Hope in the Waiting: Finding Strength in God's Promises

Introduction

So we have close out our short study through some of the major themes in Jeremiah. We have seen his call, his courage to speak truth when it was unwelcome, his rebuke of empty religion, and his instructions for living faithfully in exile.

We have seen how he warned against resisting God’s judgement and how his suffering did not just mirrored the pain of his people, but would also be a foreshadow of the suffering Messiah who like Jeremiah, would be rejected by his very own.

Jeremiah’s words have not been easy, but when is the message of judgment ever easy to hear. However, here at the end of our series God gives us more than just the message of judgment. Jeremiah 50:33- 40 pulls our eyes beyond the rubble and chaos of Jerusalem and beyond the pain of exile. Here God points us to hope, a hope not rooted in shallow “maybes” but rooted in His sure promises.

Have you ever sat in the waiting room at the ER. You know that perhaps worse than the pain that brought you there is the ache of wondering how long before relief comes. Well, this is where Israel and Judah are: waiting, oppressed, held fast with no release in sight. Into that waiting, God speaks. Let’s examine this in 4 parts starting with:

I. The Reality of Judgment (v. 33)

By the time we reach Jeremiah 50, Jeremiah begins to speak in concepts of Judah (the southern kingdom, and Israel, the northern which was captured and scattered by the Assyrians over a century earlier and scattered across Assyria. But the Scriptures here use the term Babylon to refer to all and any system that is oppressing His people even though it was their sin that caused this and even through God used these systems as a form for discipline. This shows the sovereignty of God over all. And so Jeremiah opens this section with a vivid picture:

Jeremiah 50:33 LSB

33 Thus says Yahweh of hosts, “The sons of Israel are oppressed, And the sons of Judah as well; And all who took them captive have held them fast; They have refused to let them go.

Under Solomon there was only one kingdom. Sin and idolatry cause the division of the one kingdom into two. But now they find themselves united. They are united in oppression, and united in their exile and within the grip of their oppressors. Their enemies refuse to let them go which creates a picture of total helplessness under the judgment of God. Please remember, God has not been coy concerning this, God claims responsibility for where they are.

Jeremiah 29:4 LSB

4 “Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon,

This reminds us that God’s judgments are real and unavoidable. Sin brings bondage. The people of God thought they could mix covenant with compromise, Jeremiah shows that God’s holiness will not be mocked. And God told them:

Leviticus 10:3 LSB

3 Then Moses said to Aaron, “It is what Yahweh spoke, saying, ‘By those who come near Me I will be treated as holy, And before all the people I will be glorified.’” So Aaron kept silent.

Over a millennia later, God remains the same as the writer of Hebrews reflects on the notion that

Hebrews 10:31 LSB

31 It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Judgment falls not only on individuals but on nations, systems and all who oppose Him. But I want you to see the nuance here concerning Israel and Judah and extrapolate into your own lives. Their oppression is not outside of God’s control. Babylon was not sovereign—and neither are China, Russia, Ukraine, or even the United States. God alone is sovereign.

Jeremiah 25:9 LSB

9 behold, I will send and take all the families of the north,’ declares Yahweh, ‘and I will send to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land and against its inhabitants and against all these surrounding nations; and I will devote them to destruction and make them an object of horror and of hissing and an everlasting waste place.

Babylon is His instrument–not His equal. Their refusal to release Israel sets the stage for God to reveal Himself as the true Redeemer.

You must see the connection to our context here. This historical bondage points to a greater spiritual reality. Just like Israel and Judah were being held fast in bondage, humanity is being held fast in the bondage of sin. Consider the words of the Savior,

John 8:34 LSB

34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.

And who has committed sin? Everybody. But,

“If the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36)

Christ has entered into the world as the great Deliverer. He describes His mission,

“He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives…” (Luke 4:18)

The Babylonian captivity becomes a shadow of the deeper captivity from which Christ redeems His people. Ethnic Israel was so blind as to why they were always surrounded by hostile nations. Over and over again they were captured and tortured and had to be delivered again and again. Each time they continued to think that their issue was the nation that was invading them.

