The Lord Will Take Revenge on Babylon
December 11, 2020
Commentary
The Lord says Babylon will soon be leveled like a threshing floor at harvest time (v. 33). The Jews reminded the Lord of what Nebuchadnezzar had done to them (vv. 34,35). They said that Nebuchadnezzar had been like a vicious monster who picked up Judah as if it were a jar filled with food, swallowed it, vomited it up, and then broke the jar. He had actually chewed them up and spit them out (v. 34). They harmed some and killed others (v. 35). The Lord tells them I am on your side and will take revenge on Babylon by cutting off their water supply and making them a pile of rubble (vv. 36-37). They roar and growl like young lions (v. 38). They are hungry but will celebrate by getting drunk and falling asleep (v. 39). The Lord says he will cause them to die like sheep, lambs, and goats being led to the butcher (v. 40).
All nations praise Babylon but are horrified when captured (v. 41). Their conquers will be like a sea that covers the land (v. 42) but when the “tide is out” a dessert will be left behind (43). The Lord will punish Marduk, the god of Babylon, by taking everything it has gained and Babylon’s walls will crumble (v. 44). For the third time God orders His people to get out of Babylon (v. 45). They are not to be afraid of the many rumors of victory or violence that they hear (v. 46). They do not need to be afraid of the Babylonian idols as they can do nothing to harm them (v. 47). Heaven and earth will sing songs of praise when Babylon falls (v. 48).
Application
We do not need to be afraid of what people say or the strange God’s (example: materialism) they may worship. Just like it says on our coins in the U.S., it needs to be “in God we trust.” This needs to be something I practice and not just something I say.
Jeremiah 51:33– 48 (NET)
33 For the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says, ‘Fair Babylon will be like a threshing floor that has been trampled flat for harvest. The time for her to be cut down and harvested will come very soon.’
34 “King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon devoured me and drove my people out. Like a monster from the deep he swallowed me. He filled his belly with my riches; he made me an empty dish. He completely cleaned me out.”
35 The person who lives in Zion says, “May Babylon pay for the violence done to me and to my relatives.” Jerusalem says, “May those living in Babylonia pay for the bloodshed of my people.”
36 Therefore the Lord says, “I will stand up for your cause. I will pay the Babylonians back for what they have done to you. I will dry up their sea; I will make their springs run dry.
37 Babylon will become a heap of ruins. Jackals will make their home there. It will become an object of horror and of hissing scorn, a place where no one lives.
38 The Babylonians are all like lions roaring for prey; they are like lion cubs growling for something to eat.
39 When their appetites are all stirred up, I will set out a banquet for them. I will make them drunk so that they will pass out, they will fall asleep forever, they will never wake up,” says the Lord.
40 “I will lead them off to be slaughtered like lambs, rams, and male goats.
41 “See how Babylon has been captured! See how the pride of the whole earth has been taken! See what an object of horror Babylon has become among the nations!
42 The sea has swept over Babylon. She has been covered by a multitude of its waves.
43 The towns of Babylonia have become heaps of ruins. She has become a dry and barren desert. No one lives in those towns any more; no one even passes through them.
44 I will punish the god Bel in Babylon. I will make him spit out what he has swallowed. The nations will not come streaming to him any longer. Indeed, the walls of Babylon will fall.
45 “Get out of Babylon, my people! Flee to save your lives from the fierce anger of the Lord!
46 Do not lose your courage or become afraid because of the reports that are heard in the land. For a report will come in one year. Another report will follow it in the next. There will be violence in the land with ruler fighting against ruler.
47 “So the time will certainly come when I will punish the idols of Babylon. Her whole land will be put to shame. All her mortally wounded will collapse in her midst.
48 Then heaven and earth and all that is in them will sing for joy over Babylon. For destroyers from the north will attack it,” says the Lord.
Illustration: Mother Who Hears Her Seven Year Old Son Screeming
The desire to “get even” seems to be a part of the human race. The story of a mother who heard her seven-year-old son screaming. She runs into the next room to see what is wrong, and discovers her two-year-old daughter is pulling the hair of her brother. The mother gets the hand of the baby unclenched and says, “You will have to overlook this. Your sister doesn’t know what it feels like to have her hair pulled.” The mother goes back into the kitchen when she hears the daughter screaming. She runs back into the room and says, “What happened?" The boy answered, “She knows what it feels like now.” (William Hooper – Sermon Central)