What is the meaning of Jeremiah 49:18? As Sodom and Gomorrah were overthrown – Genesis 19:24-25 records the sudden, fiery destruction of those cities, leaving only scorched earth. – Deuteronomy 29:23, 2 Peter 2:6, and Jude 7 treat that judgment as a historical warning of how God deals with entrenched rebellion. – By invoking Sodom, the Lord signals that Edom (Jeremiah 49:17-22) faces a judgment that is: • Swift • Total • Undeniably from His hand along with their neighbors – Deuteronomy 29:23 and Hosea 11:8 mention Admah and Zeboiim, satellite towns that fell with Sodom. – Edom’s own satellite centers—Bozrah (Jeremiah 49:13) and Teman (Jeremiah 49:20)—would likewise be swept away. – The picture: sin’s influence spreads, and so does God’s righteous response; no guilty enclave escapes. says the LORD – The authority behind the prophecy is the covenant God Himself (Isaiah 46:9-11; Numbers 23:19). – Jeremiah is not voicing opinion; he is delivering the verdict of the One who “spoke and it came to be” (Psalm 33:9). – Because the Lord speaks, fulfillment is certain—history eventually catches up to His word (Jeremiah 1:12). no one will dwell there – The phrase echoes Isaiah 13:19-20 about Babylon and Malachi 1:3-4 about Edom: a land so devastated it repels settlers. – Archaeology confirms that Edom’s core regions became sparsely inhabited ruins after the 6th-century BC Babylonian campaign. – God’s pronouncement turns proud strongholds into cautionary signposts (Jeremiah 50:39; Revelation 18:21). no man will abide there – The repetition drives home permanence (Ezekiel 35:9; Obadiah 10, 18). – While desert nomads may pass through, sustained settlement is barred; the curse lingers until God’s prophetic purposes are complete. – The Lord safeguards His promises to Israel by removing hostile Edom from the stage (Psalm 83:1-5, 12-13). summary Jeremiah 49:18 draws a straight line from the historical ruin of Sodom to the foretold ruin of Edom, underscoring that God’s judgments are literal, comprehensive, and irrevocable when sin reaches its limit. The verse assures readers that the Lord’s word stands, nations are accountable, and His redemptive plan for His people advances unhindered. |
    |