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Jeremiah Chapter 51
- Jeremiah
51:1 Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will raise up against
Babylon, and against them that dwell in the midst of them that
rise up against me, a destroying wind;
Notice that the Lord addresses those in
Babylon that rise up against Him. To me this is saying that God is
not sending destruction and judgment upon any in Babylon that are
faithful to Him. When the Medes and Persians invaded Babylon the
Jewish refugees were later allowed to return to their homeland. God
remembered them and knew that the time of captivity to Babylon was
only to be 70 years. After that 70 years they were to return
home.
- Jeremiah
51:2 And will send unto Babylon fanners, that shall fan her,
and shall empty her land: for in the day of trouble they shall
be against her round about.
- 3 Against him
that bendeth let the archer bend his bow, and against him that lifteth
himself up in his brigandine: and spare ye not her young men;
destroy ye utterly all her host.
- 4 Thus the slain
shall fall in the land of the Chaldeans, and they that
are thrust through in her streets.
- 5 For
Israel hath not been forsaken, nor Judah of his God, of the LORD
of hosts; though their land was filled with sin against the Holy
One of Israel.
God did not forsake them entirely even though
they had sinned against Him. Do we not think that God has feelings?
What must He feel when we once believed and walked with the Lord and
then walk away and ignore Him when things are going good for us? How
stupid we are when we forsake the fountain of living waters for
empty wells that can hold no water. God is the only fountain
that produces things that last for eternity. Woe are they that
ignore those Old paths of righteousness. Yet in saying that, God's
mercy is so great. He always prefers to save rather than destroy.
- Jeremiah
51:6 Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man
his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time
of the LORD'S vengeance; he will render unto her a
recompense.
There may be a time that God may require us
to flee from that which is going to be judged by God. Whether this
is an actual place or whether it is some sort of sin, there may be
times when the will of God is for us just to flee.
- Jeremiah
51:7 Babylon hath been a golden cup in the LORD'S hand, that
made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her
wine; therefore the nations are mad.
To be drunken with this kind of wine is like
being wrapped up in or consumed with the sin and wickedness of a
certain nation or group of people. We may have to take a stand and
choose to serve God rather than what is popular with the worldly
influence of our day.
- Jeremiah
51:8 Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her;
take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed.
- 9 We would have
healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us
go every one into his own country: for her judgment reacheth
unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies.
It is God's will that every nation repent and
be spared judgment. That is why God sends preachers to all parts of
the world. It is God's will that all believe and be saved from the
wrath to come. However, judgment will come eventually if there is no
change and we continue in sin and ignore God's eternal remedy for
sin.
- Jeremiah
51:10 The LORD hath brought forth our righteousness: come, and
let us declare in Zion the work of the LORD our God.
- 11 Make bright
the arrows; gather the shields: the LORD hath raised up the
spirit of the kings of the Medes: for his device is against
Babylon, to destroy it; because it is the vengeance of the LORD,
the vengeance of his temple.
God used the Medes to bring vengeance but
later the Medes are judged and are destroyed by the Grecian Empire.
- Jeremiah
51:12 Set up the standard upon the walls of Babylon, make the
watch strong, set up the watchmen, prepare the ambushes: for the
LORD hath both devised and done that which he
spake against the inhabitants
of Babylon.
- 13 O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is
come, and the measure of thy covetousness.
Babylon was very rich and powerful. They were
deep in covetousness and their time of judgment had come.
- Jeremiah 51:14 The LORD of
hosts hath sworn by himself, saying, Surely I will fill thee
with men, as with caterpillers; and they shall lift up a shout
against thee.
- 15 He hath made
the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his
wisdom, and hath stretched out the heaven by his understanding.
- 16 When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the
heavens; and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of
the earth: he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth
the wind out of his treasures.
Why do we choose to ignore a God so powerful
that at His word nations stand or fall? Who are we to question God
or doubt His word. The fear of the Lord is needed in our land
again.
-
Joshua 4:24 That all the
people of the earth might know the hand of the LORD, that
it is mighty: that ye might fear the LORD your God for ever.
-
Psalms 25:14 The secret of
the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his
covenant.
-
Psalms 33:18 Behold, the eye of
the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his
mercy;
-
Psalms 111:10 The fear of the
LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all
they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.
- Jeremiah
51:17 Every man is brutish by his knowledge; every founder is
confounded by the graven image: for his molten
image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.
When we worship an idol, false god or
anything that comes between us and God is destroys our souls and
robs us of eternal life. The only escape is to repent and turn to
Jesus Christ for deliverance.
- Jeremiah
51:18 They are vanity, the work of errors: in the time of their
visitation they shall perish.
