Category Archives: 216 Days in Jeremiah

Day 203: Not Forsaken

Jeremiah 51:1-8

Yahweh says:
“Behold, I will raise up against Babylon,
and against those who dwell in Lebkamai, a destroying wind.
I will send to Babylon strangers, who will winnow her.
They will empty her land;
for in the day of trouble they will be against her all around.
Against him who bends, let the archer bend his bow,
also against him who lifts himself up in his coat of mail.
Don’t spare her young men!
Utterly destroy all her army!
They will fall down slain in the land of the Chaldeans,
and thrust through in her streets.
For Israel is not forsaken, nor Judah, by his God,
by Yahweh of Armies;
though their land is full of guilt against the Holy One of Israel.

“Flee out of the middle of Babylon!
Everyone save his own 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.
Babylon has been a golden cup in Yahweh’s hand,
who made all the earth drunk.
The nations have drunk of her wine;
therefore the nations have gone mad.
Babylon has suddenly fallen and been destroyed!
Wail for her!
Take balm for her pain.
Perhaps she may be healed.

When I read this passage, I remember the words that Jesus said:

Matthew 7:2

For with whatever judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with whatever measure you measure, it will be measured to you.

In this prophesy, God tells us that Babylon was to receive arrows just as they gave them out. They were also to receive battle against those who wear coats of mail, have their young men cut down, and be attacked by people from far away. God was going to give back to them what they gave to His people Israel, but the most amazing thing I read here is what God said after that.

God said: “For Israel is not forsaken, nor Judah, by his God, by Yahweh of Armies; though their land is full of guilt against the Holy One of Israel.” This may be the most clear and obvious passage that directly opposes replacement theology. That’s the belief that the Church replaces Israel and has now obtained all of her promises. The typical argument that I hear is that the Church has been given Israel’s promises because Israel was unfaithful to God. That argument is directly refuted here. God doesn’t give to Israel according to her deeds. God’s promise to be faithful to Israel does not depend on Israel’s performance. The reason that I bring this up over and over again, is because this is a Gospel issue. If God’s faithfulness depended on man’s performance, then salvation is based on man. The true and only Gospel teaches us that it is not by man’s performance at all, but by God’s faithfulness alone that we are saved.

The last few verses here should sound pretty familiar. That’s because something very similar is written again in the last book of the Bible. Many prophesies in the Bible have an immediate application as well as a future one. A surprising fact about the Bible is that Babylon is one of the biggest subjects. For a city that doesn’t even exist today, that’s kind of peculiar. Obviously, the old city of Babylon was destroyed many years ago, but what that nation started in the world is still alive and well. Babylon loved idols and was proud against God and it was eventually destroyed. It stands as a symbol of what is about to happen to all who have followed her ways.

Day 202: All Nations are Guilty

Jeremiah 50:41-46

“Behold, a people comes from the north.
A great nation and many kings will be stirred up from the uttermost parts of the earth.
They take up bow and spear.
They are cruel, and have no mercy.
Their voice roars like the sea.
They ride on horses,
everyone set in array,
as a man to the battle,
against you, daughter of Babylon.
The king of Babylon has heard the news of them,
and his hands become feeble.
Anguish has taken hold of him,
pains as of a woman in labor.
Behold, the enemy will come up like a lion
from the thickets of the Jordan against the strong habitation;
for I will suddenly make them run away from it.
Whoever is chosen,
I will appoint him over it,
for who is like me?
Who will appoint me a time?
Who is the shepherd who can stand before me?”
Therefore hear the counsel of Yahweh
that he has taken against Babylon;
and his purposes
that he has purposed against the land of the Chaldeans:
Surely they will drag them away,
even the little ones of the flock.
Surely he will make their habitation desolate over them.
The earth trembles at the noise of the taking of Babylon.
The cry is heard among the nations.

As we read earlier, there were those who thought that Jeremiah was helping Babylon’s cause by discouraging the people with his words. It’s pretty clear that Jeremiah was simply speaking God’s words because God also had quite a few things to say against Babylon. I think that Jeremiah had something bad to say about all of the countries in the area. There’s a lesson for us even in these things.

Just because someone says something that sounds discouraging, doesn’t mean that it isn’t right. It’s easy for us to make the assumption that we are doing fine, when actually we have been sinning. It is discouraging to hear that we have been sinning, but it is very arrogant for us to pretend that we haven’t. When God warns us of the consequences of our sin, the most positive thing that we can do is repent. Attacking the messenger just makes our sin bigger.

