Deeper Commentary
Jeremiah 51:1 Thus says Yahweh: Behold, I will raise up a destroying
wind against Babylon and against those who dwell in Lebkamai- see
on Ex. 12:23. For "raise", see on :11. God makes His
Angels spirits or winds (Ps. 104:4), so the invaders were under the direct
control of God. "Lebkamai" is "Chaldea", written in the cypher called
athbash (see on :41 and Jer. 25:26); just as "Sheshach" in :41 is equivalent
to Babel. But why this apparent attempt to hide the reference to Babylon,
when "Babylon" has just been mentioned? One suggestion is that the prophecy
was given earlier, and Jeremiah sought to hide the direct reference to
Babylon; but later inspired editing added the name "Babylon". Or we could
stick with the AV: "Them that dwell in the midst of her". But that would
raise the question as to why "Lebkamai" is "Chaldea", written in athbash.
Jeremiah 51:2 I will send to Babylon strangers who shall winnow her; and
they shall empty her land: for in the day of trouble they shall be against
her around- The image of winnowing suggests that there would be some
good grain which would fall to the ground. Again we see that the intention
of God was that some in Babylon would repent as a result of the judgments.
God never lashes out in anger as it were, with the frustration of a more
powerful being. Always there is the hope and intention of reformation and
salvation for some through His necessary judgments.
Jeremiah 51:3 Against him who bends let the archer bend his bow, and against
him who lifts himself up in his coat of mail: don’t spare her young men;
utterly destroy all her army- This wasn't really the scene when the
Medes took Babylon. There was much support for Darius the Mede within
Babylon; the Nabonidus Chronicle records that the people of Babylon
welcomed Cyrus by spreading green twigs before him (James Pritchard, ed.,
Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament (3rd ed.)
(Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1968, p. 306b). Both the
Babylonian Chronicles and the Cyrus Cylinder describe Babylon being taken
"without battle". So the main fulfilment of this must yet be future. See
on :4.
Jeremiah 51:4 They shall fall down slain in the land of the Chaldeans, and
thrust through in her streets- This isn't the scenario which happened
when the Medes took Babylon; see on :3. As mentioned often in commentary
on Jer. 50, the judgments here are not only upon the city of Babylon, but
upon the entire "land of the Chaldeans", Babylonia. The scale of sudden
destruction implied didn't happen when the Medes took Babylon. The
prophetic scenario projected in these prophecies didn't fully happen,
although it will do so ultimately in the last days, as Rev. 18 makes
clear. This was because Judah and Israel didn't repent and earnestly seek
to restore Zion; see on Jer. 50:3,4,26. And this was intended to be
connected with the realization of these prophecies upon Babylon.
Jeremiah 51:5 For neither Israel nor Judah is forsaken, of his God, of
Yahweh of Armies; though their land is full of guilt against the Holy One of
Israel- The prophetic intention was that Israel and Judah would be
reunited through the joint experience of repentance and receipt of
forgiveness by grace, and would together return from exile to restore
Zion; see on Jer. 50:3,4. But they preferred to remain in exile, and
therefore failed to make use of the amazing grace offered to them- that
despite being so guilty, God had not forsaken them. The word specifically
means to be forsaken in the sense of divorced in a marriage; although God
had said that effectively they had ended the marriage by breaking the
marital covenant, and they were therefore divorced, yet His love was such
that they were not forsaken by Him, despite the "guilt" of their
unfaithfulness. But this great grace was spurned by them.
Jeremiah 51:6 Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and save every man his life;
don’t be cut off in her iniquity: for it is the time of Yahweh’s vengeance;
He will render to her a recompense-
Jer. 51:6,45 make it clear that every single Jew
(“every man his soul”) was ordered by God to leave Babylon- and Jer. 51:60
clarifies that all these words were written down and that Seraiah read
them to the Jews of Babylon. They were all supposed to “let
Jerusalem come into your mind” (Jer. 50:50)- but in the end, only a
minority like Nehemiah did so. Judah’s disobedience was chronic and
specific. They rejected all the wonderful things which God had worked out
for them in potential. It was such a tragedy, as tragic as when we
individually are our community as a whole repeat it in our contexts today.
Jeremiah 51:7 Babylon has been a golden cup in Yahweh’s hand, who made all
the earth drunken: the nations have drunk of her wine; therefore the nations
are mad-
Jeremiah 51:8 Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed- Babylon was not
"suddenly" destroyed by the Medes; full weight must be given to the
inscriptions uncovered by Layard which say that in fact Babylon opened her
own gates to the Medes in surrender. It was only some time later that
Cyrus further demolished parts of Babylon's wall, which was still
standing; and there was a rebellion of Babylon at the time of Darius
Hystapses. The deportation of some of the population happened even later
in the time of Seleucus Nicanor. But the impression is given that all this
would happen immediately at Babylon's fall. It didn't, because the
preconditions related to Judah's repentance didn't come about. And so the
prophecies were reapplied and rescheduled to the last days, and are
alluded to throughout Rev. 18 with reference to the fall of latter day
Babylon; which appears to not refer to the literal city of Babylon.
