Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Prayer Meeting Lesson Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/pm/pm20051116.htm

JEREMIAH: STAYING UPRIGHT AMIDST EVIL PRESSURES
Part XIII: Prophecies Against The Sinful Nations Around Judah
C. Prophecies Against Judah's Relatives
2. Prophecy Against Ammon For Arrogantly Seizing Israel's Property
(Jeremiah 49:1-6)
  1. Introduction
    1. All human beings need food, clothing and sufficient shelter against life-threatening elements, a fact God fully understands according to the testimony of Jesus in Matthew 6:31-32.
    2. However, when we fail to look to God for these things and stoop to compete with relatives for increased portions of our forefathers' inheritances, we not only hurt our relatives in the process, but we sin against God, cf. Luke 12:13-15. This lesson is portrayed in Jeremiah's prophecy against Ammon (as follows):
  2. Prophecy Against Ammon For Arrogantly Seizing Israel's Property, Jeremiah 49:1-6.
    1. As far back as the days of Abraham, God had arranged for the Ammonites, a nation related to Israel, to inherit their own land east of the Jordan River as distinct from Israel's territory there (as follows):
      1. When God led Abraham out of Ur of the Chaldees toward the Promised Land of Canaan, his nephew, Lot came with him, Genesis 12:1 with Genesis 11:27 and Genesis 12:4.
      2. Yet, Canaan was not large enough to meet the livelihood needs of the livestock of both men, so Abraham gave Lot the choice of going in one direction while he went the other, Genesis 13:1-2, 5-9.
      3. Consequently, Lot chose the lush plain of the Jordan while Abraham stayed in the hills, Gen. 13:10-12.
      4. Later after Lot and his daughters had survived God's judgment on the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah in the plain of the Jordan (Genesis 19:24-29, 30), Lot fathered two illegitimate sons, Moab and Ammon through an incestuous relationship with his two daughters, Genesis 19:31-38.
      5. These sons in turn each fathered nations, and both nations were permitted by God to conquer and possess lands east of the Jordan River, cf. Deut. 2:9-11 for Moab and Deut. 2:20-21 for Ammon.
      6. When Israel later traveled out of Egypt toward Canaan to conquer it, God told His people not to attack Ammon or Moab; the lands of these sons of Lot had been given to them by God, Deuteronomy 2:9, 19.
    2. However, when God displaced Israel from her land through the invasion of the Assyrians, the Ammonites took possession of Israel's tribal lot of Gad that was located between the Jordan River and the land of Ammon, Jer. 49:1; Bib. Kno. Com., O. T., p. 1197; Ryrie St. Bib., KJV, 1978 ed., Map 4.
    3. The Ammonites thought no heirs of Israel would return to claim the land of Gad, a view spawned by their failure to believe God had sovereignly allotted that territory to Israel; so, as the ESV puts it, Ammon under her false god, Milcom took possession of Israel's tribal territory of Gad, Jer. 49:1b in light of 1 Kings 11:5b. ["When foreigners occupied the territory of Israel, it meant that there was an infringement on the position and authority of Yaweh. Thus the name of the god Milcom here is the correct reading" versus "Molech" (NIV) or "their king" (KJV) at Jer. 49:1, 3 (A. R. Hurst, O. T. Trans. Probs., 1960, p. 181).]
    4. Amon's seizure of Gad's land contested the sovereignty of God's allotting the land to Israel's tribe of Gad, so God countered the Ammonites and the false authority of their idol, Milcom as follows:
      1. Through Jeremiah, God predicted a terrifying invasion would occur in the land of Ammon and Israel would dispossess the Ammonites who had dispossessed them of their land of Gad, Jer. 49:2 ESV.
      2. For this their sin, the people of Ammon would grieve; their false god, Milcom who resided in God's land in Gad would himself go into exile with his priests, officers [and people], Jeremiah 49:3, 5 ESV.
      3. The cause behind Amon's motive to dispossess Israel of the land of Gad is declared in Jeremiah 49:4: the arrogance of Moab against Israel and her God (cf. Jer. 48:26-29) was also present in Ammon, so God promised to punish Ammon as He had promised to judge Moab in Jeremiah 48:1-47.
    5. Yet, in grace, in the coming Messianic Kingdom, God promised to restore Ammon to her own land, 49:6.
Lesson: In proudly assuming Israel would no longer possess her God-given land of Gad so as to take it for themselves under the authority of their false god, Milcom, God moved to judge the Ammonites to be dispossessed by Israel. Yet, in grace, God planned to restore the Ammonites in Christ's coming reign.

Application: (1) May we HUMBLY respect GOD'S sovereign assignment of possessions to ALL men that, (2) out of respect for GOD, we NOT lust after the possessions or inheritances of our relatives!