Jeremiah 49:7-22, Oracles Against the Nations: A Message for Edom

Edom was descended from Esau, Jacob’s twin brother, son of Isaac. The nation had often opposed Israel, and after Babylon’s defeat of Judah, Edom had slain her refugees and looted the spoils left after battle.

⁷ Concerning Edom:

This is what Yahweh Almighty says: “Is there no longer wisdom in Teman? Has counsel perished from the prudent? Has their wisdom decayed? ⁸ Turn and flee, hide in deep caves, you who live in Dedan, for I will bring disaster on Esau at the time when I punish him. ⁹ If grape pickers came to you, would they not leave a few grapes? If thieves came during the night, would they not steal only as much as they wanted? ¹⁰ But I will strip Esau bare; I will uncover his hiding places, so that he cannot conceal himself. His armed men are destroyed, also his allies and neighbors, so there is no one to say, ¹¹ ‘Leave your fatherless children; I will keep them alive. Your widows too can depend on me.’”

¹² This is what Yahweh says: “If those who do not deserve to drink the cup must drink it, why should you go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, but must drink it. ¹³ I swear by myself,” declares Yahweh, “that Bozrah will become a ruin and a curse, an object of horror and reproach; and all its towns will be in ruins forever.”

Yahweh will thoroughly destroy Edom, situated east of the Jordan River and south by the Dead Sea. The prophet Obadiah prophesies the same thing. Edom was famed for its wisdom. Job’s friend Eliphaz was a Temanite. Edom was also famed for its mountains and caves, with sites like Petra, made famous in the Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade movie. But if other nations had been punished, so Edom must be punished for her sins.

¹⁴ I have heard a message from Yahweh; an envoy was sent to the nations to say, “Assemble yourselves to attack it! Rise up for battle!” ¹⁵ “Now I will make you small among the nations, despised by mankind. ¹⁶ The terror you inspire and the pride of your heart have deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rocks, who occupy the heights of the hill. Though you build your nest as high as the eagle’s, from there I will bring you down,” declares Yahweh. ¹⁷ “Edom will become an object of horror; all who pass by will be appalled and will scoff because of all its wounds. ¹⁸ As Sodom and Gomorrah were overthrown, along with their neighboring towns,” says Yahweh, “so no one will live there; no people will dwell in it. ¹⁹ “Like a lion coming up from Jordan’s thickets to a rich pastureland, I will chase Edom from its land in an instant.

Who is the chosen one I will appoint for this? Who is like me and who can challenge me? And what shepherd can stand against me?” ²⁰ Therefore, hear what Yahweh has planned against Edom, what he has purposed against those who live in Teman: The young of the flock will be dragged away; their pasture will be appalled at their fate. ²¹ At the sound of their fall the earth will tremble; their cry will resound to the Red Sea. ²² Look! An eagle will soar and swoop down, spreading its wings over Bozrah. In that day the hearts of Edom’s warriors will be like the heart of a woman in labor.

God has called a chosen one to bring His judgment on Edom. The Babylonians will not be deterred by Edom’s clefts in the rock but will make her an object of horror, the infamy of her defeat being heard all the way to the Red Sea. There is no escape.

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Discussion Questions:

1. Have you seen pictures or seen in person the seeming impregnable heights of Edom?
2. Have you ever dreamed of an impregnable place where you could live and be safe from all dangers? What made your place so safe?
3. What is God telling us about all our ways of making ourselves safe?