Wrapping Up (Jeremiah 52)

  Truth and Consequences: 

A study in the prophecy of Jeremiah

Chapter 52

By Bob Mendelsohn

Given 15 December 2022

 

Lesson Fifty-one:    Wrap up

 

INTRODUCTION

 Today we conclude a year-long study of the book of Jeremiah. But our time in this book is not complete. When COVID hit the planet in March 2020, we morphed our weekly Bible class which was held in the bookshop in Bondi Junction and began conducting it via Zoom. Many of you live too far from the shop to attend, and some of you had never heard of Jews for Jesus before that reboot. Since that morph, we have studied several books of the Bible. And some of you have been with us in each of those self-contained classes. We studied Romans and Hebrews, 1, 2, and 3 John, James, Joshua, and Numbers. That’s 8 books. And today we put on the shelf #9, the book of Jeremiah. 

But I say our time is not complete. Here’s what I mean. I hope you don’t skip over Romans 8 or 11 when you think you should read those, saying to yourself, “I already studied that two years ago.” When someone mentions Melchizedek in chapter 7 of Hebrews, I hope you don’t dismiss a lookup, saying, “I remember we covered that 18 months ago.” Thus, and you will hear loads of references to the prophet Jeremiah throughout your days, may they last long on the earth, when you hear someone begin a sermon with “Turn with me to Jeremiah chapter…” please keep your finger in the book, and keep your ear attuned to what God may be saying to you THAT DAY. 

Remember the Proverbs says this, “The beginning of wisdom is: Acquire wisdom; And with all your acquiring, get understanding.” (Prov. 4.7) There are more layers of the onion to keep unpacking, more to learn, more to take on board, more to grow us as godly men and women. Please, we only conclude OUR study today, but God is not done with teaching you, amen?

And some of the information in chapter 52 was already discussed in light of the endings of this king or that one. So as you read it, you probably thought to yourself, “I heard this before.” Excellent, if so. That’s how we keep learning. 

And we say we ‘conclude’ our study today, and that’s true for those of you on YouTube. But for those of us on the Zoom call, or in the bookshop in Bondi Junction, we have one more week to go. Yes, on Friday, 23 December, the 5^th day of Hanukkah this year, we will meet one last time as a class studying Jeremiah. We will listen to each other read your ‘takeaways’ from the book of this prophecy. Many of you have already submitted your paragraphs. They are excellent. It’s not too late for any of you to send yours to me. Write to bob@jewsforjesus.org.au and I will be happy to let you read those thoughts. Unfortunately, if you don’t write them out and send them to me, you will not be able to read or even share your thoughts until everyone who did their assignment will have a chance to share theirs. That seems a fair way to go. That includes my own staff. 

Please, write yourself a note and then read your note and write some thoughts to me so you can share. We will all be better if you do this. Thanks.

One more thing, we title today’s talk, “Wrapping up.” 

Packaging often is not as it seems. Patty and I along with our one-year-old son moved to New York in 1980. Back in December 1981 in New York City, the garbage men called a strike. As a result, no rubbish was collected in Manhattan for weeks. Imagine the smells and the piles as the garbage bins grew to overflow. Individuals had no place to put their home trash. 

One clever resident came up with a personal solution. They got some cardboard boxes from the local grocery store. Brought them home. Filled them with trash. But then wrapped the boxes in Christmas wrapping paper. And put them in their parked car with the windows rolled down. (No one leaves their car open!)

As you can imagine, thieves broke into the car, took the packages and went away. The garbage was gone for the moment. 

I tell you that to remind you of the phrase, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” I wonder if you have personally looked at the length of this 33,000 word book, Jeremiah, and said to yourself, “Oh, that’s too long. I don’t know the story or the history. I might get to it another year, but not for now.” Hopefully this study has helped you overcome that one. 

What about those folks, and I heard about two more of them this week alone, who say “The Old Testament was for the Jews, but not for us Christians. It’s not useful any longer.” (They are basically saying that it’s rubbish, aren’t they?)

I’m personally glad that even though those scoffers consider this book to be rubbish, that it is really good news about a great God who genuinely cares about Egypt and Israel and Judah and all the nations around them. And about all the people inside each territory. A God who warns and warns and then brings justice to people, even his own people. All the while, a God who wants to be known and loved, so he can share that love with his people. That’s not rubbish; it’s a love story. 

With all that as intro today, please let’s dig into these 

Verse one, we are reintroduced to Zedekiah, then 21 years old, at the beginning of his reign. He is the ultimate king of Judah, the southern section of what we today title “The Land of Israel.” We meet his mother Hamutal and her father’s name is listed. Zedekiah’s listing along with his yichus gives us historical placement. I like the Bible in that regard. People may at times pop into the scenes, but they are all historical and when archaeology brings those names and scenes into future generations, that science will only confirm what has already been written. Never fear science; it will, if used correctly, strengthen God’s word, never diminish it.

What else do we know about this king? He was the final king of Judah, who did evil (verse 2) in God’s sight. He was the king for 11 years. By ‘doing evil’ we are to understand that Zedekiah disregarded God’s word through Jeremiah and led the people into rebellion and thus punishment. We see that in verse 3, “rebelled against the king of Babylon.” 

So in verse 4, Nebuchadnezzar brought his armies against Judah and aginst Zedekiah nine years into his reign. They built a siege wall and although it took 2 years, they subjugated Jerusalem, by famine, that is they starved the people inside. The drama of capturing Zedekiah unfolds in the subsequent verses ending as we described in a previous lesson (Chapter 39), with him watching as his sons are murdered one by one, and then he is blinded by the Nebuchadnezzar gang in Riblah. That village by the way, is located, they say, in modern Syria. 

