, Those who backslide and turn away from God
have little reason either to take complacency or to put confidence
in any worldly enjoyments whatsoever, <scripRef id="Jer.l-p3.8" osisRef="Bible:Hos.9.1" parsed="|Hos|9|1|0|0" passage="Ho 9:1">Hos. ix. 1</scripRef>. (4.) Their people, from the least
to the greatest, shall be forced out of the country. Some shall
flee to seek for shelter, others shall be carried into captivity,
so that their land shall be quite evacuated: <i>Their king and his
princes,</i> nay, and Milcom, their god, <i>and his priests, shall
go into captivity</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.l-p3.9" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.3" parsed="|Jer|49|3|0|0" passage="Jer 49:3"><i>v.</i>
3</scripRef>), <i>and every man shall be driven out right
forth,</i> shall take the next way, and make the best of it in his
flight (<scripRef id="Jer.l-p3.10" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.5" parsed="|Jer|49|5|0|0" passage="Jer 49:5"><i>v.</i> 5</scripRef>),
forgetting the <i>valleys, the flowing valleys,</i> which now fail
them. And, to complete their misery, <i>none shall gather up him
that wanders,</i> none shall open their doors to them, as Jael to
Sisera, to entertain them; and those that flee shall be so much in
care to secure themselves that they shall not take notice of
others, no, not of those that are nearest to them, that wander, and
are at a loss which way to go, as <scripRef id="Jer.l-p3.11" osisRef="Bible:Jer.47.3" parsed="|Jer|47|3|0|0" passage="Jer 47:3"><i>ch.</i> xlvii. 3</scripRef>. (5.) Then the country of
the Ammonites shall fall into the hands of the remaining Israelites
(<scripRef id="Jer.l-p3.12" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.2" parsed="|Jer|49|2|0|0" passage="Jer 49:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>): <i>Then
shall Israel be heir to those that were his heirs,</i> shall
possess himself of their land who had possessed themselves of his,
by way of reprisal. Note, The equity of divine Providence is to be
acknowledged when the losses of the injured are recompensed out of
the unjust gains of the injurious. Though the enemies of God's
Israel may make a prey of them for a while, the tables will shortly
be turned. 3. Yet there is a prospect given them of mercy hereafter
(<scripRef id="Jer.l-p3.13" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.6" parsed="|Jer|49|6|0|0" passage="Jer 49:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>), as before to
Moab. The day will come when <i>the captivity of the children of
Ammon will</i> be <i>brought again;</i> for so it is in human
affairs: the wheel goes round.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Jer.l-p3.14" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.7-Jer.49.22" parsed="|Jer|49|7|49|22" passage="Jer 49:7-22" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Jer.l-p3.15">
<h4 id="Jer.l-p3.16">The Judgment of Edom. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.l-p3.17">b. c.</span> 595.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Jer.l-p4" shownumber="no">7 Concerning Edom, thus saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.l-p4.1">Lord</span> of hosts; <i>Is</i> wisdom no more in
Teman? is counsel perished from the prudent? is their wisdom
vanished?   8 Flee ye, turn back, dwell deep, O inhabitants of
Dedan; for I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him, the time
<i>that</i> I will visit him.   9 If grape-gatherers come to
thee, would they not leave <i>some</i> gleaning grapes? if thieves
by night, they will destroy till they have enough.   10 But I
have made Esau bare, I have uncovered his secret places, and he
shall not be able to hide himself: his seed is spoiled, and his
brethren, and his neighbours, and he <i>is</i> not.   11 Leave
thy fatherless children, I will preserve <i>them</i> alive; and let
thy widows trust in me.   12 For thus saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.l-p4.2">Lord</span>; Behold, they whose judgment <i>was</i> not
to drink of the cup have assuredly drunken; and <i>art</i> thou he
<i>that</i> shall altogether go unpunished? thou shalt not go
unpunished, but thou shalt surely drink <i>of it.</i>   13 For
I have sworn by myself, saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.l-p4.3">Lord</span>, that Bozrah shall become a desolation, a
reproach, a waste, and a curse; and all the cities thereof shall be
perpetual wastes.   14 I have heard a rumour from the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.l-p4.4">Lord</span>, and an ambassador is sent unto the
heathen, <i>saying,</i> Gather ye together, and come against her,
and rise up to the battle.   15 For, lo, I will make thee
small among the heathen, <i>and</i> despised among men.   16
Thy terribleness hath deceived thee, <i>and</i> the pride of thine
heart, O thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, that holdest
the height of the hill: though thou shouldest make thy nest as high
as the eagle, I will bring thee down from thence, saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.l-p4.5">Lord</span>.   17 Also Edom shall be a
desolation: every one that goeth by it shall be astonished, and
shall hiss at all the plagues thereof.   18 As in the
overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour <i>cities</i>
thereof, saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.l-p4.6">Lord</span>, no man
shall abide there, neither shall a son of man dwell in it.  