Their true enslavement was never to Egypt, or Assyria, or Babylon, or Persia, or Greece, or Rome, or Byzantium, or the Caliphates, or the Ottomans, or the European powers, or even Nazi Germany—their enslavement was and is to sin. This underscores the universality of sin beyond any single oppressor. History confirms it: oppression shifts from one empire to another, but the root problem never changes.

rappers, Timothy Brindle and Shai Linne in a single line in a song when they said: “The heart of the matter is m heart is the matter / God’s image in me is marred and chattetered.”

Christ alone delivers from the captivity that no empire could cause and no earthly power could cure. The apostle Paul, in the name of all humanity rightly exclaims:

Romans 7:24 LSB

24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from the body of this death?

In our passage the Hebrew poetry uses repetition to deepen the imagery: Oppressed together, held fast together. Israel’s plight is beyond human rescue thus enters God.

For us, the reality of judgment reminds us that God does not turn a blind eye to sin or injustice. If you feel oppressed by a world system that seems immovable, you are not alone — Israel felt the same. But remember: Babylon’s grip was not ultimate, and neither is sin’s. God sees, God knows, and God will act. Our response is to confess where we have trusted in our own strength, and turn afresh to the Redeemer who sees us in our captivity and promises deliverance.

II. The Assurance of a Redeemer (v. 34)

Jeremiah does not leave God’s people crushed under the weight of oppression. Right in the middle of their despair, there is a word of hope:

Jeremiah 50:34 LSB

34 “Their Redeemer is strong, Yahweh of hosts is His name; He will vigorously plead their case So that He may bring relief to the earth, But turmoil to the inhabitants of Babylon.

The word Redeemer is gō’ēl (גֹּאֵל). In Israel’s law, a go’el was a kinsman-redeemer — a close relative who bore the responsibility of rescuing family members from debt, bondage, or loss.

Leviticus 25:25 LSB

25 ‘If a brother of yours becomes so poor he has to sell part of his possession of land, then his nearest kinsman redeemer is to come and redeem what his brother has sold.

We see the application of this law in the story of Ruth. Boaz wanted to marry Ruth and so redeem her and all of her dead husband’s estate but there was a closer relative to her dead husband living, so Boaz goes to him in the presence of the elders of Israel

Ruth 4:4–6 LSB

4 “So I thought to uncover this matter in your hearing, saying, ‘Acquire it before those who are sitting here and before the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if no one redeems it, tell me that I may know; for there is no one but you to redeem it, and I am after you.’” And he said, “I will redeem it.” 5 Then Boaz said, “On the day you acquire the field from the hand of Naomi, you must also acquire Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of the one who had died, in order to raise up the name of the one who had died, on behalf of his inheritance.” 6 So the kinsman redeemer said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I ruin my own inheritance. You redeem my right of redemption for yourself, for I cannot redeem it.”

When this man abdicated his duty, Boaz stepped in and embraced the responsibility of being the kinsman-redeemer the go’el, who was obligated to act on behalf of the helpless, to restore what was broken, to defend the vulnerable. In essence, Boaz pleaded Naomi and Ruth’s case before the higher court, the elders of Israel.

In Boaz, we see a shadow. In Christ, we see the substance. What Boaz pictured in a village gate, Jeremiah now declares on a cosmic scale, and Christ fulfills on the cross and in heaven.

Back in Jeremiah the go’el is described as strong and that,

“He will vigorously plead their case”

The Redeemer is not only the avenger who buys back what was lost but also the Advocate who argues the case of His people before the highest court. This is covenant courtroom language. Israel has no defense — but God Himself takes up their cause. We see clearly:

“Their Redeemer is strong, YAHWEH of host is His name” (v. 24).

Do not lose the theological implications of this. Who but Yahweh the Son fulfills this perfectly? If Yahweh is pleading their case, before whom does He plead? The only explanation is that Yahweh the Son pleads before Yahweh the Father. on behalf of His people. Yahweh is advocating for His people before Yahweh.

In Christ we see the Redeemer who is strong enough to break our chains and merciful enough to stand in our place as our Advocate.

Romans 8:34 LSB

34 who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.

