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JEREMIAH

Jeremiah 51-52

Please turn in your Bibles to Jeremiah chapter 51, as we continue our study through the Word of God. And this evening we will conclude the book of Jeremiah. And as we have seen, Jeremiah was truly a man of God. He wasn’t perfect, but he truly stood for the things of God. He had his times of disappointment, discouragement, and even doubt. And I take great comfort in that, because God doesn’t use perfect people to do His work. He uses imperfect people who love Him, and He will mold and shape them into the men and women He wants them to be. As Jeremiah said "...‘I will not make mention of Him, nor speak anymore in His name.’ But His word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, and I could not." Jeremiah 20:9. No matter what you are going through, no matter how difficult it may be, if God has placed that desire in your heart, if you love Him and His Word, nothing is going to stop you from speaking!

Last week we continued looking at God pronouncing judgment against the gentile nations that surrounded Jerusalem. And beginning in chapter 50 God is pronouncing judgment against the Babylonians. The Babylonians were a world power and pride grew in their hearts. The king, Nebuchadnezzar, was very boastful, arrogant about his power and his kingdom. And as we said last week, the Babylonian kingdom was secure. It was a fortress that was impregnable.

Thus, in Daniel 4:29-30, the king "...was walking about the royal palace of Babylon. The king spoke, saying, ‘Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?’" But now God was bringing judgment against this powerful, arrogant, boastful, idolatrous nation. And as we study Jeremiah chapter 51 this evening, God continues to pronounce judgment upon the Babylonians as we shall see.

JEREMIAH 51

VERSES 1-5

1. God illustrates the destruction of Babylon and its people like the winnowing of chaff from the wheat. And God is bringing judgment against the Babylonians for the way they treated His people, the Southern Kingdom of Judah. In Isaiah 47:5-7 we read, "Sit in silence, and go into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans; for you shall no longer be called the Lady of Kingdoms. I was angry with My people; I have profaned My inheritance, and given them into your hand. You showed them no mercy; on the elderly you laid your yoke very heavily. And you said, ‘I shall be a lady forever,’ so that you did not take these things to heart, nor remember the latter end of them."

In other words God was using the Babylonians as instruments of judgment against His people, but they went too far, enjoyed it too much, were cruel, and God was holding the Babylonians accountable for this, He was judging them for this and their idolatry, and their pride!

VERSE 6

1. God is calling for His people to flee Babylon as the Lord pours out His vengeance upon this nation.

VERSES 7-8

1. Babylon was used by God to pour out His judgment upon not only the Southern Kingdom of Judah, but also upon other nations. And she was not only the religious center of the world, but also the commercial center, and when she fell, the people mourned over their loss.

2. This, I believe, also points to another Babylon that is the commercial center of the world, spoken of in Revelation chapter 18. We see this beginning in verse 9 where John tells us, "The kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her will weep and lament for her, when they see the smoke of her burning, standing at a distance for fear of her torment, saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour your judgment has come.’ And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore: merchandise of gold and silver, precious stones and pearls, fine linen and purple, silk and scarlet, every kind of citron wood, every kind of object of ivory, every kind of object of most precious wood, bronze, iron, and marble; and cinnamon and incense, fragrant oil and frankincense, wine and oil, fine flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and bodies and souls of men. The fruit that your soul longed for has gone from you, and all the things which are rich and splendid have gone from you, and you shall find them no more at all...

...The merchants of these things, who became rich by her, will stand at a distance for fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, and saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city that was clothed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls! For in one hour such great riches came to nothing.’ Every shipmaster, all who travel by ship, sailors, and as many as trade on the sea, stood at a distance and cried out when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘What is like this great city?’ They threw dust on their heads and cried out, weeping and wailing, and saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city, in which all who had ships on the sea became rich by her wealth! For in one hour she is made desolate.’" Revelation 18:9-19.

VERSES 9-10

1. God says that He would have healed her, but they refused to listen, they refused to repent, and there was no healing for them now.

VERSE 11

1. Not only did the Babylonians treat the Jews cruelly, but they destroyed and burned the temple of God, and now God was going to repay them by destroying them.

2. Jeremiah, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, names the Medes as the nation that would rise up and destroy Babylon. In fact, again by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Isaiah tells us in chapter 45 that their king, their leader would be Cyrus. He called Cyrus by name some 150 years before he was even born, and spoke of how this army would enter the open gates of the city of Babylon. Thus, when God speaks of a future event, it is a done deal, it will come to pass!

VERSES 12-14

1. No matter how hard they may try, no matter how secure they may feel, Babylon is going to be destroyed.

VERSES 15-16

1. As we have said before, perspective is everything. Man may look strong and powerful when compared with fellow man, but he is nothing when compared with God. Any people or nation that think they can fight against God and win are fools! And yet we see people and nations do that very thing today, and even our own nation does this very thing. They may speak of God with their lips but their hearts are far from Him.