19 Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan
against the habitation of the strong: but I will suddenly make him
run away from her: and who <i>is</i> a chosen <i>man, that</i> I
may appoint over her? for who <i>is</i> like me? and who will
appoint me the time? and who <i>is</i> that shepherd that will
stand before me?   20 Therefore hear the counsel of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.l-p4.7">Lord</span>, that he hath taken against Edom; and
his purposes, that he hath purposed against the inhabitants of
Teman: Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out: surely he
shall make their habitations desolate with them.   21 The
earth is moved at the noise of their fall, at the cry the noise
thereof was heard in the Red sea.   22 Behold, he shall come
up and fly as the eagle, and spread his wings over Bozrah: and at
that day shall the heart of the mighty men of Edom be as the heart
of a woman in her pangs.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.l-p5" shownumber="no">The Edomites come next to receive their
doom from God, by the mouth of Jeremiah: they also were old enemies
to the Israel of God; but their day will come to be reckoned with,
and it is now at hand, and is foretold, not only for warning to
them, but for comfort to the Israel of God, whose afflictions were
very much aggravated by their triumphs over them and joy in their
calamity, <scripRef id="Jer.l-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.137.7" parsed="|Ps|137|7|0|0" passage="Ps 137:7">Ps. cxxxvii. 7</scripRef>.
Many of the expressions used in this prophecy <i>concerning
Edom</i> are borrowed from the prophecy of Obadiah, which is
<i>concerning Edom;</i> for, all the prophets being inspired by one
and the same Spirit, there must needs be a wonderful harmony and
agreement in their predictions. Now here it is foretold,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.l-p6" shownumber="no">I. That the country of Edom should be all
wasted and made desolate, that <i>the calamity of Esau</i> should
be <i>brought upon him,</i> the calamity he has deserved, and God
has long designed him, for his old sins, <scripRef id="Jer.l-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.8" parsed="|Jer|49|8|0|0" passage="Jer 49:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>. The time is at hand when God
<i>will visit him,</i> and call him to an account, and then they
shall <i>flee</i> from the sword, <i>turn back</i> from the battle,
and <i>dwell deep</i> in some close caverns, where they shall hide
themselves. All they have shall be carried off by the conqueror;
whereas <i>grape-gatherers</i> will <i>leave some gleanings,</i>
and even <i>thieves</i> know when <i>they have enough</i> and
<i>will destroy</i> no further, those that destroy them shall never
be satiated, (<scripRef id="Jer.l-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.9-Jer.49.10" parsed="|Jer|49|9|49|10" passage="Jer 49:9,10"><i>v.</i> 9,
10</scripRef>); they shall make <i>Esau</i> quite <i>bare,</i>
shall strip the Edomites of all they have, shall find out ways and
means to come at their most hidden treasure, shall discover even
the <i>secret places</i> where they thought to secure their wealth,
and rifle them, so that they shall none of them save their wealth,
no, nor save themselves nor their children, that might be concealed
in a little room: <i>He shall not be able to hide himself,</i> and
<i>his seed</i> too <i>is spoiled. His brethren</i> the Moabites,
<i>and his neighbours</i> the Philistines, whom he might have
expected succours from, or at least shelter with, are spoiled as
well as he and disabled to do him any service. <i>And he is
not,</i> or <i>there is not he, there is none to him, none left
him,</i> that may say what follows (<scripRef id="Jer.l-p6.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.11" parsed="|Jer|49|11|0|0" passage="Jer 49:11"><i>v.</i> 11</scripRef>), <i>Leave thy fatherless
children, I will preserve them alive.</i> When they are flying, or
dying, there shall be none left, no relation, no friend, no, not so
much as any parish officers to take care of their wives and
children that they leave behind. Edom is not, he is cut off and
gone; nor is there any to say, <i>Leave me thy orphans.</i> If the
master of a family be cut off, or forced away, it is some comfort
if he have a friend to leave his family with, whom he can confide
in; but they shall have none such, for they shall all be involved
in the same calamity. The Chaldee makes these to be the words of
God to his people, distinguishing them from the Edomites in this
calamity; and they read it, "<i>But you, O house of Israel! you
shall not leave your orphans; I will secure them, and let your
widows rest on my word.</i> Whatever becomes of the widows and
fatherless of the Edomites, I will take care of yours." Note, it is
an unspeakable comfort to the people of God, when they are dying,
that they may leave their surviving relations with God, may, in
faith, commit them to him and encourage them to trust in him; and,
though they cannot promise themselves great things in the world for
them, yet they may hope that he will preserve them alive, always,
provided that they trust in him. Let the Edomites, for their part,
count upon no other than to be made <i>a desolation</i> and <i>a
reproach;</i> for the decree has gone forth; God hath <i>sworn it
by himself</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.l-p6.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.13" parsed="|Jer|49|13|0|0" passage="Jer 49:13"><i>v.</i>
13</scripRef>), that their <i>cities shall be wasted,</i> nay, they
<i>shall be perpetual wastes,</i> they shall be made mean and