In verses 12 and following we see the moment when Jerusalem is razed and we date that to 586 BCE. The House of the Lord (and don’t you find that a suitable title? Not the Temple. Not the palace. Not the museum. The house. Shachan he said in Exodus 25. I want to dwell with you. Shekinah. Glory. Dwelling. But what else does ‘house’ imply? Family! Hence verse 13, house of the king. Houses of the city of Jerusalem. It’s the deepest, the most severe—personal space in family units. All those families were devastated. Some remained (verse 16) to tend the farms, but mostly the city and its inhabitants were ruined. 

I mention this and to help us remember, to put this in our Jewish context, this is the worst day ever. God promised us in Abraham a land. (Genesis 12) and repeated it in the opening book of the Bible and the whole Torah with regularity. That we now, 1400 years after Abraham are being removed from this promised land, losing our royal house, losing the house of the Lord as well, you might as well chalk this up as ‘worst day ever.’ 

No wonder in the genealogy of Matthew 1, the three eras of Jewish life are Abraham to David (approximately 1000 years), David to this exile to Babylon (420 years), and then the final time stamp is the Exile to Messiah (600 years). There is no more major event that Matthew records. Did you notice that? (Matthew 1.11-12) 

If I were to ask you about major events in your life, what would you include? Birth, bris, bar mitzvah, puberty, graduation from uni, first job, marriage, children, ok ok, I get it, almost all very positive moments. Significance is applied to victories and ‘wins’ as they might be titled. Ask the football players of Morocco or Croatia who lost to France and Argentina respectively this week, and you might hear another comment. 

I follow the US sport of football, which here we call ‘gridiron.’ And every time my team loses, I listen to the coach, Mr Andy Reid, or the quarterback Mr Patrick Mahomes and they say something like this. “We will learn from this one.” Or “This is not who we want to be.” And I hope they learn, sure, but would the final summary of the team include those losses? Not a chance! SuperBowl victories in 1970, yes, in 2020, sure, but not the ones they lose. 

That’s another reason I love the Bible. Losses are as significant as promises fulfilled. We own our errors. We don’t boast in them, please, I’m not saying that, but we recognize our failings and keep them as a record to remind us that without God, our lives are unmanageable and we desperately need something or really, Someone from outside to repair our brokenness. 

Let me say this in one sentence. Jeremiah includes this final chapter not only for historical reference, but also for theological reflection. Sin has consequence, eventually. 

Verse 17 and following showcases the actual stuff and the people who finally remained and their almost individual capture. Sometimes we see the crowds of the multitudes and forget that crowds are made up of people. Remember what Spielberg did with Schindler’s List and the use of the individual to highlight the pain of the Holocaust? How did he do it? The little girl in the red coat. Amidst the horrors of the 6 million, we suddenly cared about an unnamed little girl. We at Spielberg’s zoom focused on her. And only on her. For several scenes. Where is she? Will she survive? 

That’s how I read the bronze pillars and the pans, the twelve bronze bulls that have history…everything mattered to Jeremiah and to us. And to God. And Nebuchadnezzar took it all. 96 of these, 100 of those, a capital of bronze which was 5 cubits high… All the details to show the immensity of the haul and the individual care that had made it such a spectacular house for God. And for his people. 

Some of you will know that the Temple was raided years earlier in the first Deportation in 597 BCE. Chapter 27.16 shows the loot that was taken (2 King 24.13 also). So you might wonder what this booty was about. It is likely that some of the original vessels were either hidden or replaced before the larger deportation occurred 11 years later. Either way, the reality is that God comprehensively judged the Jewish people for our sins.

We’ve seen the history and we’ve seen the theology. 

Two other realities are in focus for me in this final chapter. In chapter one, God tells Jeremiah that his role is to ‘tear down and uproot, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.’  (1.10) And here the final summation is what we call an ‘inclusio.’ That’s the bracketing or frame around the entire book. So it could be a theological marker, but I see it as a literary one.  We are gone; our story is over. Judah is no more. The inclusio is complete. Literary device accomplished.

Finally, I want to highlight, as we have done most every time we see a comprehensive judgment on a people, we look for a flicker of a light, a little bit of hope. Sometimes it’s very clear. Often it’s only a hint. Actually two hints.

The first is in verse 31. Nasa et-rosh. 

נָשָׂ֡א... אֶת־רֹאשׁ֙

The king raised or carried the head of Jehoiakin. Our version translates that to “showed favour.”  The word ‘nasa’ is not the same as ‘ram’ used in places like Psalm 3, the glory and the lifter of my head. But even so, the king who in the spirit of his father could have carried us off into Babylon and could have continued such a carry out, to carry out vengeance on the Judeans, did not. For whatever reason, and those of us who know the Lord expected this, he showed favour on our deposed king. 

I find the word ‘tov’ meaning ‘good’ in verse 32 another hint. Not from heaven, but from the son of Nebuchadnezzar, named here Evil-Marodeck (Akkadian: Amel-Marduk). 

וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר אִתּ֖וֹ טֹב֑וֹת

And he spoke to him tovot. Our version translates this as ‘kindly.’ Good. Amel-Marduk brought Jehoiakin out of his prison and let him have clearance in being able to dine with the Babylonians and even the king. He was given a throne above the other thrones of, I would assume, other captured peoples. And Jeremiah calls that ‘good.’ And so do I. What could have been was what happened to Zedekiah. What could have been was a show of force by Amel-Marduk, but no, he chose to do good, and to speak good or kindly to our Jehoiakin. Could that be a hope for others? 

