For several days this verse has been running over and over in my mind. Over the years when there has been national distress, this verse has served as a reminder to me of the fact that a Mighty Fortress is our God. It awakens me to the truth of God’s keeping power, and also that we can always find a way to go deeper into His protective promises even if it is only under the shelter of His wings. In Jeremiah 49, we are offered a glimpse of what happens when God judges nations that chose to strut across the pages of history as they will never cease to exist. He even brings to task those nations that practiced child sacrifice, as well as those who may have thought they were invincible. God had a blueprint for those who defied Him then, and He also has a blueprint for those who would defy Him now.
I think a little Bible Study is always good for the soul, so here is some fresh bread to feed upon.
Through time, this verse, Jeremiah 49:8, has been called a preacher's verse. DWELL DEEP! I look at it as an encouraging word, and I bought into it early in my journey with God. It is as though God is telling Edom to dig in, like a soldier on the field of battle. Soldiers in the battlefield know exactly what this command means when it comes down from headquarters to the troops who are forward in the battle. The dirt begins to fly as they begin to create a place of safety in order to prevent them from becoming sitting targets for enemy fire. The foxhole and the trenches become a friend to those on the front lines. It is as though this passage suggests that they find some shelter against the judgment to come. As you merge different translations and studies you can see the warning more clearly.
O inhabitants of Dedan: Dedan (Jeremiah 49:8), a tribe living south of Edom, was known for its commerce. You can find Dedan in (Jeremiah 25:23; Ezekiel 25:13). The people of Dedan are warned to flee from their usual contacts with Edom lest they be overtaken in its destruction. Could it be that God is telling the believer to become more discerning of our associations as well?
"Hide yourselves in holes of the earth, openings in the ground, clefts of the rocks, where you may best secure yourselves from the pursuing enemy."
The picture is clear, judgment is coming, and like a lion that has a flock of sheep in his hungry eye, shepherds will be helpless against it. There was no putting off the coming judgment. F.B. Meyer said, “The deeper their hiding place, the better it would be when the storm of invasion swept across the land." F.B. Meyer went on to make a spiritual application to the believer: “Dwell deep in the peace of God. Dwell deep in communion with God. Dwell deep in the stillness of soul.”
As I said, for several days this verse has chased me as it has at other times. I agree with F.B. Meyer, the great Baptist preacher. It is time for believers to dwell deep. The little song I wrote comes to mind:
Hide me away in the cleft of the Rock, In the cleft of the Rock, please hide me away.
No power, no foe can cancel my new birth. no power, no foe can take away my worth.
Hide me away in the cleft of the Rock, In the cleft of the Rock, please hide me away.
No power, no foe can cancel my new birth. no power, no foe can take away my worth
Cause I’m hiding away in the cleft of the Rock, In the cleft of the Rock I’m just hiding away.
I BELIEVE IN YOU, AND I BELIEVE A MIGHTY FORTRESS IS OUR GOD