Jeremiah - Lesson 51A

• Chapters 1-23 Review:

  • The LORD called Jeremiah as a prophet to the nations during the last five kings of Judah.

  • The LORD’s warning to His people is to stop worshipping false gods or He will judge them by destruction and exile using a nation from the North, Babylon; the judgment will include the destruction of the temple and the city of Jerusalem.

    • The people are to repent from their evil ways; the leaders are specifically called out for their rejection of the LORD’s covenant and the shedding of innocent blood; the false prophets are called out for misleading the people to believe the LORD would not bring judgment on them.

    • Jeremiah is reviled by the leaders and the people of Judah, but the LORD will protect him.

  • The LORD promises there will not be a complete destruction of His people, as He will provide a Messiah and will bring His people back into the Promised Land in a future time, never to be removed.

• Chapters 24-29 Review:

  • Good figs are used to represent the Jews who go into exile and will ultimately be those who become the Jews brought back into the land at a future time. The bad figs represent those who rebel against the judgment the LORD has brought on them through Nebuchadnezzar to last for seventy years.

    • Hypocrisy and false teaching and prophecy plague the LORD’s people justifying the LORD’s judgment on them.

  • Jeremiah continues to experience persecution for bringing the LORD’s truth to His people (like planning to stay for a long time in Babylon) and calling out false prophets. Some of the false prophets are dealt with immediately.

• Chapters 30-33 Review:

  • These chapters are often referred to as the Book of Consolation as they are filled with promises for the LORD’s people.

  • Promises of the LORD’s people being regathered and brought back to a specific land as a nation to live in safety with hearts of flesh and not stone, served by priests, ruled by a king and living in prosperity. All of this is possible because Jesus their Messiah has redeemed them and will be their King.

• Chapters 34-38 Review:

  • The Jewish leaders renege on a covenant to release Hebrew servants.

  • The obedience of the Rechabites is contrasted to the disobedience of the LORD’s people. Jeremiah’s scroll is burned by King Jehoiakim.

    • Jeremiah is rescued from death in a cistern by a servant of the king.

  • Zedekiah seeks a new word from the LORD.

• Chapters 39-44 Review:

  • Jerusalem falls, Zedekiah is taken into exile; Gedaliah, the governor of Judah is killed.

  • The remnant of Judah disobeys the word of the LORD to remain in Judah and not fear Nebuchadnezzar, choosing to go to Egypt in rebellion. Egypt and the remnant from Judah will experience the judgement of the LORD brought by Nebuchadnezzar. The remnant vows to continue their worship of the false gods because they did not understand the true reason for their judgement in the land of Judah.   

• Chapters 45-49 Review:

  • The LORD speaks to Baruch through Jeremiah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim. Baruch expressed sorrow knowing what the LORD has revealed for Judah but the LORD instructs him to set this aside and speak truth; the LORD will protect his life. The LORD then speaks about how He is going to bring judgement on Egypt, the Philistines and Moab, Edom, Damascus and Elam.

• Chapter 50 The LORD speaks concerning Babylon, how He uses her to judge His people and yet how He will then judge Babylon. The judgment on Babylon will look similar to the judgment brought on Judah in Jeremiah’s time.

  • Chapter 51:1-35 Babylon was used as the cup of wrath on Judah but in the future will receive the cup of wrath from the LORD poured out on the city and the spiritual entity behind the scenes of power. The LORD also details the destruction of Babylon the kingdom. The LORD refines His people.

Jer. 51:36 Therefore thus says the LORD,
“Behold, I am going to plead your case
And exact full vengeance for you;
And I will dry up her sea
And make her fountain dry.
Jer. 51:37 “Babylon will become a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals,
An object of horror and hissing, without inhabitants.
Jer. 51:38 “They will roar together like young lions,
They will growl like lions’ cubs.
Jer. 51:39 “When they become heated up, I will serve them their banquet
And make them drunk, that they may become jubilant
And may sleep a perpetual sleep
And not wake up,” declares the LORD.
Jer. 51:40 “I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter,
Like rams together with male goats.
Jer. 51:41 “How Sheshak has been captured,
And the praise of the whole earth been seized!
How Babylon has become an object of horror among the nations!
Jer. 51:42 “The sea has come up over Babylon;
She has been engulfed with its tumultuous waves.
Jer. 51:43 “Her cities have become an object of horror,
A parched land and a desert,
A land in which no man lives
And through which no son of man passes.

• Verse 36 This verse begins with, ‘Therefore thus says the LORD”.

  • To help understanding and proper context read Jer. 51:35

Jer. 51:35 “May the violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon,”
The inhabitant of Zion will say;
And, “May my blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea,”
Jerusalem will say.

