The Endless Offer of Forgivenss

Jeremiah 49 turns the prophet's attention to the other nation fathered by one of Lot's incestuous relations with his daughter - the Ammonites. 

Jeremiah 49:1 (ESV) Concerning the Ammonites. Thus says the LORD: “Has Israel no sons? Has he no heir? Why then has Milcom dispossessed Gad, and his people settled in its cities?

There is a subtle taunt in this text. Lot had no sons; Abraham was the one called to father nations. Yet in their sin, the tables were turned for Israel, and the god of the Ammonites, Milcom, took the occupation of Gad, one of the 12 sons of Jacob. The point is that when those privileged by God act like the world, the world gets privileged. 

Yet God would not abandon Israel. 

Jeremiah 49:2 (ESV) Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will cause the battle cry to be heard against Rabbah of the Ammonites; it shall become a desolate mound, and its villages shall be burned with fire; then Israel shall dispossess those who dispossessed him, says the LORD.

Now, you would think God is playing favorites. But the end of Jeremiah's oracle for Ammon ends the same as his oracle towards Moab in the previous chapter:

Jeremiah 49:6 (ESV) “But afterward I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites, declares the LORD.”

Consider the kindness of God, who watches over Israel to discipline, rebuke, and restore her and the foreign nations around her. You have here the hints of Jesus' mission to reach all nations and draw men to Himself. 

Jeremiah 49:10–11 (ESV) But I have stripped Esau bare; I have uncovered his hiding places, and he is not able to conceal himself. His children are destroyed, and his brothers, and his neighbors; and he is no more. 11 Leave your fatherless children; I will keep them alive; and let your widows trust in me.”

Not only Ammon, but Edom, the nation descended from Esau, will be judged through Babylon's conquest, yet God will spare and restore their future generations. 

The chapter continues with God issuing judgment decrees upon Syria, the nomadic peoples of Kedar and Hazor, and Elam. Some are restored in the end, and some are wiped out. The judgment of God clearly extends beyond the boundaries of Israel.

We are confronted with some important theology. 

Those foreign nations did not have the law of Israel, yet they were still held accountable for their actions. This chapter is proof of what Paul had in mind in Romans 1 when he said, "men are without excuse" (Romans 1:20). 

Yet there is hope. Take that final nation on the list - the nation of Elam. This once great powerhouse was brought low through the agency of Babylon. But Jews show up from Elam on the day of Pentecost to hear the preaching of Peter!

Acts 2:8–9 (ESV) And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,

Some men from that day no doubt stayed in Jerusalem and others probably returned home with the message of the Gospel. Many Elamites were reconciled to God just as Jeremiah prophesied. 

Jeremiah 49:39 (ESV) “But in the latter days I will restore the fortunes of Elam, declares the LORD.”

All of this chapter is a picture of the global judgment to come on those who have the law and those who do not. No man or woman is innocent before God. Yet, through Christ, repentance is possible, forgiveness is available, and redemption is on the table.