Concerning Damascus. Hamath is put to shame, and Arpad; for they have heard evil tidings, they are melted away there is distress on the sea; it cannot be quiet.
Jeremiah's word against the nations now turns north to Syria, and it opens not with armies but with news that leaves Hamath and Arpad shaking. Why does God single out Damascus, and why does He promise no return for her when other nations get one?
These nations were the neighbours Judah had leaned on for safety.
In Jeremiah 46 we have the condemnation of Egypt, where these foolish Jews had fled for safety. Jeremiah 47 then condemns Philistia, and chapter 48 condemns Moab. All these countries were places the Jews looked to for security. In Jeremiah 49 the judgment of the Ammonites is given with Damascus and others, even Elam.
God had a long record with Damascus, and His handling of it followed a pattern seen elsewhere.
Isaiah prophesied that Damascus would become a heap of ruins, because it joined with Ephraim against God's city Jerusalem. God had used the kings of Syria to punish Israel. But later, as in other cases, He brought them to nothing for their arrogance and cruelty.
Both cities had already fallen to Assyria. One man used their names to argue that no god could rescue a nation from that power.
He tried hard to direct their minds away from the Lord to other things, such as the gods of the nations. Had any of them been able to deliver a nation from the hand of the king of Assyria? What of the gods of Hamath, Arpad, Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivvah? All of these had fallen into bondage to Assyria. The answer is simple. None of those nations was depending on the only true God.
The verse pictures a region that has heard bad news and cannot settle. Scripture uses the same restless sea for those who live far from God.
The peace is only for those who are brought into right relations with God. It is not for the wicked who, far from Him, are as restless as the sea. The winds keep the sea constantly stirred up.
Some nations in these chapters have a future. Damascus does not.
These nations were all to fall under the power of Nebuchadnezzar; but some of them are to be restored in the latter day. Among these nations will be Elam, Egypt, Moab and Ammon, but not Philistia, not Damascus, not Hazor, and above all not Babylon.
Commentators see more here than the Babylonian invasion. They point to a judgment on this same land that is still ahead.
This judgment against Damascus and the land next to it was carried out in part not long after the prophecy, when Alexander the Great invaded and conquered the land. But there is a longer range, still future fulfilment. Syria, at the time of the end, will have an active part in the invasion by the King of the North into Israel, and will suffer God's judgment for this.
- Refuge. The nations judged here were the places Judah had looked to for security — Egypt, Philistia, Moab and their neighbours.
- Record. God used Damascus against Israel, then brought it to nothing for its own arrogance and cruelty.
- Report. Hamath and Arpad fall first, and the news alone breaks Damascus. Their gods had already failed them.
- Restlessness. Restless fear marks those far from God. Peace belongs only to those brought into right relations with Him.
- Return. Elam, Egypt, Moab and Ammon are to be restored in the latter day. Damascus is not.
Damascus is grown feeble she turneth herself to flee, and terror hath seized on her; trouble and sorrows have taken hold of her as of a woman in travail.
Damascus was the great old city north of Israel. Here she panics, her strength gone, gripped by pain like a woman giving birth. Why does God single out this city? And what does it mean that He names her fall centuries before it comes?
Jeremiah names Damascus in a run of messages against neighbouring nations. One writer points out what ties them together:
In Jeremiah 46 we have the condemnation of Egypt, where these foolish Jews had fled for security. Then comes the condemnation of Philistia in Jeremiah 47, and again of Moab (Jer. 48). This is because all these countries were places to which the Jews looked for security. In Jeremiah 49 the judgment of the Ammonites is given with Damascus and others, even Elam.
God had once used Damascus for His own purpose. That did not shield her later:
God had used the kings of Syria to punish Israel; but, as in other cases, He afterwards brought them to nothing for their arrogance and cruelty.
That cruelty had a limit. Writing on the parallel message in Amos, one commentator names the offence:
The Spirit begins with the greatest but most outlying of the enemies listed here, the Syrians. God would not forgive their ruthless and persistent efforts to cruelly wipe out the Jews east of the Jordan. This filled the cup of Syria.
God promises to restore some of these nations one day. Damascus is not among them.
These nations were all to fall under the power of Nebuchadnezzar; but some of them are to be restored in the latter day. Among these nations will be Elam, Egypt, Moab and Ammon, but not Philistia, not Damascus, not Hazor, and above all not Babylon.