Wail for her; take her balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed- This opens another window into what God potentially planned at this time. Balm in Jer. 46:11 refers to repentance. Surely this passage speaks of Judah appealing to Babylon to repent, and then coming out of her, returning to Judah, and leaving her to perish in her iniquity if she didn’t repent. God’s intention here was not carried out by Judah. They made no appeal for Babylon to repent. Only a few of them returned to Judah, most preferring the Babylon life. But had they done what God suggested, then the whole prophecies about Babylon’s destruction would have become conditional prophecies, exactly after the pattern of Jonah’s pronunciation of destruction upon Nineveh, which actually never came to pass because they did repent. So although the doom of Babylon was often prophesied, even this could have been avoided if Babylon had hearkened to the witness which Israel were supposed to make to her of their wonderful God. Remember how Jeremiah told the exiles to pray for the good of Babylon and to seek its' peace with God (Jer. 29:7).
Jeremiah 51:9 We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake
her, and let us go each one into his own country-
Consider the nuance of John Bright's strict
translation of Jer. 51:8,9: "Wail over (Babylon)! Get ointment for her
hurt- perhaps it's curable. Though we treated her, Babylon mends not". The
implication is clearly that God intended to use Judah to bring about
Babylon's repentance, and only because this failed did He finally "Give
her up" to destruction (Jer. 51:9). If this scenario had happened, then
the prophecies of judgment against Babylon would have been more clearly
revealed for what I believe they were- conditional, upon her repentance.
Jeremiah 51:10 Yahweh has brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us
declare in Zion the work of Yahweh our God- The exiles were warned time and again to flee from Babylon back to the
land, so that they wouldn't share in the destruction of the city. There's
no record they did so; and yet by grace, God seems to have preserved them
from perishing or even suffering as a result of the Persian takeover of
Babylon. Indeed, they prospered under the Persians, and as soon as Cyrus
took Babylon he encouraged the Jews to return to rebuild Zion. The voice of the
faithful remnant pleaded with the other exiles after the fall of Babylon:
"Babylon is fallen... forsake her [as they had been told to do
before Babylon fell, Jer.
51:6], and let us go and return to our own country... and let us declare
in Zion the work of the Lord" (Jer. 51:8,10). God's patient grace to the
Jews in Babylon was amazing.
Jeremiah 51:11 Make sharp the arrows; hold firm the shields: Yahweh has stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes; because His purpose is against Babylon to destroy it: for it is the revenge of Yahweh, the revenge for His temple- Just as God stirred or raised up Babylon to invade Judah (Jer. 6:22), sharpening her arrows (Ez. 21:21), so He would stir up, or psychologically provoke, other nations to come and judge her (Jer. 50:9,41; 51:1,11 s.w.). This is greatly emphasized. The activity of God directly upon human hearts is a great theme of the Biblical revelation, and is to encourage us that He is eager to transform hearts, and to place desires within us beyond our own unaided psychological ability. But the Medes didn't destroy Babylon; as explained on :3,8, there was no destruction of the city, and so much was left that it revived several times and asserted independence. He did not take full vengeance for what Babylon did in His temple because His own people were not eager to rebuild it and were not recognizant of their role in its destruction.
Jeremiah 51:12 Set up a standard against the walls of Babylon, make the
watch strong, set the watchmen, prepare the ambushes- The watchmen
here are not the Babylonian defenders, but the attackers. The concept is
used as in Jer. 4:16 "Watchers [i.e. besiegers] come from a far country".
For Yahweh has both purposed and done that which He spoke concerning the inhabitants of Babylon- There is a vision described in 1 Kings 22:22 of the Angels presenting their various plans of how to slay Ahab. God says to the one whose plan He accepts "Thou shalt persuade him (Ahab), and prevail also: go forth, and do so". Thus the Angel still has to "prevail" or 'struggle' to operationalize a command from God which they know is His will to perform; and we have to do likewise, not least in the preaching of the Gospel, both obeying and prevailing. This makes more sense of Jer. 51:12, which says that "The Lord (of Hosts / Angels, :14) hath both devised and done that which He spake" about Babylon.
Israel were told to separate themselves from Babylon because God had
purposed to destroy that nation; they were asked to believe that what God
had planned, He would actually do (Jer. 51:12), and therefore they should
treat Babylon accordingly in their attitudes. Appreciating that God is
beyond time, not just an everlasting being but without time, helps us to
understand a whole range of Biblical issues.
Jeremiah 51:13 You who dwell on many waters, abundant in treasures, your
end has come, the measure of your covetousness- As explained on :8,
the victory of the Medes against Babylon was not then the "end" of
Babylon. The prophecies of Jer. 50 and Jer. 51 imply a sudden fall of
Babylon by supernatural means which would mean her immediate and permanent
end. This didn't happen when the Medes entered Babylon. Again we see that
the prophetic scenario didn't fully happen at that time; although Rev. 18
makes it clear that it will do so, in essence, in the last days.
Jeremiah 51:14 Yahweh of Armies has sworn by Himself saying, Surely I will
fill you with men, as a swarm of locusts; and they shall lift up a shout
against you- LXX "Sing songs of victory over you", an example of
which we have in Is. 14, and one of which now follows in :15-19.
