Here is what the Lord says about Damascus. He says, “The people of Hamath and Arpad are terrified. They have heard bad news. They have lost all hope. They are troubled like the rolling sea.
The king was captured. He was taken to the king of Babylon at Riblah. Riblah was in the land of Hamath. That’s where Nebuchadnezzar decided how Zedekiah would be punished.
Go and look at the city of Kalneh. Go from there to the great city of Hamath. Then go down to Gath in Philistia. Are those places better off than your two kingdoms? Is their land larger than yours?
The community refused to obey me at the waters of Meribah Kadesh in the Desert of Zin. At that time, you and Aaron did not obey my command. You did not honor me in front of them as the holy God.”
You and Aaron disobeyed me in front of the Israelites. It happened at the waters of Meribah Kadesh in the Desert of Zin. You did not honor me among the Israelites as the holy God.
Land was given to the tribe of Judah, according to its family groups. It reached down to the territory of Edom. It went as far south as the Desert of Zin.
No one could save those people and their city. They lived a long way from Sidon. And they didn’t think they would ever need help from anyone else. Their city was located in a valley near Beth Rehob. The people of Dan rebuilt the city. Then they made their homes there.