Why does the Lord say he will devote Judah and the surrounding nations to “destruction, and make them a horror, a hissing, and an everlasting desolation"?
The Lord’s actions are not just going to impact Judah, but all these surrounding nations
as well. The nations around Judah had worshipped other gods and done evil. The very significant implication here is that Judah was no different from the pagan nations. All of them, including Judah, would be devoted to destruction.
The Hebrew word used is hehrim and is related to the noun herem. It is a word that is used in Israel’s history to describe how the Lord deals with the nations that were in the land of Canaan and who were enemies of Israel (Numbers 21:2–3; Deuteronomy 2:34; Deuteronomy 7:2; Deuteronomy 20:17; Joshua 2:10; Joshua 6:18, Joshua 6:21; Joshua 8:26; Joshua 10:1, Joshua 10:28, Joshua 10:35, Joshua 10:37, Joshua 10:39–40; Joshua 11:11–12, Joshua 11:20–21; Judges 1:17; Judges 21:11 etc.) The Lord destroyed all these nations who stood against him and his purposes.1 The shocking tragedy is that these words are now used, not just of pagan nations, but of Judah as well. They are no different. They would become a horror,
a hissing,
and an everlasting desolation.
These are all words that describe a people rejected by the Lord as unbelieving idolaters.
9 behold, I will send for all the tribes of the north, declares the LORD, and for Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants, and against all these surrounding nations. I will devote them to destruction, and make them a horror, a hissing, and an everlasting desolation.