BABYLON LEFT DESOLATE

Jeremiah 51:41–43 “How is Sheshach taken! and how is the praise of the whole earth surprised! how is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations! The sea is come up upon Babylon: she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof. 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.”

“Sheshach” = According to Easton’s Dictionary, this is a symbolic name of Babylon that substituted Hebrew letters when spelling the name according to a secret code.

There is no denying the parallel thought in Revelation.

Revelation 18:18–21 “And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city! And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate. Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her. And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.”

Adam Clarke reminded me that Babylon was one of the wonders of the ancient world—“the praise of the whole earth,” and I think she will once again rise to great prominence before her complete and final destruction.

Jeremiah 51:44 “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.”

The NIV Commentary sums this verse up as follows: “Two things Babylon was famous for were the god Bel and the great wall of the city. Bel will be compelled to disgorge the nations he has swallowed (in other words, he will no longer exercise control over other nations), and the great wall will collapse.”

Jeremiah 51:45 “My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye every man his soul from the fierce anger of the LORD.”

This verse also has a parallel in Revelation and will find fulfillment during the tribulation.

Revelation 18:4–5 “And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.”

This was not the message for the people of God when Babylon was conquered by Cyrus. In fact, God had prophesied through Isaiah that Cyrus had been chosen by God to ensure that the Jews were allowed to return to their land and to provide for the rebuilding of the city and the temple.

Isaiah 44:28 “That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.”

Jeremiah 51:46–48 “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. 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. Then the heaven and the earth, and all that is therein, shall sing for Babylon: for the spoilers shall come unto her from the north, saith the LORD.”

This section of verses basically tells the Jews in Babylon to expect to hear rumors of coming attack. They are not to be afraid. They can trust in the fact that the LORD is in control and He alone will determine when to exact judgment upon Babylon. Again I have to say that the description of the destruction of idols and the whole land being overwhelmed at the numbers of those slain does not fit the historical record of how Cyrus conquered Babylon. I believe the rejoicing of heaven and earth at the destruction of Babylon is a reference to her final judgment yet future.

Revelation 19:1–3 “And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God: For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. And again they said, Alleluia.”

Jeremiah 51:49–51 “As Babylon hath caused the slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon shall fall the slain of all the earth. Ye that have escaped the sword, go away, stand not still: remember the LORD afar off, and let Jerusalem come into your mind. 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.”

The LORD is declaring through His prophet that Babylon will suffer just as she has caused God’s people to suffer. The Jews in Babylon are encouraged to remember the LORD and think about Jerusalem. They should be greatly ashamed at the dishonor they have brought to the name of the LORD and how they had allowed His sanctuary to be defiled.

(to be continued...)