You may think I’m grasping at straws here, but as I’ve seen and as we’ve discussed with regularity, any kindness shown to a judged or captured people is out-of-character in the ancient world. Think of Iran’s mistreatment of any dissidents in these days. Think of Boko Haram and Niger. Mistreatment is normal in those places. And times. And in the times of Nebuchadnezzar, and yet… there’s that phrase, ‘and yet’ God had other plans for Jehoiakin and for the people of Judah. It’s only a hint, to be sure, but it’s there. 

Christopher Wright says this of that ending, “If grace could be shown to their exiled king, then God had not abandoned his people….The release of their captive king would doubtless have been grasped by the exiles as a sign from God of the eventual release of the rest of the exiles from captivity.” 

It’s certainly true that the Judeans did not want to go to Babylon. Previous kings had sought to withstand that prophecy of Jeremiah and they all had failed. After so many years of Jeremiah’s words, of his urging, of his pleading with the people of God, did this final act represent a future and a hope? A hope that survived and thrived in the time of Daniel as he and the three men in the furnace brought testimony to Nebuchadnezzar. A hope that came when Persia and the Medes conquered the Babylonians only decades later. A hope that saw its ultimate fulfilment in Yeshua, the true Son of David, who gave his life for us. 

Did Jeremiah see all that? I don’t know, but what I do know is that we can see all that. Today. And what we do with that will make all the difference for us, for our children, for our grandchildren, and those with whom we are not related. 

 

CONCLUSION

God is calling each of us to know him and to walk with him, today and throughout our days. Have you received Yeshua as your messiah and Lord? He is risen from the dead! Have you renounced your sin, your idolatry, your forsaking God and given him First Place in your life? If not, please, do so now, just now, as we pray together. Use your own words, if you want, but yield, surrender, to the Lord of life. 

 

PRAYER

Then please write us (admin@jewsforjesus.org.au) to tell us what you have just done, and we will send you literature and encourage you. You are part of our family; we love and appreciate you. And we want you to enjoy the presence of the Lord who calls, who knows, who blesses and builds us up. 

We hope to see you again next week as we study chapter 50. Until then, Shabbat shalom!

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Barnes, Albert, Commentary on the Old Testament. (Published by many, from 1880 on)

Henry, Matthew, Commentary.

Keown, Gerald, Scalise, Pamela, Smothers, Thomas, Word Biblical Commentary. Book of Jeremiah (Part 2).  1995. 

McConnville, Gordon, Jeremiah, New Bible Commentary. 

Wright, Christopher, The Message of Jeremiah, The Bible Speaks Today. Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 2014.

 

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ACTUAL TEXT

The Fall of Jerusalem

 

Jer. 52:1   ^aZedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was ^1bHamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of ^cLibnah. ² He did ^aevil in the sight of the LORD like all that ^bJehoiakim had done. ³ For through the ^aanger of the LORD this came about in Jerusalem and Judah until He cast them out from His presence. And Zedekiah ^brebelled against the king of Babylon. ^{4 a}Now it came about in the ninth year of his reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, camped against it and built a ^bsiege wall all around ¹it. ^{5 a}So the city was under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. ⁶ On the ninth day of the ^afourth month the ^bfamine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. ⁷ Then the city was ^abroken into, and all the ^bmen of war fled and went forth from the city at night by way of the gate between the two walls which was by the king’s garden, though the Chaldeans were ^1call around the city. And they went by way of the Arabah. ⁸ But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and ^aovertook Zedekiah in the ¹plains of Jericho, and all his army was scattered from him. ⁹ Then they captured the king and ^abrought him up to the king of Babylon at ^bRiblah in the land of ^cHamath, and he ¹passed sentence on him. ¹⁰ The king of Babylon ^aslaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and he also slaughtered all the ¹princes of Judah in Riblah. ¹¹ Then he ^ablinded the eyes of Zedekiah; and the king of Babylon bound him with bronze fetters and brought him to Babylon and put him in prison until the day of his death.

 

Jer. 52:12   ^aNow on the tenth day of the fifth month, which was the ^bnineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, ^cNebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard, ¹who was in the service of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. ¹³ He ^aburned the house of the LORD, the ^bking’s house and all the houses of Jerusalem; even every large house he burned with fire. ¹⁴ So all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard ^abroke down all the walls around Jerusalem. ¹⁵ Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard ^acarried away into exile some of the poorest of the people, the rest of the people who were left in the city, the ^1bdeserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon and the rest of the artisans. ¹⁶ But ^aNebuzaradan the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and ¹plowmen.

 

Jer. 52:17   Now the bronze ^apillars which belonged to the house of the LORD and the ^bstands and the bronze ^csea, which were in the house of the LORD, the Chaldeans broke in pieces and carried all their bronze to Babylon. ¹⁸ They also took away the ^apots, the shovels, the snuffers, the basins, the ¹pans and all the bronze vessels which were used in temple service. ¹⁹ The captain of the guard also took away the ^abowls, the firepans, the basins, the pots, the lampstands, the ¹pans and the drink offering bowls, what was fine gold and what was fine silver. ²⁰ The two pillars, the one sea, and the twelve bronze bulls that were under ¹the sea, and the stands, which King Solomon had made for the house of the LORD — the bronze of all these vessels was ^abeyond weight. ²¹ As for the pillars, the ^aheight of each pillar was eighteen ¹cubits, and ²it was twelve cubits in ^acircumference and four fingers in thickness, and hollow. ²² Now a ^acapital of bronze was on it; and the height of each capital was five cubits, with network and ^bpomegranates upon the capital all around, all of bronze. And the second pillar was like these, including pomegranates. ²³ There were ninety-six ¹exposed pomegranates; all ^athe pomegranates numbered a hundred on the network all around.

