JEREMIAH’S PROPHECY AGAINST BABYLON

As this blog series comes to a close, we will take a look at chapters 50-51 regarding the judgment of Babylon. These are sister chapters to Isaiah 13-14 and Revelation 17-18. Babylon has yet to meet the destruction described in these chapters, and I believe the reference is to literal Babylon, the birthplace of idolatry under the leadership of Nimrod.

Jeremiah 50:1–3 “The word that the LORD spake against Babylon and against the land of the Chaldeans by Jeremiah the prophet….For out of the north there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they shall remove, they shall depart, both man and beast.”

I think it is important to note that the enemy from the north coming against Babylon will destroy the land to the point that no living creatures will be left there. The NAS states that it will become “an object of horror.” This is not descriptive of any action taken against Babylon to this point in history. From my perspective today, it would make sense for this to be a reference to nuclear or biological warfare of some type.

Jeremiah 50:4–5 “In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together, going and weeping: they shall go, and seek the LORD their God. They shall ask the way to Zion with their faces thitherward, saying, Come, and let us join ourselves to the LORD in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten.”

“In those days…time” – When the land of Babylon is ruined….

That time is described as one in which the whole nation of Israel, all 12 tribes, will seek to join themselves in covenant to the LORD with a commitment to keep that covenant forever. Though the returning captives from Babylon did establish covenant with God upon their return, it is obvious that covenant is not in force today.

Nehemiah 9:36–38 “Behold, we are servants this day, and for the land that thou gavest unto our fathers to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof, behold, we are servants in it: And it yieldeth much increase unto the kings whom thou hast set over us because of our sins: also they have dominion over our bodies, and over our cattle, at their pleasure, and we are in great distress. And because of all this we make a sure covenant, and write it; and our princes, Levites, and priests, seal unto it.”

The covenant referred to by Jeremiah in verse 5 is yet in Israel’s future, and I believe makes reference to the believing remnant that will be birthed during the time of Jacob’s trouble, another reference to the last seven years on planet earth before Messiah returns to set up His kingdom. I believe these are the times also referenced by the prophets Hosea and Ezekiel.

Hosea 3:4–5 “For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim: Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days.”

Ezekiel 36:26–28 “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.”

Ezekiel provides the key to the people being able to keep covenant. God is going to put His Spirit within them to empower them.

(to be continued)