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Prophecies against surrounding cities
Ammon
Jeremiah 49:4 “Why do you brag about your valleys, your fertile valleys, you unfaithful people? You trust your treasures, You think, ‘Who would attack me?'”
Yesterday we posted about Moab, the son of Lot from his eldest daughter. Ammon was the son of his younger daughter. Both daughters made their father drunk, to have incest relationship, so to continue their family name. Again, even though they are family of Israel, they became enemies and are ofter mentioned in Scripture as being adversaries.
Edom/Esau
Jeremiah 49:15-16 “Edom, I will make you the smallest of nations and despised among humanity. You have frightened other people. Your arrogance has deceived you.”
Edom and Esau are often used interchangeable, as Edom comes from Esau. This family is mentioned very often, and we created a post back in Obadiah, explaining more about who they were (click here for more).
Damascus
Jeremiah 49:24 “The people of Damascus are weak. They turn to flee, but panic grips them.”
Damascus appears in Genesis 14:15, where Abraham pursues kings to the area north of Damascus to rescue Lot. Abraham’s senior servant, Eliezer, was also from Damascus. Later, Damascus became the capital of the powerful Aramaean kingdom of Syria, often interacting with and warring against the Israelites. King David subdued the Aramaeans but they regained power after Solomon’s death, leading to ongoing conflict and political entanglements with the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Also Naaman, the commander of the Syrian army, lived in Damascus and was healed of leprosy after encountering the prophet Elisha. We even see Damascus in the New Testament with Paul’s Conversion in Acts 9. Saul, later Paul, was a persecutor of Yeshua’s followers, and was traveling to Damascus to arrest believers when he was blinded by a brilliant light.
Kedar
Jeremiah 49:32 “Their camels will be taken as prizes. Their large herds will be taken as loot.”
Kedar was the second son of Ishmael, the son of Abraham which was born from Hagar, when Sarah didn’t believe YHWH that she could become pregnant. Ishmael is the father of the Muslims. Even thought the Ishmaelites and Muslims today became a very great nation, the Kedars were a nomadic Arab tribe known for their wealth in flocks, camels and archery. They lived in dark tents, and are frequently mentioned in prophecies. Isaiah mentions Kedar, and that they will be gathered to YHWH, Isaiah 60:7, “All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together to you .. They shall ascend with acceptance on My altar”. Even the Psalmist, assuming King David, took refuge among the Kedars, in Psalm 120:5, “Woe is me, that I dwell in Meshech, That I dwell among the tents of Kedar!”
The Hebrew word Kedar H6938 – qēḏār, means “dark”, and it’s root word means even to mourn, heavy darkness.
Elam
Jeremiah 49:36 “I’ll bring the four winds from the four corners of heaven against Elam and scatter its people in every direction.”
Elam was the grandson of Noah, son of Shem. The king of Elam was one of the kings fighting in the battle where Lot was taken captive, and Abraham rescued him. Isaiah and Jeremiah both contain prophecies about Elam. Elam was known for its military might, and they must have really went against Israel, for YHWH to send all four winds against them. It just goes to show, the biggest armies in the world doesn’t stand a chance against YHWH and His Creation.. they can be gone overnight, gone like dust in the air. And only YHWH, can restore something so dispersed.
Amazingly, the Elamites are included in the great event where the outpouring of the Holy Spirit causes that people can understand each other in their own languages. Acts 2:8-11 says, “And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of YHWH”
The Hebrew word for Elam is H5867 – ʿêlām, close the the Hebrew word Olam, which means eternity, everlasting, distant space and time. The root word Alam H5956 – ʿālam means hidden or concealed.
Babylon destroyed from the North
Jeremiah 50:3 “A nation from the north will attack Babylon and destroy its land so that no one will live in it.”
In a previous post from Numbers 3, we explained the meaning of East, and how it relates to “Ancient”, and the prophecies regarding the East. The North also have importance, as according to Isaiah 14:13-14, YHWH’s throne and dwelling place is in the North, where Lucifer/ha-satan said, “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of Elohim; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.”
The Hebrew word for North is Sapon H6828 – ṣāp̄ôn, and the root word Sapan H6845 – ṣāp̄an means hidden, treasure, secret place. Job 26 and 37 explains how YHWH stretches from the North, and Psalm 48:2 says, “Beautiful in elevation, The joy of the whole earth, Is Mount Zion on the sides of the north, The city of the great King.” Ezekiel talks a very great deal about the North, as well as Daniel, and some other prophets like Zechariah. Ezekiel 1:4, “Then I looked, and behold, a whirlwind was coming out of the north, a great cloud with raging fire engulfing itself; and brightness was all around it and radiating out of its midst like the color of amber, out of the midst of the fire.”
Hyenas and Owls
Jeremiah 50:39 “That is why desert animals will live with hyenas. Desert owls will also live there. It will no longer be inhabited or lived in for generations. Babylon will be like Sodom, Gomorrah, and their neighboring cities, when I, Elohim, destroyed them. No one will live tere. No human will stay there, declares YHWH”
See a previous post where Isaiah 13 also prophecies that the land will be desolate with wild animals (click here to read more). In this post from Isaiah, there are two videos showing what the lands look like today, with actual hyenas and owls, just like it was prophesied thousands of years ago..