Jeremiah 51:15 He has made the earth by His power, He has established the
world by His wisdom, and by His understanding has He stretched out the
heavens- As noted on :15, we have in :15-:19 a victory song which
would be sung over Babylon. But the song of victory would be a declaration
of Yahweh's power in creation. Only His people could sing this. And there
is no evidence that the Jews did rejoice when Babylon fell. Like Daniel,
they continued to prosper under Cyrus as they had under the Babylonians.
They were intended to rejoice that Yahweh's wisdom was exalted, rather
than that of the Babylonians.
Jeremiah 51:16 When He utters His voice, there is a tumult of waters in
the heavens, and He causes the vapours to ascend from the ends of the
earth; He makes lightning for the rain, and brings forth the wind out of
His treasuries- His power in the natural creation was reflected in
how He brought a destroying wind against Babylon (:1); the vapours or
waters which He makes to ascend from the ends of the earth were reflected
in how He brought people from the ends of the earth to destroy Babylon
(:27,28). These words are a repeat of Jer. 10:13, where they are in the
context of rebuking belief in idols. The context is the same here (:17);
and yet in reality, the Jews continued to believe in idols. For Ezekiel
had to rebuke the exiles in Babylon for their idolatry. It was only after
a few generations that they quit idolatry.
Jeremiah 51:17 Every man has become a brute, without knowledge. Every
goldsmith is disappointed by his image; for his molten image is falsehood,
and there is no breath in them- This is the very language used about
the disappointment of the Jews when they made these Babylonian idols on
the eve of Babylon's conquest of Jerusalem (Jer. 10:14).
Jeremiah 51:18 They are vanity, a work of delusion: in the time of their
visitation they shall perish- This quotes the words of Jer. 10:15, of
how the Jews who made these Babylonian idols would be forced to this same
realization.
Jeremiah 51:19 The portion of Jacob is not like these- Jacob inherits God, having Him as his portion; and God inherits Israel /
Jacob. We see here the mutuality intended between God and Israel. This is
yet another reflection of God's recognition that finally, Jacob fulfilled
his promise to make Yahweh his God (Gen. 28:20). The lessons of Jacob's name
change were finally learnt.
For He is the
former of all things; and Jacob is the tribe of His inheritance: Yahweh of
Armies is His name-
Jeremiah 51:20 You are my battle axe and weapons of war: and with you will
I break in pieces the nations; and with you will I destroy kingdoms-
The potential was that God would have used a
revived Israel as an army to destroy Babylon (Ez. 37:10). The same message
is given here. The strong emphasis here in :20-22 upon 'breaking in
pieces' recalls the little stone of Dan. 2 cut out from the great mountain
(Babylon) which was to destroy the kingdoms of men then dominating Israel
and become a great kingdom of God on earth. This potential didn't happen;
but it shall do finally in the last days.
Jeremiah 51:21 And with you will I break in pieces the horse and his
rider- This is the language of the victory song (see on :14) against
Pharaoh and the Egyptians.
Jeremiah 51:22 And with you will I break in pieces the chariot and him who
rides therein; and with you will I break in pieces man and woman; and with
you will I break in pieces the old man and the youth; and with you will I
break in pieces the young man and the virgin- The Divine intention
seems to have been that the exiles repented and themselves would seek to
return to restore Zion (see on Jer. 50:3,4). Babylon would be given the
opportunity to repent, and if they didn't, then the Medes would take their
city, although there is not much hint in the prophecies of violent
conflict between the Medes and the Babylonians. The actual destruction of
the impenitent Babylonians would be done by God's use of Israel, to do to
those Babylonians what they had done (according to Jeremiah's
Lamentations) to the men, women, old people and children in the streets of
Jerusalem. But the entire scenario simply didn't come about. For the prime
mover in the whole sequence was the repentance of Israel, and this just
didn't happen. But these prophecies will have their essential fulfilment
in the last days.
Jeremiah 51:23 And with you will I break in pieces the shepherd and his
flock; and with you will I break in pieces the farmer and his yoke; and
with you will I break in pieces governors and deputies- Babylon had
been a hammer on God's behalf (Jer. 50:23), in fulfilling His word (Jer.
23:29). Now a repentant Israel were to become that hammer, breaking all in
pieces (Jer. 51:20-23). But this didn't happen at the time, because Israel
were not repentant and were therefore unwilling to be used by God for
this. They could have been the little stone of Dan. 2:44 which returned
from Babylon and destroyed the kingdoms upon the eretz in order
to prepare the way for Yahweh's eternal kingdom. But they would not. And
so these things are to come true in the last days, when a repentant and
therefore willing Israel will become Yahweh's weapons to establish His
Kingdom and do all the necessary 'breaking' (Jer. 51:20).
Jeremiah 51:24 I will render to Babylon and to all the inhabitants of
Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight, says
Yahweh- "In your sight" suggests that it was the same generation who
could remember the devastation of Jerusalem who would now judge and
destroy Babylon. The length of the exile period is again shown to be open
ended; see on Jer. 25:11,12; 29:10. As explained on :22, Israel were not
used at this time to judge the Babylonians, because they did not repent.