All idols will be destroyed. They are nothing
and have no power to do good or evil.
- Jeremiah
51:19 The portion of Jacob is not like them; for he is the
former of all things: and Israel is the rod of his inheritance:
the LORD of hosts is his name.
- 20 Thou art my
battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in
pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms;
- 21 And with thee
will I break in pieces the horse and his rider; and with thee
will I break in pieces the chariot and his rider;
- 22 With thee also
will I break in pieces man and woman; and with thee will I break
in pieces old and young; and with thee will I break in pieces
the young man and the maid;
- 23 I will also
break in pieces with thee the shepherd and his flock; and with
thee will I break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen;
and with thee will I break in pieces captains and rulers.
- 24 And I will
render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all
their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight, saith the
LORD.
- 25 Behold,
I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the LORD, which
destroyest all the earth: and I will stretch out mine hand upon
thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a
burnt mountain.
- 26 And they shall
not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for
foundations; but thou shalt be desolate for ever, saith the
LORD.
- 27 Set ye up a
standard in the land, blow the trumpet among the nations,
prepare the nations against her, call together against her the
kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashchenaz; appoint a captain
against her; cause the horses to come up as the rough
caterpillers.
- 28 Prepare
against her the nations with the kings of the Medes, the
captains thereof, and all the rulers thereof, and all the land
of his dominion.
- 29 And the land
shall tremble and sorrow: for every purpose of the LORD shall be
performed against Babylon, to make the land of Babylon a
desolation without an inhabitant.
- 30 The mighty men
of Babylon have forborn to fight, they have remained
in their holds: their might hath failed; they became as women:
they have burned her dwellingplaces; her bars are broken.
- 31 One post shall
run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to shew
the king of Babylon that his city is taken at one end,
- 32 And that the
passages are stopped, and the reeds they have burned with fire,
and the men of war are affrighted.
- 33 For thus saith
the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; The daughter of
Babylon is like a threshingfloor, it is time to thresh her: yet
a little while, and the time of her harvest shall come.
- 34 Nebuchadrezzar
the king of Babylon hath devoured me, he hath crushed me, he
hath made me an empty vessel, he hath swallowed me up like a
dragon, he hath filled his belly with my delicates, he hath cast
me out.
- 35 The violence
done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon, shall the inhabitant
of Zion say; and my blood upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, shall
Jerusalem say.
- 36 Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will plead thy cause, and take
vengeance for thee; and I will dry up her sea, and make her
springs dry.
- 37 And Babylon
shall become heaps, a dwelling place for dragons, an
astonishment, and an hissing, without an inhabitant.
- 38 They shall
roar together like lions: they shall yell as lions' whelps.
- 39 In their heat
I will make their feasts, and I will make them drunken, that
they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the LORD.
- 40 I will bring
them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with he goats.
- 41 How is Sheshach taken! and how is the praise of the whole earth
surprised! how is Babylon become an astonishment among the
nations!
When a mighty nation is brought down, the
rest of the world goes into shock. We don't realize the power of
God's judgment and our eyes are usually on great nations instead of
God who controls them at His will. God is the one to fear, not evil
nations.
- Jeremiah
51:42 The sea is come up upon Babylon: she is covered with the
multitude of the waves thereof.
- 43 Her cities are
a desolation, a dry land, and a wilderness, a land wherein no
man dwelleth, neither doth any son of man pass thereby.
- 44 And I will
punish Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth
that which he hath swallowed up: and the nations shall not flow
together any more unto him: yea, the wall of Babylon shall fall.
- 45 My people, go
ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye every man his soul
from the fierce anger of the LORD.
Babylon had exalted itself against God. They
worshipped idols and thought they would last forever. An example is
the time Nebuchadnezzar set up an image and tried to force all to
worship that image or be cast into the fire. This type of thing
displeases God. It is one thing to worship an idol but it is quite
another to force others to worship with the threat of death.
In reality Satan is the only one behind
any religion that uses force to convert followers. True religion
cannot be forced by the threat of physical death.
True religion is a change inside the inner
man. It is a new birth. One has to receive this willingly. This cannot
be done by putting a gun to someone's head and forcing them to
receive Christ. That would not be any good. To be born again has to be
done by God's Spirit and it is an act of God; it can't be forced
upon anyone.
Some Christian religions may have tried to
use force but if they did, they were not true Christians because a
true Christian would know that the only way of salvation is to be
born again and that takes an act of repentance on the part of the
one receiving and an act of receiving Jesus Christ as savior. God
then gives them the power of His Spirit to cause them to be born
again. Man absolutely cannot force this upon anyone. It would be
stupid to try.
