Jeremiah 49:1-39; Hebrews 11:17-40

Thought from Today’s Old Testament Passage: Edom (49:7-22) Edom, formerly Seir (Gen. 22:3), lay south of Moab and SSE of Judah. It was originally occupied by Esau and his descendants (10). The northern tribe and capital Teman (7; cf. Job 4:1) took their name from Esau’s grandson (Gen. 36:1). It extended south to Aqabah and included many rocky areas and fortresses…. All of Edom must share the Lord’s wrath with Israel. If Israel had to drink the cup surely Edom cannot escape it (12; cf. 25:15). This was also predicted by the contemporary prophets Ezekiel (25:13) and Obadiah (1-6; paralleled here in vv. 14-16, 9-10 but it is not possible to say which, if either, prophet borrowed from the other). Edom in OT is characterized like Esau by a boastful wisdom (7) which leads to a contempt of God. The punishment for such is to be made foolish and driven out of the rock-fortresses on which they rely. No place will be untouched (10); there will be no hiding-place and no note of hope (as offered, e.g., to Moab, 48:47). Though the exercise of His justice may cause hapless widows and helpless orphans (11), God in his mercy will care for them (Ps. 68:5). The prophecy was fulfilled when Edom was taken over by the Nabateans in the third century B.C. F. F. Bruce, Gen. Ed., The International Bible Commentary (Marshall Pickering/Zondervan, 1986), pp. 794-795.