The same writer gives the reason for the difference:
Elam's place did not get in the way of what God has reserved for Israel in the latter day, as Philistia, Damascus and Hazor did. So God will show His goodness to Elam when the kingdom comes.
The prophecy came true. Babylon rose and carried out the punishment on the nations, just as Jeremiah had foretold.
We see Babylon, a young power compared with the others, rise up and do this. It is enough to fill us with astonishment, and to carry conviction to any thoughtful person that God rules in the kingdom of men. Chapters 45 to 49 all had their fulfilment in this connection in a most marvellous manner.
One writer, on a later prophecy that names Damascus, sees both a near fulfilment and a further one:
This judgment against Damascus and the land next to it came in part not long after the prophecy, when Alexander the Great invaded and conquered the land. But there is a longer range, still future fulfilment. Syria, at the time of the end, will have an active part in the invasion by the King of the North into Israel, and will suffer God's judgment for this.
Damascus loses her nerve and turns to run. One writer describes the same terror on a far wider scale, when God shakes the whole order men trust in:
They had been resting in imagined security on the whole framework of man's order. Now it is struck and shattered into ten thousand pieces. God does not appear in the judgment. But man has a conscience. So, faced with this dreadful event, all alike are afraid of the wrath of God and of the Lamb. Where now is man's courage? Man's own warriors tremble, for they feel the presence of a God whose very existence they had denied until then. Together they try to hide themselves.
- Refuge — Judah leaned on nations like Damascus for safety instead of on God. God names each one for judgment in turn.
- Cup — God used Syria's kings against Israel, then judged them for their arrogance and cruelty. Their long effort to wipe out the Jews east of the Jordan filled the cup.
- Feebleness — the strong city's courage drains away before the blow lands. Warriors who once denied God collapse in the same way.
- No return — God promises to restore Egypt, Moab, Ammon and Elam. He gives Damascus no such promise, because her place stood in the way of what He has reserved for Israel.
- Rule — Babylon carried out the prophecy. That proves God rules in the kingdom of men. Writers also see a further reckoning for Syria at the end.
How is not the town of praise forsaken, the city of my joy!
Jeremiah's long list of prophecies against the nations reaches Syria. The word about Damascus breaks off into a cry of astonishment over a celebrated city, a city of joy. Why does such a famous city fall? And does the ruin stop with Nebuchadnezzar's armies?
Damascus is not singled out on its own. It stands in a list that runs from Egypt to Babylon. One writer points out what ties these nations together: they were the places the Jews looked to for safety.
In Jeremiah 46 we have the condemnation of Egypt, where these foolish Jews had fled for safety. Then comes the condemnation of Philistia in Jeremiah 47. Then again of Moab (Jer. 48), because all these countries were places to which the Jews looked for security. Jeremiah 49 gives the judgment of the Ammonites along with Damascus and others, even Elam.
The cry comes after verses about a city gripped by fear and losing its strength.
In the rest of the chapter (vv. 23 to 39) we are shown the judgment of Damascus, which is seized with fear and grows weak.
Syria had once served God's purpose against Israel. That did not leave it safe.
God had used the kings of Syria to punish Israel; but, as in other cases, He afterwards brought them to nothing for their arrogance and cruelty.
Writing on the parallel charge in Amos, one commentator names the crime behind the fall.
Their ruthless and persistent efforts to cruelly wipe out the Jews east of the Jordan would not be forgiven. This filled the cup of Syria.
The verse points to the city's reputation. Some translations read "the town of praise." Writing on a parallel word in Isaiah, one commentator weighs what that fame was worth.
Damascus, which was to the north of the Holy Land, was the very ancient and most celebrated city of Syria of old. It was to be made a heap of ruins.
Some nations in these chapters receive a closing promise of restoration. Damascus is not one of them.
These nations were all to fall under the power of Nebuchadnezzar; but some of them are to be restored in the latter day. Among these nations will be Elam, Egypt, Moab and Ammon, but not Philistia, not Damascus, not Hazor, and above all not Babylon.
Commentators differ on how far ahead these words look. Writing on a parallel word in Zechariah, one commentator treats the ancient conquest as only a first stage, with Syria in view again at the end.
This judgment against Damascus and the land next to it came in measure not long after the prophecy, when Alexander the Great invaded and conquered the land. But there is a longer range, still future fulfilment. Syria, at the time of the end, will have an active part in the invasion by the King of the North into Israel, and will suffer God's judgment for this.