• The request from the inhabitants of Zion and Jerusalem is for retribution on Babylon and the inhabitants of Chaldea for the violence and the bloodshed done to them.

  • Verse 36 Because of these requests the LORD gives His response.

  • The LORD will plead the case or build the case for the inhabitants of Zion and Jerusalem and exact full vengeance for them.

  • The LORD does not need to give justification for what He does, but it has been noted throughout this study that the LORD reveals the reasons behind His discipline and justice.

  • The LORD will dry up her sea and make her fountain dry.

    • The things Babylon put her trust in, like water sources will be removed by the LORD who created all things.

    • If the sea here represents her army, we have already been told that the army will be destroyed by Him using a nation from the north.

  • There is also the Euphrates River which will be dried up according to Rev. 16:12

Rev. 16:12 The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river, the Euphrates; and its water was dried up, so that the way would be prepared for the kings from the east.

• Jer. 51:37 The LORD says Babylon will become a heap of ruins.

  • This would be the first clue the LORD is speaking of a physical Babylon here.

  • This place will be where jackals live but without human inhabitants.

• Verse 38 The LORD describes what Babylon and the inhabitants of Chaldea will be like leading up to His dealing with them.

  • They will be like young lions and lion cubs roaring and growling at each other; acting tough.

• Verse 39 It is when they are riled up (heated up) the LORD will serve them their banquet.

  • The banquet is what He has prepared for them.

  • They will be frenzied (drunken jubilation)

  • This will lead them to their physical deaths (perpetual sleep) and they will not escape their spiritual death (will not wake)

• Verse 40 These people will not realize what is going to happen, just like when lambs are being led to the slaughter.

  • They will be different, like rams and male goats but they will move together towards this destination. The male goat is often used to lead the sheep as they will follow. This could be the LORD indicating the Babylonian leaders were leading their people to this slaughter.

• Verse 41 The result will be Sheshak is captured.

  • Sheshak is an atbash for Babylon.

    • An ‘atbash' is where a word is spelled out using only the consonants, then those letters are identified as to where they are in the alphabet of that language. Then one replaces the letters with the ones that exist counting backwards in the alphabet.

  • Babylon has been captured.

  • Babylon is also described as a place where the praise of the whole earth has been contained; it represents a place where the whole earth admired and worshipped what it was.

    • Everything this world praises is contrary to what the LORD calls praise-worthy.

  • Now Babylon is an object of horror among the nations. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

• Verse 42 There is a description used of what is coming over Babylon, being “the sea”.

  • There was a previous reference to those warriors coming against Babylon sounding like the sea.

Jer. 50:42 “They seize their bow and javelin;
They are cruel and have no mercy.
Their voice roars like the sea;
And they ride on horses,

• Jer. 51: 42 These warriors (sea) will engulf Babylon violently compared to tumultuous waves.

  • Verse 43 Now the LORD speaks of ‘her cities’ and so this would widen the implications to the kingdom of Babylon—not a single city.

  • The kingdom will become an object of horror, a desert where no man lives or a son of man travels through.

Jer. 51:44 “I will punish Bel in Babylon,
And I will make what he has swallowed come out of his mouth;
And the nations will no longer stream to him.
Even the wall of Babylon has fallen down!
Jer. 51:45 “Come forth from her midst, My people,
And each of you save yourselves
From the fierce anger of the LORD.
Jer. 51:46 “Now so that your heart does not grow faint,
And you are not afraid at the report that will be heard in the land —
For the report will come one year,
And after that another report in another year,
And violence will be in the land
With ruler against ruler —
Jer. 51:47  Therefore behold, days are coming
When I will punish the idols of Babylon;
And her whole land will be put to shame
And all her slain will fall in her midst.
Jer. 51:48 “Then heaven and earth and all that is in them
Will shout for joy over Babylon,
For the destroyers will come to her from the north,”
Declares the LORD.
Jer. 51:49 Indeed Babylon is to fall for the slain of Israel,
As also for Babylon the slain of all the earth have fallen.
Jer. 51:50  You who have escaped the sword,
Depart! Do not stay!
Remember the LORD from afar,
And let Jerusalem come to your mind.
Jer. 51:51  We are ashamed because we have heard reproach;
Disgrace has covered our faces,
For aliens have entered
The holy places of the LORD’S house.

• Verse  44 The LORD says He will punish Bel in Babylon.

  • Bel is a title meaning Lord or master and was often applied to significant deities.

  • Here the term Bel can be understood to mean one seen as a Lord or Master in Babylon and that is where the LORD will punish him.

  • The “him” is whoever is seen as the leader in Babylon when the LORD brings judgment.

    • He will be in Babylon then, like Nebuchadnezzar was in his day.