The fact that Jeremiah had something bad to say about everyone, reminds us of another basic Gospel truth. One of the important purposes of God’s word, is to expose our sin. If our sin isn’t exposed, we can’t see that we are sinners that need saving. God’s word through Jeremiah informed all of the nations in the area that they were all guilty before God, including Israel. The fact that all have sinned, is foundational to the Gospel. Let’s look at what God told us through Paul:

Romans 3:23

for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God;

No nation is good enough to stand before God and that’s because no individual is good enough either, except for one. Jesus is the one who was good enough to stand before God and He spent His life in order to save us from the consequences of ours. Just as Jesus saves us individually, He will also be saving the nations of the world someday too because He is the only one who can stand before God without being judged by His word.

Day 201: Five Swords and a Drought

Jeremiah 50:35-40

“A sword is on the Chaldeans,” says Yahweh,
“and on the inhabitants of Babylon,
on her princes,
and on her wise men.
A sword is on the boasters,
and they will become fools.
A sword is on her mighty men,
and they will be dismayed.
A sword is on their horses,
on their chariots,
and on all the mixed people who are in the middle of her;
and they will become as women.
A sword is on her treasures,
and they will be robbed.
A drought is on her waters,
and they will be dried up;
for it is a land of engraved images,
and they are mad over idols.
Therefore the wild animals of the desert
with the wolves will dwell there.
The ostriches will dwell therein.
It will be inhabited no more forever,
neither will it be lived in from generation to generation.
As when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and its neighbor cities,” says Yahweh,
“so no man will dwell there,
neither will any son of man live therein.

Here we read that God used swords to bring Babylon down. In this prophesy, God applies His use of war as a punishment for their pride. He used it to bring down the ruling class and the intellectuals. He used it to bring down their war technology and their best fighting men. We are even informed that He used it against their “mixed peoples.” Perhaps, Babylon thought that “diversification” would protect them on the downside. Diversification doesn’t work when God is against you.

We also see here that God applies “a drought” as a result of their religious practices. God records here that the Babylonians were “mad over idols.” God cursed the city by predicting that it would one day remain uninhabited. When I looked at pictures of some of the remains of that old city, it appeared to me that there were still new buildings built around them. I don’t think that this prophesy has come true yet. When you look at the locations where Sodom and Gomorrah were, they really are desolate. It would appear to me that the ultimate end of Babylon is yet to come. Even so, ancient Babylon was taken over by the Medes and the Persians.

There are some things that we can learn from this passage and apply today. One is that war is something that God can use. God doesn’t use war for selfish human conquest. He uses it as a way to “clean up the neighborhood.” If war were to be irradiated in our world, it would mean that evil would run riot. To completely remove war and war technology would be to follow a Satanic path against God. Satan would be able to do whatever He wants. As we have been reading, we would be avoiding the clear teaching of the Bible to not see that God is a God of justice and purity. He will not allow sin to continue and will bring justice when the time is right.

Day 200: The Peril of Trusting in Man’s Greatness

Jeremiah 50:29-34

“Call together the archers against Babylon,
all those who bend the bow.
Encamp against her all around.
Let none of it escape.
Pay her back according to her work.
According to all that she has done, do to her;
for she has been proud against Yahweh,
against the Holy One of Israel.
Therefore her young men will fall in her streets.
All her men of war will be brought to silence in that day,” says Yahweh.
“Behold, I am against you, you proud one,” says the Lord, Yahweh of Armies;
“for your day has come,
the time that I will visit you.
The proud one will stumble and fall,
and no one will raise him up.
I will kindle a fire in his cities,
and it will devour all who are around him.”
Yahweh of Armies says: “The children of Israel and the children of Judah are oppressed together.
All who took them captive hold them fast.
They refuse to let them go.
Their Redeemer is strong.
Yahweh of Armies is his name.
He will thoroughly plead their cause,
that he may give rest to the earth,
and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.

One of the dangerous things about investing in the stock market is that people tend to gravitate toward buying stock in large, well situated companies. The logic is that the large companies are more stable and less likely to fail. When we consider these companies in the light of God’s word, a major risk is exposed.