2. Ultimately this rebellion, this fighting against God will be seen in the Great Tribulation as the Antichrist has the world worshiping him and he gets the people and the nations to gather together and fight against the Lord in the valley of Megiddo. Is God worried about this? Is God nervous? Not at all. In fact, in Psalm 2 we read how He feels in regards to their actions. We read beginning in verse 1, "Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, ‘Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away Their cords from us.’ He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; the LORD shall hold them in derision." Psalm 2:1-4.

VERSES 17-18

1. Here is the foolishness of man. He worships that which he has created with his own hands. And in the end these idols, these things that man has placed his trust in won’t be able to help them against the true and living God. Paul, in I Corinthians 1:18-20 said, "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.’ Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?" The key, of course, is not to be dull-hearted but to be sensitive to the things of God and do those things. Take the knowledge that God has given to you and apply it to your life. That is true wisdom!

VERSE 19

1. The comparison here is between the idols the Babylonians were worshiping to the true and living God, the God of Israel. There is no comparison, for one is a lie and the other is the truth! As Moses said in Deuteronomy 32:31 "For their rock is not like our Rock..."

VERSES 20-23

1. God is just speaking of how He will use the Medo-Persian empire to destroy the Babylonians.

VERSE 24

1. Again God is bringing the Babylonians down not only for their wickedness, but for the cruelty they showed upon the Southern Kingdom of Judah, God’s people.

VERSES 25-26

1. The Medo-Persian army did not destroy Babylon, they didn’t break down its walls, but they entered the city through its gates and cut down the people.

VERSES 27-32

1. As the Medo-Persian army surrounded Babylon, their king threw a drunken party for his people in complete defiance to this army that had surrounded their city. They felt secure with the massive walls that protected them. And yet, we are told that during the reign of Belshazzar, the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, the nation fell in one night! During this party destruction came upon them. There was no escape from the judgment of God.

VERSES 33-35

1. God is saying that Babylon’s destruction will be complete just as the chaff is threshed from the wheat.

2. I believe verses 34 and 35 are God’s people, the Jews speaking and they are talking about all the wickedness that was done upon them by the Babylonians. And they are saying the Babylonians should be paid to the fullest for their actions.

VERSES 36-40

1. God will fight for His people and what the Babylonians have sown against the Jews, they were now going to reap themselves! As they partied for weeks, drunk as skunks, God says He is bringing them down and they will sleep a perpetual sleep. That very night the king of Babylon saw the handwriting on the wall, and he was killed by the Medo-Persian army.

VERSES 41-44

1. As God destroys Babylon, as he takes away their god’s, He will also set free the people that have been taken captive by the Babylonians.

VERSE 45

1. Why people want to remain in a area that God is going to judge is beyond me. Like Lot, when God was bringing judgment upon Sodom and Gomorrah, the angels had to drag Lot out of the city to remove him. And once again God is warning His people to flee Babylon, don’t get caught in this judgment.

VERSE 46

1. God is warning His people not to listen to the rumors, don’t be afraid of Babylon. As Christians may we do the same. We tend to become fearful of Y2K, money problems, the government, this conspiracy and that conspiracy. God is saying to us not to listen to the rumors, don’t be afraid, but trust in Him. Look to Him to be the strength of your life, your strong tower you can run to for safety from the enemy. As Psalm 61:3 says, "For You have been a shelter for me, a strong tower from the enemy." Perspective is everything!

VERSES 47-48

1. Again God is saying that the idols, the god’s that the Babylonians worshiped won’t be able to help them.

2. An interesting note here, it says that the heavens will rejoice over the fall of Babylon. And I believe this is looking into the future, during the Great Tribulation period, when Babylon, the commercial center of the world will fall, will be destroyed. Again in Revelation chapter 18 we see this played out and for the reason all heaven is rejoicing. Beginning in verse 20 we read "‘Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you holy apostles and prophets, for God has avenged you on her!’ Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, ‘Thus with violence the great city Babylon shall be thrown down, and shall not be found anymore. The sound of harpists, musicians, flutists, and trumpeters shall not be heard in you anymore. No craftsman of any craft shall be found in you anymore, and the sound of a millstone shall not be heard in you anymore. The light of a lamp shall not shine in you anymore, and the voice of bridegroom and bride shall not be heard in you anymore. For your merchants were the great men of the earth, for by your sorcery all the nations were deceived. And in her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who were slain on the earth.’" Revelation 18:20-24.

VERSES 49-51

1. The Babylonians entered the temple of God and then they destroyed it. They took the sacred vessels, the implements used in the worship of God, back to Babylon with them. And God is telling His people to get out of Babylon because judgment is coming. As God said to Abraham in Genesis 12:2-3, "I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." Babylon was finding out.

