The word of Jehovah that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying,
Elam lay far to the east, well outside the ring of nations that bordered Judah. Yet the last message in this chapter goes to Elam, dated at the start of Zedekiah's reign, when Judah's own end was near. Why does God send a word to such a distant people? And why does that word end in mercy rather than ruin?
The last chapters of Jeremiah gather ten messages to the nations. Elam comes ninth, just before Babylon:
The section begins — "The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations" (Jer. 46:1). 1. Egypt (Jer. 46:2); 2. The Philistines (Jer. 47:1); 3. Moab (Jer. 48:1); 4. The Ammonites (Jer. 49:1); 5. Edom (Jer. 49:7); 6. Damascus (Jer. 49:23); 7. Kedar (Jer. 49:28); 8. Hazor (Jer. 49:30); 9. Elam (Jer. 49:34); 10. Babylon (Jer. 50 and 51).
The date matters. This word came later than the first of the ten:
A special word came to the prophet about Elam early in the reign of Zedekiah (v. 34). The first word to the nations is dated in the reign of Jehoiakim (Jer. 46:2).
Elam was no minor tribe. It was an ancient kingdom with a long record in Scripture, and it later had a hand in Babylon's fall:
Son of Shem. He settled in a highland district east of Babylonia, which became the seat of a powerful kingdom… In the days of Abraham, Chedorlaomer king of Elam was able to make war as far away as the Dead Sea (Gen. 14:1, 9)… Cyrus was king of Anshan, or Anzan (Elam), as well as of Persia. So Elam is closely connected with Persia, and almost identified with it. In Scripture Elam often means Persia. In Isaiah 21:2-10 Elam and Media were to destroy Babylon… Daniel was at Shushan, which was in the province of Elam.
Every other nation in these chapters sat near Judah. Elam did not:
Jeremiah 49 gives the judgment of the Ammonites along with Damascus and others, even Elam. Elam differs from the rest in being a long way from Jerusalem, while the others were fairly near.
Jeremiah's commission explains the reach. God placed him at the centre of His government on earth, to speak beyond it:
God set Jerusalem among the nations as the centre of His government on earth. Before those nations destroyed the city of Zion, Jeremiah is the last voice to speak from that centre the word of the LORD to Judah and Israel and to the surrounding nations.
The chapter never says what Elam did wrong. Something else settles the matter:
No reason is given for the striking and scattering of Elam, but it is done in justice and judgment, for the LORD of hosts sets His throne there (v. 38).
The blow fell in history, under the empire God Himself granted. The reversal waits for the end of that imperial system:
I believe that the judgment of Elam, like that of the other nations spoken of here, took place when Nebuchadnezzar received the grant of universal empire in the sovereignty of God. The return of her captivity will take place, like that of the others (apart from those formally excepted for special reasons), when the imperial system comes to a close under God's judgment. That system is pictured by the great image in Daniel 2.
Some of these nations are promised a future; others are not. One writer draws the line:
Egypt, Elam, Moab and Ammon are restored in the last days; Edom, Damascus, Philistia and Hazor are not. The reason is easy to see. Egypt and Elam form no part of the land of Israel. God in His goodness will have compassion on those countries. They will be inhabited and blessed under His government.
So the chapter that opens in judgment ends on another note:
Here mercy at last triumphs over judgment. Elam's land did not stand in the way, as Philistia, Damascus or Hazor did, of what God has reserved for Israel in the last days. And God will show His goodness to Elam when the kingdom comes.
Elam's recovery is tied to Israel's:
When Israel turns to the Lord, she will be delivered and set in her proper place of honour among the nations, with our Lord Jesus Christ as her glorious King. Then these broken nations will be delivered too.
- Word. God sends a dated, named message to Elam — a kingdom east of Babylonia, far outside Judah's neighbourhood, later known as Persia.
- Reach. Jerusalem was the centre of God's government on earth. Jeremiah was its last voice to the nations before the city fell.
- Justice. The chapter names no crime. God sets His throne in Elam, and that is enough.
- Timing. The blow fell when Nebuchadnezzar received universal empire. The reversal waits until that whole imperial system ends under God's judgment.
- Mercy. Elam's land was never part of the land of Israel, so Elam is not wiped out for ever. When Christ reigns as Israel's King, these broken nations are restored too.
Thus saith Jehovah of hosts Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the chief of their might.
Jeremiah's long list of prophecies against the nations ends with a short word about Elam. God will break its bow. Elam lay far to the east, well outside Israel's borders. So why does the prophet speak of it at all? And why does God single out its weapon?
Elam is not a vague far-off place. It has a founder, a homeland and a successor empire.