• Next the LORD says He will make what he has swallowed come out of his mouth.

  • The LORD had just talked about Nebuchadnezzar swallowing Him like a monster.

Jer. 51:34 “Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has devoured me and crushed me,
He has set me down like an empty vessel;
He has swallowed me like a monster,
He has filled his stomach with my delicacies;
He has washed me away.

• This Bel had swallowed the LORD’s people and He is going to now bring them out.

  • The LORD is also going to take away all the delicacies from Bel, burning them up.

  • The nations will no longer stream to him; conversely before this, the nations did stream to him.

  • Bel no longer has what the nations desire: power, wealth, influence, because destruction has come.

    • The ultimate demise of a city is demonstrated by the lack of a wall for protection.

    • The walls of ancient Babylon were considered impenetrable, and the city was taken by the Persians by stopping the flow of the Euphrates from entering the city through its waterways.

    • The Persians did not destroy the walls of Babylon but that will not be the case when the LORD brings destruction on this future Babylon.

• Verse 45 The LORD calls His people (My people) to come out from Babylon’s midst.

  • His people are to leave to save themselves from the fierce anger of the LORD.

  • The LORD is about to pour out His anger on Babylon.

  • Those who stay will not be saved.

    • This is demonstrated in Rev. 18:1-5.

Rev. 18:1 After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illumined with his glory.
Rev. 18:2 And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison
of every unclean and hateful bird.
Rev. 18:3 “For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the passion of her immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality.”
Rev. 18:4 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;
Rev. 18:5 for her sins have piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.

• Verse 2 An angel makes the declaration that Babylon has fallen, fallen.

  • After Babylon has fallen what will be found in her will be demons, unclean spirits and unclean and hateful birds. All manner of manifested spiritual evil influences will be confined in Babylon.

• Verse 3 Babylon is fallen because the nations have drunk of the wine of the passion of her immorality.

  • The kings have committed acts of immorality with her.

  • The merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality.

• Verse 4 The next voice comes from heaven.

  • This voice calls out to His people. The implication is that the LORD is calling His people to, “Come out of her”.

  • This would be a call going out before the destruction of Babylon.

  • The reason His people need to come out is to avoid participating in her sins, and then receiving the plagues the LORD is going to send on her.

• Verse 5 Babylon’s sins have piled up as high as heaven.

  • This is the time God has waited for, remember her iniquities. This was also reviewed in Jer. 51:9.

  • These verses in Revelation 18:1-5 seem to unfold backwards from conclusion to reason for action to calling out the LORD’s people.

    • This is also portrayed in Zech. 2:6-7.

Zech. 2:6 “Ho there! Flee from the land of the north,” declares the LORD, “for I have dispersed you as the four winds of the heavens,” declares the LORD.
Zech. 2:7 “Ho, Zion! Escape, you who are living with the daughter of Babylon.”

• Verse 6 The LORD tells His people to flee from the land of the north.

  • This is where the LORD has dispersed His people as the four winds of the heavens.

  • Verse 7 The LORD calls His people Zion and tells those who are living with the daughter of Babylon to escape.

• Jer. 51:46 The LORD just revealed the people will need to leave to avoid disastrous judgment and now tells them information so that their hearts will not grow faint.

  • There is going to be a report they hear in the land; when they hear it they might respond with fear, but the LORD says they are not to be afraid.

  • The timing is that there will be a report one year and another report will come a year later.

  • The report will be about violence in the land, with ruler against ruler.

    • When the LORD’s people hear about this report of violence in the land with the rulers being against each other they should leave as given in verse forty-five.

• Verse 47 The LORD declares that in the future (days are coming) He will punish the idols of Babylon. The LORD will deal with the spiritual idolatry of Babylon.

  • The LORD is finally going to punish the instigator of all false worship.

    • This is also seen in Rev. 17:5

Rev. 17:5 and on her forehead a name was written, a mystery, “BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.”

• Babylon the Great is described as the mother of harlots.

  • A harlot is one who imitates an act that should be reserved for a marriage relationship.

  • A harlot is not a wife and can only bring destruction in place of the relationship she imitates.

    • Every form of religion that does not worship the true God as revealed through His word is a harlot in spiritual terms. The imitation of the relationship is what brings destruction.

  • One form of this imitation found in every religion is the substitution of works in place of obedience to God; this is a harlotry in spiritual terms.

• Jer. 51:47 The entire land that Babylon occupies will be put to shame.

  • Those who live in this whole land will be slain, there will be no survivors.

  • This is why the LORD has warned His people to flee Babylon.

• Verse 48 The LORD will bring destroyers to Babylon from the north and when this large-scale judgment is carried out against Babylon then heaven and earth and all that is in them will shout for joy over Babylon.

