Jeremiah 49:1-6: a reflection

1Of the children of Ammon. The LORD says: “Has Israel no sons? Has he no heir? Why then does Malcam possess Gad, and his people dwell in its cities? 2Therefore behold, the days come,” says the LORD, “that I will cause an alarm of war to be heard against Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and it will become a desolate heap, and her daughters will be burned with fire; then Israel will possess those who possessed him,” says the LORD. 3“Wail, Heshbon, for Ai is laid waste! Cry, you daughters of Rabbah! Clothe yourself in sackcloth. Lament, and run back and forth among the fences; for Malcam will go into captivity, his priests and his princes together. 4Why do you boast in the valleys, your flowing valley, backsliding daughter? You trusted in her treasures, saying, ‘Who will come to me?’ 5Behold, I will bring a terror on you,” says the Lord, GOD of Armies, “from all who are around you. All of you will be driven completely out, and there will be no one to gather together the fugitives. 6“But afterward I will reverse the captivity of the children of Ammon,” says the LORD.

The oracle against Ammon names the root of its downfall in a single revealing quote. Ammon trusted in her treasures, God says, boasting, who will come against me? There it is: wealth had bred a sense of invulnerability. Surrounded by riches and strong valleys, Ammon assumed no one could touch her, and that assumption was her blind spot.

Notice the particular deception of treasure. It does not just make people comfortable; it makes them feel safe in a way they are not, whispering, who will come against me? Wealth can create the illusion of security, the quiet confidence that because we have resources, we are protected, untouchable, beyond the reach of trouble. Ammon believed her treasures made her safe, and they did not.

That is a deception near to us in a comfortable age. It is easy to let a cushion of resources, savings, possessions, security, become the thing we secretly trust to keep us safe, until we half-believe, like Ammon, that trouble cannot reach us. But treasures are a false fortress. And notice, even so, how the oracle ends: afterward I will restore the fortunes of Ammon. Even in judgment God holds out eventual mercy. Do not trust your treasures to make you safe; trust the God whose mercy outlasts even his judgments, and who alone is a sure refuge.

Lord, keep me from trusting my treasures to make me safe, or whispering with Ammon, who can come against me? Let me not build a false fortress out of what I own, but find my only sure refuge in you, whose mercy outlasts even judgment.