despicable; they had made a mighty figure, but God will make
<i>them small among the heathen;</i> and those that despised God's
people shall themselves be <i>despised among men</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.l-p6.5" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.15 Bible:Obad.1.2" parsed="|Jer|49|15|0|0;|Obad|1|2|0|0" passage="Jer 49:15,Ob 1:2"><i>v.</i> 15, Obad. 2</scripRef>), nay,
they shall be made monstrous, and even a prodigy (<scripRef id="Jer.l-p6.6" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.17" parsed="|Jer|49|17|0|0" passage="Jer 49:17"><i>v.</i> 17</scripRef>): <i>Edom shall be</i>
such a <i>desolation</i> that every one who goes by <i>shall be
astonished;</i> nay, worse yet, they shall be made a terror; Edom
shall be made like Sodom and Gomorrah, none shall care for coming
near the ruins of it, <i>no man shall abide there</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.l-p6.7" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.18" parsed="|Jer|49|18|0|0" passage="Jer 49:18"><i>v.</i> 18</scripRef>), such a frightful
place shall it be made.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.l-p7" shownumber="no">II. That the instruments of this
destruction should be very resolute and formidable. They have their
commission from God; he summons them into this service (<scripRef id="Jer.l-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.14" parsed="|Jer|49|14|0|0" passage="Jer 49:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>): <i>I have heard a
rumour,</i> or report, <i>from the Lord,</i> heard it by the
prophecy of Obadiah, heard it by a whisper to myself, that <i>an
ambassador,</i> or herald, or messenger, <i>is sent to the</i>
Gentiles, who are to lay Edom waste, <i>saying, Gather you
together,</i> muster all the forces you can, <i>and come against
her;</i> for (<scripRef id="Jer.l-p7.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.20" parsed="|Jer|49|20|0|0" passage="Jer 49:20"><i>v.</i>
20</scripRef>) this is <i>the counsel that he hath taken against
Edom.</i> The matter is settled, the decree has gone forth, and
there is no resisting it. God has determined that Edom shall be
laid waste, and then he that is to be employed in wasting it shall
come swiftly and strongly. Nebuchadnezzar is he or whom it is here
foretold, 1. That he <i>shall come up like a lion,</i> with
fierceness and fury, like a lion enraged by <i>the swelling of
Jordan</i> overflowing his banks, which forces him out of his
covert by the water-side into the higher grounds, <scripRef id="Jer.l-p7.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.19" parsed="|Jer|49|19|0|0" passage="Jer 49:19"><i>v.</i> 19</scripRef>. He shall come roaring,
come to devour all that come in his way. He shall <i>come against
the habitation of the strong,</i> the forts and castles; and I
<i>will cause him to come suddenly into the land</i> (so the next
words might well be read), so as to find them unprovided with
necessaries for a defence; for I will look out <i>a chosen man to
appoint over her,</i> to do this execution, a man fit for the
purpose, one chosen out of the people; for when God has work to do
he will find out the fittest instruments to be employed in doing
it: "<i>Who is like me</i> for choosing the instruments, and
spiriting them for the work? And <i>who will appoint me the
time?</i> Who will challenge me, and fix a time and place to meet
me? Who will join issue with me in battle? And, when I send a lion
into the flock, <i>who is that shepherd</i> that can, or dare,
stand before me, or against me, to oppose that lion, and think to
rescue any of the flock?" Note, When God has work to do of any kind
he will soon find those that are able to engage in it, and all the
world cannot find those that are able to engage against it. Nay, if
God will have Edom destroyed, and their peopled dislodged, there
needs not a lion, a fierce lion to do it: <i>Even the least of the
flock shall draw them out</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.l-p7.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.20" parsed="|Jer|49|20|0|0" passage="Jer 49:20"><i>v.</i> 20</scripRef>); the meanest servant in
Nebuchadnezzar's retinue, the weakest of all that follow his camp,
shall <i>draw them out</i> for the slaughter, shall force them to
flee, or to surrender, and <i>make their habitations desolate with
them.</i> God can bring to pass the greatest works by instruments
least likely. When the Chaldean army comes against the Edomites all
hands shall be employed and the poorest soldier in it shall have a
pluck at them. 2. Nebuchadnezzar shall come, not only like a lion,
the king of beasts, but like an eagle, the king of birds (<scripRef id="Jer.l-p7.5" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.22" parsed="|Jer|49|22|0|0" passage="Jer 49:22"><i>v.</i> 22</scripRef>): <i>He shall fly as
the eagle</i> upon his prey, so swiftly, so strongly, shall clap
his wings upon Bozrah, to secure it for himself (as before,
<scripRef id="Jer.l-p7.6" osisRef="Bible:Jer.48.40" parsed="|Jer|48|40|0|0" passage="Jer 48:40"><i>ch.</i> xlviii. 40</scripRef>),
and immediately <i>the hearts of the mighty men</i> shall fail
them, for they shall see he is an enemy that it is in vain to
struggle with.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.l-p8" shownumber="no">III. That the Edomites' confidences should
all fail them in the day of their distress. 1. They trusted to
their wisdom, but that shall stand them in no stead. This is the
first thing fastened upon in this prophecy against Edom, <scripRef id="Jer.l-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.7" parsed="|Jer|49|7|0|0" passage="Jer 49:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>. That nation used to be