Jeremiah 51:25 Behold, I am against you, destroying mountain, says Yahweh,
which destroys all the land; and I will stretch out My hand on you and
roll you down from the rocks- Babylon is set up as a fake Christ and Kingdom of God. She had
proselytes and prophets (Jer. 50:36,37); a mountain (Jer. 51:25); "The
golden city" (Is. 14:4) with a thick, embellished wall (Jer. 51:58);
springs and rivers within her (Jer. 51:36); “The praise of the whole
earth” (Jer. 51:41).
Jeremiah 51:26 They shall not take of you a stone for a corner, nor a
stone for foundations; but you shall be desolate for ever, says Yahweh-
As explained on :25, this was to be because there would literally be
no stone visible due to the effects of the volcano which was projected as
happening. The lava flow would not leave a stone useful to any builder.
But the volcano and Sodom-like destruction of Babylon and all Babylonia
didn't happen (Jer. 50:40); it has been reapplied and deferred to the last
days, and is alluded to in this context in Rev. 18.
Jeremiah 51:27 Set 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 Ashkenaz: appoint a marshal against her;
cause the horses to come up as the rough canker worm-
LXX "like bristling locusts". "Prepare" is to sanctify. But we enquire
whether these particular kingdoms were the ones who actually destroyed
Babylon, and whether there was one specific "marshal" or LXX "commander"
who coordinated her destruction. It's hard to prove this historically,
because the destruction of historical Babylon was slow, as explained on
:8. And there was much support for Darius the Mede within Babylon; both
the Babylonian Chronicles and the Cyrus Cylinder describe Babylon being
taken "without battle". So the main fulfilment of this must yet be future.
The potential prophetic scenario projected here didn't happen, because the
repentance of Israel which was to be associated with it didn't happen (see
on Jer. 50:3,4). Whilst the essence of the prophecy will be fulfilled in
the last days, as Rev. 18 makes clear through its allusions to Jer. 50 and
Jer. 51, this is not to say that every detail will be.
Jeremiah 51:28 Prepare against her the nations, the kings of the Medes,
its governors, and all its deputies, and all the land of their dominion-
These nations were indeed "prepared" by God to fulfill the potential
scenario here projected. But as explained on :22, the lack of Israel's
repentance precluded the associated planned events from happening. So much
Divine work goes to preparing potentials which we then waste.
Jeremiah 51:29 The land trembles and is in pain; for the plans of Yahweh
against Babylon do stand, to make the land of Babylon a desolation without
inhabitant- Again we note that this is said not only of the city of
Babylon but of all Babylonia. The entire region was to be destroyed by an
earthquake [the land trembling], related to the volcano of :25; there was
to be supernatural destruction after the pattern of Sodom's destruction
(see on Jer. 50:39,40). The image of Sodom's destruction suggests direct,
miraculous Divine intervention. This didn't happen at Jeremiah's time, but
Rev. 18 alludes to all this and makes it clear that such Divine
intervention will occur against latter Babylon in the last days. The
statement that "the plans of Yahweh against Babylon do stand" suggest that
God's spoken words of judgment have a gap between them and their
fulfilment; and in that gap, human repentance and mediation can result in
a changed outcome. His desire therefore was that Babylon repent. But they
did not, and so His plans stood.
Jeremiah 51:30 The mighty men of Babylon have declined to fight, they
remain in their strongholds; their might has failed; they are become as
women: her dwelling places are set on fire; her bars are broken-
Hence we should give due weight to the discovery by Layard of inscriptions
which say that Babylon opened her own gates in surrender. There was much
support for Darius the Mede within Babylon; both the Babylonian Chronicles
and the Cyrus Cylinder describe Babylon being taken "without battle". So
the main fulfilment of this must yet be future.
Jeremiah 51:31 One runner will run to meet another, and one messenger to
meet another, to show the king of Babylon that his city is taken on every
quarter- The idea is that bearing the news from opposite quarters,
they meet at the king’s palace in the heart of the city.
Jeremiah 51:32 And the passages are seized, and the reeds they have burned
with fire, and the men of war are frightened- "Passages" can be
"fords", and "reeds" can be "pools". This would then refer to the drying
up of the river by the Medes in order to enter the city.
Jeremiah 51:33 For thus says Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel: The
daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor at the time when it is
trodden; yet a little while, and the time of harvest shall come for her-
Babylon "is" as if she has already been harvested and is being
threshed; and yet harvest time is yet to "come for her". Here we have a
parade example of God speaking in the present tense of things yet future,
so certain are they of fulfilment. And yet within the metaphor of
winnowing and harvest there is still the hope that at least some grain
shall fall to the ground; that there would at least be some repentance in
Babylon. This is always the hope resident within all Divine judgments.
Jeremiah 51:34 Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon has devoured me, he has
crushed me, he has made me an empty vessel, he has, like a monster,
swallowed me up, he has filled his maw with my delicacies; he has cast me
out- These were to be the words of the captive exiles of Zion (:35).
In response to this, God would take vengeance for them against Babylon
(:36). But we wonder whether the exiles were by this stage really angry
with the Babylonians. Daniel and other Jews like him were now acceptable
in Babylonian society, just as they were later at Esther's time. Ezekiel's
dialogues with the exiles in Ez. 18 and elsewhere indicate they were more
bitter with God than they were with the Babylonians, and were in fact
serving their gods. And so therefore the full vengeance of God in response
to these projected words didn't happen (:36); which is why the judgments
upon Babylon didn't come true at that time.
