Jeremiah 51:33-64
Q.1. Why will God exact His full vengeance on the Babylonians? – (Jer.51:33-44)
Babylon had executed judgment without restraint against Judah. Trials and trouble will either make people angry with God or will drive His children closer to Him. Consequently, the inhabitants of Zion will cry out to God – May the violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon (Jer.51:34). Though God frequently uses others to discipline us, nonetheless they will not be exonerated, if they have failed to show mercy. Will God hear the cries of His erring children? Absolutely. – Behold, I am going to plead your case and exact full vengeance for you (Jer.51:35).
Q.2. How do you reconcile God’s call to leave Babylon, when previously Israel was to accept exile there? – (Jer.51:45-58 c.f. Jer.29:1-14)
The ministry of Jeremiah spanned five decades, from the reign of the good king Josiah, to beyond the defeat of Jerusalem by Babylon in 586 B.C (c.f. Jer.1:1-3). There is a good case for believing that Jeremiah lived long years, in order to pen the book’s closing scene. Previously, Jeremiah had addressed the exiles, including the prophet Daniel, who had been taken captive to Babylon (c.f. Jer.29:1-14). The latter part of Jeremiah’s prophecies related to the destruction of Babylon, and alluded to the ultimate destruction of Babylon, which the apostle John described in Revelation chapters 17 & 18. Here God informed Jeremiah – Come forth from her midst, My people, and each of you save yourselves from the fierce anger of the Lord … Babylon is to fall for the slain of Israel … Depart! Do not stay! Remember the Lord from afar, and let Jerusalem be on your mind (Jer.51:45, 49-50 c.f. Rev.18:4-5). In fact, the Jews settled in various parts of the world and established synagogues to preserve their heritage. The apostle Paul was able to minister in these synagogues, when he spread the Gospel in the Roman Empire as recorded in Acts.
Q.3. In what unique way was the prophecy of Babylon’s future destruction to be communicated? – (Jer.51:59-64)
Jeremiah closed his ministry by writing about the fall and destruction of Babylon (Jer.51:64). Seraiah was to recite the contents of the scroll out loud when he arrived in Babylon – 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 (Jer.51:62). He was then instructed to take the scroll, tie it around a heavy stone, and throw it into the middle of the Euphrates. No doubt, all the Chaldeans who heard the message in Hebrew thought Seraiah was a fool. However, he was to respond – ‘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 (Jer.51:64). That vision of the plunging scroll would foreshadow the future destruction of the godless Babylonian system – Then a strong angel took up a stone like a millstone and threw it into the sea saying, ‘So will Babylon, the great city, be thrown down with violence and will not be found any longer’ (Rev.18:21).