Hebrews 7:25 LSB

25 Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

Even in Jeremiah, the Lord our God gives us a glimpse into the global extent of His salvation when He says,

“Their Redeemer is strong, Yahweh of hosts is His name; He will vigorously plead their case So that He may bring relief to the earth…” (v. 34)

The Hebrew word is ’eretz (אֶרֶץ). Depending on context, it can mean “land” (Israel’s territory) or “earth” (the whole world). Israel likely narrowed it to their own soil, but God’s vision is far bigger. This is not about one small patch of dirt in the Middle East — it is cosmic. God intends to bring rest to the whole creation. Paul echoes this when he says,

Romans 8:19–21 LSB

19 For the anxious longing of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

This promise of a Redeemer came long before Babylon fell. Historically, Babylon’s empire collapsed in 539 BC when Cyrus the Great of Persia conquered the city. For Jeremiah’s first hearers, that event was proof that Babylon was not ultimate. But the prophetic vision here stretches beyond one empire’s fall. “Babylon” becomes a symbol of every world system that exalts itself against God. From the tower in Genesis 11 to the harlot of Revelation 17–18, Babylon represents human pride and rebellion. Its fall is both historical and prophetic: the downfall of one empire then, and the sure downfall of every godless power now and to come.

God intends to bring rest to the whole creation. Paul echoes this when he says that creation itself groans for redemption. The scope of God’s promise is not tribal or ethnic but universal — rest for the earth, for all His people gathered in Christ.

This is fulfilled in Jesus. He is our go’el, the strong Redeemer who both pays our ransom with His blood (1 Peter 1:18–19) and pleads our case at the right hand of the Father (1 John 2:1). On the cross He became our substitute; in heaven He remains our Advocate. His work is not bound to Israel’s borders but stretches to the ends of the earth (Matthew 28:18–20).

When you feel crushed by sin or surrounded by a hostile world, remember: your Redeemer is strong. He does not merely sympathize; He intercedes. He does not simply want to redeem; He has redeemed — and He is even now pleading your case before the throne. This is such an amazing notion, This intercessory work is the climax of the gospel: Christ crucified, risen, and forever interceding for His people. it reminds me of the song writer’s words:

I know my Redeemer lives… all of creation testifies… this life within me cries… I know that my redeemer lives.

The same God who promised rest to the earth will one day bring it fully in the new creation. Until then, our hope rests not in the collapse of Babylon, but in the strength of our Redeemer who stands for us.

III. The Finality of God’s Judgment (vv. 35-38)

Jeremiah continues with a series of sword declarations:

“A sword against the Chaldeans… against the inhabitants of Babylon… against her officials and her wise men… against the diviners… against her warriors… against her horses and chariots… against her treasures… against her waters.” (vv. 35-38)

This is deliberate piling-up language, a kind of poetic onslaught. The repetition is Hebrew parallelism meant to communicate that nothing in Babylon is spared — leadership, military, wealth, religion, even the land itself. God’s judgment is total, unavoidable, and final.

Babylon thought itself untouchable. Its walls were said to be impenetrable, its wealth unmatched, its wisdom renowned. But none of these could protect it from the hand of God. The Lord dismantles every source of their pride one by one — government, religion, military, economy. This is God showing that He alone is sovereign and that no world system can stand against Him.

Historically, this came true in 539 BC when Cyrus of Persia conquered Babylon in a single night. Daniel 5 records the handwriting on the wall — Babylon fell in a single night, just as Jeremiah had declared.. But prophetically, “Babylon” becomes much bigger than one city.

From Genesis 11’s tower of Babel to Revelation 18’s fallen Babylon, it is the symbol of human pride, idolatry, and organized rebellion against God. God’s judgment on Babylon then foreshadows His judgment on every worldly system that opposes Him now and in the end.

At the cross, judgment and mercy meet. Just as Babylon’s pride was shattered, so the pride of sin was judged in Christ’s death. The same sword of God’s justice that fell on Babylon fell on Christ — but in our place.

Isaiah 53:5 LSB

5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our peace fell upon Him, And by His wounds we are healed.

The difference is that for Babylon, judgment was the end. For those in Christ, judgment became the doorway to grace. That judgment and mercy met at the cross, but Revelation shows us that judgment and mercy will meet again at the end, when Babylon finally falls.

Revelation 18:2–8 LSB

2 And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! And she has become a dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean bird and a prison of every unclean and hateful beast. 3 “For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her sexual immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich by the power of her sensuality.” 4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, “Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues; 5 for her sins have piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. 6 “Pay her back even as she paid, and give her back double according to her deeds; in the cup which she has mixed, mix double for her. 7 “To the degree that she glorified herself and lived sensuously, to the same degree give her torment and mourning, for she says in her heart, ‘I sit as a queen and I am not a widow, and will never see mourning.’ 8 “For this reason in one day her plagues will come, pestilence and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire; for the Lord God who judges her is strong.

