Jeremiah 49:28-33 Kedar & Hazor
God had another group who were singled out for judgment. Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor had a future encounter with Nebuchadnezzar. It would be their end.
As you have probably guessed, I am NOT a historian. I have to look up all these places and their history with Israel to have ANY hope of figuring out what was going on. I Googled Kedar and the kingdom of Hazor and got some interesting results.
When looking up the kingdom of Hazor alone, I was brought back to the life of Joshua and the early days in the Promised Land. The king of Hazor, Jabin, brought several kingdoms together, with their armies, against Israel. Together, these kingdoms, brought out an army that was more numerous than the sands. God gave the battle into Israel’s hands and they killed EVERYONE involved. Joshua burned the city of Hazor and it was never inhabited again.
I don’t know if the people Jeremiah is speaking of are the descendants of the kingdom of Hazor that Joshua engaged or not. I suppose it’s possible but we are told that Joshua killed everyone who had breath in the aftermath of that battle. Another reason to question if the two are related is the ‘s’ on the end of “kingdoms” in our reading. Apparently, there was more than one kingdom of Hazor.
When looking up Kader and Hazel, using Google, I am told that they were nomadic people who lived in tents in the area of Hazel; on the route connecting Egypt and Babylon. Part of this we could figure out just from our text. These people lived in tents and had no walls to ‘protect’ them from others. They felt safe in their lifestyle and are purported to have traded their livestock with Tyre. They are also believed to be very good warriors and able to defend themselves against all who would challenge them. Not this time!
Something else that I came upon is from a bible commentary. Bridgeway Bible Commentary has this to say about this people: “Their practice was to raid towns that the Babylonians attacked, and then return to their desert settlements where they themselves were out of the path of the Babylonian forces.” I don’t know about the voracity of this claim, but if it is true, it makes sense as to why God would be angry with them.
“Kadar” was the name of the second son of Ishmael and also means “dark skinned.” They are mentioned a few times in scripture and all references comment on the term “dark” as it applies to their skin or the color of their tents.
One final comment that struck me is the reference to cutting the corners of their hair. From the same site as the previous commentaries/information, cutting the corners of their hair might refer to something done in observance of a god. God told His people NOT to cut the corners of their hair or to gash themselves in times of grief. These were practices of false gods; NOT of the people whom God chose for His own.
Whatever their sin, God called upon Nebuchadnezzar to be His instrument of punishment. A people who always considered themselves safe and of no consequence to Nebuchadnezzar were finally on his radar.
Father God, NOTHING escapes Your notice. Good or bad, You know ALL that is in a person’s heart. THANK YOU also for forgiveness, without it I would be ‘toast’. Keep me from EVER replacing You with some false god or some weird doctrine. I want to be the woman YOU made me to be.
