Introduction
After prophesying against the other nations, Jeremiah now prophesies against mighty Babylon. This and the next chapter,
Jeremiah 51, will prophesy Babylon’s fall, and there are also, in these two chapters, references to the deliverance of God’s people from their captivity.
These two chapters cannot really be outlined. You will have noticed that the whole book of Jeremiah is somewhat haphazard, as I warned you before we even started our study of Jeremiah. These two chapters are also haphazard. I suppose you could call them a collection of prophecies.
There are two main themes in these two chapters, there is the fall of Babylon, and there is the return of God’s people from exile. Babylon may have been used as God’s rod to chasten the other nations, but they too had it coming to them.
A MESSAGE ABOUT BABYLON
‘This is the word the LORD spoke through Jeremiah the prophet concerning Babylon and the land of the Babylonians: ‘Announce and proclaim among the nations, lift up a banner and proclaim it; keep nothing back, but say, ‘Babylon will be captured; Bel will be put to shame, Marduk filled with terror. Her images will be put to shame and her idols filled with terror.’ A nation from the north will attack her and lay waste her land. No one will live in it; both people and animals will flee away. ‘In those days, at that time,’ declares the LORD, ‘the people of Israel and the people of Judah together will go in tears to seek the LORD their God. They will ask the way to Zion and turn their faces toward it. They will come and bind themselves to the LORD in an everlasting covenant that will not be forgotten. ‘My people have been lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray and caused them to roam on the mountains. They wandered over mountain and hill and forgot their own resting place. Whoever found them devoured them; their enemies said, ‘We are not guilty, for they sinned against the LORD, their verdant pasture, the LORD, the hope of their ancestors.’ ‘Flee out of Babylon; leave the land of the Babylonians, and be like the goats that lead the flock. For I will stir up and bring against Babylon an alliance of great nations from the land of the north. They will take up their positions against her, and from the north she will be captured. Their arrows will be like skilled warriors who do not return empty-handed. So, Babylonia will be plundered; all who plunder her will have their fill,’ declares the LORD.’ Jeremiah 50:1-10
Clarke, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The prophecy contained in this and the following chapter was sent to the captives in Babylon in the fourth year of the reign of Zedekiah. They are very important, they predict the total destruction of the Babylonish empire, and the return of the Jews from their captivity. These chapters were probably composed, with several additions, out of the book that was then sent by Jeremiah to the captives by the hand of Seraiah, Jeremiah 51:59-64.’
God now speaks through Jeremiah concerning Babylon, Jeremiah 50:1. Babylon will be captured and God will put ‘Bel’ to shame, to make ‘him’ lose his face, Jeremiah 50:2. He was supposed to be the strongest deity in the Middle East. The king in power at the fall of Babylon would be Evil-Merodach, Jeremiah 50:2.
He would be dismayed and unable to believe it as ‘her idols are filled with terror,’ Jeremiah 50:2. You might find it interesting to know that the Hebrew word here literally means ‘dung balls’, Leviticus 26:30. Perhaps you already knew that Ezekiel used the word thirty-eight times when speaking of pagan idols.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Merodach in the inscriptions was the tutelary god of Babylon and Nebuchadnezzar named a son Evil-Merodach, indicating that Nebuchadnezzar was especially devoted to that god. Merodach was actually identical with Bel. He was identified with Jupiter among the planets, and he was styled, ‘King of heaven and earth.’
‘A nation from the north will attack her’, Jeremiah 50:3. This phrase, out of the north, is used to indicate the nation that will be used to bring Babylon down and the only nation capable of this task would be the Medo-Persians.
I am sure you will remember that Judah was warned that ‘a nation from the north’, Jeremiah 1:14-15, would come against them and Babylon was north of Judah. But this is also true of Babylon, because ‘out of the north,’ came the Medes. They were actually northwest of Babylon. Cyrus was said to have captured the city of Babylon by diverting the Euphrates out of its normal channel and this diversion took place north of Babylon.
Cheyne, in his commentary, says the following.
‘A mystery in the Hebrew mind attached to the north, the very word ‘north’ in Hebrew meaning ‘hidden.’ The burnt offering was to be sacrificed on the north side of the altar, Leviticus 1:11, and the four cherubim in the vision of Ezekiel were described as coming from the north, Ezekiel 1:4.’