 

Jer. 52:24   Then the captain of the guard took ^aSeraiah the chief priest and ^bZephaniah the second priest, with the three ^1cofficers of the temple. ²⁵ He also took from the city one official who was overseer of the men of war, and seven ¹of the ^aking’s advisers who were found in the city, and the scribe of the commander of the army who mustered the people of the land, and sixty men of the people of the land who were found in the midst of the city. ²⁶ Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them and ^abrought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. ²⁷ Then the king of Babylon ^astruck them down and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was ^bled away into exile from its land.

 

Jer. 52:28   These are the people whom ^aNebuchadnezzar carried away into exile: in the ¹seventh year 3,023 Jews; ²⁹ in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar 832 persons from Jerusalem; ³⁰ in the twenty-third year of Nebuchadnezzar, ^aNebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried into exile 745 Jewish people; there were 4,600 persons in all.

 

Jer. 52:31   ^aNow it came about in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-fifth of the month, that ¹Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, ^2bshowed favor to Jehoiachin king of Judah and brought him out of prison. ^{32 a}Then he spoke kindly to him and set his throne above the thrones of the kings who were with him in Babylon. ³³ So ¹Jehoiachin ^achanged his prison clothes, and ^2bhad his meals in ³the king’s presence regularly all the days of his life. ³⁴ For his allowance, a ^aregular allowance was given him by the king of Babylon, a daily portion all the days of his life until the day of his death.

 

 

Gender sensibility, in the USA

A US federal appeals court blocked the Biden administration’s mandate on doctors and hospitals which would have forced them to perform gender-transition procedures against their conscience.

The Eighth Circuit appeals court is the second circuit to block the mandate after the Fifth Circuit ruled similarly earlier this year in Franciscan Alliance v. Becerra. The plaintiffs, a coalition of Catholic hospitals, a Catholic university, and Catholic nuns who run healthcare clinics for the poor, were represented by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty.

“The federal government has no business forcing doctors to violate their consciences or perform controversial procedures that could permanently harm their patients,” Becket vice president and senior counsel Luke Goodrich said in a press release. “This is a common-sense ruling that protects patients, aligns with best medical practice, and ensures doctors can follow their Hippocratic Oath to ‘do no harm.’”

After inheriting the mandate from the Obama administration, the Biden administration sought to force doctors to perform “gender transition” surgeries — mutilation — and prescribe puberty blockers, cross-sex hormone drugs, and other procedures.

Invoking the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the Biden administration threatened noncompliant hospitals and doctors with millions of dollars in financial penalties, as it attempted to enforce its redefinition of discrimination on the basis of sex to include gender identity.

The Eighth Circuit affirmed the original district court opinion, ruling, “district court correctly held that ‘intrusion upon the Catholic Plaintiffs’ exercise of religion.'”

On a media call Friday afternoon, Goodrich said “today’s decision is a huge win for religious freedom, but not only for religious freedom, but for common sense, and sound medical judgment.”

The ruling is somewhat narrow, in that only the parties in the cases are protected by the permanent injunction. Despite that, the rulings do set a strong precedent for other doctors to obtain similar protections in the future.

“Today’s victory sets an important precedent that religious healthcare professionals are free to practice medicine in accordance with their consciences and experienced professional judgment,” Goodrich said. “The government’s attempt to force doctors to go against their consciences was bad for patients, bad for doctors, and bad for religious liberty.”

The case is Sisters of Mercy v. Becerra, No. 21-1890, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

Babylon is going down (Part 2 of 2): Jeremiah chapter 51

  Truth and Consequences: 

A study in the prophecy of Jeremiah

Chapter 51

By Bob Mendelsohn

Given 8 December 2022

 

Lesson Fifty:   Babylon is going down (part 2 of 2)

 

INTRODUCTION

 Some weeks ago, when I was readying to teach chapter 46, I stayed up late and watched a sports contest. Today, I cannot remember who were the contestants. Sometime during that contest, I fell asleep and to this day have no recall of who won or lost. What I do remember is awakening to the sound of the television, “But wait, there’s more.” Yes, it was a late-night infomercial with all kinds of special products that would help my life be more improved. I remember that infomercial more than the sport I was watching. I also remember that as an introduction to the recent Bible class on chapter 46 in Jeremiah, I used that phrase to describe what I was hearing as I read the text. 

I tell you that episode in my life to highlight the last verse in chapter 51 and that same impression I got as I read today’s chapter one more time. “But wait, there’s more.” What does the final verse say? “Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.”

Thus far.  עַד־הֵ֖נָּה   What? 51 chapters, 1,364 verses, 33,000 words in English (not even the Amplified version!) and ‘thus far’? You mean there are more words? Or is this only the words of Jeremiah to Babylon? I’m not privy to know, but what I do know is that what God spoke through Jeremiah, to the people of his day, was still available due to the careful maintenance of the scroll(s) for the people of the Return, 70 years later, and it was available to the people of Malachi’s day, of Daniel’s day, of Jesus’ day, and even our day. What we are reading and learning in this sacred scroll, now placed alongside 65 other books and letters and poems and histories, can speak to us, can minister life to us, and can keep us headed in the right direction. When I read the Bible, that’s what I’m hoping to learn. I hope that’s true for you as well.

