Jeremiah 49:34-39. We are still reading Jeremiah’s messages to the nations. Today’s reading covers a message to the people of Elam. Elam was located East of the Tigris river in the south-western part of modern day Iran. The name of the area probably comes from it’s original inhabitants, descendants of Noah’s grandson through Seth, Elam. The Elamites were a strong and enduring group who weathered many foreign dynasties including Summerians, Akkadians, Assyrians, and Chaldeans (Babylonians). In turn they also controlled much of the northern Arabian peninsula during the time of Abraham (about 2100 BC. See Genesis 14:1-11). During the time of Jeremiah they were ruled by the Babylonian government.
According to verse 34 this message was given to Jeremiah by Yahweh (LORD, the personal name of the one true God) at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah. If you have been reading along you might remember that Zedekiah was the third son of Josiah, who had been king of Judah from 640-609 BC. Each of his three sons had a turn on the throne, Zedekiah being the last. Zedekiah succeeded his nephew as king after Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem. Zedekiah’s original name was Mattaniah that was changed by Nebuchadnezzar when Nebuchadnezzar made him king of the region. This was in 597 BC. Zedekiah was king for 11 years (2 Kings 24:18).
In verses 35-37 Yahweh (LORD) declares that he will break the bow of Elam and scatter them all over the world. The “bow” is a reference to bows and arrows, common weapons of war in those days. As we saw above the Elamites had lasted as a people though controlled my many different nations. They probably had quite a bit of national or ethnic pride and identified more with each other than with God. Imagine being able to trace your heritage all the way back to Noah, “Hey we’re descended from Noah’s grandson you know!” God is passionate about people, he wants people to know him and be a part of his forever kingdom (2 Peter 3:9-10). It’s not an ego trip for God rather he knows that the alternative to spending eternity with him is a horrid existence (Revelations 22:15; 21:8, Matthew 13:50, 22:13, Luke 13:28).
The prediction of punishment ends with hope for the Elamites though, in verses 38-39 Yahweh declares that he will one day be the king of the Elamites and in the last days would make them rich. In Matthew 6:19-20 Jesus told a large crowd that true lasting riches were those that could be kept in heaven. In Luke 18:18-23 Jesus was approached by a rich man who wanted to know how to be sure he would spend eternity in Heaven. Jesus used the Old Testament law to help the man understand the answer to his question. At the beginning of the law which God gave to Moses for the Jewish people to live (See “The Old Testament Connection”) by were 10 main commandments or rules. The first four deal with our attitudes and actions toward God and the last six are about our attitudes and actions toward each other. Jesus quoted five of the second six and told the man to “keep” them (obey them). The man said he had done just that all of his life. Then Jesus told the man he was missing one thing in his life, he should sell all of his stuff and give the money to take care of poor people. The man left very sad because he had a lot of stuff. The missing rule was, “Do not covet”. Coveting is devoting your life to getting something. This man’s god was his stuff. There was a second part to what Jesus told him to do, after he sold his stuff he should follow Jesus. In Luke 18:22 he told the man that this would be the true treasure in Heaven, not giving up the money but following Jesus.
It is interesting that in Acts 2 we see the real beginning of the “church” (the word means “picked ones”). In that chapter the disciples or student/followers of Jesus were gathered together kind of waiting, not knowing what to do next. Jesus had come back from the dead and spent many days with them then he was transported into Heave while they watched. The last thing he told them was that they would receive power when the Holy Spirit (See “Three or One?”) came into their lives ant that they would then tell others about Jesus (“be witnesses”). In Acts 2:1-4 the Holy Spirit did come into their individual lives and they began to speak. In verses 5-13 we learn that they were speaking to a crowd of people devoted to the one true God, Yahweh. At that time these people were either Jewish people of converts to Judaism (proselytes, v. 10). The crowd was filled with many foreigners and the speaking was miraculous in that each person heard what was being said in their own language. In verse 9 we see that some of he people in the crowd were Elamites. The promise made in Jeremiah 49:39 that in the last days some Elamites would “have their fortune restored” came true that day. That is amazing and awesome.
You may not be able to trace your heritage back even beyond your own life. Or you may be able to say I’m descended from … But where you came from isn’t the important thing in life, where you are going is. God is building a kingdom and it is going to be filled with his family. With respect to being part of God’s forever family none of us has an ancestor, none of us were born into God’s family but each of us has been adopted in. God drew a circle around each one of us who he knew would turn to Jesus and because of his love and kindness promised to add us to his family (Ephesians 5:5, 13; Romans 8:26-30). The offer of Heaven is open to all (1 John 2:2) unfortunately many will reject the offer and will be eternally on the outside. If you haven’t already given your life and eternity to Jesus do it today, come in out of the heat and enjoy peace with God now and forever.
Thank you Jesus for dying for me. Thank you God for the promise of eternity with you. Thank you for your Spirit who helps me see and do the things that please and honor you. Help me tell other about your love and how to get right with you; help me live and share the good news about Jesus. Help me be a part of making your forever family big.