Here it says that Babylon, which was the world power at the time, was to be forced by God to be attacked and to fall. The reason is clearly given here as well. Babylon became “proud against Yahweh, against the Holy One of Israel.” One of the problems with becoming large and well situated, is that you may begin to think that you don’t need God. The Bible and history demonstrate that this is a very common problem. If this is so, then large, well situated institutions of man are actually more dangerous than small ones to invest in. That’s not to say that small ones aren’t proud too though! If companies can easily become proud, what is there to invest in?

The point is that God is the only safe bet. If we become proud and start to depend on our own portfolios, we became a target for God’s judgment. You don’t need any money in the stock market to become proud. You can be proud of your own good works. Perhaps you think that you are doing so many good things in church that all you need to do is to depend on them. It is true that God rewards everyone for the work that is done for Him, but if you begin to rely on your own power to do those good works, you are about to fall. Our good works are only possible as we rely on God’s power. Pride against God must be exposed and corrected so that we will learn that it is only by God’s power that good results. The great civilization of Babylon was easily torn down by God, even though it didn’t seem very likely from man’s perspective. On the other hand, if we trust in God’s power, we will stay strong no matter how big we are.

Day 199: The End of Bad Governments

Jeremiah 50:21-28

“Go up against the land of Merathaim,
even against it, and against the inhabitants of Pekod.
Kill and utterly destroy after them,” says Yahweh,
“and do according to all that I have commanded you.
A sound of battle is in the land,
and of great destruction.
How the hammer of the whole earth is cut apart and broken!
How Babylon has become a desolation among the nations!
I have laid a snare for you,
and you are also taken, Babylon,
and you weren’t aware.
You are found,
and also caught,
because you have fought against Yahweh.
Yahweh has opened his armory,
and has brought out the weapons of his indignation;
for the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, has a work to do in the land of the Chaldeans.
Come against her from the farthest border.
Open her storehouses.
Cast her up as heaps.
Destroy her utterly.
Let nothing of her be left.
Kill all her bulls.
Let them go down to the slaughter.
Woe to them! For their day has come,
the time of their visitation.
Listen to those who flee and escape out of the land of Babylon,
to declare in Zion the vengeance of Yahweh our God,
the vengeance of his temple.

In this passage, God gives us two reasons why He chose to destroy Babylon. First He says: “you have fought against Yahweh.” Second, He says he is doing it for “the vengeance of his temple.” As I mentioned before, it was God who commanded Babylon to destroy Jerusalem and the temple. It is always right to do what God says. It appears that Babylon’s problem was deeper.

This passage reminds us that it is possible to do the things that God says but still be disobedient in your heart. God expects us to obey because we have decided to do what is right from our hearts. If we are grumbling or complaining when we obey, it isn’t what God wants. In Babylon’s case, they weren’t merely grumbling. God tells us here that they took the opportunity to actually fight against the God of Israel. When Babylon tore down the temple, they did it with evil desire against God, not out of obedience to Him.

Do you remember when Joshua was leading Israel in their conquest of Canaan? There were times when God allowed Israel to lose bitterly. God did this when Israel decided to do something on their own, without God’s blessing. He also allowed them to lose when one of them disobeyed His command to not take plunder. When we are required to serve God in order to maintain justice, God requires that we do it His way. If we don’t, we become a problem to God. God will eventually punish us if we choose to take justice into our own hands. This is something that all governments should be paying close attention to. It should also be comforting to those of us who are persecuted by our governments. All governments that decide to fight against the One who put them in charge, will eventually be judged by Jesus, just like Babylon was.

Day 198: Israel’s Future Innocence

Jeremiah 50:17-20

“Israel is a hunted sheep.
The lions have driven him away.
First, the king of Assyria devoured him,
and now at last Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has broken his bones.”

Therefore Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says:
“Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land,
as I have punished the king of Assyria.
I will bring Israel again to his pasture,
and he will feed on Carmel and Bashan.
His soul will be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and in Gilead.
In those days, and in that time,” says Yahweh,
“the iniquity of Israel will be sought for,
and there will be none,
also the sins of Judah,
and they won’t be found;
for I will pardon them whom I leave as a remnant.

The first verse in this passage sums up what happened to Israel as a nation. First the northern kingdom was taken by Assyria. Then, Babylon came and destroyed Judah and Jerusalem in the south. Although God used both countries to perform His punishments, God also intended to punish those other countries as well. From the human perspective bad was happening all over the place, but it’s important for us to see things from God’s perspective. Every single event that happened was purposed by God. He was always in control. That’s important for us today when things look bad to us. God is still in control and He is using all of the circumstances for His glory. He’s also using those circumstances to bless His people.