famous for wisdom, and their statesmen were thought to excel in
politics; and yet now they shall take such wrong measures in all
their counsels, and be so baffled in all their designs, that people
shall ask, with wonder, What is the matter with the Edomites? <i>Is
wisdom no more in Teman?</i> Have the wise men of the east country
(<scripRef id="Jer.l-p8.2" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.4.30" parsed="|1Kgs|4|30|0|0" passage="1Ki 4:30">1 Kings iv. 30</scripRef>) become
fools? Are those at <i>their wits' end</i> that were thought to
have the monopoly of prudence? <i>Has counsel perished from the
understanding men?</i> It is so, when God is designing the ruin of
a people; for whom he will destroy he infatuates. See <scripRef id="Jer.l-p8.3" osisRef="Bible:Job.12.20" parsed="|Job|12|20|0|0" passage="Job 12:20">Job xii. 20</scripRef>. <i>Has their wisdom
vanished? Is it tired?</i> (so some); <i>is it worn out?</i> (so
others); <i>has it become useless?</i> so others. Yes, it will do
them no service when God comes forth to contend with them. 2. They
trusted to their strength, but neither shall that avail them,
<scripRef id="Jer.l-p8.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.16" parsed="|Jer|49|16|0|0" passage="Jer 49:16"><i>v.</i> 16</scripRef>. They had
been a terror to all their neighbours; every body feared them and
truckled to them, and this made them proud and conceited of
themselves and their own strength, and very secure; because no
neighbouring nation durst meddle with them, they thought no nation
in the world durst. Their country was much of it mountainous,
having many passes which they thought themselves able to make good
against any invader; but this terribleness of theirs deceived them,
and so did their imaginary inaccessibleness; they did not prove so
strong as they were formidable, nor so safe as they were secure.
High as they are, God will bring them down; for, as <i>there is no
wisdom,</i> so there is no might <i>against the Lord,</i> See these
expressions, <scripRef id="Jer.l-p8.5" osisRef="Bible:Obad.1.3-Obad.1.4 Bible:Obad.1.8" parsed="|Obad|1|3|1|4;|Obad|1|8|0|0" passage="Ob 1:3,4,8">Obad. 3, 4,
8</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.l-p9" shownumber="no">IV. That their destruction should be
inevitable and very remarkable. 1. God hath determined it
(<scripRef id="Jer.l-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.12" parsed="|Jer|49|12|0|0" passage="Jer 49:12"><i>v.</i> 12</scripRef>); he hath
said it; nay (<scripRef id="Jer.l-p9.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.13" parsed="|Jer|49|13|0|0" passage="Jer 49:13"><i>v.</i>
13</scripRef>), he hath <i>sworn it,</i> that <i>the Edomites shall
not go unpunished,</i> but that they shall <i>drink the cup of
trembling,</i> which is put into the hands of all their neighbours;
even those <i>whose judgment,</i> or doom, <i>was not to drink of
the cup,</i> who had not so well deserved it as they had done,
nations that had not been such enemies to Israel as they had been,
or Israel itself, that was God's peculiar people, and among whom
there were many, very many, who kept his ordinances, upon which
account they might have expected an exemption; and yet they had
been made to drink of the bitter cup; and shall the Edomites think
to pass it? No; they shall <i>surely drink of it.</i> Note, When
God punishes the less guilty it is folly for the more guilty to
promise themselves impunity; and when judgment begins at God's
house it will reach the strangers. 2. All the world shall take
notice of it (<scripRef id="Jer.l-p9.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.21" parsed="|Jer|49|21|0|0" passage="Jer 49:21"><i>v.</i>
21</scripRef>): <i>The earth is moved,</i> and all the nations are
put into a concern, <i>at the noise of their fall;</i> the news of
it shall make them tremble. <i>The noise of the outcry is heard to
the Red Sea,</i> which flowed upon the coasts of Edom. So loud
shall be the shouts of the conquerors and the shrieks of the
conquered, and such a mighty noise shall the news of this
destruction of Idumea make in the nations, that is shall be heard
among the ships that lie in the Red Sea to take in lading
(<scripRef id="Jer.l-p9.4" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.9.26" parsed="|1Kgs|9|26|0|0" passage="1Ki 9:26">1 Kings ix. 26</scripRef>), and then
they shall carry the news of it to the remotest shore. Note, The
fall of those who have affected to make a noise with their pomp and
power will make so much the greater noise.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Jer.l-p9.5" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.23-Jer.49.27" parsed="|Jer|49|23|49|27" passage="Jer 49:23-27" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Jer.l-p9.6">
<h4 id="Jer.l-p9.7">The Judgment of Damascus. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.l-p9.8">b. c.</span> 595.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Jer.l-p10" shownumber="no">23 Concerning Damascus. Hamath is confounded,
and Arpad: for they have heard evil tidings: they are faint hearted;
<i>there is</i> sorrow on the sea; it cannot be quiet.   24
Damascus is waxed feeble, <i>and</i> turneth herself to flee, and
fear hath seized on <i>her:</i> anguish and sorrows have taken her,
as a woman in travail.   25 How is the city of praise not
left, the city of my joy!   26 Therefore her young men shall
fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in
that day, saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.l-p10.1">Lord</span> of hosts.