Son of Shem. He settled in a highland district east of Babylonia, which became the seat of a powerful monarchy. The district was also called ELAM... When Assyria declined, its Persian neighbours conquered Elam, and the Achaemenian kings ruled it. Cyrus was king of Anshan, or Anzan (Elam), as well as of Persia. So Elam and Persia are closely linked, and almost treated as one. In scripture Elam often designates Persia.
What sets this last prophecy apart from the others in the chapter is distance.
Jeremiah 49 gives the judgment of the Ammonites along with Damascus and others, even Elam. Elam differs from the rest: it lies a long way from Jerusalem, while the others were fairly close.
God calls the bow the mainstay of Elam's might — the thing the nation counted on. Scripture shows again and again how such a weapon fails.
Man may have a bow, but in his hands it fails when he uses it. "The Ephraimites, armed with the bow, turned back on the day of battle" (Ps. 78:9), and as for the Lord's enemies, "The bows of the mighty are broken" (1 Sam. 2:4; Ps. 46:9; Jer. 49:35; Hosea 1:5; Hosea 2:18).
The same writer turns to the other side of the picture: a bow that does not break.
Israel's mighty men with Saul at their head had met the bow of an enemy stronger than they. The error that led to their ruin was esteeming their own strength to be enough. But there is no strength without dependence. We do not find strength in ourselves. We find it in Him, and His strength never fails us. The Man Jesus Christ is the example of this... Struck by the archers (Gen. 49:23-24), His strength did not leave Him. When His weakness appeared to give way to the enemy's power His bow remained strong.
The prophecy names no crime for Elam, yet the sentence stands. What settles its rightness is the One who passes it.
The prophecy gives no reason for the striking and scattering of Elam. Yet God does it in justice and judgment, for the Lord of hosts sets His throne there (v. 38).
Judgment here is not only ruin. God takes the seat of rule in the very place He strikes.
One writer sets both halves of the prophecy in time. The breaking came with Babylon's rise. The return waits for the end of empire.
I believe the judgment of Elam took place when God, in His sovereignty, gave Nebuchadnezzar universal empire. The same holds for the other nations named here. God will bring back her captivity, as He will for the others — apart from those specially excepted for stated reasons. That will happen when the imperial system comes to an end under God's judgment. Daniel 2 pictures that system as an image.
Not every nation in these chapters gets the same ending. What divides them is whether their land belongs to Israel.
God restores Egypt, Elam, Moab and Ammon in the last days. He does not restore Edom, Damascus, Philistia and Hazor. The reason is easy to see. Egypt and Elam form no part of the land of Israel. God in His goodness will have compassion on those countries. People will live in them, and He will bless them under His government.
So the broken bow is not the last word about Elam.
Here mercy rejoices at length against judgment. Elam's territory did not stand in the way of what God has kept for Israel in the last days, as Philistia, Damascus and Hazor did. God will show His goodness to Elam when the kingdom comes.
- Bow — The bow was the mainstay of Elam's might, and God announces He will break the one thing the nation leaned on.
- Broken — Scripture repeats the pattern: bows in human hands fail, and the bows of the mighty are broken.
- Bearing — Christ is the contrast. Struck by archers, His bow stayed strong, because He held His strength in dependence on God.
- Beyond — Elam lay far from Jerusalem, and the prophecy names no crime. God's rule reaches distant nations too, and it is still justice.
- Blessing — Because Elam is no part of Israel's land, God brings back its captivity in the latter days. Mercy is the last word.
And upon Elam will I bring the four winds, from the four ends of the heavens, and I will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come.
Elam sat far to the east of Judah, beyond Babylon, yet the same word that struck Moab and Damascus reaches it too. The verse raises three questions: who were these people, what do the four winds mean, and does a scattered nation have a future?
One reference work traces Elam from its founder onward:
Son of Shem. He settled in a highland district east of Babylonia, which became the seat of a powerful monarchy. The district was also called ELAM. In the days of Abraham, Chedorlaomer king of Elam was able to make war as far off as the Dead Sea. It later became subject to the great power of the Chaldeans and Assyrians. When Assyria declined, its Persian neighbours conquered Elam. In Scripture Elam often stands for Persia.
Its place in the chapter is unusual:
All these countries were places the Jews looked to for security. In Jeremiah 49 we have the judgment of the Ammonites along with Damascus and others, even Elam. Elam differs from the rest in being a long way from Jerusalem, while the others were fairly near.
The number four itself carries meaning:
FOUR. Completeness in what God creates or appoints. Four winds from the four quarters of heaven, Jeremiah 49:36. Four quarters of the earth, Revelation 20:8. In the layout of Israel's camp there were four banners.
The winds themselves are not simply weather. One writer explains what they stand for:
The "four winds of the earth" are the unsettling forces present in every quarter, which God can let loose in judgment whenever He wills.