  • Verse 49 The reason for the rejoicing and joy over the destruction of Babylon is because this is retribution for the slain of Israel and for the slain of the earth.

    • This is demonstrated in Rev. 19:1-3

Rev. 19:1 After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying,  “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God;
Rev. 19:2 BECAUSE HIS JUDGMENTS ARE TRUE AND RIGHTEOUS; for He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality, and HE HAS AVENGED THE BLOOD OF HIS BOND-SERVANTS ON HER.”
Rev. 19:3 And a second time they said, “Hallelujah! HER SMOKE RISES UP FOREVER AND EVER.”

• (Revelation chapters seventeen and eighteen both speak about the judgement brought on Babylon during the Tribulation.)

  • Verse 1 After the judgement has fallen on Babylon there will be a chorus of voices saying “Hallelujah!”

    • This praise is made because the salvation and glory and power belong to our God.

  • Verse 2 This declaration of praise is because God’s judgments are true and righteous.

    • This pronouncement is tied to God’s judgment of the great harlot for corrupting the earth AND because He has avenged the blood of His bond-servants on her.

• Jer. 51:49 Gave the overview of the slain of Israel and the slain of the earth; Revelation 19:2 clarifies it is for His bond-servants; those who are His by faith, of Israel and of the slain of the earth.

  • Verse 50 For those of His people living, who have escaped the sword, they are to leave.

  • The LORD not only directs them to leave but they are to remember Him and let the thought of Jerusalem come to their minds.

    • The call to remember is a call to return to the LORD.

    • They are to flee from Babylon to Jerusalem.

• Verse 51 The ‘we’ are those people who have fled from the sword with a desire to return to Jerusalem.

  • The mention of aliens entering the holy places of the LORD’s house draws our attention again to the existence of a temple in Jerusalem during the Tribulation.

  • This temple is violated by those who have entered into the holy places of the temple.

    • This violation brought shame to those living in Babylon who are being told to flee from there and come back to Jerusalem.

  • There was a time when the inhabitants of Jerusalem were told to flee when they saw what was described as the desolation of abomination set up in the temple.

Matt. 24:15 “Therefore when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),
Matt. 24:16 then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains.

• This was for those who were living in Jerusalem.

  • This event is tied to what is known as the mid-point of the Tribulation.

• Now in Jeremiah the instruction is for those living in Babylon when they hear a report of ruler against ruler, they are to flee Babylon and make their way towards Jerusalem.

  • This would appear to be towards the end of the tribulation time.

  • This will be a remnant of His people, as many have perished by the sword.

    • There appears to still be many of the LORD’s people who chose to stay in Babylon.

    • The draw to what Babylon offers is too strong for them to leave.

  • The LORD’s people chose the world over the LORD of the universe, the one and only God.

  • The LORD never forgets what He has promised to do.

    • In this study we are reminded that the LORD will punish Bel and the idols of Babylon.

Jer. 51:44 “I will punish Bel in Babylon,

Jer. 51:47  Therefore behold, days are coming
When I will punish the idols of Babylon;

• Isaiah Chapter 46 is dedicated to the LORD displaying the folly of a comparison of Him to the idols of Babylon.

Is. 46:8 “Remember this, and be assured;
Recall it to mind, you transgressors.
Is. 46:9 “Remember the former things long past,
For I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is no one like Me,
Is. 46:10  Declaring the end from the beginning,
And from ancient times things which have not been done,
Saying, ‘My purpose will be established,
And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’;

• Verse 9 God says, I am God, there is no other.

  • Verse 10 God can declare what is going to happen in the end before it even begins.

  • God has already declared from long ago (ancient times) things that have yet to be done.

    • The things that have not yet been done are waiting on His purpose.

    • His purpose will be done for His good pleasure.

  • Everything happens for the good pleasure of God.

  • Mankind is not truly able to comprehend this gravity of truth.

    • One of the elements that bring doubt into our minds is the passage of time.

    • It seems to be so very long in our minds from when the LORD made a promise to when it is fulfilled.

Psa. 90:1 Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations.
Psa. 90:2  Before the mountains were born
Or You gave birth to the earth and the world,
Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.
Psa. 90:3 You turn man back into dust
And say, “Return, O children of men.”
Psa. 90:4  For a thousand years in Your sight
Are like yesterday when it passes by,
Or as a watch in the night.

• The LORD is outside of time the way man experiences the passage of time.

  • Many generations of men come and go for what mankind might measure as a thousand years but it is no time at all for the LORD.

  • For the LORD, time just serves the purposes He has established.

    • The destruction that has been brought by that which is defined as Babylon will take place in God’s perfect time for His perfect purpose and for His good pleasure.