  27 And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it
shall consume the palaces of Benhadad.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.l-p11" shownumber="no">The kingdom of Syria lay north of Canaan,
as that of Edom lay south, and thither we must now remove and take
a view of the approaching fate of that kingdom, which had been
often vexatious to the Israel of God. Damascus was the metropolis
of that kingdom, and the ruin of the whole is supposed in the ruin
of that: yet Hamath and Arpad, two other considerable cities, are
names (<scripRef id="Jer.l-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.23" parsed="|Jer|49|23|0|0" passage="Jer 49:23"><i>v.</i> 23</scripRef>), and
<i>the palaces of Ben-hadad,</i> which he built, are particularly
marked for ruin, <scripRef id="Jer.l-p11.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.27" parsed="|Jer|49|27|0|0" passage="Jer 49:27"><i>v.</i>
27</scripRef>; see also <scripRef id="Jer.l-p11.3" osisRef="Bible:Amos.1.4" parsed="|Amos|1|4|0|0" passage="Am 1:4">Amos i.
4</scripRef>. Some think Ben-hadad (the son of Hadad, either their
idol, or one of their ancient kings, whence the rest descended) was
a common name of the kings of Syria, as Pharaoh of the kings of
Egypt. Now observe concerning the judgment of Damascus, 1. It
begins with a terrible fright and faint-heartedness. They <i>hear
evil tidings,</i> that the king of Babylon, with all his force, is
coming against them, and <i>they are confounded;</i> they know not
what measures to take for their own safety, their souls are melted,
<i>they are faint-hearted,</i> they have no spirit left them, they
are like <i>the troubled sea, that cannot be quiet</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.l-p11.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.57.20" parsed="|Isa|57|20|0|0" passage="Isa 57:20">Isa. lvii. 20</scripRef>), or like men <i>in a
storm</i> at sea (<scripRef id="Jer.l-p11.5" osisRef="Bible:Ps.17.26" parsed="|Ps|17|26|0|0" passage="Ps 17:26">Ps. xvii.
26</scripRef>); or the sorrow that begins in the city shall go to
the sea-coast, <scripRef id="Jer.l-p11.6" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.23" parsed="|Jer|49|23|0|0" passage="Jer 49:23"><i>v.</i>
23</scripRef>. See how easily God can dispirit those nations that
have been most celebrated for valour. <i>Damascus</i> now <i>waxes
feeble</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.l-p11.7" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.24" parsed="|Jer|49|24|0|0" passage="Jer 49:24"><i>v.</i> 24</scripRef>),
a city that thought she could look the most formidable enemy in the
face now <i>turns herself to flee,</i> and owns it is to no more
purpose to think of contending with her fate than for <i>a woman
in</i> labour to contend with her pains, which she cannot escape,
but must yield to. It was a <i>city of praise</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.l-p11.8" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.25" parsed="|Jer|49|25|0|0" passage="Jer 49:25"><i>v.</i> 25</scripRef>), not praise to God,
but to herself, a city much commended and admired by all strangers
that visited it. It was a <i>city of joy,</i> where there was an
affluence and confluence of all the delights of the sons of men,
and abundance of mirth in the enjoyment of them. We read it (though
there is no necessity for this) <i>the city of my joy,</i> which
the prophet himself had sometimes visited with pleasure. Or it may
be the speech of the king lamenting the ruin of <i>the city of</i>
his <i>joy.</i> But now it is all overwhelmed with fear and grief.