Jeremiah names no crime for Elam. One writer explains why the judgment is still just:
No reason is given for the striking and scattering of Elam, but it is done in justice and judgment, for the Lord of hosts sets His throne there.
One writer dates both the judgment and the return:
I believe the judgment of Elam, like that of the other nations spoken of here, took place when God in His sovereignty gave Nebuchadnezzar universal empire. The return from captivity, for her as for the others — apart from those specially excepted — will come when the imperial system ends under God's judgment.
Four nations in Jeremiah's list get a promise of return, and four do not. The dividing line follows the land of Israel:
There is a difference with respect to the restoration of those nations in the last days. Egypt, Elam, Moab, Ammon are restored in the last days; Edom, Damascus, Philistia, Hazor are not. The reason for this is easy to see. Egypt and Elam form no part of the land of Israel. God in His goodness will have compassion on those countries; they shall be inhabited and blessed under His government.
One writer ties Elam's return to Israel's own restoration:
When Israel turns to the Lord, when God delivers her and sets her in her proper place among the nations with our Lord Jesus Christ as her glorious King, then He will deliver these broken nations also, and they will reappear according to His gracious promises.
- Distance — Elam lay far from Jerusalem, unlike the nearby nations judged with it, yet the same word reaches it.
- Winds — four winds from four quarters mean every quarter; they are the unsettling forces God holds and lets loose at will.
- Reach — the scattering is complete: no nation on earth is without Elam's outcasts.
- Throne — Jeremiah names no charge against Elam, yet the judgment is just: the Lord of hosts sets His throne in the emptied land.
- Return — Elam falls as Babylon rises, and returns when the empires end; the scattering is not God's last word.
And I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies, and before them that seek their life; and I will bring evil upon them, my fierce anger, saith Jehovah; and I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed them.
Jeremiah's messages to the nations end with Elam, a power far to the east of Judah. This verse is the heart of that message — terror, disaster, and a pursuing sword — yet it names no crime, and it is not the chapter's last word.
Elam lay far outside Judah's circle of neighbours. Its name later stood for one of the great empires of the Bible.
He settled in a highland district east of Babylonia, which became the seat of a powerful monarchy. The district was also called ELAM. In the days of Abraham, Chedorlaomer king of Elam was able to make war as far away as the Dead Sea. It later became subject to the great power of the Chaldeans and Assyrians. When Assyria declined, Elam was conquered by its Persian neighbours. In Scripture Elam often designates Persia. In Isaiah 21:2-10 Elam and Media were to destroy Babylon. It afterwards became part of the Medo-Persian empire. There are many prophecies against it.
That distance sets Elam apart from every other nation on Jeremiah's list.
In Jeremiah 49 the judgment of the Ammonites comes together with Damascus and others, even Elam. Elam differs from the rest in being a long way from Jerusalem, while the others were fairly close.
The message never says what Elam did wrong. One writer notes that silence, and points to what the passage does give as the ground of the sentence.
No reason is given for the striking and scattering of Elam, but it is done in justice and judgment, for the Lord of hosts sets His throne there.
The verse names enemies, but the acts are God's own. He terrifies, He brings the disaster, He sends the sword — and He calls that disaster His fierce anger. So when did this fall on Elam, and when will it lift? One writer ties both moments to the rise and fall of one empire.
I believe the judgment of Elam took place when Nebuchadnezzar received the grant of universal empire, in the sovereignty of God. The same is true of the other nations spoken of in this passage. Her captivity will be turned back when the imperial system comes to a close under God's judgment. So will theirs, except for those formally and for special reasons excluded.
Verse 37 ends with the sword consuming. Verse 39 ends with restoration. Why does Elam get a future when some of its neighbours do not? One writer finds the answer in the map.
There is a difference between these nations when it comes to restoration in the last days. Egypt, Elam, Moab, Ammon, are restored in the last days; Edom, Damascus, Philistia, Hazor, are not. The reason for this is easily seen. Egypt and Elam form no part of the land of Israel. God in His goodness will have compassion on those countries; they shall be inhabited and blessed under His government.
The chapter closes with the promise that Elam's captivity will be turned back. Some readers, Calvin among them, treat Acts 2:9 as the fulfilment. One writer rejects that reading and points to the coming kingdom.
Here mercy triumphs over judgment at last. The portion of Elam did not interfere, like Philistia, Damascus or Hazor, with the development reserved for Israel in the latter day; and God will show His goodness toward Elam when the kingdom comes. To refer its fulfilment to Acts 2:9, as Calvin and others do, only shows how little such men enter into either the old or the new.
When does that goodness arrive? Another writer ties it to the moment Israel's own story turns.