Babylon will be totally destroyed and no one will live in it, both people and animals will flee away, Jeremiah 50:3. Jeremiah must have felt great pleasure at telling them this, as Israel and Judah are vindicated when this happens. The people of Israel and the people of Judah together will go in tears to seek God, Jeremiah 50:4.
Clarke, in his commentary, says the following.
‘In the times in which Babylon shall be opposed by the Medes and Persians, both Israel and Judah, seeing the commencement of the fulfilling of the prophecies, shall begin to seek the Lord with much prayer, and broken and contrite hearts. When the decree of Cyrus comes, they shall be ready to set off for their own country, deploring their offenses, yet rejoicing in the mercy of God which has given them this reviving in their bondage.’
They will ask direction to Zion and turn their faces toward it and they will come and bind themselves to God in an everlasting covenant that will not be forgotten, Jeremiah 50:5. God’s people were like lost sheep because their shepherds led them astray and caused them to roam on the mountains. They wandered over mountain and hill and forgot their own resting place, Jeremiah 50:6.
They were vulnerable on the mountains, easy prey and their enemies said, we are not guilty, for they sinned against God, their verdant pasture, God, the hope of their ancestors, Jeremiah 50:7. They are told to flee out of Babylon, leave the land of the Babylonians and be like the goats that lead the flock, Jeremiah 50:8.
Thompson, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Judah here was admonished to be the leader (like the heights) in fleeing from Babylon. They did not heed this. As a matter of fact, they were hardly willing to leave at all, and many never left. The metaphor here is drawn from the fact that, ‘Once the sheepfold was opened, the male goats would rush from the enclosure first.’
God is bring an alliance of great nations from the land of the north against Babylon. They will take up their positions against her, and from the north she will be captured. Their arrows will be like skilled warriors who do not return empty-handed, Jeremiah 50:9. God says Babylon will be plundered and all who plunder her will have their fill, Jeremiah 50:10.
‘Because you rejoice and are glad, you who pillage my inheritance, because you frolic like a heifer threshing grain and neigh like stallions, your mother will be greatly ashamed; she who gave you birth will be disgraced. She will be the least of the nations—a wilderness, a dry land, a desert. Because of the LORD’s anger she will not be inhabited but will be completely desolate. All who pass Babylon will be appalled; they will scoff because of all her wounds. ‘Take up your positions around Babylon, all you who draw the bow. Shoot at her! Spare no arrows, for she has sinned against the LORD. Shout against her on every side! She surrenders, her towers fall, her walls are torn down. Since this is the vengeance of the LORD, take vengeance on her; do to her as she has done to others. Cut off from Babylon the sower, and the reaper with his sickle at harvest. Because of the sword of the oppressor let everyone return to their own people, let everyone flee to their own land.’ Jeremiah 50:11-16
We see the reasons for God’s anger here. The reason for her fall is because of her over-zealous cruelty. God says, they rejoiced and were glad when they pillaged His people, Jeremiah 50:11. The Babylonians were having a great time destroying Judah, they are compared to a heifer threshing corn, to be neighing like stallions, Jeremiah 50:11.
She will be a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert, Jeremiah 50:12. It’s because of God’s anger that Babylon will not be inhabited but completely desolate and all who pass Babylon will be appalled, they will scoff because of all her wounds, Jeremiah 50:13. Babylon’s enemies are to take up their positions around Babylon, and they are to draw the bow, shoot and spare no arrows because she has sinned against God, Jeremiah 50:14.
They are to shout against her on every side and then she surrenders, her towers fall, her walls are torn down. Since this is the vengeance of God, take vengeance on her and do to her as she has done to others, Jeremiah 50:15. In other words, Babylon is going to reap what she has sown, Galatians 6:7. Cut off from Babylon the sower and the reaper with his sickle at harvest and because of the sword of the oppressor let everyone return to their own people, let everyone flee to their own land, Jeremiah 50:16.
Despite the promises here that Babylon would be destroyed, the prophesy isn’t going to happen immediately. In fact, it is believed that there was a long period of decline. Many years would have to go by before this prophecy was fulfilled.
