Jeremiah 49:23-39

Hey, hey, good morning, good morning. Welcome to Coffee and Devotions. This morning we're going to finish up Jeremiah chapter 49. We've got three different people to talk about, find out which nations or places Jesus, Jeremiah, is giving his woe to.
Now let's have some coffee, we'll pray, and we'll get into God's Word. Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for this day. We thank you for your word. And we pray that you would please help us. Help us to understand. Help us to learn. Help us to live. We need your spirit. We need you to please teach us in Jesus' name. Amen.
Here we go. Jeremiah chapter 49, beginning at verse 23 through the end of the chapter. We're going to move through these quickly, okay?
Against Damascus. Hamath and Arpad are shamed, for they have heard bad news. They are fainthearted. There is trouble on the sea. It cannot be quiet. Damascus has grown feeble. She turns to flee, and fear has seized her. Anguish and sorrows have taken her like a woman in labor. Why is the city of praise not deserted, the city of my joy? Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day, says Jehovah of armies. I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the places of Bin-Hadad."
All right, so this is talking about Damascus, Syria, right? And so this is Hamath and Arfad, they're shamed, they've heard bad news, they're faint-hearted, there's trouble on the sea, right? Syria has a long shoreline there on the Mediterranean, it can't be quiet. Damascus is feeble, the strong city is now weak. She turns to flee, right? Instead of being a fortress city of power, now it's a city that's running away. Fear gripping their hearts. anguish and sorrows, right? Like a woman in labor, that extreme existential pain. It's a city that was praised and now it's deserted. A city that was of joy and now it's of sorrow. There's young men who are falling in the streets, men of war who are getting cut off, right?
Why is this happening? Verse 26, says the Lord of hosts. It's God who's brought this calamity. It's God who's changed their fortunes and turn their joy to fear." He says he's going to kindle a wall on Damascus, or in the wall of Damascus, burning the city from its defensive structures outward, and it shall be consumed, and it shall consume the places of Bin Hadad. So this once great kingdom is now falling to ruins. This is God's pronouncement against the city of Damascus in Syria. So that's verses 23 through 27.
28 through 33. Against Kedar and against the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon shall strike, thus says Jehovah, Arise, go up to Kedar, and devastate the men of the east. Their tents and their flocks they shall take away. They shall take for themselves their curtains, and all their vessels and their camels, and they shall cry out to them, Fear is on every side. Flee, get far away, dwell in the depths, O inhabitants of Hazor, says Jehovah. For Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, has taken counsel against you and has conceived a plan against you. Arise, go up to the wealthy nation that dwells securely, says the Lord, which has neither gates nor bars, dwelling alone. their camels shall be for booty, for like treasure of others looting them, and the multitude of their cattle for plunder. I will scatter to all winds those in the furthest corners, and I will bring their calamity from all its sides, says the Lord. Hazor shall be a dwelling for jackals, a desolation forever. No one shall reside there, nor son of man dwell in it." All right, so this is judgments against Kedar and Hazor, right? So these are kingdoms kind of up in the north, and it's saying Nebuchadnezzar. It's interesting here in all the other ones it didn't tell us exactly by name who was coming to destroy, but here it's very clear the Lord is using Nebuchadnezzar the God of heaven is able to use a pagan king to come and bring judgment and destruction on these cities.
And so once again, this is one of these points that we need to just say, the Lord of Israel is not just the Lord of Israel, but he is the God who created the heavens and the earth. He's the one who establishes nations, raises up kings and brings them down. And here he's saying judgment is coming on Hazor and Kedar. He's telling them here that this is what's going to happen. For Kedar, he's saying there's devastating men coming from the east. He's telling them that there are camels, all this nomadic and trade-oriented people. Fear, again, is welling up on them. They've got to flee, or flee from Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon.
And then Hazor, same thing, right? Even with its strong bars and its heavily fortified city, it says calamity is coming on all sides. They're going to plunder and take for booty, right? This is the idea that they're coming in like pirates. And they're taking the prizes of war. and to the victor goes the spoils and and all that you are is going to to go away
and then the last part in chapter 49 34 through 39 the word of the lord came to jeremiah the prophet against elam in the beginning of the reign of zedekiah king of judah saying thus says the lord of hosts this goes back to what i talked about yesterday with deborah right that It is the Lord who is doing these things, but Jeremiah isn't written chronologically, right? This gives us a timestamp here. This happened during the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah. But earlier in the book, Jeremiah had already been taken to Egypt against his will. Zedekiah wasn't king anymore. And so we see that this happened even before Nebuchadnezzar had destroyed Jerusalem. Anyways, that's just a historical note there on the book of Jeremiah.
