The Ammonites lived north of the Moabites, north of the Arnon River for most of their history, and east of the tribal territories of Gad and Reuben. However, the Ammonites had taken over some Israelite territory in Transjordan, and their borders to the north and south also changed from time to time. Ammon extended north to the Jabbok River and east to the Arabian Desert. The Ammonites, like the Moabites, descended from Lot, Abraham's nephew, and Israel's relations with both nations were normally unfriendly.569
49:1 The Lord asked why Malcam (lit. their king; Milcom or Molech, cf. 19:5; Deut. 12:31), the god of the Ammonites, had (from the Ammonites' viewpoint) taken over territory that formerly belonged to the tribe of Gad. Was it that there were no descendants of the Gadites to maintain control of it? No, they had not gained it by default but by stealing it from the Israelites. The Assyrians under Tiglath-pileser III had removed the Israelites from Transjordan in 734 B.C., and the Ammonites had moved into their territory then.
49:2 Because Ammon had taken over territory that Yahweh had given to His people, the Lord would send soldiers against the capital city, Rabbah (modern Amman, the capital of Jordan). He would destroy it and the other Ammonite towns and enable Israel to repossess what the Lord had given her.
49:3 The Ammonites in chief cities would mourn over the destruction of their other towns. Heshbon was normally a Moabite city, but at certain periods the Ammonites occupied it. This Ai must have been an Ammonite town; it could not be the Ai near Bethel in Cisjordan. The enemy would take images of Malcam into captivity along with the idol's priests and the princes of the nation (cf. 46:25; 48:7).570
49:4 Ammon's sins were her boasting over her natural resources (cf. 48:26, 29, 42), her material treasures that she had accumulated (cf. 48:7; 1 Tim. 6:17), and her security (cf. 48:11). Steep valleys surrounded remote Ammon on three sides. The people of Ammon, personified as a daughter, were slipping away from their secure position, as the water in their valleys flowed away.
49:5 Yahweh promised to terrorize the Ammonites with enemies that would attack from all directions (cf. v. 29; 6:25; 20:3-4, 10; 46:5). No one would be able to organize the fugitives because the scattering would be so great.
49:6 Later, however, Yahweh would restore the fortunes of the Ammonites. This occurred briefly after the Exile. Tobiah was a Persian governor of Ammon during the postexilic period (cf. Neh. 2:10, 19; 4:7). But restoration of this region will also take place in the Millennium (cf. 46:26-28; 48:47).
Nebuchadnezzar brought the Ammonites under his authority when he advanced into Palestine in 605 B.C. After that Ammon proved disloyal to Babylon in 594 B.C. (27:3) and in 589 B.C. (Ezek. 21:18-32). King Baalis of Ammon had some part in the assassination of Gedaliah (40:13-41:15). Because of these acts of unfaithfulness Nebuchadnezzar invaded Ammon, as well as Moab and Judah, in 581 B.C.571This weakened Ammon so much that Arab tribes were able to destroy her, along with Moab and Edom. By the middle of the sixth century B.C. Ammon had ceased to exist as an independent nation.
Some reasons for Yahweh's judgment on Ammon were her military aggression (v. 1) and her proud trust in her geographical situation and her treasures (v. 4).