‘Israel is a scattered flock that lions have chased away. The first to devour them was the king of Assyria; the last to crush their bones was Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.’ Therefore, this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will punish the king of Babylon and his land as I punished the king of Assyria. But I will bring Israel back to their own pasture, and they will graze on Carmel and Bashan; their appetite will be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and Gilead. In those days, at that time,’ declares the LORD, ‘search will be made for Israel’s guilt, but there will be none, and for the sins of Judah, but none will be found, for I will forgive the remnant I spare.’ Jeremiah 50:17-20
Here we read of two events, the destruction of the Northern Kingdom by Assyria in 722 B.C., Jeremiah 50:17, and the first wave of captives taken into Babylon in 597 B.C, Jeremiah 50:17.
Constable, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The king of Assyria, Shalmaneser, had scattered the Israelites in the Northern Kingdom like sheep in 722 B.C. 2 Kings 17:1-6 / 2 Kings 18:9-12, and the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, had done worse to the Judahites in the south in 605-581 B.C. Jeremiah 4:7 / 2 Kings 24. He had broken their bones-not just scattered the people but also slain them.’
The message here is straightforward, just as God destroyed the king of Assyria at Nineveh, so God will destroy the Babylonians, Jeremiah 50:18.
Clarke, in his commentary, says the following.
‘All the descendants of Jacob have been harassed and spoiled, first by the Assyrians, and afterwards by the Chaldeans. They acted towards them as a lion to a sheep which he has caught; first he devours all the flesh, next he breaks all the bones to extract the marrow. The Assyrians were overthrown by the Medes and the Chaldeans. The king is here taken for all their kings, generals, Tiglath-Pileser, Shalmaneser, Sennacherib, Esar-Haddon,. To them succeeded the Chaldean or Babylonish kings. Nebuchadnezzar came against Judea several times and at last took the city and burnt it, profaned and demolished the temple, wasted the land, and carried the princes and people into captivity.’
God is going to bring Israel back to their own pasture where they will graze on Carmel and Bashan, their appetite will be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and Gilead, Jeremiah 50:19. When this happens God a search will be made for Israel’s guilt, but there will be none, and for the sins of Judah, but none will be found, for He will forgive the remnant He spares, Jeremiah 50:20 / Jeremiah 31:34.
Coffman, in his commentary, says the following, concerning ‘those days’.
‘These words are the usual Messianic formula, indicating that the pardon and forgiveness promised to Israel will come in the times of the Messiah in their acceptance and obedience to the Gospel of Christ.’
‘Attack the land of Merathaim and those who live in Pekod. Pursue, kill, and completely destroy them,’ declares the LORD. ‘Do everything I have commanded you. The noise of battle is in the land, the noise of great destruction! How broken and shattered is the hammer of the whole earth! How desolate is Babylon among the nations! I set a trap for you, Babylon, and you were caught before you knew it; you were found and captured because you opposed the LORD. The LORD has opened his arsenal and brought out the weapons of his wrath, for the Sovereign LORD Almighty has work to do in the land of the Babylonians. Come against her from afar. Break open her granaries; pile her up like heaps of grain. Completely destroy her and leave her no remnant. Kill all her young bulls; let them go down to the slaughter! Woe to them! For their day has come, the time for them to be punished. Listen to the fugitives and refugees from Babylon declaring in Zion how the LORD our God has taken vengeance, vengeance for his temple.’ Jeremiah 50:21-28
The context returns to judgment upon Babylon. Merathaim and Pekod were symbolic names for Babylon to portray her sin, Jeremiah 50:21. She was the hammer that broke the nations, Jeremiah 50:22-23, and so she is now broken and shattered, Jeremiah 50:23.
Coffman, in his commentary, says the following.
‘How broken and shattered is the hammer of the whole earth,’ is an interesting term of reference, that Babylon should be called ‘the hammer of the whole earth.’ This is a term used to describe the victory of Judas Maccabaeus over Syria, and even one of the kings of England, Edward 1, has inscribed on his tomb in Westminster Abbey the same words, ‘hammer of the Scots’, only they are written in Latin.’
As Babylon had snared other nations, so she was snared because she opposed God, Jeremiah 50:24.
Clarke, in his commentary, says the following.
‘It was not by storm that Cyrus took the city. The Euphrates ran through it; he dug a channel for the river in another direction, to divert its stream, he waited for that time in which the inhabitants had delivered themselves up to debauchery: in the dead of the night he turned off the stream, and he and his army entered by the old channel, now void of its waters. This was the snare of which the prophet here speaks.’