VERSES 52-58

1. It doesn’t matter how Babylon tried to fortify itself, with its walls 80 feet thick, 350 feet high and watch towers every 100 feet extending another 100 feet into the air, around this 15 square mile city. They will not be victorious, they will not be able to stop the judgment of God from coming upon them.

VERSES 59-61

1. In the fourth year of the reign of Zedekiah, the last king on the throne in the Southern Kingdom of Judah before their captivity, he was called to Babylon. The king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, called all his vassal kings to Babylon in 594 BC to insure their loyalty to him and his kingdom. If they refused, the king had a good incentive program for them, DEATH! So I doubt if any rebelled at that time, although Zedekiah did revolt against Babylon which just brought the Babylonian army down upon them, taking them away captive to Babylon in 586 BC.

VERSES 62-64

1. As we read in the previous verses, when Zedekiah went to Babylon he took with him Seraiah. And Jeremiah gave to Seraiah a scroll that had on it all that was going to come upon Babylon, all the evil that will be poured out upon them. And as Seraiah reads these words he then prays to God and takes this scroll, ties a rock to it, and casts it into the sea. That was symbolizing the destruction, the complete destruction upon this nation. It was a vivid object lesson of what was coming, and the people saw it, but I seriously doubt if they received what was spoken. I’m sure they were mad at what Seraiah said. They were a proud people, a strong people, and they felt their god’s were superior to the God of Israel! How wrong they were. You see, God did warn them, they just refused to listen.

2. Chapter 52 of Jeremiah parallels what was said in Jeremiah chapter 39, with some added details on the fall of Jerusalem, as we shall see.

JEREMIAH 52

VERSES 1-3

1. As I have said, Zedekiah was the last king in the Southern Kingdom of Judah prior to their captivity. And he too was very wicked. We are told in II Chronicles 36:12-16, "He did evil in the sight of the LORD his God, and did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke from the mouth of the LORD. And he also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear an oath by God; but he stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the LORD God of Israel. Moreover all the leaders of the priests and the people transgressed more and more, according to all the abominations of the nations, and defiled the house of the LORD which He had consecrated in Jerusalem. And the LORD God of their fathers sent warnings to them by His messengers, rising up early and sending them, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place. But they mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against His people, till there was no remedy."

As a leader he refused to listen to God, the prophets that God sent. And like an infectious disease, it spread forth to the leaders, the priests, and the common people until they were so infected that their was no remedy for them, judgment was coming upon them. And the reality is, they brought this upon themselves!

VERSES 4-6

1. The Babylonians had taken the Southern Kingdom of Judah, except for a few cities and Jerusalem, which was a walled city. And the Babylonian army surrounded the city, cutting off the food supply, and waited until they surrendered or they starved to death. Either way they would be victorious, but of course it was also very cruel. But war is cruel and brutal.

VERSES 7-11

1. The king of Babylon was angry with Zedekiah’s rebellion against him, so he makes him pay for it. The last thing he see’s is the death of his sons, and then Nebuchadnezzar has his eyes put out. He then is taken away captive back to Babylon, where he dies.

VERSES 12-23

1. Now we see the destruction of Jerusalem and the booty, the spoil that the Babylonians took away with them. And I want to make just one point about this list. It goes through great detail of what was taken, even down to the utensils that were used in the temple. But there is nothing mentioned of the Ark of the Covenant. I personally believe the reason for that is the Ark was hidden before the Babylonians entered the city. There are many secret tunnels under the temple mount, and one of the Rabbis in Jerusalem said that he personally saw the Ark in one of these chambers, which has now been sealed up by the Palestinians. And the Orthodox Jews believe that when the third temple is built, the Ark will be discovered and placed in this temple. Time will tell, but to me it is interesting to see that in this list there is no mention of the Ark!

VERSES 24-30

1. Now I don’t believe that was the total number of Jews in captivity, but it represents a series of deportations that the Babylonians made after their final push into the Southern Kingdom of Judah.

VERSES 31-34

1. There is two views of what is happening here and I will let you decide for yourself which one is right. First of all, when Nebuchadnezzar went insane for those seven seasons, his son, Evil-Merodach was overseeing the kingdom. And he was wicked, so much so that when Nebuchadnezzar came back to his senses, he placed his son in prison where he befriended Jehoiachin, one of the kings from the Southern Kingdom of Judah, who was also in prison. At the death of Nebuchadnezzar, Evil-Merodach became king and because of the relationship he had with Jehoiachin in prison, he released him and took care of him all the days of his life.

2. The other view is this. Remember Jehoiachin was a wicked king who had a blood curse placed upon him and his descendants. He was bad! It is possible that while in prison he repented and got right with God. And God in turn blessed him by putting him in favor with the king, eating at the kings table, for the rest of his life. Think about it, we have a blood curse placed upon our life, sin. And God has released us from that bondage through His Son Jesus Christ. And we too will eat at the kings table. The point being is that no one is so evil that the grace of God can’t forgive them!