The oracle continues with a cry of lament for the city of Damascus: How is the famous city not forsaken, the city of my joy?
But are these words spoken by a citizen of Damascus or by the Lord? Much like he lamented the destruction of Moab (Jeremiah 48:31–33), this appears again to be the Lord taking no joy in the destruction that he himself is bringing to Damascus, a beautiful city.
And yet, the city will fall as her soldiers fall and are destroyed. The Lord himself will kindle a fire in the walls of Damascus, and it shall devour the strongholds of Ben-hadad.
Ben-hadad appears to be the name of a dynasty of Aramean kings (see 1 Kings 15:18; 1 Kings 20:1–34; 1 Kings 6:24;1 Kings 8:27; 1 Kings 13:3, 1 Kings 13:27).1
One of the features of the oracle against Damascus is that the oracle gives no reason for the Lord’s judgment. No mention is made of the historical hostility towards the Lord’s people. There is no mention of rebellion against Babylon, or of the pride and arrogance mentioned in the oracles against other nations. It would seem Damascus is included simply to demonstrate the total sovereignty of the Lord. No nation is free from his rule. Damascus was certainly not innocent and so she faces the Lord as the sovereign creator who holds his world to account.
25 Ah! elle n'est pas abandonnée, la ville glorieuse, La ville qui fait ma joie!