God declares war on Babylon pt. 1 (Jer. 50:1–28)

I. Announcement of Babylon’s Doom (50:1–10)

1 The word that the LORD spoke against Babylon and against the land of the Chaldeans by Jeremiah the prophet. 2 “Declare among the nations, Proclaim, and set up a standard; Proclaim—do not conceal it—Say, ‘Babylon is taken, Bel is shamed. Merodach is broken in pieces; Her idols are humiliated, Her images are broken in pieces.’ 3 For out of the north a nation comes up against her, Which shall make her land desolate, And no one shall dwell therein. They shall move, they shall depart, Both man and beast. 4 “In those days and in that time,” says the LORD, “The children of Israel shall come, They and the children of Judah together; With continual weeping they shall come, And seek the LORD their God. 5 They shall ask the way to Zion, With their faces toward it, saying, ‘Come and let us join ourselves to the LORD In a perpetual covenant That will not be forgotten.’ 6 “My people have been lost sheep. Their shepherds have led them astray; They have turned them away on the mountains. They have gone from mountain to hill; They have forgotten their resting place. 7 All who found them have devoured them; And their adversaries said, ‘We have not offended, Because they have sinned against the LORD, the habitation of justice, The LORD, the hope of their fathers.’ 8 “Move from the midst of Babylon, Go out of the land of the Chaldeans; And be like the rams before the flocks. 9 For behold, I will raise and cause to come up against Babylon An assembly of great nations from the north country, And they shall array themselves against her; From there she shall be captured. Their arrows shall be like those of an expert warrior; None shall return in vain. 10 And Chaldea shall become plunder; All who plunder her shall be satisfied,” says the LORD.

A. Jeremiah was commanded to announce to the nations the public humiliation of Babylon.

God declared war on both Babylon and the gods of Babylon. The word translated “idols” means “wooden blocks,” and the word translated “images” means “dung pellets.” The Lord didn’t think much of their gods! The invaders would come from the north just as Nebuchadnezzar came from the north to conquer Judah.

The condemnation of Babylon begins appropriately with it’s gods. Though Judah has been exiled to the land of their pretended rule, they have not proved their superiority to the Lord; on the contrary, their weakness will now appear.

B. God speaks to and about the Jews.

He saw them as lost sheep without a shepherd, a flock greatly abused both by their leaders and their captors. While the immediate application is to the return of the exiles from Babylon, the ultimate reference includes the gathering of the Jews in the latter days.

God warned the people to flee from Babylon so as not to be caught in the judgment that would fall. There was a sense of urgency in the appeal because God was about to bring a coalition of nations against Babylon. Their arrows would find their marks as surely as the victorious soldiers returned from battle with the spoils of victory. The enemy was going to plunder Babylon until it had taken all it wanted. Babylon’s fate is a testimony to the truth that “and be sure your sin will find you out” (Num 32:23).

II. Explanation for Its Punishment (50:11–17)

11 “Because you were glad, because you rejoiced, You destroyers of My heritage, Because you have grown fat like a heifer threshing grain, And you bellow like bulls, 12 Your mother shall be deeply ashamed; She who bore you shall be ashamed. Behold, the least of the nations shall be a wilderness, A dry land and a desert. 13 Because of the wrath of the LORD She shall not be inhabited, But she shall be wholly desolate. Everyone who goes by Babylon shall be horrified And hiss at all her plagues. 14 “Put yourselves in array against Babylon all around, All you who bend the bow; Shoot at her, spare no arrows, For she has sinned against the LORD. 15 Shout against her all around; She has given her hand, Her foundations have fallen, Her walls are thrown down; For it is the vengeance of the LORD. Take vengeance on her. As she has done, so do to her. 16 Cut off the sower from Babylon, And him who handles the sickle at harvest time. For fear of the oppressing sword Everyone shall turn to his own people, And everyone shall flee to his own land. 17 “Israel is like scattered sheep; The lions have driven him away. First the king of Assyria devoured him; Now at last this Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has broken his bones.”

A. God speaks to Babylon.

Now we find out why God was destroying this great empire. To begin with, the Babylonians were glad that they could devastate and subjugate Judah. Yes, Babylon was God’s tool to chasten His sinful people, but the Babylonians went too far and enjoyed it too much. They acted like a joyful calf threshing the grain and getting his fill!

Any nation that cursed the Jews will ultimately be cursed by God (Gen. 12:1–3). As they treated Judah, so God will treat them. Babylon, would be ashamed like a mother who is disgraced by the behavior of her child. Babylon, which had been first among the nations, would now become the least of the nations. It would be as desolate as an uninhabited desert. Those who see its ruins would react in shocked horror and ridicule.

B. God speaks to the invading armies.

Just as Babylon had been God’s tool to chasten Judah, so the invaders would be God’s weapon to defeat Babylon. God spoke to the invading armies and commanded them to get their weapons ready and shout for victory, because they would win the battle. This was no ordinary war; this was “the vengeance of the Lord”.

The Babylonians would learn that all sin is against God and would be punished. Because of the invasion, farmers would not be able to plant their crops or harvest them. It would be the opportune time for the exiles to flee Babylon and return to their own land.

Israel is now compared to a flock of sheep that has been scattered and devoured by lions. The first “lion” to devour Israel was the king of Assyria. The most recent “lion” to “crush his bones” was Nebuchadnezzar.

III. The Restoration of Israel (50:18–20)

18 Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, As I have punished the king of Assyria. 19 But I will bring back Israel to his home, And he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan; His soul shall be satisfied on Mount Ephraim and Gilead. 20 In those days and in that time,” says the LORD, “The iniquity of Israel shall be sought, but there shall be none; And the sins of Judah, but they shall not be found; For I will pardon those whom I preserve.

A. God speaks about the Jews.

History repeats itself, but nations and peoples are slow to learn its lessons. Even as God had punished the king of Assyria, he would punish the king of Babylon. After the death of Ashurbanapal in 627 B.C., the last of the great Assyrian rulers, Assyria rapidly declined and was overthrown by the Babylonians in 612 with the taking of Nineveh. Now Babylon was facing a similar fate.

Like a shepherd leading his flock to pasture, God would bring Israel back to its own land, where it would have its appetite satisfied. “In those days, and in that time” no sin or guilt would be found in Israel or Judah because God would have forgiven the remnant he would spare.

B. Israel and Judah.

The restoration is again pictured as that of the historic Israel in its entirety. The picture moves from the literal into the realm of the figurative, because northern Israel scarcely existed any more as a coherent people.

This restoration of the exiles, though in itself a real salvation, is also a shadow of that which God will effect for all mankind on the soil of Judah through the Jew who would die for all on the cross.