(22) He shall come up and fly as the eagle.--The prophet passes from one symbol of sovereignty to another, and instead of the lion we have (see Note on Jeremiah 48:40) the eagle. What Kerioth was to Moab, Bozrah was to Edom, and its capture is painted in the same terms.Verse 22. - Behold, he shall come up... Bozrah. Repeated from Jeremiah 48:40, with the substitution of "Bozrah" for "Moab," and the addition of "and he shall come up" from ver. 19. For "Bozrah," see on ver. 13. And at that day. Repeated from Jeremiah 48:41 (latter half), with the exception that "Edom" stands for "Moab." 49:7-22 The Edomites were old enemies to the Israel of God. But their day is now at hand; it is foretold, not only to warn them, but for the sake of the Israel of God, whose afflictions were aggravated by them. Thus Divine judgments go round from nation to nation; the earth is full of commotion, and nothing can escape the ministers of Divine vengeance. The righteousness of God is to be observed amidst the violence of men.Behold, he shall come up, and fly as the eagle,.... The Targum is, "behold, as an eagle comes up and flies, so shall a king come up with his army;'' the king of Babylon with his army, compared to an eagle for his swiftness and voraciousness, as before to a lion for his strength and fierceness: and spread his wings over Bozrah; besiege that city, invest it, and seize upon it; very fitly are the wings of an army expressed by the wings of this bird, denoting both their extent and force; the same is said concerning Moab, Jeremiah 48:40; and at that day shall the heart of the mighty men of Moab be as the heart of a woman in her pangs; when just ready to be delivered; not only weak and timorous, but full of anguish, and: quite dispirited; See Gill on Jeremiah 48:41. |
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