Today’s chapter breaks down into three sections, with each intensifying the declarations against Babylon. The first through verse 33 is bad. 34 to 44 is worse. 45 to the end is worst! “But wait, there’s more!”

Section One: BAD news for Babylon continues (.1-33)

Chapter 50 began this final announcement about the woes of and the causes of the woe on Babylon.  I want to read to you from the Word Commentary on chapter 50 verse 25, 

Here’s the verse first: “The LORD has opened His armory and has brought forth the weapons of His indignation,  For it is a work of the Lord GOD of hosts in the land of the Chaldeans.” (Jer. 50.25)

 

Now the commentary.

“The idea of the LORD’s armory containing the weapons of divine wrath (foreign nations to accomplish the LORD’s purpose) is known from Isa 13:5. Babylon had been the LORD’s hammer (50:23; 51:20–23) but now will suffer the fate of those whom she had pounded into submission. Included in the LORD’s armory on occasion had been Assyria as the flooding river sweeping all before it (Isa 8:7–8), as the rod of the LORD’s anger (Isa 10:5), and as the LORD’s axe. And much earlier the poet had waxed eloquent in declaring that from heaven the stars in their circuits had fought against Sisera (Judg 5:20). Jer 51:1 mentions the destroying wind aroused by the LORD to winnow Babylon.”

I will let the comments stand without my own comment. 

Now on to chapter 51. Verse one, the “destroying wind” could be translated as mine, “spirit of a destroyer.” Whether this is a metaphor or the actual breeze that your weather app would highlight to me is irrelevant. What is clear is that God is done with the Chaldeans of Babylon. Something had to give and it’s going to happen, through the nations around her. We know that Cyrus of the Medes and the Persians will conquer her in 539 BCE, according to Cyrus “without a fight.”

Who is responsible for the ending of the kingdom of Babylon? Verse one. God says, “I am.” No matter what else is happening in the 6^th century BCE, and who rules the roost, at the end of the day, God says he is the One.  And his rules and manners are to be followed. And if not, he will seek vengeance and reparations. 

Verse two. A play on words is in view. The word for ‘winnow’ is Zara. For foreigner is ‘zur.’ God says he will send

זָרִים֙ וְזֵר֔וּהָ

That is, zarim, foreigners who will winnow. Or winnowers who will winnow. This winnowing is a method of agricultural separation, and will leave the good grain to be collected from among the chaff. In THIS case however, there will be nothing left. God will blow it all away. Comprehensive judgment to fall on Babylon. 

Verse 3, the bow won’t keep bending and the scale-armor (remember that we read in chapter 46) wouldn’t protect the warrior. The swords and the weaponry of the opponents will succeed. “Pierced through” (verse 4) in their (own) streets.” No protection anywhere.

Remember, and this is not only in Jeremiah, the nations mock the people of God, saying they deserve their punishment. We’ve heard this in every supersessionist argument about the Jewish people in the time of the Crusades and even in the Holocaust era. What those arguments wrongly allege is that God saw the Jewish people in their sin and (here’s the wrong) he will punish and be done with them. He is NEVER done with us. We have said this regularly in our study. Judgment is the penultimate action of God towards the Jewish people. Verse 5 here says that God has not forsaken his people. Yes, he has judged us, but now, when judgment begins to fall on Babylon, run for your life. Verse 6, ‘flee…and save your life!’

Yes, when we were in Judah, living wrongly and before 586 BCE when our destiny was judgment, Jeremiah sent word to the kings and priests, to the prophets and the people, to submit to the Babylonians and go with them as conquered people. But now, decades later, at the reading of this letter, long after Jeremiah has died in Egypt, the word to the people of Judah is “RUN.” Friends, this is why so many seem confused at God, and about God. Sometimes he says ‘submit’ and sometimes he says ‘get out!’ There is a time for everything, you have heard. To an outsider this could be confusing, but to us who know the Lord, this is why we listen to him daily, why we study his word, why we sit and soak in his love and why we don’t go on yesterday’s manna. Give us THIS DAY our daily bread. 

Verse 9 and 10. The judgment on Babylon has reached heaven. There’s no escape for her. To the Jewish people, we are told, “The LORD has brought about our vindication; Come and let us recount in Zion the work of the LORD our God!”

 

Don’t you want to shout ‘hallelujah!’? On Zoom you are muted, but long after this session, go ahead and let your voice be heard. Let us recount in Zion God’s works! And yes, the word for recount is literal. SAFAR, to count. Name and list what God has done. Many of you watching in the USA have just done that on the holiday of Thanksgiving. Why am I thankful? List it. Name it. Count it! Because if you count and recount it, you will keep counting on the One who does all things well, amen?

Verse 13, the ‘many waters’ could represent the actual liquid near them, but the judgment to come as well. Even the chaos of the original waters (verses 15-16), but we don’t have time to unravel that. It also is a repeat of chapter 10, verses 12 to 16.

Verses 17 and 18, not only are those people stupid, yes, it says that, but it’s depicted in their idols who are without breath. Idolatry, he says, is stupidity. And you and I may think of the story of Abraham and his father in the idol shop. 

Verses 20-23 are the rhythmic sounds of a hammer, tap, tap, tapping. 