God opened the armoury of His weapons that He uses against the nations, Jeremiah 50:25. He unleashed His weapons upon the nation that had tormented and destroyed so many other nations. Babylon was a warrior nation and thus God was a strong warrior against her.
God invites nations from afar to fight against the Babylonians, He invites them to break open her granaries, pile her up like heaps of grain and completely destroy her and leave her no remnant, Jeremiah 50:26. They are invited to come and kill and slaughter all her young bulls because it’s time for them to be punished, Jeremiah 50:27. The city of Babylon fell to the Medes and Persians with very little struggle. The Babylonian Empire capitulated without any major battle, though she had been built as a result of victories in great battles.
Babylon’s destruction of the temple was to the Babylonians a sign that they had overcome the God of the Jews. Thus, judgment on Babylon was God’s vengeance on them for thinking that they had defeated the God of the Jews, Jeremiah 50:28. Those in Jerusalem, therefore, would rejoice when the announcement would be made that Babylon had fallen.
‘Summon archers against Babylon, all those who draw the bow. Encamp all around her; let no one escape. Repay her for her deeds; do to her as she has done. For she has defied the LORD, the Holy One of Israel. Therefore, her young men will fall in the streets; all her soldiers will be silenced in that day,’ declares the LORD. ‘See, I am against you, you arrogant one,’ declares the Lord, the LORD Almighty, ‘for your day has come, the time for you to be punished. The arrogant one will stumble and fall, and no one will help her up; I will kindle a fire in her towns that will consume all who are around her.’ Jeremiah 50:29-32
Archers are now summoned against Babylon, Jeremiah 50:29. Babylon was to be rewarded for her work. As she had done to others, so it would be done to her, Jeremiah 50:29 / Galatians 6:7. There are occasions when Jeremiah repeated his words in this book and here we see that Jeremiah 50:30, is the same as Jeremiah 49:26.
As she was proud and arrogant against others, other nations were called to humble her, Jeremiah 50:31-32. As she took other nations out of existence, so she would be taken out of existence.
‘This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘The people of Israel are oppressed, and the people of Judah as well. All their captors hold them fast, refusing to let them go. Yet their Redeemer is strong; the LORD Almighty is his name. He will vigorously defend their cause so that he may bring rest to their land, but unrest to those who live in Babylon.’ Jeremiah 50:33-34
Here we read that Israel and Judah are to be encouraged by their deliverance. Israel was in bondage from which she could not deliver herself, Jeremiah 50:33. Only God could work among the nations in order to release her from her captivity, Jeremiah 50:34. Through God’s grace, therefore, Israel was released from bondage and brought back to her homeland, Jeremiah 50:34.
However, it took the destruction of her captors in order to accomplish the freedom of His people. And so, it has happened in reference to the Christian’s deliverance from the kingdom of Satan, Ephesians 4:7-10.
‘A sword against the Babylonians!’ declares the LORD—’ against those who live in Babylon and against her officials and wise men! A sword against her false prophets! They will become fools. A sword against her warriors! They will be filled with terror. A sword against her horses and chariots and all the foreigners in her ranks! They will become weaklings. A sword against her treasures! They will be plundered. A drought on her waters! They will dry up. For it is a land of idols, idols that will go mad with terror. ‘So, desert creatures and hyenas will live there, and there the owl will dwell. It will never again be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation. As I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah along with their neighbouring towns,’ declares the LORD, ‘so no one will live there; no people will dwell in it.’ Jeremiah 50:35-40
As the Babylonians had used the sword to amass their empire, so the sword will devour the nation, Jeremiah 50:35. Those mercenaries who were in allegiance with the Babylonians, would forsake their commitment and allow the empire to fall.
All the leaders, princes, and priests alike, would suffer from the strike of the sword, Jeremiah 50:35. Her false prophets will become fools and their warriors will be filled with terror, Jeremiah 50:36. Though their soldiers were fierce against those they conquered, they would become feeble as women, Jeremiah 50:37.
She would be plundered of her riches, Jeremiah 50:37, and made ashamed of her idols, Jeremiah 50:38, because their idol gods would not deliver her in her day of calamity.