Note, Those deceive themselves who place their happiness in carnal
joys; for God in his providence can soon cast a damp upon them and
put an end to them. He can soon make a <i>city of praise</i> to be
a reproach and a <i>city of joy</i> to be a terror to itself. 2. It
ends with a terrible fall and fire. (1.) The inhabitants are slain
(<scripRef id="Jer.l-p11.9" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.26" parsed="|Jer|49|26|0|0" passage="Jer 49:26"><i>v.</i> 26</scripRef>): The
<i>young men,</i> who should fight the enemy and defend the city,
<i>shall fall</i> by the sword <i>in her streets; and all the men
of war,</i> mighty men, expert in war, and engaged in the service
of their country, <i>shall be cut off.</i> (2.) The city is laid in
ashes (<scripRef id="Jer.l-p11.10" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.27" parsed="|Jer|49|27|0|0" passage="Jer 49:27"><i>v.</i> 27</scripRef>): The
<i>fire</i> is <i>kindled</i> by the besiegers <i>in the wall,</i>
but it shall devour all before it, <i>the palaces of Ben-hadad</i>
particularly, where so much mischief had formerly been hatched
against God's Israel, for which it is now thus visited.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Jer.l-p11.11" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.28-Jer.49.33" parsed="|Jer|49|28|49|33" passage="Jer 49:28-33" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Jer.l-p11.12">
<h4 id="Jer.l-p11.13">The Judgment of Kedar. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.l-p11.14">b. c.</span> 595.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Jer.l-p12" shownumber="no">28 Concerning Kedar, and concerning the kingdoms
of Hazor, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon shall smite, thus
saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.l-p12.1">Lord</span>; Arise ye, go up to
Kedar, and spoil the men of the east.   29 Their tents and
their flocks shall they take away: they shall take to themselves
their curtains, and all their vessels, and their camels; and they
shall cry unto them, Fear <i>is</i> on every side.   30 Flee,
get you far off, dwell deep, O ye inhabitants of Hazor, saith the
<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.l-p12.2">Lord</span>; for Nebuchadrezzar king of
Babylon hath taken counsel against you, and hath conceived a
purpose against you.   31 Arise, get you up unto the wealthy
nation, that dwelleth without care, saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.l-p12.3">Lord</span>, which have neither gates nor bars,
<i>which</i> dwell alone.   32 And their camels shall be a
booty, and the multitude of their cattle a spoil: and I will
scatter into all winds them <i>that are</i> in the utmost corners;
and I will bring their calamity from all sides thereof, saith the
<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.l-p12.4">Lord</span>.   33 And Hazor shall be a
dwelling for dragons, <i>and</i> a desolation for ever: there shall
no man abide there, nor <i>any</i> son of man dwell in it.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.l-p13" shownumber="no">These verses foretell the desolation that
Nebuchadnezzar and his forces should make among the people of Kedar
(who descended from Kedar the son of Ishmael, and inhabited a part
of Arabia the Stony), and of the kingdoms, the petty
principalities, of Hazor, that joined to them, who perhaps were
originally Canaanites, of the kingdom of Hazor, in the north of
Canaan, which had Jabin for its king, but, being driven thence,
settled in the deserts of Arabia and associated themselves with the
Kedarenes. Concerning this people we may here observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.l-p14" shownumber="no">I. What was their present state and
posture? They dwelt in <i>tents</i> and had no walls, but
<i>curtains</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.l-p14.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.20" parsed="|Jer|49|20|0|0" passage="Jer 49:20"><i>v.</i>
20</scripRef>), no fortified cities; they had <i>neither gates nor
bars,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.l-p14.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.31" parsed="|Jer|49|31|0|0" passage="Jer 49:31"><i>v.</i> 31</scripRef>.
They were shepherds, and had no treasures, but stock upon land, no
money, but flocks and camels. They had no soldiers among them, for
they were in no fear of invaders, no merchants, for they <i>dwelt
alone,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.l-p14.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.31" parsed="|Jer|49|31|0|0" passage="Jer 49:31"><i>v.</i> 31</scripRef>.
Those of other nations neither came among them nor traded with
them; but they lived within themselves, content with the products
and pleasures of their own country. This was their manner of
living, very different from that of the nations that were round
about them. And, 1. They were very rich; though they had not trade,
no treasures, yet they are here said to be a <i>wealthy nation</i>
(<scripRef id="Jer.l-p14.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.31" parsed="|Jer|49|31|0|0" passage="Jer 49:31"><i>v.</i> 31</scripRef>), because
they had a sufficiency to answer all the occasions of human life
and they were content with it. Note, Those are truly rich who have
enough to supply their necessities, and know when they have enough.
We need not go to the treasures of kings and provinces, or to the
cash of merchants, to look for wealthy people; they may be found
among shepherds <i>that dwell in tents.</i> 2. They were very easy:
<i>They dwelt without care.</i> Their wealth was such as nobody
envied them, or, if any did, they might come peaceably and enjoy
the like; and therefore they feared nobody. Note, Those that live
innocently and honestly may live very securely, though they have
<i>neither gates nor bars.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.l-p15" shownumber="no">II. The design of the king of Babylon
against them and the descent he make upon them: <i>He has taken
counsel against you and has conceived a purpose against you,</i>
<scripRef id="Jer.l-p15.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.30" parsed="|Jer|49|30|0|0" passage="Jer 49:30"><i>v.</i> 30</scripRef>. That proud
man resolves it shall never be said that he, who had conquered so
many strong cities, will leave those unconquered <i>that dwell in
tents.</i> It was strange that that eagle should stoop to catch
these flies, that so great a prince should play at such small game;
but all is fish that comes to the ambitious covetous man's net.