וְנִפַּצְתִּ֣י בְךָ֔

God’s word was like a hammer in chapter 23. And the Babylonians were the hammer against all the nations, until now. 

Verses 24 and following, God will destroy the destroyers. The mountains are the governments of Nebuchadnezzar and all the rest. 

Verse 27, blow the shofar!

Verse 28, consecrate the nations. Kadshu! Separate them, make them as holy, particular, useful, set apart. 

Verses 29-33. All hope is lost. Gates broken down. Harvest is coming… the grim reaper if you will. Couriers pass on the message, emails forwarded, twitter feeds lit up. The world will know.

Section 2:  Babylon like lambs to slaughter (.34-44)

Judah was crushed and ruined, so, now, Babylon, though they think they are lions, but ruined. There is no hope for them continues. They will be like lambs led to slaughter. Verse 36, God will be the lawyer in the courtroom, pleading for Judah. That’s more than a ‘got your back’ lawyer. This is a “Vengeance is mine; I will repay” thing.  Verse 38, little cubs in the den, ravaged. 

Verse 41, object of horror. Verse 42, the sea, again the waters, floods, eradication. We in Australia remember the floods of 2021, and so many other years, and know that nothing grows, nothing survives, it rewrites the rivers’ paths. Nothing is the same after the floods. Think of Noah and the aftermath of the Great Flood. The world changed. Here, Babylonia is going down and the world will be different. 

Verse 44. Regurgitating the nations. This is not only will there be nothing but even what you gained will be lost. Emptiness. Wall down. Total ruin. More streaming, more loss.

Section 3: Warning and worst yet for Babylon (.45-64)

The Jewish people now hear clearly, in case ‘flee’ and run for your life wasn’t clear enough. Verse 45: “come out!” It’s the sound of the Exodus. Each man for himself, away from God’s judgment. Don’t look back, Mrs Lot. Go forward. 

Verse 47; Justice on the idols. Sounds like Ex. 12. ‘against the gods of Egypt I will execute my judgment’

Verse 50: Get out and let Jerusalem come to your heart. “Think on these things.” Get a brainwash… some of you adopted Babylonian customs and idolatry. Get that out of your mind right now!

Verses 51-58 God executing judgment on Babylon. No wall. No protection from him. No wise men. No leadership. Perpetual sleep. Good night, Elizabeth Ann. 

Verse 59. The only time Jeremiah commands anything. I’m guessing Baruch has died and his brother is now charged by Jeremiah to take the scroll which apparently Jeremiah himself wrote (chapters 50-51), and to read the words on arrival in the Jewish community in Babylon. He did then he tied a rock to the scroll and tossed it into the Euphrates, thus signalling the beginning of the fall of Babylon. Even though it was decades in the future. 

Why did Babylon fall? Keown says this, “Babylon is condemned for pride (50:31–32, 51:25–26), for idolatry (50:38, 51:17–18), and for sinning against the LORD (50:14, 24, 29; 51:5). The full extent of Babylon’s sin against the LORD, other than pride and idolatry, is not clear, although it may be that Babylon’s action against Judah, even though sanctioned by the LORD, may have exceeded in severity anything that the LORD had intended (cf 50:33). In any case, for the first time in the collection of these chapters in Jeremiah is a nation judged for its treatment of the people of God.”

Judgment is the penultimate action of God towards a people. Babylon didn’t learn their lesson and lived wrong. Judah did learn from judgment and was brought in again. 

Peter wrote to the believers in his first letter, which some say was read at baptismal services for new believers, about judgment and behaviour which should characterize us. As I summarize the last two chapters we have studied, and the major reasons God was so upset at the Babylonians, it was their behaviour which is in view. Listen to Peter sum up the life we should represent in our behaviour no matter what the opinions of the world say of us, 

^“Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler; but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name.  For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?” (1 Peter 4.15-17)

Live right, dear friends. When judgment comes from God, we are still his. And he wants us to receive his grace, even then. Verse 19 finishes that section of Peter 

“Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.”

And with that, I finish this chapter’s reading. 

CONCLUSION

God is calling each of us to know him and to walk with him, today and throughout our days. Have you received Yeshua as your messiah and Lord? He is risen from the dead! Have you renounced your sin, your idolatry, your forsaking God and given him First Place in your life? If not, please, do so now, just now, as we pray together. Use your own words, if you want, but yield, surrender, to the Lord of life. 

 

PRAYER

Then please write us (admin@jewsforjesus.org.au) to tell us what you have just done, and we will send you literature and encourage you. You are part of our family; we love and appreciate you. And we want you to enjoy the presence of the Lord who calls, who knows, who blesses and builds us up. 

We hope to see you again next week as we study chapter 50. Until then, Shabbat shalom!

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Barnes, Albert, Commentary on the Old Testament. (Published by many, from 1880 on)

Henry, Matthew, Commentary.

Keown, Gerald, Scalise, Pamela, Smothers, Thomas, Word Biblical Commentary. Book of Jeremiah (Part 2).  1995. 

McConnville, Gordon, Jeremiah, New Bible Commentary. 

Wright, Christopher, The Message of Jeremiah, The Bible Speaks Today. Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 2014.

 

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ACTUAL TEXT

Babylon Judged for Sins against Israel

 

Jer. 51:1        Thus says the LORD: 

            “Behold, I am going to arouse against Babylon 

            And against the inhabitants of ¹Leb-kamai 

            ²The ^aspirit of a destroyer.

