Tuesday, August 11
Read Jeremiah 51
Think About It:
The Lord directed the Babylonians attention to the great army that He had called from the north – a cruel army without mercy, whose march sounded like the whirring sea. This report paralyzed the king of Babylon. Like a hungry lion looking for prey, Cyrus and then Alexander would attack Babylon, and nobody will be able to resist. God’s chosen servant will always succeed. The Lord’s judgment on Babylon will be like the winnowing of the grain: “Great Babylon” will be blown away like chaff along with his idols.
God assured His people that He hadn’t forsaken them (verses 5-10), and He ordered them a second time to get out of Babylon when the opportunity arose. No doubt many of the Jews did seek the Lord, confess their sins, and trust His promise of deliverance. Some of them certainly prepared their sons and daughters to return to the land.
God warned Babylon to get their weapons ready (verses 11-23), set up their standards on the walls, and post their watchman, because the invasion was about to begin.
God speaks to His general (verses 20-24). Just as Assyria had been God’s “rod”, so His chosen commander (Cyrus, and later Alexander) would be His “hammer” to break the power of Babylon. The word break (shatter) is used nine times in this passage. They would pay Babylon back with the same treatment Nebuchadnezzar had given others. There is a law of compensation in God’s working in history, and the Lord will enforce it.
God describes the victory in verses 27-33. God’s armies were prepared, the commanders were ready, and the battle began; but the Babylonian army was helpless. They lay on the walls exhausted; their courage had failed them. The city was in flames and the bars of the gates were broken. Nothing kept the enemy from entering the city and doing to it what the Babylonians had done to Jerusalem.
God speaks to the Jews in verses 34-50. The Jews reminded the Lord what Nebuchadnezzar had done to them. God’s reply was encouraging. Like a court advocate, He would take their case, plead their cause, and vindicate them.
For the third time, God ordered His people to get out of Babylon and not to linger. Neither should they be afraid of the rumors they would hear about, which were about to happen. They didn’t need to be afraid of the vain Babylonian idols that could do nothing to hinder them. Heaven and earth will sing songs of praise when Babylon falls (Revelation 18:20).
Family Time:
- It is foolish to trust in man-made images than in God. It is easy to think that the things we see and touch will bring us more security than God. God is eternal, so why put your trust in something that disappears in a few years?
- In the last of Jeremiah’s messages we find again the two themes—God’s sovereignty and His judgment. Babylon had been allowed to oppress the people of Israel but Babylon itself would be judged for its sins. Although God brings good out of evil, He doesn’t allow evil to go unpunished without repentance.