Jeremiah 51:35 The violence done to me and to my flesh be on Babylon,
shall the inhabitant of Zion say; and, my blood be on the inhabitants of
Chaldea, shall Jerusalem say- See on :34. "Done to me" suggests that
it was the same generation who could remember the devastation of Jerusalem
and its effects upon them and their children ("my flesh") who would now
judge and destroy Babylon. The length of the exile period is again shown
to be open ended; see on Jer. 25:11,12; 29:10. As explained on :22, Israel
were not used at this time to judge the Babylonians, because they did not
repent.
Jeremiah 51:36 Therefore thus says Yahweh: Behold, I will plead your
cause, and take vengeance for you; and I will dry up her sea, and make her
fountain dry-
Jeremiah 51:37 Babylon shall become heaps- The impression is given that she was turned into heaps
with nothing left. But this didn't happen when the Medes took the city. It
was only some time later that Cyrus further demolished parts of Babylon's
wall, and there was a rebellion of Babylon at the time of Darius
Hystapses. The deportation of some of the population happened even later
in the time of Seleucus Nicanor. But the impression is given that all this
would happen immediately at Babylon's fall. It didn't, because the
preconditions related to Judah's repentance didn't come about. And so the
prophecies were reapplied and rescheduled to the last days, and are
alluded to throughout Rev. 18 with reference to the fall of latter day
Babylon; which appears to not refer to the literal city of Babylon.
A dwelling place for jackals, an astonishment and a hissing, without inhabitant- The language in Jer. 9:11 of Jerusalem's destruction into heaps haunted by jackals is applied to Babylon; and likewise the way Jerusalem was to become a hissing (Jer. 19:8) is also now to be true of Babylon. What latter day Babylon does to Jerusalem shall be done to her; and that is the theme of the book of Revelation, where the seals of judgment upon Israel become the vials of judgment upon the beast system.
Jeremiah 51:38 They shall roar together like young lions; they shall growl
as lions’ cubs- This suggests a violent resistance from the lions of
Babylon. But full weight must be given to the inscriptions uncovered by
Layard which say that in fact Babylon opened her own gates to the Medes in
surrender. There was much support for Darius the Mede within Babylon; the
Nabonidus Chronicle records that the people of Babylon welcomed Cyrus by
spreading green twigs before him (James Pritchard, ed., Ancient Near
Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament (3rd ed.) (Princeton:
Princeton University Press, 1968, p. 306b). Both the Babylonian Chronicles
and the Cyrus Cylinder describe Babylon being taken "without battle". So
the main fulfilment of this must yet be future. See on :4.
Jeremiah 51:39 When they are heated, I will make their feast, and I will
make them drunken, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep and
not wake, says Yahweh- Although generally these prophecies have only
a very loose fit with the taking of Babylon by Cyrus, this is indeed the
scene described in Daniel 5 when Babylon fell during a feast. We note that
they themselves made a feast, probably at the festival of the god Bel, and
made themselves drunk; but God made them drunk. This is His way with men,
to work through their own natural desires and decisions.
Jeremiah 51:40 I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like
rams with male goats- Lambs, rams and goats may just be
representative of all the classes of the people of Babylon. But there is
no historical evidence that many people died when the Medes took the city,
apart from Belshazzar. Such a fall of Babylon's entire society in a moment
is to happen in the last days (Rev. 18).
Jeremiah 51:41 How is Sheshach taken and the praise of the whole earth
seized! How is Babylon become a desolation among the nations!-
Jeremiah 51:42 The sea has come up on Babylon; she is covered with the
multitude of its waves- As noted on Jer. 50:40, the destruction of
Babylonian was envisaged as also including miraculous Divine destruction
after the pattern of Sodom, which is now apparently beneath the Dead Sea.
Hence the references to Babylon being destroyed by a volcano (:25) and
earthquake (:29). But this didn't happen at the time, although it will in
the last day fulfilment of these prophecies (Rev. 18). As explained on
:22, the prophetic scenario didn't happen at the time because of Israel's
lack of repentance. See on :62,63.
Jeremiah 51:43 Her cities are become a desolation, a dry land and a
desert, a land in which no man dwells, neither does any son of man pass
thereby- There is little point in claiming this was fulfilled in that
historical Babylon was not rebuilt; the reference is to the plural
"cities" and land of Babylonia. The entire territory was to be made like
this; see on :42. In any case, the taking of Babylon by the Medes didn't
mean that people stopped living there; the city continued to prosper for
long after that, several times asserting its independence. The fulfilment
is to be in the last days, although the prophecy appears to be reapplied
to a more symbolic "Babylon" in Rev. 18.