²          “I will dispatch ¹foreigners to Babylon that they may ^awinnow her 

            And may devastate her land; 

            For on every side they will be opposed to her 

            In the day of her calamity.

³          “¹Let not ²him who ^3abends his bow ³bend it, 

            ¹Nor let him rise up in his ^bscale-armor; 

            So do not spare her young men; 

            Devote all her army to destruction.

⁴          “They will fall down ¹slain in the land of the Chaldeans, 

            And ^apierced through in their streets.”

 

Jer. 51:5        For ^aneither Israel nor Judah has been ¹forsaken 

            By his God, the LORD of hosts, 

            Although their land is ^bfull of guilt 

            ²Before the Holy One of Israel.

^{6          a}Flee from the midst of Babylon, 

            And each of you save his life! 

            Do not be ^1bdestroyed in her ²punishment, 

            For this is the ^cLORD’S time of vengeance; 

            He is going to ^drender recompense to her.

⁷          Babylon has been a golden ^acup in the hand of the LORD, 

            Intoxicating all the earth. 

            The ^bnations have drunk of her wine; 

            Therefore the nations are ^cgoing mad.

⁸          Suddenly ^aBabylon has fallen and been broken; 

            ^bWail over her! 

            ^cBring ¹balm for her pain; 

            Perhaps she may be healed.

⁹          We applied healing to Babylon, but she was not healed; 

            Forsake her and ^alet us each go to his own country, 

            For her judgment has ^breached to heaven 

            And ¹towers up to the very skies.

¹⁰         The LORD has ^abrought ¹about our vindication; 

            Come and let us ^brecount in Zion 

            The work of the LORD our God!

 

Jer. 51:11    ^aSharpen the arrows, fill the quivers! 

            The LORD has aroused the spirit of the kings of the Medes, 

            Because His purpose is against Babylon to destroy it; 

            For it is the ^bvengeance of the LORD, vengeance for His temple.

^{12         a}Lift up a ¹signal against the walls of Babylon; 

            Post a strong guard, 

            Station ²sentries, 

            Place men in ambush! 

            For the LORD has both ^bpurposed and performed 

            What He spoke concerning the inhabitants of Babylon.

¹³         O you who ^adwell by many waters, 

            Abundant in ^btreasures, 

            Your end has come, 

            The ¹measure of your ^2cend.

¹⁴         The ^aLORD of hosts has sworn by Himself: 

            “Surely I will fill you with a ¹population like ^blocusts, 

            And they will cry out with ²shouts of victory over you.”

 

Jer. 51:15    It is ^aHe who made the earth by His power, 

            Who established the world by His wisdom, 

            And by His understanding He ^bstretched out the heavens.

¹⁶         When He utters His ^avoice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, 

            And He causes the ^bclouds to ascend from the end of the earth; 

            He makes lightning for the rain 

            And brings forth the ^cwind from His storehouses.

^{17         a}All mankind is stupid, devoid of knowledge; 

            Every goldsmith is put to shame by his ¹idols, 

            For his molten images are ^bdeceitful, 

            And there is no breath in them.

¹⁸         They are ^aworthless, a work of mockery; 

            In the time of their punishment they will perish.

¹⁹         The ^aportion of Jacob is not like these; 

            For the ¹Maker of all is He, 

            And of the ²tribe of His inheritance; 

            The ^bLORD of hosts is His name.

²⁰         He says, “You are My ^1awar-club, My weapon of war; 

            And with you I ^bshatter nations, 

            And with you I destroy kingdoms.

²¹         “With you I ^ashatter the horse and his rider, 

            And with you I shatter the ^bchariot and its rider,

²²         And with you I shatter ^aman and woman, 

            And with you I shatter old man and ^byouth, 

            And with you I shatter young man and virgin,

²³         And with you I shatter the shepherd and his flock, 

            And with you I shatter the farmer and his team, 

            And with you I shatter governors and prefects.

 

Jer. 51:24   “But I will repay Babylon and all the inhabitants of ^aChaldea for ^ball their evil that they have done in Zion before your eyes,” declares the LORD.

²⁵         “Behold, ^aI am against you, ^bO destroying mountain, 

            Who destroys the whole earth,” declares the LORD, 

            “And I will stretch out My hand against you, 

            And roll you down from the crags, 

            And I will make you a ^cburnt out mountain.

²⁶         “They will not take from you even a stone for a corner 

            Nor a stone for foundations, 

            But you will be ^adesolate forever,” declares the LORD.

 

Jer. 51:27    ^aLift up a ¹signal in the land, 

            Blow a trumpet among the nations! 

            Consecrate the nations against her, 

            Summon against her the ^bkingdoms of ^cArarat, Minni and ^dAshkenaz; 

            Appoint a marshal against her, 

            Bring up the ^ehorses like bristly locusts.

²⁸         Consecrate the nations against her, 

            The kings of the Medes, 

            ¹Their governors and all ¹their ²prefects, 

            And every land of ³their dominion.

²⁹         So the ^aland quakes and writhes, 

            For the purposes of the LORD against Babylon stand, 

            To make the land of Babylon 

            ¹A ^bdesolation without inhabitants.

³⁰         The ^amighty men of Babylon have ceased fighting, 

            They stay in the strongholds; 

            ^bTheir strength is ¹exhausted, 

            They are becoming ^blike women; 

            Their dwelling places are set on fire, 

            The ^cbars of her gates are broken.

³¹         One ^1acourier runs to meet ¹another, 

            And one ^2bmessenger to meet ²another, 

            To tell the king of Babylon 

            That his city has been captured from end to end;

³²         The fords also have been seized, 

            And they have burned the marshes with fire, 

            And the men of war are terrified.