But anyways, he says, against Elam, here, thus says the Lord of Hosts, behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the foremost of her might. Against Elam, I will bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven and scatter them toward all those winds. There shall be no nation where the outcasts of Elam will not go. for I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies and before those who seek their life. I will bring disaster upon them, my fierce anger, says Jehovah, and I will send the sword after them until I have consumed them. I will set my throne in Elam and will destroy from their kings and their princes, says the Lord."
it shall come to pass in the latter days that I will bring back the captives of Elam says the Lord." Now this is interesting right we didn't get that with Kedar and Hazor we didn't get that with Damascus and we didn't get that with Edom the bringing back of the captives and yet here when it comes to Elam Similar to what he had said to the Moabites and the Ammonites, God was going to bring back their captives. Why? I don't know. He was deciding to show mercy to whoever he wanted to. That's his prerogative. That's his right. He could do with his creation as he wishes, right? But he says of Elam, he's going to break them down. Those people who thought that they were strong and mighty because of their archery and their skill with battle, he says he's going to bring them down. There's no nation where the outcasts of Elam will not go. It's going to be this great dispersion of the people of Elam. And he says they're going to be dismayed before their enemies. They're going to be dismayed before those who seek their life. He's going to bring disaster on them. It's his fierce anger, says the Lord. He's giving them a theological interpretation for the events that's about to happen to them.
Each of these nations, it's interesting because the Lord is telling them The judgment is coming and the destruction that's coming is because the Lord has sent it. He wants them to know ahead of time why these things are happening and to make no doubt why it's coming.
So, why is he doing all of this though? And I think verse 38 is very important. Why is he doing this? I will set my throne in Elam. and will destroy from there the kings and the princes, says Jehovah. I am the Lord and I will share my glory with none other. The Lord is reclaiming his rightful role as the king of all the nations.
I think this is, we're just gonna jump to the seek calling and how does this point us to Jesus Christ, right? The whole point of these prophecies regarding the coming judgments Both of foreshadowing that there's going to be a great day of the Lord, but especially with the judgment against these kings and these kingdoms and these cities is that the Lord is enthroned in heaven. He is the great king of kings and the Lord of lords. All of these nations had various interactions with Judah, with the people of Israel. They knew the God of the covenant and yet did not bow down to him nor serve him, but went their own ways doing their own things. And so the Lord here is saying he's going to sit on his throne and they're going to know that he brought this judgment.
And this is the point that what do we call Jesus When we call him Messiah, when we call him the anointed one, we're calling him our prophet, our priest, and our king. He is the one who sits on the throne of David forever. And he is the king of all kings. He is the lord of all lords. He is the one to whom and through whom all authority exists and ultimately serves. It is Jesus Christ. who is the king of all the nations today. You may not actively bow down to him and serve him, nor did Nebuchadnezzar think he was doing that, nor did the kings of these different places and cities. That didn't mean that the Lord wasn't king. He was still king reigning in heaven then, and so is Jesus now reigning as king, even though there may be nations who don't want to recognize him and even fight against him. They're rebellious kings, but they're still under him.
But someday he will put all things in subjection. God has given Jesus all the nations and someday he will come again and he will make all things right. And he will sit on his throne and we will see him. And so we don't need to be scared when there's times in the coming of times and there's war and rumors of war and all these types of things. We don't need to lose heart. We take it seriously, but we know that our King reigns and we trust in Him.
Let's pray. Father, we do pray for the nations because we know that at the name of Jesus Christ, every tongue will confess, every knee will bow that He is Lord. And so, Father, we pray that we would do that now in this life before it's too late. We pray that we would willingly, by Your Spirit, bow the knee to Jesus. Father, we pray for the nations all around the world, near and far. Lord, we know that you are the king over all. And so we pray that you would indeed be the king of our lives, that you would be our sovereign. that we would recognize that and follow you and trust in you. Thank you that you have brought us into your kingdom as children and as heirs, as full heirs and rightful citizens. Lord, please let us live our lives according to that love and adoption and who we are in Jesus's name. Amen.
May the Lord bless you. May you love the King of Kings, the Prince of Peace, the Almighty One Himself. And may that love for Him so well up in your heart that you would have a peace that surpasses all understanding. I'll see you next time.