Jeremiah 51:44 I will execute judgement on Bel in Babylon- This
didn't happen when Darius took Babylon. Soon after, Babylonia briefly
recovered its independence under a native ruler, Nidinta-Bel, who took the
name of Nebuchadnezzar III. A few years later, in 514 BC, Babylon
again revolted and declared independence under the Armenian King Arakha;
only on this occasion, after its capture by the Persians, were the walls
partly destroyed. E-Saggila, the great temple of Bel, however, still
continued to be kept in repair and to be a center of Babylonian
patriotism. Among Babylonians, feelings were still strong that none had a
right to rule over western Asia until he had been consecrated to the
office by Bel and his priests. Accordingly, Cyrus henceforth assumed the
imperial title of "King of Babylon", claiming to be the legitimate
successor of the ancient Babylonian kings and the avenger of Bel and
portrayed himself as the savior, chosen by Bel to restore order and
justice. So again we see that although the essence of these prophecies
will be totally fulfilled in the last days, there was often no short term
fulfilment of them; and the longer term fulfilment will be of the essence
of the prophecies and not all the detail.
And I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he has swallowed up- There was an element of this fulfilled in that Cyrus encouraged the exiled nations to return to their homelands, including the Jews. But there is also here the hint of a miracle; that the consumed Israel, eaten by the lion of Babylon, would somehow revive and resurrect, being brought forth out of the lion.
And the
nations shall not flow any more to him: yes, the wall of Babylon shall
fall-
We
have to remember that Jeremiah’s prophecies about Babylon were given in
the context of the prophecies about Judah’s restoration. The fall of
Babylon was clearly intended to be the signal that the Jews should leave
and return: "Down comes Babylon's wall! Out from the midst of her, my
people!" (Jer. 51:44,45). And Cyrus, the conqueror of Babylon, made the
decree for the Jews to return to their land. And yet... most of them
remained. As explained on :8, the wall of Babylon didn't fall when Darius
took Babylon. It was slowly destroyed over a long period. Passages like Jeremiah 50 imply that when Babylon fell, Judah
would return to their land and flourish into the Kingdom of God. But this
didn’t happen. Another scenario worked out- Darius took over the kingdom
of Babylon (Dan. 5:31), and the image prophecy of Daniel 2 explained that
there would now have to be a succession of empires before the Kingdom of
God would come. I therefore see Daniel 2 as a new prophetic scenario which
would have to come into operation if Judah didn’t do as they were told in
the prophetic word. Hence the vision has two ways of being read- the whole
image could represent Babylon and its next rulers, which would be
destroyed in toto and replaced by the restored Kingdom of God at the time
it fell; or, it could be read as a long term prophecy of the ensuing
centuries, if Judah didn’t turn into the Kingdom of God as they could have
done. And this is the outworking that became necessary.
Jeremiah 51:45 My people, go away from the midst of her, and save
yourselves every man from the fierce anger of Yahweh- See on :6. The
Jews didn't leave Babylon to restore Zion because they were impenitent and
didn't wish to; and so the projected scenario didn't happen. They did not
suffer when Babylon fell to Cyrus, indeed as soon as he entered the city
he urged the exiles from the various nations to take their gods and
religious equipment and return to their homelands.
Jeremiah 51:46 Don’t let your heart faint, neither fear for the news that
shall be heard in the land; for news shall come one year, and after that
in another year shall come news, and violence in the land, ruler against
ruler- "Ruler against ruler" is reapplied to the situation of the
last days in Lk. 21:10. In that same context, the Lord Jesus alluded to
"Don't let your heart faint" (Lk. 21:36) again in relation to things of
the last days. Likewise "violence in the land" is applied to the last days
in Lk. 21:23. The reference to the news coming one year and then again in
the next year could mean that this fall of Babylon was to happen within
two years of Jeremiah's prophecy being published. As noted on :24, the
length of the exile period is thus shown to be open ended; see on Jer.
25:11,12; 29:10.
Jeremiah 51:47 Therefore behold the days come, that I will execute
judgement on the engraved images of Babylon; and her whole land shall be
confounded; and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her- The
conquest of Babylon by the Medes was achieved with very little loss of
life apart from that of king Belshazzar; see on :3. As explained on
:44,52, her god Bel was not immediately "confounded" either, at least not
in the eyes of men. Nor was the whole land of Babylonia exactly confounded
with shock at Babylon's fall. And the implication of the prophecy is that
all these things were to happen immediately, contiguous with Babylon's
fall. So again we see that the projected prophetic scenario didn't come
about at the time it potentially could have done, but will do so in the
latter day fulfilment (Rev. 18).
Jeremiah 51:48 Then the heavens and the earth, and all that is therein,
shall sing for joy over Babylon; for the destroyers shall come to her from
the north, says Yahweh- Here we have "heavens and earth" used as
representative of God's people. For it was Zion and the "daughters of
Judah" who were commanded to rejoice at Babylon's fall (Ps. 48:11). But
there is no record of them obeying this command; for they were too caught
up in Babylon by this stage. And so the prophecy will be fulfilled in a
reapplied and rescheduled manner in the last days, when a slightly
different group would rejoice over Babylon's fall: "Rejoice over her, thou
heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets, for God hath avenged you on
her" (Rev. 18:20).
Jeremiah 51:49 As Babylon has caused the slain of Israel to fall, so at
Babylon shall fall the slain of all the land- Again, this didn't
happen when the Medes took Babylon, and the prophecies of Jer. 50,51 imply
that all these things will happen suddenly and simultaneously, not over an
extended period. The conquest of Babylon by the Medes was achieved with
very little loss of life apart from that of king Belshazzar; see on :3.
