What is the meaning of Jeremiah 48:34? There is a cry from Heshbon to Elealeh “ There is a cry from Heshbon to Elealeh ” (Jeremiah 48:34). • Heshbon had once been a royal city of the Amorites but was later absorbed by Moab (Numbers 21:26; Isaiah 15:4). Its name appears often in oracles of judgment. • Elealeh sits only a couple of miles north, so the “cry” racing between them pictures panic spreading through tightly linked communities. • Earlier in the chapter the Lord declared, “No one will speak Moab’s name again” (Jeremiah 48:2), showing that the outcry here fulfills the foretold humiliation. • The verse reminds us that when a nation exalts itself against God, judgment touches every layer of society (see Proverbs 14:34; Jeremiah 25:17–26). they raise their voices to Jahaz “ …they raise their voices to Jahaz ” (Jeremiah 48:34). • Jahaz is where Israel, under Moses, defeated Sihon (Numbers 21:23–24). It became a historical marker of God’s superiority over pagan kingdoms. • Now Moab’s fleeing crowds “raise their voices” toward the same battleground, signaling desperation. What was once a site of Israel’s victory is now the route of Moab’s retreat. • The Lord earlier said, “The sound of an outcry will be heard at Horonaim, devastation and great destruction!” (Jeremiah 48:3). The shouting from Jahaz matches that prophecy. • God’s past acts are never mere history; they stand as ongoing testimony that He will always bring down pride (Psalm 9:16; Malachi 3:6). from Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah “ …from Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah ” (Jeremiah 48:34). • Zoar, at Moab’s southern edge near the Dead Sea plain, anchors the breadth of the calamity (Genesis 19:22–23). • Horonaim, whose name means “double cavern,” lies further up the ascent, pointing to people scrambling uphill in flight (Isaiah 15:5; Jeremiah 48:5). • Eglath-shelishiyah, literally “the third-year heifer,” pictures Moab as a pampered but unbroken animal suddenly driven to slaughter (Isaiah 15:5–6). • The sweep “from Zoar to Horonaim” shows no refuge left; every refuge crumbles when God’s hand moves (Amos 2:1–3; Psalm 139:7–12). for even the waters of Nimrim have dried up “ …for even the waters of Nimrim have dried up ” (Jeremiah 48:34). • Nimrim’s streams supplied life to Moab’s arid land (Isaiah 15:6). When reliable waters disappear, it proves the judgment touches creation itself—a reversal of blessing (Deuteronomy 28:23–24). • Dried waters also symbolize the end of prosperity. Moab had trusted its fertile valleys (Jeremiah 48:31,32); God now removes that security, echoing Elijah’s drought over Baal worshippers (1 Kings 17:1). • Throughout Scripture, drying rivers or seas precede significant divine acts—either deliverance for God’s people (Exodus 14:21–22) or destruction for His foes (Nahum 1:4). Here, Nimrim’s desiccation aligns with Moab’s downfall. • The image warns believers not to lean on earthly supply but on the Lord who “gives water in the wilderness” to His own (Isaiah 43:19–20; Philippians 4:19). summary Jeremiah 48:34 pictures Moab’s collapse moving city to city, ridge to ridge, and finally to the lifeblood waters themselves. Heshbon’s outcry, Jahaz’s shouts, the flight from Zoar to Horonaim, and the drying of Nimrim together testify that no fortress, heritage, or natural resource can shield a people who exalt themselves against the Lord. The verse calls us to humility, dependence on God, and confidence that His judgments are precise, righteous, and certain. |
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