These words are not just old history. One writer points to a young power doing to nation after nation just what Jeremiah had said.
Jeremiah foretells that the Lord "will punish all those who are circumcised along with the uncircumcised: Egypt, Judah, Edom, the sons of Ammon, Moab, and all who live in the farthest corners" (Jer. 9:25-26). Then we see Babylon, a comparatively young power, rise up and do this. It is enough to fill us with astonishment, and to convince any thoughtful person that God rules in the kingdom of men. Chapters 45 to 49 all had their fulfilment in this way in a most remarkable manner.
- Praised — Damascus was the most celebrated city of Syria, ancient and admired, and the verse calls it a joy. Fame did not exempt it; it was to be made a heap of ruins.
- Used — God used the kings of Syria against Israel. Being useful to God is not the same as being right with God.
- Guilty — Their cruelty toward the Jews east of the Jordan filled Syria's cup. That is the charge behind the fall.
- Feared — Fear grips the city and its strength drains away before the enemy arrives. The heart fails before the walls do.
- Final — Elam, Egypt, Moab and Ammon get a promise of restoration. Damascus does not, and its judgment reaches on to the end, when Syria attacks Israel again. Babylon's conquests already proved that God rules in the kingdom of men.
Therefore shall her young men fall in her streets, and all the men of war be cut off in that day, saith Jehovah of hosts.
Jeremiah 49 collects short judgment announcements against the nations around Israel, and verses 23-27 turn to Damascus, the capital of Syria. Verse 26 draws the conclusion: Damascus loses the very men meant to defend it — which raises two questions, why and on whose authority.
Commentators note that the nations in this chapter are not all treated alike. Damascus belongs to a group marked out for an end, though not every nation in that group is judged for the same reason:
For Edom (verses 7-22), Damascus (verses 23-27), and Hazor (28-33), God's sovereign wisdom holds a different future. They are to be destroyed with no remedy. Not all for the same reason, it seems, but all certainly in perfect justice.
God had once used Syria against His own people. That did not protect Syria when its own turn came:
God had used the kings of Syria to punish Israel; but, as in other cases, He afterwards for their arrogance and cruelty brought them to nothing.
The book of Amos names what Damascus had done to deserve this:
The Spirit begins with the greatest but most external of the enemies listed here, the Syrians. Their ruthless, cruel and persistent efforts to wipe out the Jews east of the Jordan would not be forgiven. This filled the cup of Syria. The Syrians were to go back as captives to Kir, the place they had come out from as conquerors and settlers.
So who acts "in that day"? Writers tie this whole block of prophecies to one man God raised up:
In chapter 49 the Ammonites are repaid. Edom also is punished. So are Damascus and Kedar, and Hazor, and Elam. God had raised up the King of Babylon to carry out His righteous and necessary judgments on the peoples — on Israel, on Egypt, yes, on "all the kingdoms of the world" (Jer. 25:20-26). The state of things was such as to call for this from God's hand.
The verse ends with the title "the LORD of hosts." Kelly writes about a similar scene, where a city's rulers flee and its slain fall. There he says the trouble and confusion "sprang not from the dust but were by Jehovah of hosts" (William Kelly).
Some nations in these chapters get a closing word of mercy. Damascus does not:
All these nations were to fall under the power of Nebuchadnezzar. But some of them are to be restored in the latter day: Elam, Egypt, Moab and Ammon. Not Philistia, not Damascus, not Hazor, and above all not Babylon.
Kelly gives a reason for the difference. Elam's place, he writes, "did not stand in the way, as Philistia, Damascus and Hazor did, of what God has reserved for Israel in the latter day" (William Kelly). Commentators differ over how far these words reach. Some see a further fulfilment still ahead for Syria at the end of the age (L. M. Grant).
Judah had been running to these nations for safety:
In Jeremiah 46 we have the denunciation of Egypt where these foolish Jews had fled for security, and the further denunciation of Philistia in Jeremiah 47. Then again of Moab (Jer. 48): because all these countries were places to which the Jews looked for security.
Every fortress Judah admired was on God's list. Damascus's young men fell in her own squares, and no refuge outside God is a refuge at all.
- Cause — Damascus tried to wipe out God's people east of the Jordan. That cruelty "filled the cup of Syria."
- Used, then judged — God used Syria's kings to punish Israel. Later He brought them to nothing for their arrogance. Being God's tool is not the same as being God's favourite.
