Read
33I am the Lord All-Powerful,
the God of Israel,
and I make this promise—
“Soon Babylon will be leveled
and packed down
like a threshing place
at harvest time.”
Babylonia Will Pay!
34The people of Jerusalem say,
“King Nebuchadnezzar
made us panic.
That monster stuffed himself
with us and our treasures,
leaving us empty—
he gobbled up
what he wanted
and spit out the rest.
35The people of Babylonia
harmed some of us
and killed others.
Now, Lord, make them pay!”
The Lord Will Take Revenge
36My people, I am on your side,
and I will take revenge
on Babylon.
I will cut off its water supply,
and its stream will dry up.
37Babylon will be a pile of rubble
where only jackals live,
and everyone will be afraid
to walk among the ruins.
38The Babylonians roar and growl
like young lions.
39And since they are hungry,
I will give them a banquet.
They will celebrate, get drunk,
then fall asleep,
never to wake up!
40I will lead them away to die,
like sheep, lambs, and goats
being led to the butcher.
41All nations now praise Babylon,
but when it is captured,
those same nations
will be horrified.
42Babylon's enemies will rise
like ocean waves
and flood the city.
43Horrible destruction will strike
the nearby towns.
The land will become
a barren desert,
where no one can live
or even travel.
44I will punish Marduk,
the god of Babylon,
and make him vomit out
everything he gobbled up.
Then nations will no longer
bring him gifts,
and Babylon's walls will crumble.
The Lord Offers Hope
45Get out of Babylon, my people,
and run for your lives,
before I strike the city
in my anger!
46Don't be afraid or lose hope,
though year after year
there are rumors
of leaders fighting for control
in the city of Babylon.
47The time will come
when I will punish
Babylon's false gods.
Everyone there will die,
and the whole nation
will be disgraced,
48 when an army attacks
from the north
and brings destruction.
Then the earth and the heavens
and everything in them
will celebrate.
49 Babylon must be overthrown,
because it slaughtered
the people of Israel
and of many other nations.
50My people, you escaped death
when Jerusalem fell.
Now you live far from home,
but you should trust me
and think about Jerusalem.
Leave Babylon! Don't stay!
51You feel ashamed and disgraced,
because foreigners have entered
my sacred temple.
52Soon I will send a war
to punish Babylon's idols
and leave its wounded people
moaning everywhere.
53Although Babylon's walls
reach to the sky,
the army I send
will destroy that city.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
Babylon Will Be Destroyed
The Lord said:
54Listen to the cries for help
coming from Babylon.
Everywhere in the country
the sounds of destruction
can be heard.
55The shouts of the enemy,
like crashing ocean waves,
will drown out Babylon's cries
as I level the city.
56An enemy will attack
and destroy Babylon.
Its soldiers will be captured
and their weapons broken,
because I am a God
who takes revenge against nations
for what they do.
57I, the Lord All-Powerful,
the true King, promise
that the officials and advisors,
the governors and leaders,
and the soldiers of Babylon
will get drunk, fall asleep,
and never wake up.
58The thick walls of that city
will be torn down,
and its huge gates burned.
Everything that nation
worked so hard to gain
will go up in smoke.
Jeremiah Gives Seraiah
59During Zedekiah's fourth year as king of Judah, he went to Babylon. And Baruch's brother Seraiah went along as the officer in charge of arranging for places to stay overnight.
60Before they left, I wrote on a scroll all the terrible things that would happen to Babylon. 61I gave the scroll to Seraiah and said:
When you get to Babylon, read this scroll aloud, 62then pray, “Our Lord, you promised to destroy this place and make it into a desert where no people or animals will ever live.”
63 When you finish praying, tie the scroll to a rock and throw it in the Euphrates River. Then say, 64“This is how Babylon will sink when the Lord destroys it. Everyone in the city will die, and it won't have the strength to rise again.”
The End of Jeremiah's Writing
Jeremiah's writing ends here.
Reflect
“God opposes everyone who is proud, but he is kind to everyone who is humble” (James 4:6). This truth is reflected in God’s dealings with individuals, families, communities, entire nations (vv 33-64).
Case in point – Babylon! Where is Babylon today? Where is the nation that made people panic, that generated an abundance of harm and death for God’s people? The final answer is – Babylon no longer exists. Babylon is an archaeological site with only ruins to explore by scholars who are interested in “The Rise and Fall of the Babylonian Empire.”
Nations have a short “shelf-life,” even those who at one time were considered world powers.
How should God’s people respond to the raging of the nations of the world?
- Don’t be afraid or lose hope.
- Be reminded of God’s ultimate justice.
- Settle your heart with God’s firm word.
The same principles apply when personal life situations seem out of control. God does not extricate his people from problems. Rather, he assures them of his presence in the midst of life-crushing perplexity. By his word and Spirit, he settles troubled hearts with familiar promises…
- “Fear not.” This repeated exhortation in both testaments reminds us that all sorts of individuals grappled with fears and phobias. God met them in their distress and rekindled hope within them.
- “Vengeance is mine.” God assures us that he is tracking all of the details of life and that we should entrust the injustice we face into his hands. He will ultimately settle all the accounts of all the world’s inhabitants, though not within our preferred time frame.
- “I, the Lord, have spoken.” No greater authority may calm our fears. We have a firm foundation in Scripture. We live too often in spiritual poverty, when God’s word remains a treasury of riches awaiting our discovery.
Respond
Father, thank you for your infinite knowledge about my life. Teach me to trust you when darkness hides your face from my view. Help me to refasten my hope in your firm word. Amen.
Keith Edwards
Keith was born and grew up in Thornloe, Ontario. He committed his life to Jesus Christ as a child. After sensing God’s calling, he attended Bible school where he met his wife Ruth. They served in pastoral ministry in various churches. He served as Registrar of Toronto Baptist Seminary and since June 2015 as Director of Church Initiatives & Internships at Heritage College/Seminary in Cambridge. Keith and Ruth live in Oshawa, ON and have two married daughters Carolyn (Alex) and Jane (Andrew) and three delightful grandchildren.