Vengeance was not fully taken by God upon Babylon for what they did to
Israel because Israel had not repented, recognizing that actually those
judgments had been rightfully deserved by their gross sins.
Jeremiah 51:50 You who have escaped the sword, go, don’t stand still;
remember Yahweh from afar, and let Jerusalem come into your mind- See
on :6. This is an appeal for the exiles to desire to return to rebuild
Zion. The implication is again that it was the same generation who had
escaped the Babylonian sword who were to now return. The appeal to
remember Yahweh from afar alludes to the words of Moses and Solomon,
envisioning a time when exiled Israel would repent "from afar". But they
didn't. See on :24,35. Those verses also suggest that it was the same
generation who could remember the devastation of Jerusalem who would now
judge and destroy Babylon. The length of the exile period is again shown
to be open ended; see on Jer. 25:11,12; 29:10. As explained on :22, Israel
were not used at this time to judge the Babylonians, because they did not
repent.
Jeremiah 51:51 We are confounded, because we have heard reproach;
confusion has covered our faces: for strangers have come into the
sanctuaries of Yahweh’s house-
Jeremiah 51:52 Therefore behold, the days come, says Yahweh, that I will
execute judgement on her engraved images; and through all her land the
wounded shall groan- "Therefore..." means that because of the
statement of repentance made by the exiles in :51, God would judge
Babylon's idols. Yet as demonstrated on :44,47, those idols were not
immediately judged by the fall of Babylon to the Medes. The projected,
potential judgment was precluded by Israel's lack of repentance, just as
the detailed temple prophecies of Ez. 40-48 were likewise not fulfilled as
they could have been at the time. If we enquire why, then, are all these
potential details given... it is to teach us that likewise, finely
detailed potential futures have been prepared for us in our lives. But
unless we have the required humility and openness to God's ways, they will
not come about.
Jeremiah 51:53 Though Babylon should mount up to the sky, and though she
should fortify the height of her strength, yet from Me shall destroyers
come to her, says Yahweh- This repeats the language used of Edom, who
thought they were so protected by their high position that no judgment
could ever reach them (Jer. 49:16). The similarity is to show that it is
pride which more than anything else was the reason for Babylon's judgment.
The language of Is. 14:13,14 is also being alluded to; Babylon mounted up
to heaven itself in her arrogance, playing God, effectively deposing
Yahweh.
Jeremiah 51:54 The sound of a cry from Babylon, and of great destruction
from the land of the Chaldeans!- I explained on :3 how there was much
support for Darius the Mede within Babylon. Nor was the land of the
Chaldeans, i.e. Babylonia, subject to the kind of "great destruction"
envisaged here; see on :25. But the fall of Babylon with a great cry and
supernatural Divine destruction will ultimately come about in the last
days, as Rev. 18 makes clear, even though the definition of "Babylon" may
be redefined. As I have repeatedly explained, the lack of repentance by
Israel precluded these Babylon events occurring when they potentially
could have done.
Jeremiah 51:55 For Yahweh lays Babylon waste, and destroys out of her the
great voice; and their waves roar like many waters; the noise of their
voice is uttered- This suggests that the great voice of the king of
Babylon will be replaced by the noise of waters which overcome her. Those
raging waters could indeed represent the attacking nations; but as
explained on :25, there has been projected the idea of Babylon being laid
utterly waste as Sodom was, involving an earthquake and volcano, and then
being plunged underwater as Sodom was in the Dead Sea. This potential
scenario didn't happen, because it was precluded by Israel's impenitence.
Jeremiah 51:56 For the destroyer has come on her, even on Babylon, and her
mighty men are taken, their bows are broken in pieces; for Yahweh is a God
of recompenses, He will surely requite- This wasn't quite the scene
when the Medes took Babylon. There was much support for Darius the Mede
within Babylon; both the Babylonian Chronicles and the Cyrus Cylinder
describe Babylon being taken "without battle". So the main fulfilment of
this must yet be future. Vengeance or "recompense" was not fully taken by
God upon Babylon for what they did to Israel because Israel had not
repented, recognizing that actually those judgments had been rightfully
deserved by their gross sins.
Jeremiah 51:57 I will make drunk her princes and her wise men, her
governors and her deputies, and her mighty men; and they shall sleep a
perpetual sleep, and not wake up, says the King whose name is Yahweh of
Armies- Although generally these prophecies have only a very loose
fit with the taking of Babylon by Cyrus, this is indeed the scene
described in Daniel 5 when Babylon fell during a feast. We note that they
themselves made a feast, probably at the festival of the god Bel, and made
themselves drunk; but God made them drunk. This is His way with men, to
work through their own natural desires and decisions. We note that
"perpetual sleep" from which they would not awake indicates that the
punishment is eternal death- and death is therefore unconsciousness.
Eternal conscious torment is not a Bible teaching.
Jeremiah 51:58 Thus says Yahweh of Armies: The broad walls of Babylon
shall be utterly overthrown, and her high gates shall be burned with fire-
As explained on :44, the walls were not destroyed by the Medes when they
took Babylon, and they were only demolished bit by bit over subsequent
history. The dramatic fall of her walls, surely alluding to the fall of
the walls of Jericho, just didn't happen. Indeed inscriptions have been
discovered detailing the repair of damaged gates in the wall. Nor were
they then burnt with fire, despite the impression given in these
prophecies that all these judgments happen more or less simultaneously and
not over an extended period of decades and even centuries. These things
are all reapplied and reframed in the latter day destruction of "Babylon"
in Rev. 18.
