Jeremiah - Lesson 51B

• 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 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.

Jer. 51:15 It is He who made the earth by His power,
Who established the world by His wisdom,
And by His understanding He stretched out the heavens.
Jer. 51:16  When He utters His voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,
And He causes the clouds to ascend from the end of the earth;
He makes lightning for the rain
And brings forth the wind from His storehouses.
Jer. 51:17  All mankind is stupid, devoid of knowledge;
Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols,
For his molten images are deceitful,
And there is no breath in them.
Jer. 51:18 They are worthless, a work of mockery;
In the time of their punishment they will perish.
Jer. 51:19  The portion of Jacob is not like these;
For the Maker of all is He,
And of the tribe of His inheritance;
The LORD of hosts is His name.
Jer. 51:20 He says, “You are My war-club, My weapon of war;
And with you I shatter nations,
And with you I destroy kingdoms.
Jer. 51:21 “With you I shatter the horse and his rider,
And with you I shatter the chariot and its rider,
Jer. 51:22  And with you I shatter man and woman,
And with you I shatter old man and youth,
And with you I shatter young man and virgin,
Jer. 51:23  And with you I shatter the shepherd and his flock,
And with you I shatter the farmer and his team,
And with you I shatter governors and prefects.

• Verse 15 The one bringing the judgment on Babylon is described as He who made the earth by His power.

  • He established the world by His wisdom.

  • It was by His understanding that the heavens were stretched out.

    • This was also revealed in Jer. 10:7-8,11-12

Jer. 10:7 Who would not fear You, O King of the nations?
Indeed it is Your due!
For among all the wise men of the nations
And in all their kingdoms,
There is none like You.
Jer. 10:8 But they are altogether stupid and foolish
In their discipline of delusion — their idol is wood!

Jer. 10:11 Thus you shall say to them, “The gods that did not make the heavens and the earth will perish from the earth and from under the heavens.”
Jer. 10:12 It is He who made the earth by His power,
Who established the world by His wisdom;
And by His understanding He has stretched out the heavens.

• Verse 7-8 The wise men of the nations…are altogether stupid and foolish in their discipline of delusion.

  • Verse 11-12 These foolish men are to be told the gods who did not make the heavens and the earth will perish because it is He (the LORD) who made the earth by His power…and stretched out the heavens.

• Jer. 51:15 It is the LORD’s wisdom that established the world.

  • Verse 16 It is the LORD who maintains His creation of the world demonstrated through weather patterns which produce rain.

    • It is His voice that stirs up the waters in the heavens.

    • He causes the motion that brings moisture upwards in the atmosphere to produce clouds around the earth.

    • He makes lightning for the rain.

  • The process of lightning and the results of lightning are interesting.

  • Inside a cloud the elements strike each other with some particles receiving a positive charge and heavier particles receiving a negative charge. As these particles separate from each other the result is the creation of static electricity seen as lightning.

    • This striking together also splits nitrogen molecules.

    • The water droplets merge and become heavy enough to come down as rain, bringing down the nitrogen molecules with it to the ground.

  • The heating and cooling elements bought to the atmosphere create the conditions for these to collide producing wind. These are described as being in the LORD’s storehouses.

• Verse 17 In contrast to the LORD’s wisdom the foolishness of all mankind is given, described as stupid and devoid of knowledge.

  • Man is foolish as demonstrated in the example of a goldsmith being put to shame by his idols.

  • His idols are deceitful because they have no breath in them.

  • This is in contrast to the LORD when He utters His voice and the result is a tumult of waters in the heavens.

• Verse 18 The idols are worthless mockery.

  • The idols are a representation of a god that cannot do what man claims they can do which is have an impact on the creation. One example would be the gods worshipped with a focus of their impact on the weather.

  • These gods will perish in the time of their punishment.

• Verse 19 The God of Jacob (portion of Jacob) is not like these worthless gods.

  • He is the Maker of all.

  • His inheritance is the tribe of Jacob.

  • His name is the LORD of hosts.

    • The LORD speaks of who He is and His power and His people from verses 15-19.

    • These verses are repeated in Jer. 10:12-16.

• Verse 20 The LORD now says, “You are My war club.”

  • This speaking to someone takes us back to Jer. 51:14.

Jer. 51:14  The LORD of hosts has sworn by Himself:
“Surely I will fill you with a population like locusts,
And they will cry out with shouts of victory over you.”

• Here the LORD is speaking to Babylon about the judgment He is going to bring and how He would fill it with a population like locusts.