When Israel turns to the Lord, she will be delivered and established in her proper place of honour among the nations, with our Lord Jesus Christ as her glorious King. Then these broken nations will be delivered also.
- Distance. Elam was the farthest of the nations Jeremiah addressed. It was a highland power east of Babylonia, and in Scripture its name often stands for Persia. God's reach is not limited to Israel's near neighbours.
- Throne. Jeremiah names no crime, yet the scattering is just. The Lord of hosts sets His throne in Elam, and He judges there as King.
- Sword. The terror, the disaster and the pursuing sword are all God's own acts. One writer dates the blow to Nebuchadnezzar's rise to universal empire, granted in the sovereignty of God.
- Compassion. Edom, Damascus, Philistia and Hazor are not restored. Elam is, because its territory formed no part of the land of Israel. God will have compassion on it under His government.
- Mercy. The sword consumes, but the chapter does not stop there. Mercy triumphs over judgment: goodness comes to Elam when the kingdom comes and Israel's King reigns — not at Pentecost.
And I will set my throne in Elam, and will destroy from thence king and princes, saith Jehovah.
Elam lay far to the east, beyond the ring of nations that pressed on Israel. Yet God's word reached it too, and it raises two questions: what does it mean for God to set His throne in a foreign land, and why does a chapter of such fierce judgment end, one verse later, with a promise of return?
Elam was a real people with a long history. The Bible traces them from Shem down to Daniel's day.
Son of Shem. He settled in a highland district east of Babylonia, which became the seat of a powerful monarchy. The district was also called ELAM… In the days of Abraham, Chedorlaomer king of Elam could make war as far away as the Dead Sea. It later became subject to the great power of the Chaldeans and Assyrians. When Assyria declined, its Persian neighbours conquered Elam… In Scripture Elam often stands for Persia… Daniel was at Shushan, in the province of Elam.
The other nations judged in this chapter lay close to Jerusalem. Elam was the exception.
In Jeremiah 49 the judgment of the Ammonites comes together with that of Damascus and others, even Elam. Elam differs from the rest: it lay a long way from Jerusalem, while the others were near.
Jeremiah lists no crime here. What the verse gives instead is God's throne set in the land.
…last comes the smiting and scattering of ELAM. God gave the prophet a special word about Elam early in the reign of Zedekiah (v. 34)… No reason is given for the smiting and scattering of Elam. But it is done in justice and judgment, for the Lord of hosts sets His throne there (v. 38).
The fall of Elam's king and officials has a date in history, and so does the promised return.
I believe the judgment of Elam, like that of the other nations spoken of here, took place when God in His sovereignty gave Nebuchadnezzar world empire. Her captives will return, as the others will (apart from those formally excepted for special reasons), when the imperial system comes to an end under God's judgment. That system is pictured by the image in Daniel 2.
Elam's story did not end with that blow.
It is important to mention that Elam joined the Medes to overthrow Babylon, as Isaiah 21:2 predicted… Yet we also know from the sure word of prophecy that, however ravaged in the past (Ezek. 32:24-25 and Jer. 49:34-38), Elam will have its captives brought back in the latter days, according to Jer. 49:39.
Verse 38 is the last stroke of the judgment. The next verse turns, and promises Elam a return in the latter days.
Here (vv. 34-39) mercy rejoices at length against judgment. Elam's place did not stand in the way, as Philistia, Damascus or Hazor did, of the development God has reserved for Israel in the last days. And God will show His goodness to Elam when the kingdom comes.
Edom, judged earlier in the same chapter, receives no such promise.
Obadiah 5, 6, 9, 18 and Jeremiah 49:9-10, 22 also declare that none of Edom shall be left. Notice that there is no restoration of a remnant, as there is for Elam and others (Jer. 49:39).
The promised return arrives with Israel's own restoration, and Christ stands at its centre.
When Israel turns to the Lord, God will deliver her and set her in her proper place of honour among the nations, with our Lord Jesus Christ as her glorious King. Then these broken nations will be delivered too. Reappearing according to God's gracious promises, they will form the national garden of Eden again… the paradise of administrative beauty and excellence of which Christ will be the honoured Centre.
- Throne. God sets His own seat of rule in Elam. No crime is listed; the throne itself is the reason given, and the judgment is done in justice.
- Throne over thrones. God removes the king and officials from the very place where He sets His throne. One rule replaces another.
- Throne without borders. Elam stood far from Jerusalem, unlike the near neighbours judged in this chapter. God's word still reached it.
- Throne in history. The blow fell when God gave Nebuchadnezzar world empire. The recovery waits for that imperial system to end under God's judgment.
- Throne of mercy. God promises Elam a return in the latter days; Edom has no such promise. Mercy rejoices against judgment when the kingdom comes.