 

Jer. 51:33    For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: 

            “The daughter of Babylon is like a ^athreshing floor 

            At the time ¹it is stamped firm; 

            Yet in a little while the time of ^bharvest will come for her.”

 

Jer. 51:34    “Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has ^adevoured me and crushed me, 

            He has set me down like an ^bempty vessel; 

            He has ^cswallowed me like a monster, 

            He has filled his stomach with my delicacies; 

            He has washed me away.

³⁵         “May the ^aviolence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon,” 

            The ¹inhabitant of Zion will say; 

            And, “May my blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea,” 

            Jerusalem will say.

³⁶         Therefore thus says the LORD, 

            “Behold, I am going to ^aplead your case 

            And ^bexact full vengeance for you; 

            And ^cI will dry up her ¹sea 

            And make her fountain dry.

³⁷         “^aBabylon will become a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals, 

            An ^bobject of horror and hissing, without inhabitants.

³⁸         “They will roar together like ^ayoung lions, 

            They will growl like lions’ cubs.

³⁹         “When they become heated up, I will serve them their banquet 

            And ^amake them drunk, that they may become jubilant 

            And may ^bsleep a perpetual sleep 

            And not wake up,” declares the LORD.

⁴⁰         “I will bring them down like ¹lambs ^ato the slaughter, 

            Like rams together with male goats.

 

Jer. 51:41    “How ^1aSheshak has been captured, 

            And ^bthe praise of the whole earth been seized! 

            How Babylon has become an object of horror among the nations!

⁴²         “The ^1asea has come up over Babylon; 

            She has been engulfed with its tumultuous waves.

⁴³         “Her cities have become an ^aobject of horror, 

            A parched land and a desert, 

            A land in which ^bno man lives 

            And through which no son of man passes.

⁴⁴         “^aI will punish Bel in Babylon, 

            And I will make what he has swallowed ^bcome out of his mouth; 

            And the nations will no longer ^cstream to him. 

            Even the ^dwall of Babylon has fallen down!

 

Jer. 51:45    “^aCome forth from her midst, My people, 

            And each of you ^bsave yourselves 

            From the fierce anger of the LORD.

⁴⁶         “Now ^aso that your heart does not grow faint, 

            And you are not afraid at the ^breport that will be heard in the land — 

            For the report will come ¹one year, 

            And after that ²another report in ²another year, 

            And violence will be in the land 

            With ^cruler against ruler —

⁴⁷         Therefore behold, days are coming 

            When I will punish the ^aidols of Babylon; 

            And her whole land will be ^bput to shame 

            And all her slain will fall in her midst.

⁴⁸         “Then ^aheaven and earth and all that is in them 

            Will shout for joy over Babylon, 

            For ^bthe destroyers will come to her from the north,” 

            Declares the LORD.

 

Jer. 51:49    ^aIndeed Babylon is to fall for the slain of Israel, 

            As also for Babylon ^bthe slain of all the earth have fallen.

⁵⁰         You ^awho have escaped the sword, 

            Depart! Do not stay! 

            ^bRemember the LORD from afar, 

            And let Jerusalem ¹come to your mind.

^{51         a}We are ashamed because we have heard reproach; 

            Disgrace has covered our faces, 

            For ^baliens have entered 

            The holy places of the LORD’S house.

 

Jer. 51:52    “Therefore behold, the days are coming,” declares the LORD, 

            “When I will punish her ^aidols, 

            And the mortally wounded will groan throughout her land.

⁵³         “Though Babylon should ^aascend to the heavens, 

            And though she should fortify ¹her lofty stronghold, 

            From ^bMe destroyers will come to her,” declares the LORD.

 

Jer. 51:54    The ^asound of an outcry from Babylon, 

            And of great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans!

⁵⁵         For the LORD is going to destroy Babylon, 

            And He will make her loud ¹noise vanish from her. 

            And their ^awaves will roar like many waters; 

            The tumult of their voices ²sounds forth.

⁵⁶         For the ^adestroyer is coming against her, against Babylon, 

            And her mighty men will be captured, 

            Their ^bbows are shattered; 

            For the LORD is a God of ^crecompense, 

            He will fully repay.

⁵⁷         “I will ^amake her princes and her wise men drunk, 

            Her governors, her prefects and her mighty men, 

            That they may sleep a perpetual sleep and not wake up,” 

            Declares the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts.

⁵⁸         Thus says the LORD of hosts, 

            “The broad wall of Babylon will be completely razed 

            And her high gates will be set on fire; 

            So the peoples will toil for nothing, 

            And the nations become exhausted only for fire.”

 

Jer. 51:59   The message which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, the grandson of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. (Now Seraiah was quartermaster.) ⁶⁰ So Jeremiah wrote in a single scroll all the calamity which would come upon Babylon, that is, all these words which have been written concerning Babylon. ⁶¹ Then Jeremiah said to Seraiah, “As soon as you come to Babylon, then see that you read all these words aloud, ⁶² and say, ‘You, O LORD, have promised concerning this place to cut it off, so that there will be nothing dwelling in it, whether man or beast, but it will be a perpetual desolation.’ ⁶³ “And as soon as you finish reading this scroll, you will tie a stone to it and throw it into the middle of the Euphrates, ⁶⁴ and say, ‘Just so shall Babylon sink down and not rise again because of the calamity that I am going to bring upon her; and they will become exhausted.’” Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.