And the peoples shall labour for vanity, and the nations for the fire; and
they shall be weary- See on Hab. 2:13. GNB "The work of the nations
is all for nothing; their efforts go up in flames. I, the LORD Almighty,
have spoken". Yet Babylon continued long after the Medes took it, and
several times reasserted its independence. It is only in the last days
that Babylon along with all human works shall be burnt permanently with
fire (Rev. 18:8). But we can pause to take comfort and challenge from
this- that all human labour shall ultimately come to nothing before God's
judgment. Only the things of His Kingdom shall eternally endure.
Jeremiah 51:59 The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the
son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of
Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. Now Seraiah was chief
quartermaster-
It
seems from Jer. 51:59-64 that Zedekiah made a visit to Babylon, along with
his entourage, presumably to make some peace with Nebuchadnezzar before
the final invasion. And yet Jeremiah takes the opportunity to send a
prophecy of the doom of Babylon along with Seraiah, one of Zedekiah's
officers who accompanied him. Seraiah was brother to Baruch (Jer. 32:12),
Jeremiah's scribe, and presumably therefore also loyal to Jeremiah and
willing to undertake this very brave witness. For this was scarcely politically expedient;
indeed, the whole message of Babylon's impending destruction must have
been extremely hard to distribute at that time, for a whole number of
reasons, not least that the rest of the entourage desperately wanted to
appease Babylon, whose puppet rulers they were. Jeremiah later had to do the same kind of thing when he and the
refugee Jews arrived in Egypt. See on :1 and Jer. 43:12.
Jeremiah 51:60 Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should come on
Babylon, even all these words that are written concerning Babylon-
See on :6,59. We wonder why Jeremiah writes in the book and not Baruch,
who had always been his scribe. Perhaps it was because Baruch's brother
Seraiah was to physically take it to Babylon (see on :59) and they felt it
better to clarify that this was not just a family thing. Or perhaps Baruch
had failed to take Jeremiah's warning not to seek great things for himself
(Jer. 45:5) and was wary of getting into trouble with their Babylonian
masters by condemning Babylon.
Jeremiah 51:61 Jeremiah said to Seraiah, When you come to Babylon, then
see that you read all these words- As explained on :59, this was a
hugely risky and unpopular thing to do. His fellow Jews would have been
hugely angry with him for doing so- if indeed he did what Jeremiah asked.
For it was a huge thing to do, which would have endangered his life.
Perhaps he didn't actually do it- because Nebuchadnezzar is very
solicitous of Jeremiah's welfare some time later when Jerusalem fell. That
is hard to understand if he had heard Jeremiah's words about Babylon.
Jeremiah 51:62 And say, Yahweh, You have spoken concerning this place to
cut it off, that none shall dwell therein, neither man nor animal, but
that it shall be desolate forever- This was a way of saying "Amen" to
Yahweh's words, giving a brief summary of them in his own name, addressed
to Yahweh. The prophecy that Babylon would be cut off an uninhabited
didn't come true when the Medes took Babylon. Babylon existed for a long
time afterwards. And yet the tenor of Jer. 50,51 is that all these
judgments were to happen simultaneously and not slowly over a period of
years. This didn't happen; and the only way Babylon could not be inhabited
by animals would be if it were judged as Sodom and placed underwater- as
previsioned in :42. Again we conclude that these prophecies about Babylon
were what was potentially planned, but it was precluded by Israel's lack
of repentance, which was the required condition to as it were trigger the
Babylon prophecies; see on :22. The ultimate fulfilment will be in the
last days, seeing these prophecies are the basis of Rev. 18.
Jeremiah 51:63 It shall be, when you have made an end of reading this
book, that you shall bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of the
Euphrates- Jeremiah's ministry began with the statement that his
prophetic words had the power to destroy. Those words are therefore here
connected with their object, Babylon. As those words would plunge
underwater, so would Babylon. As suggested on :42, Babylon would be
judged as Sodom and placed underwater- the waters of the Euphrates would
flood over the destroyed city. That didn't happen at the time, for the
reasons discussed on :62.
Jeremiah 51:64 And you shall say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not
rise again because of the evil that I will bring on her; and they shall be
weary- See on :63. "Sink" is s.w. "quenched" (Num. 11:2); as
discussed on :25,26,42, Babylon was to be destroyed by a volcano, reduced
to burning lava, and then submerged beneath the Euphrates for ever, never
to rise up out of those waters. That was the prophetic potential for that
time; but it was precluded from happening like that because Israel's
repentance was the required condition to as it were trigger the Babylon
prophecies; see on :22. The ultimate fulfilment will be in the last days,
seeing these prophecies are the basis of Rev. 18.
Thus far are the words of Jeremiah- This would suggest that Jer. 52 was added by inspiration by an editor, or it could be that Jer. 52 was also written by Jeremiah, as was the book of Lamentations, but was not bound up in the earlier volume or edition of his prophecies.
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