We read here that God promised a time, after Babylon is brought down, that the remaining Israelis would return to the land in innocence. God intended to bring some of them back and give them forgiveness. We read about that when we went through the books that Ezra wrote. Let’s look back and see:

Nehemiah 8:3,5-6

He read from it before the wide place that was in front of the water gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women, and of those who could understand. The ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the law… Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people (for he was above all the people), and when he opened it, all the people stood up. Then Ezra blessed Yahweh, the great God.

All the people answered, “Amen, Amen,” with the lifting up of their hands. They bowed their heads, and worshiped Yahweh with their faces to the ground.

It’s pretty obvious that these people who returned to the land after Babylon was taken over by Persia, had a much different attitude than their relatives who had been taken captive many years ealier. Notice that these people chose to stand outside and listen to Ezra read the Bible for hours! Ultimately, the people agreed by saying “Amen” and bowed all the way down with their faces to the ground. If you go on reading, you learn that they were actually crying too. God’s truth made them sad. That’s because God’s word exposes sin as we see how bad we have been. These people weren’t perfect, but it is clear that many of them had their hearts in the right place. God was willing to forgive them and bless their efforts as they rebuilt Jerusalem. God’s intentions were good the whole time. He used these events to expose and remove sin, and then to provide forgiven to His people.

Day 197: Enjoying the Wrong Things about God’s Wrath

Jeremiah 50:8-16

“Flee out of the middle of Babylon!
Go out of the land of the Chaldeans,
and be as the male goats before the flocks.
For, behold, I will stir up
and cause to come up against Babylon a company of great nations from the north country;
and they will set themselves in array against her.
She will be taken from there.
Their arrows will be as of an expert mighty man.
None of them will return in vain.
Chaldea will be a prey.
All who prey on her will be satisfied,” says Yahweh.

“Because you are glad,
because you rejoice,
O you who plunder my heritage,
because you are wanton as a heifer that treads out the grain,
and neigh as strong horses,
your mother will be utterly disappointed.
She who bore you will be confounded.
Behold, she will be the least of the nations,
a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.
Because of Yahweh’s wrath she won’t be inhabited,
but she will be wholly desolate.
Everyone who goes by Babylon will be astonished,
and hiss at all her plagues.
Set yourselves in array against Babylon all around,
all you who bend the bow;
shoot at her.
Spare no arrows,
for she has sinned against Yahweh.
Shout against her all around.
She has submitted herself.
Her bulwarks have fallen.
Her walls have been thrown down,
for it is the vengeance of Yahweh.
Take vengeance on her.
As she has done, do to her.
Cut off the sower from Babylon,
and him who handles the sickle in the time of harvest.
For fear of the oppressing sword,
they will each return to their own people,
and they will each flee to their own land.

One of the peculiar things about Babylon’s history, is that God told Babylon to attack and destroy Israel, yet, here we read that He decided to destroy Babylon after they did it. Why would God destroy a nation for doing what He told them to do? Well, the answer is pretty easy when we carefully read what God said here.

God expected Babylon to destroy Jerusalem out of duty to Him, but instead of doing that, they took pleasure in destroying God’s people and God’s land. God said that it was “Because you are glad, because you rejoice, O you who plunder my heritage.” This is a pretty tedious subject because, in a sense, God does take pleasure in removing wickedness. The Bible says that God was pleased to crush Jesus for our sins even though I am sure that it broke His heart at the same time. The Bible also says that God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. When I attempt to bring these two things together, this is what I come up with. We should enjoy the destruction and removal of sin, but we shouldn’t enjoy the removal of those who should have accepted God’s mercy and grace. We should also not enjoy the fact that God’s land and people had to be dishonored in the process.

When I think about it, this makes a lot of sense. We should never enjoy anything that brings shame to God’s Name. God told us that it was His will to call the Land of Israel and its people by His Name. He also told us that Jerusalem and the temple would be the place where His Name and glory would be located on earth. I believe that God was simply holding His servant, Babylon, responsible for respecting God and that’s what they failed to do. That was a very dangerous and arrogant thing for them to do because God didn’t have the ties to them that He had to Israel. Their condemnation was certain and final.

There are a couple of things we need to pay attention to in our generation. First, we should never enjoy doing damage to God’s things. We are only to enjoy the removal of sin and corruption. Second, we need to respect God’s decision to attach His name to Israel and their land. We are acting arrogantly if fail to do this and we can expect to be severely disciplined.