Note, It will not always secure men from suffering wrong to be able
to say that they have done no wrong; not to have given offence will
not be a defence against such men as Nebuchadnezzar. Yet, how
unrighteous soever he was in doing it, God was righteous in
directing it. These people had lived inoffensively among their
neighbours, as many do, who yet, like them, are guilty before God;
and it was to punish them for their offences against him that God
said (<scripRef id="Jer.l-p15.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.28" parsed="|Jer|49|28|0|0" passage="Jer 49:28"><i>v.</i> 28</scripRef>):
<i>Arise, go up to Kedar, and spoil the men of the east.</i> They
will do it to gratify their own covetousness and ambition, but God
orders it for the correcting of an unthankful people, and for
warning to a careless world to expect trouble when they seem to be
most safe. God says to the Chaldeans (<scripRef id="Jer.l-p15.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.31" parsed="|Jer|49|31|0|0" passage="Jer 49:31"><i>v.</i> 31</scripRef>): "<i>Arise, get up to the
wealthy nation that dwells without care;</i> go and give them an
alarm, that none may imagine <i>their mountain stands so strong
that it cannot be moved.</i>"</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.l-p16" shownumber="no">III. The great amazement that this put them
into, and the great desolation hereby made among them: <i>They
shall cry unto them;</i> those on the borders shall send the alarm
into all parts of the country, which shall be put into the utmost
confusion by it; they shall cry, "<i>Fear is on every side</i>—We
are surrounded by the enemy." the very terror of which shall drive
them all to their feet and they shall none of them have any heart
to make resistance. The enemy shall <i>proclaim fear upon them,</i>
or <i>against them, on every side.</i> They need not strike a
stroke; they shall shout them out of their tents, <scripRef id="Jer.l-p16.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.29" parsed="|Jer|49|29|0|0" passage="Jer 49:29"><i>v.</i> 29</scripRef>. Upon the first alarm,
they shall <i>flee, get far off,</i> and <i>dwell deep</i>
(<scripRef id="Jer.l-p16.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.30" parsed="|Jer|49|30|0|0" passage="Jer 49:30"><i>v.</i> 30</scripRef>), as the
Edomites, <scripRef id="Jer.l-p16.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.8" parsed="|Jer|49|8|0|0" passage="Jer 49:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>. And
it will be found that this <i>fear on every side</i> is not
groundless, for <i>their calamity</i> shall be <i>brought from all
sides thereof,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.l-p16.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.31" parsed="|Jer|49|31|0|0" passage="Jer 49:31"><i>v.</i>
31</scripRef>. No marvel there are <i>fears on every side</i> when
there are foes on every side. The issue will be, 1. What they have
will be a prey to the Chaldeans; they shall <i>take to themselves
their curtains and vessels;</i> though they are but plain and
coarse, and they have better of their own, yet they shall take them
for spite, and spoil for spoiling sake. <i>They shall carry away
their tents and their flocks,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.l-p16.5" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.29" parsed="|Jer|49|29|0|0" passage="Jer 49:29"><i>v.</i> 29</scripRef>. <i>Their camels</i> shall be a
booty to those that came for nothing else, <scripRef id="Jer.l-p16.6" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.31" parsed="|Jer|49|31|0|0" passage="Jer 49:31"><i>v.</i> 31</scripRef>. 2. It is not said that any of
them shall be slain, for they attempt not to make any resistance
and their tents and flocks are accepted as a ransom for their
lives; but they shall be dislodged and dispersed; though now they
dwell <i>in the utmost corners,</i> out of the way, and therefore
they think out of the reach, of danger (by this character those
people were distinguished, <scripRef id="Jer.l-p16.7" osisRef="Bible:Jer.9.23 Bible:Jer.9.25 Bible:Jer.9.26" parsed="|Jer|9|23|0|0;|Jer|9|25|0|0;|Jer|9|26|0|0" passage="Jer 9:23,25,26"><i>ch.</i> ix. 26, 25, 23</scripRef>), yet they
shall be <i>scattered</i> thence <i>into all winds,</i> into all
parts of the world. Note, Privacy and obscurity are not always a
protection and security. Many that affect to be strangers to the
world may yet by unthought-of providences be forced into it; and
those that live most retired may have the same lot with those that
thrust themselves forth and lie most exposed. 3. Their country
shall lie uninhabited; for, lying remote and out of all high roads,
and having neither cities nor lands inviting to strangers, none
shall care to succeed them, so that <i>Hazor shall be a desolation
for ever,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.l-p16.8" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.33" parsed="|Jer|49|33|0|0" passage="Jer 49:33"><i>v.</i>
33</scripRef>. If busy men be displaced, many strive to get into
their placed, because they lived great; but here are easy quiet men
displaced, and <i>no man</i> cared to <i>abide</i> where they did,
because they lived meanly.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Jer.l-p16.9" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.34-Jer.49.39" parsed="|Jer|49|34|49|39" passage="Jer 49:34-39" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Jer.l-p16.10">
<h4 id="Jer.l-p16.11">The Judgment of Elam. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.l-p16.12">b. c.</span> 595.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Jer.l-p17" shownumber="no">34 The word of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.l-p17.1">Lord</span> that came to Jeremiah the prophet against
Elam in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah,
saying,   35 Thus saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.l-p17.2">Lord</span> of hosts; Behold, I will break the bow of
Elam, the chief of their might.   36 And upon Elam will I
bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven, and will
scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation
whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come.   37 For I will
cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies, and before them
that seek their life: and I will bring evil upon them, <i>even</i>
my fierce anger, saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.l-p17.3">Lord</span>; and
I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed them:  
38 And I will set my throne in Elam, and will destroy from thence
the king and the princes, saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.l-p17.4">Lord</span>.   39 But it shall come to pass in the
latter days, <i>that</i> I will bring again the captivity of Elam,
saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.l-p17.5">Lord</span>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.l-p18" shownumber="no">This prophecy is dated in the beginning of
Zedekiah's reign; it is probable that the other prophecies against
the Gentiles, going before, were at the same time. The Elamites
were the Persians, descended from Elam the son of Shem (<scripRef id="Jer.l-p18.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.10.22" parsed="|Gen|10|22|0|0" passage="Ge 10:22">Gen. x. 22</scripRef>); yet some think it was
only that part of Persia which lay nearest to the Jews which was
called <i>Elymais,</i> and adjoined to Media-Elam, which, say they,
had acted against God's Israel, <i>bore the quiver</i> in an
expedition against them (<scripRef id="Jer.l-p18.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.22.6" parsed="|Isa|22|6|0|0" passage="Isa 22:6">Isa. xxii.