But Scripture pairs and contrasts this with the wedding supper of the Lamb:

Revelation 19:6–9 LSB

6 Then I heard something like the voice of a great crowd and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. 7 “Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.” 8 And it was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. 9 Then he said to me, “Write, ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’” And he said to me, “These are true words of God.”

You see, Judgment for the world is, at the very same time, joy for God’s people.

What are the “Babylons” of our day? Political systems that think they can legislate morality apart from God. Economies that think wealth can buy security. Cultures that worship human wisdom, technology, and pleasure. All of these will fall under the judgment of God. The message of Jeremiah is clear: do not put your hope in Babylon. The kingdoms of this world are temporary. Only Christ’s kingdom endures.

If Babylon’s fall shows us the certainty of judgment, Jeremiah also shows us the hope that shines beyond desolation.

IV. The Hope Beyond Desolation (vv. 39-40)

Jeremiah ends this section with haunting words:

Jeremiah 50:39–40 LSB

39 “Therefore the desert creatures will live there along with the jackals; The ostriches also will live in it, And it will never again be lived in Or dwelt in from generation to generation. 40 “As when God overthrew Sodom And Gomorrah with its neighbors,” declares Yahweh, “No man will live there, Nor will any son of man sojourn in it.

Babylon, once dazzling with splendor, is reduced to a wasteland inhabited only by wild animals. The imagery recalls Sodom and Gomorrah — symbols of total judgment and irreversible ruin. On the surface, this feels like the end of the story: desolation, silence, emptiness.

But notice what lies beneath this desolation. Babylon’s fall is not just about the absence of life; it makes room for the presence of true hope. When God clears away the pride of nations, He prepares the stage for His redemption. The empty ruins of Babylon remind us that human kingdoms will not last — but God’s promises endure forever.

This is the rhythm of Scripture: judgment, then restoration; exile, then return; death, then resurrection. What looks like final devastation becomes the soil from which God brings new life.

The ultimate picture of this is the cross. On Friday, the disciples saw only desolation — their Lord crucified, buried, and sealed in a tomb. It looked final.

On Saturday, all is quiet, the disciples are afraid and in hiding. They cannot go back to their lives, but neither can they move forward. They are paralyzed. They are forced to wait not even sure what they are waiting for. Some of you are living in that Saturday right now — caught between what has been lost and what has not yet been restored.

But on Sunday, on the first day of the week, out of that apparent desolation came the greatest hope of all: resurrection life. Jesus rose from the dead in fulfillment of all that had been written.

And what God did in raising Jesus He will one day do for all creation. The fall of Babylon anticipates the fall of every power opposed to Christ, but it also anticipates the unveiling of the new Jerusalem.

Revelation 21:1–5 LSB

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, 4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain. The first things passed away.” 5 And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.”

When your world feels like Babylon’s ruins — when everything looks broken, empty, beyond repair — remember that God often works in the silence of desolation to prepare the ground for new creation. Hope is not found in escaping hardship but in trusting the God who brings life out of death and restoration out of ruins.

So don’t cling to Babylon. Don’t cling to systems that promise much but end in emptiness. Cling instead to the Redeemer who pleads your case, to the King whose kingdom cannot be shaken, and to the promise that one day, the whole earth will know His rest.

Conclusion:

As we close our journey through Jeremiah, remember where it began. God called a young, hesitant prophet and told him, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you… I appointed you.” Jeremiah was sent to speak truth in a hostile world, to expose empty religion, to call God’s people to faithfulness in exile, and to endure opposition without quitting. His life and words have shown us what it looks like to remain faithful when the culture around us rejects God.

And now, at the end, we see that judgment does not get the last word. Hope does. Babylon falls, but the Redeemer lives. Desolation comes, but restoration follows. The kingdoms of this world crumble, but the kingdom of Christ endures forever.

So let us walk away from Jeremiah with this conviction: Faithfulness is costly, but it is never wasted. Our Redeemer is strong. Our Advocate pleads for us. And one day, the whole earth will know His rest. Until then, we live as Jeremiah lived — speaking truth with courage, enduring trials with hope, and fixing our eyes on the promises of God.