What is the meaning of Jeremiah 49:24? Damascus has become feeble “Damascus has become feeble…” (Jeremiah 49:24a) • A city famed for strength (Genesis 14:15; 1 Kings 11:24) is pictured as worn-out and exhausted. • The Lord had earlier declared, “Behold, Damascus will cease to be a city and will become a heap of ruins” (Isaiah 17:1). Now Jeremiah shows that decay already settles in. • Feebleness signals God’s hand removing human confidence, just as He did to mighty Babylon: “Babylon’s warriors have stopped fighting; they remain in their strongholds; their strength has failed” (Jeremiah 51:30). • The picture reminds us that no earthly power, however historic or sophisticated, can withstand persistent rebellion against God (Psalm 33:16-17). She has turned to flee “…she has turned to flee.” (Jeremiah 49:24b) • Instead of standing to defend herself, Damascus turns her back and runs—precisely the reversal promised in Leviticus 26:17 when covenant curses fall: “You will flee when no one is pursuing you.” • Similar imagery marks Egypt’s collapse: “Why have I seen them dismayed and turned back? Their warriors are beaten down and have fled in haste” (Jeremiah 46:5). • Fleeing exposes complete loss of morale. It also fulfills Amos 1:3-5, where God vowed to “break the gate bar of Damascus.” Once the gate is broken, escape seems the only option. Panic has gripped her “Panic has gripped her…” (Jeremiah 49:24c) • The Hebrew wording is vivid: hands slack, knees knocking, heart racing. Jeremiah earlier applied it to Judah: “Anguish has gripped us, agony like a woman in labor” (Jeremiah 6:24). Now the same terror falls on a foreign capital. • “I will bring terror upon you… and you will be driven out, each one headlong” (Jeremiah 49:5) explains why panic dominates; it is the Lord’s doing, not random circumstance. • For believers, the scene underscores Proverbs 1:27—terror comes “like a storm” to those who spurn God’s wisdom. Anguish and pain have seized her like a woman in labor “…anguish and pain have seized her like a woman in labor.” (Jeremiah 49:24d) • Labor pains illustrate sudden, unavoidable, intensifying distress (1 Thessalonians 5:3). Once they begin, there is no turning back; judgment has reached full term. • Isaiah used the same picture for Babylon: “They will be dismayed… pains and agony will seize them; they will writhe like a woman in labor” (Isaiah 13:8). Jeremiah borrows it to show that Damascus, too, must experience the full contraction of God’s justice. • Jesus later spoke of “birth pains” (Matthew 24:8) as signs of the end. The motif, repeated through Scripture, reminds us that God’s redemptive plan advances even through calamity—pain will give way to His ultimate purposes. summary Jeremiah paints a step-by-step collapse of Damascus: strength drained, courage lost, panic overwhelming, agony unavoidable. Each phrase marks God’s righteous intervention against persistent sin, echoing earlier prophecies and foreshadowing final judgment. The verse urges us to place no confidence in human might but to seek refuge in the Lord, who alone can turn labor pains of judgment into the new birth of salvation. |
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