- Jeremiah
51:46 And lest your heart faint, and ye fear for the rumour
that shall be heard in the land; a rumour shall both
come one year, and after that in another year shall come a
rumour, and violence in the land, ruler against ruler.
- 47 Therefore,
behold, the days come, that I will do judgment upon the graven
images of Babylon: and her whole land shall be confounded, and
all her slain shall fall in the midst of her.
All nations that have any idolatry or any
false religion apart from the religion that frees from sin and saves
the soul will be brought to judgment. False religion cannot save the
soul and deliver from sin. False religion or idolatry keeps a person
in bondage and when they die, they are still in their sins and they
lose their souls. There is only one way to be saved from sin and
that is Jesus Christ. That is the whole reason Jesus came to us. To
die for sins and pay the price for our sins.
He came to save us from sin so that we will
not be lost and go to a burning hell. Jesus came to give us eternal
life. If there was another way for mankind to be saved, then Jesus
would not have had to suffer and die on the cross. He was the
supreme sacrifice for sins. There is now no other way to be saved
and have eternal life. Religion can't save, idols can't save, just
being a good person and do good deeds can't save. Only faith in what
Jesus did and receiving Him as savior from sin can save us.
This brings to pass the saying that He that
lives by the sword shall die by the sword.
- Jeremiah
51:50 Ye that have escaped the sword, go away, stand not still:
remember the LORD afar off, and let Jerusalem come into your
mind.
- 51 We are
confounded, because we have heard reproach: shame hath covered
our faces: for strangers are come into the sanctuaries of the
LORD'S house.
- 52 Wherefore,
behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will do judgment
upon her graven images: and through all her land the wounded
shall groan.
- 53 Though Babylon
should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify the
height of her strength, yet from me shall spoilers come unto
her, saith the LORD.
- 54 A sound of a
cry cometh from Babylon, and great destruction from the land of
the Chaldeans:
- 55 Because the
LORD hath spoiled Babylon, and destroyed out of her the great
voice; when her waves do roar like great waters, a noise of
their voice is uttered:
- 56 Because the
spoiler is come upon her, even upon Babylon, and her mighty men
are taken, every one of their bows is broken: for the LORD God
of recompences shall surely requite.
- 57 And I will
make drunk her princes, and her wise men, her captains, and her
rulers, and her mighty men: and they shall sleep a perpetual
sleep, and not wake, saith the King, whose name is the LORD of
hosts.
This may refer to the second death in which
there is no return. Or it could refer to being so drunk that they
are killed by the enemy and they never awake from their drunkenness.
- Jeremiah
51:58 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The broad walls of Babylon
shall be utterly broken, and her high gates shall be burned with
fire; and the people shall labour in vain, and the folk in the
fire, and they shall be weary.
When the Lord turns against a nation, no
labor or fighting back will do any good. Repentance and change is
the only thing that can save once judgment is decreed.
- Jeremiah
51:59 The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the
son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, when he went with Zedekiah
the king of Judah into Babylon in the fourth year of his reign.
And this Seraiah was a quiet prince.
- 60 So Jeremiah
wrote in a book all the evil that should come upon
Babylon, even all these words that are written against Babylon.
- 61 And Jeremiah
said to Seraiah, When thou comest to Babylon, and shalt see, and
shalt read all these words;
- 62 Then shalt
thou say, O LORD, thou hast spoken against this place, to cut it
off, that none shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, but
that it shall be desolate for ever.
- 63 And it shall
be, when thou hast made an end of reading this book, that thou
shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of
Euphrates:
- 64 And thou shalt
say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil
that I will bring upon her: and they shall be weary. Thus
far are the words of Jeremiah.
Here we see that Jeremiah was one that obeyed
God rather than pleased men. At first he warned Judah of the
judgment of God, knowing that they would be angry and even desire to
kill him for his testimony. Now when Babylon is in power, once again
he jeopardizes his own life to prophecy of the judgment of Babylon.
His message stays the same whether it is his own people or the
Babylonians.
He is an example for all those who are
preachers of the gospel. In fact all those who proclaim the word of
God whether called to pastor or not should follow his example. That
example is to obey God rather than try to gain the popularity of men
and women. It doesn't matter what men say and it doesn't matter what
they think. It does matter however, what God says and what God
thinks.
Let us choose God's will and receive eternal
rewards instead of choosing man's approval temporarily and losing
out on that which is eternal. This life is temporary. The praise of
men is temporary. Do one thing that makes them mad and they will
follow someone else. Only what is done for Christ will last. DC
Jeremiah 52
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