- Authority — "the LORD of hosts" announces the day. The confusion in the city does not rise from the dust. It comes from Him, and He uses the king of Babylon to carry it out.
- Reach — the blow lands where Damascus was proudest. Its young men and its soldiers fall together: its future and its defence.
- Result — unlike Egypt, Moab, Ammon and Elam, Damascus gets no word of restoration. What stood in the way of God's purpose for His people has no part in the latter day.
And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Ben-Hadad.
Jeremiah's word against Damascus ends with fire. God says He will kindle it Himself, and it will burn down the strongholds of a royal house known for tormenting Israel. Why Damascus? And why this house?
God had once used Syria's kings against His own people. Then He turned on Syria. A reference work traces both halves of that history:
Isaiah prophesied that Damascus would become a heap of ruins. This was because of its alliance with Ephraim against God's city Jerusalem. See also Amos 1:3-5; Jeremiah 49:23-27; Zechariah 9:1. God had used the kings of Syria to punish Israel. But, as in other cases, He later brought them to nothing for their arrogance and cruelty.
Amos names the cruelty that filled up Syria's account, in wording close to Jeremiah's. One commentator explains what put Syria first on the list:
The Spirit begins with the greatest but most external of the enemies listed here, the Syrians. God would not forgive their ruthless, determined, cruel efforts to wipe out the Jews east of the Jordan. This filled the cup of Syria.
Ben-hadad was a royal name in Damascus, carried by more than one king. This one inherited a throne built on violence against Israel, and he lived to see that power broken:
Son of Hazael. Because of Israel's sin, God handed them over to this king. But in the end Israel defeated Ben-hadad three times and recovered her cities. 2 Kings 13:3, 24, 25; Jeremiah 49:27; Amos 1:4.
A prophet foresaw what his father Hazael would do, and wept as he told it:
Hazael murdered Ben-hadad, and Elisha predicted all the horrible things he would do to Israel. The man of God wept, and Hazael asked why. Elisha answered, "Because I know the evil that you will do to the children of Israel. You will set on fire their fortresses, and you will kill their young men with the sword and dash in pieces their little ones and rip open their pregnant women" (2 Kings 8:12).
The sentence fits the crime. Hazael's house set fire to other people's strongholds. Now fire takes its own.
The same writer explains what the fire means in these announcements, and how it fell on Damascus:
The meaning of it is that the measure is full and that the judgment cannot be turned aside. Fire is named again and again as the way judgment comes. These nations were the enemies of Israel... Damascus was broken and the predicted judgment came. God carried it out through the king of Assyria, Tiglath-Pileser, who drove the Syrians back to Kir, where they had come from (2 Kings 16:9).
Note who lights it. The verse does not say an army will burn Damascus. It says God will. The human agent is real, but secondary.
Jeremiah 49 sweeps through several peoples, and they do not all get the same verdict. Some hear of a future beyond the ruin. Damascus does not:
These nations were all to fall under the power of Nebuchadnezzar; but some of them are to be restored in the latter day. Among these nations will be Elam, Egypt, Moab and Ammon, but not Philistia, not Damascus, not Hazor, and above all not Babylon.
One writer groups Damascus with two neighbours under the same sentence:
With Edom (vv. 7-22), Damascus (vv. 23-27), and Hazor (vv. 28-33), there is a different future in the sovereign wisdom of God. God will destroy them without remedy — not all for the same reason, it seems, but all certainly in perfect justice.
Damascus sat on ground God regarded as His. One writer points to the mistake Israel's enemies made:
These judgments of Jehovah fall on the nations that have settled on the territory promised to Abraham... Here we see the folly of the hope that the enemies of God's people held. They sought Israel's ruin, thinking they would gain by it. No doubt God can discipline His people, for He must make His own character clear. But the malice of their enemies brings His judgment on them too.
- Rod. God used Syria's kings to discipline Israel. Then He judged Syria for its arrogance and cruelty.
- Cup. Syria's efforts to wipe out the Jews east of the Jordan filled its measure. A full measure means judgment that cannot be turned aside.
- Fire. Hazael's house set fire to Israel's fortresses. God's fire now takes his own house's strongholds.
- Remedy. God promises Elam, Egypt, Moab and Ammon restoration in the last days. Damascus, Philistia and Hazor get no such promise. They are destroyed without remedy, yet in perfect justice.
- Folly. Those who sought advantage in Israel's ruin found only their own ruin. God may discipline His people, but malice against them draws His judgment on the attacker.