Coffman, in his commentary, says the following, concerning the dried up waters, Jeremiah 50:38.
This, of course, is another reference to the method of Cyrus’ capture of Babylon by diverting the Euphrates out of its channel. Both Babylon and Nineveh were on mighty rivers, Nineveh upon the Tigris, and Babylon upon the Euphrates. Yet the prophets of God made this distinction in their prophecies against the two cities. Nahum declared of Nineveh that God prophesied, ‘With an overrunning flood will I make a full end of thee’, Nahum 1:8, whereas Jeremiah here declares that ‘The waters of Babylon shall be dried up!’ What a remarkable proof that what we have here is the Word of God, not the word of men.’
By the time God is through with Babylon, desert creatures and hyenas will live there, and there the owl will dwell. He says never again will it be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation, Jeremiah 50:39. As the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah ceased to exist, so would the Babylonian Empire, Jeremiah 50:40 / Jeremiah 49:18.
People continue to exist who make up empires but the government, kings and princes cease, no longer to rise again. Since many of the ancient empires were based on the leadership of a predominant king and his son or sons who reigned after him, when the dynasty was terminated, the empire ceased to exist. So, it would be with the Babylonian Empire, the people of the empire would continue under the control of a new empire.
‘Look! An army is coming from the north; a great nation and many kings are being stirred up from the ends of the earth. They are armed with bows and spears; they are cruel and without mercy. They sound like the roaring sea as they ride on their horses; they come like men in battle formation to attack you, Daughter Babylon. The king of Babylon has heard reports about them, and his hands hang limp. Anguish has gripped him, pain like that of a woman in labour. Like a lion coming up from Jordan’s thickets to a rich pastureland, I will chase Babylon from its land in an instant. Who is the chosen one I will appoint for this? Who is like me and who can challenge me? And what shepherd can stand against me?’ Therefore, hear what the LORD has planned against Babylon, what he has purposed against the land of the Babylonians: The young of the flock will be dragged away; their pasture will be appalled at their fate. At the sound of Babylon’s capture the earth will tremble; its cry will resound among the nations.’ Jeremiah 50:41-46
What Jeremiah says in Jeremiah 50:41-43, are the same words he used in Jeremiah 49:19-21, Isaiah also used these words in Isaiah, 6:22-24. A coalition between the Medes and Persians took over the Babylonian Empire in 539 B.C. Jeremiah 50:41.
Harrison, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Jeremiah 50:44-46, repeat substantially the prediction against Edom, Jeremiah 49:19-21, but apply it to Babylon. The significant difference is that ‘Little Edom’s cry would be heard only as far as the Red Sea, but Babylon’s anguished howl would be heard throughout the Near East!’
As Babylon had shown no mercy to the nations she conquered, no mercy would be shown to her, Jeremiah 50:42. In reference to the King of Babylon, Jeremiah 50:43, read Daniel 5:5-12, where Belshazzar was given a sign of his doom.
When the king of Babylon heard reports, his hands hang limp and anguish gripped him, pain like that of a woman in labour, Jeremiah 50:43 / Jeremiah 6:22-24 / Daniel 5:6. Like a lion coming up from Jordan’s thickets to a rich pastureland, the Babylonians will be chased from its land in an instant, Jeremiah 50:44.
Three questions are asked who is the chosen one I will appoint for this? Who is like me and who can challenge me? And what shepherd can stand against me? Jeremiah 50:44.
Constable, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The Lord would sovereignly control Babylon’s fate, and no one would have sufficient authority to call His decisions into question. No other shepherd of people could withstand the Great Shepherd.’
It’s God’s plan and purpose that the Babylonians be dragged away and their land will be appalled at their fate, Jeremiah 50:45. The fall of the Babylonian Empire caused great joy among all the nations who had succumbed to her might, Jeremiah 50:46. All those exiles who had been taken from their homelands rejoiced over the empire that had decimated their homelands. There was no remorse over the fall of the Babylonian Empire.
This prophecy against the Babylonians continues into the next chapter, Jeremiah 51. The next chapter is the longest chapter in the book, with sixty-four verses. These two chapters combined consist of one-hundred and ten verses.
They are together, the longest single prophecy of Jeremiah’s. Perhaps that gives some indication of the extent of God’s anger against them.