6</scripRef>), and therefore must be reckoned with among the rest.
It is here foretold, in general, that God will <i>bring evil upon
them, even</i> his <i>fierce anger,</i> and that is evil enough, it
has <i>all evil in it,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.l-p18.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.37" parsed="|Jer|49|37|0|0" passage="Jer 49:37"><i>v.</i>
37</scripRef>. In particular, 1. Their forces shall be disabled,
and rendered incapable of doing them any service. The Elamites were
famous archers, but, <i>Behold, I will break the bow of Elam</i>
(<scripRef id="Jer.l-p18.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.35" parsed="|Jer|49|35|0|0" passage="Jer 49:35"><i>v.</i> 35</scripRef>), will ruin
their artillery, and then <i>the chief of their might</i> is gone.
God often orders it so that that which we most trust to first fails
us, and that which was <i>the chief of our might</i> proves the
least of our help. 2. Their people shall be dispersed. There shall
come enemies against them from all parts of the world, and they
shall all carry some of them away captive into their respective
countries; while others shall flee, some one way and some another,
to shift for themselves, so that <i>there shall be no nation
whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.l-p18.5" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.36" parsed="|Jer|49|36|0|0" passage="Jer 49:36"><i>v.</i> 36</scripRef>. <i>The four winds</i> shall be
brought upon them; the storm shall come sometimes from one point
and sometimes from another, to toss and hurry them several ways. We
know not from what point the wind of trouble may blow; but, if God
encompass us with his favour, we are safe, and may be easy, which
way soever the storm comes. Fear shall drive them into other
countries; they shall <i>be dismayed before their enemies;</i> but,
as if that were not enough, <i>I will send the sword after
them,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.l-p18.6" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.37" parsed="|Jer|49|37|0|0" passage="Jer 49:37"><i>v.</i> 37</scripRef>.
Note, God can make his judgments follow those that think by flight
to escape them and to get out of the reach of them. <i>Evil pursues
sinners.</i> 3. Their princes shall be destroyed and the government
quite changed (<scripRef id="Jer.l-p18.7" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.38" parsed="|Jer|49|38|0|0" passage="Jer 49:38"><i>v.</i>
38</scripRef>): <i>I will set my throne in Elam.</i> The throne of
Nebuchadnezzar shall be set there, or the throne of Cyrus, who
began his conquests with Elymais. Or it may be meant of the throne
on which God sits for judgment; he will make them know that he
reigns, that he <i>judges in the earth,</i> that <i>kings and
princes</i> are accountable to him, and that high as they are he is
above them. The king of Elam was famous of old, <scripRef id="Jer.l-p18.8" osisRef="Bible:Gen.14.1" parsed="|Gen|14|1|0|0" passage="Ge 14:1">Gen. xiv. 1</scripRef>. Chedorlaomer was king of Elam,
and a mighty man he was in his day; the nations about him served
him; his successors, we may suppose, made a great figure; but the
king of Elam is no more to God than another man. When God <i>sets
his throne in Elam</i> he <i>will destroy thence the king and the
princes</i> that are, and set up whom he pleases. 4. Yet the
destruction of Elam shall not be perpetual (<scripRef id="Jer.l-p18.9" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.39" parsed="|Jer|49|39|0|0" passage="Jer 49:39"><i>v.</i> 39</scripRef>): <i>In the latter days I will
bring again the captivity of Elam.</i> When Cyrus had destroyed
Babylon, brought the empire into the hands of the Persians, the
Elamites no doubt returned in triumph out of all the countries
whither they were scattered, and settled again in their own
country. But this promise was to have its full and principal
accomplishment in the days of the Messiah, when we find Elamites
particularly among those who, when the Holy Ghost was given, heard
spoken <i>in their own tongues the wonderful works of God</i>
(<scripRef id="Jer.l-p18.10" osisRef="Bible:Acts.2.9 Bible:Acts.2.11" parsed="|Acts|2|9|0|0;|Acts|2|11|0|0" passage="Ac 2:9,11">Acts ii. 9, 11</scripRef>), and that
is the most desirable return of the captivity. <i>If the Son make
you free, then you shall be free indeed.</i></p>
</div></div2>