  • Verse 20 the LORD says, “You (Babylon) are My war-club and weapon of war.”

    • Babylon will be used to shatter nations, and kingdoms.

• Verse 21 Shatter weapons of war and warriors.

  • Verse 22 Shatter all types of people; no one will be spared.

  • Verse 23 The LORD will use Babylon to shatter provisions; including religious (shepherd and his flock) food (farmers and his team) and governments (governors and prefects).

    • There will be no one and nothing that escapes the destruction from Babylon.

Jer. 51:24 “But I will repay Babylon and all the inhabitants of Chaldea for all their evil that they have done in Zion before your eyes,” declares the LORD.
Jer. 51:25 “Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain,
Who destroys the whole earth,” declares the LORD,
“And I will stretch out My hand against you,
And roll you down from the crags,
And I will make you a burnt out mountain.
Jer. 51:26 “They will not take from you even a stone for a corner
Nor a stone for foundations,
But you will be desolate forever,” declares the LORD.
Jer. 51:27 Lift up a signal in the land,
Blow a trumpet among the nations!
Consecrate the nations against her,
Summon against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni and Ashkenaz;
Appoint a marshal against her,
Bring up the horses like bristly locusts.
Jer. 51:28 Consecrate the nations against her,
The kings of the Medes,
Their governors and all their prefects,
And every land of their dominion.
Jer. 51:29 So the land quakes and writhes,
For the purposes of the LORD against Babylon stand,
To make the land of Babylon
A desolation without inhabitants.
Jer. 51:30  The mighty men of Babylon have ceased fighting,
They stay in the strongholds;
Their strength is exhausted,
They are becoming like women;
Their dwelling places are set on fire,
The bars of her gates are broken.
Jer. 51:31 One courier runs to meet another,
And one messenger to meet another,
To tell the king of Babylon
That his city has been captured from end to end;
Jer. 51:32 The fords also have been seized,
And they have burned the marshes with fire,
And the men of war are terrified.

• Verse 24 The LORD used Babylon for His purposes but then declares He will be the one to repay Babylon and the inhabitants of Chaldea.

  • They will be paid back for their evil done in Zion.

  • This will happen before your eyes, the LORD is speaking to Zion.

    • This was given in Jer. 51:10

Jer. 51:10  The LORD has brought about our vindication;
Come and let us recount in Zion
The work of the LORD our God!

• Jer. 51:25 The LORD declares He is against them describing them as a destroying mountain.

  • This Babylon the LORD is making a declaration against would be the kingdom of Babylon.

  • We have said there is the city of Babylon, a spiritual Babylon and a kingdom of Babylon that can be the focus in the scriptures.

    • The term mountain is used and would help determine this is speaking of Babylon the kingdom.

  • This destroying kingdom seeks to destroy the whole earth.

  • The LORD is going to stretch out His hand against this destroying mountain (kingdom) and roll it down from the crags.

    • The destroying mountain (kingdom) will be made a burnt-out mountain (kingdom), a destroyed kingdom.

• Verse 26 They will not take from you even a stone for a corner, nor for foundations.

  • Nothing from this kingdom will be used to build another kingdom again.

  • This will be pictured in the destruction of the city of Babylon as well.

    • What is left in the ruins of a city is often used when the next city is built; this will not be the case where the city of Babylon has been.

    • The ruins of Babylon will be desolate forever, there will not be another city built there.

• Verse 27 The LORD will bring a call on the nations to come against Babylon, like the blowing of a trumpet among the nations.

  • Multiple kingdoms will be summoned; Ararat, Minni and Ashkenazi are mentioned.

  • Ararat can probably be associated with modern day Armenia and eastern Turkey where borders combine with Iran.

    • Minni is probably associated with northwestern Iran.

    • Ashkenazi can be traced to lands now in western Germany and northern France.

  • There will be one (marshal) appointed to lead against Babylon. (Or the call for her destruction will be the marshal called against her.)

  • The horses will be brought up to cover the land, like when marching columns of locusts cover the land.

• Verse 28 There are nations that will be set aside (consecrated) to come against Babylon.

  • All those who are under the dominion of the Medes are called.

  • The LORD said earlier He would arouse the spirit of the kings of the Medes.

Jer. 51:11 Sharpen the arrows, fill the quivers!
The LORD has aroused the spirit of the kings of the Medes,

• Verse 28 Now the result is those under the dominion of the Medes are called.

  • This confirmation of the Medes being called is given in Is. 13:17

Is. 13:17 Behold, I am going to stir up the Medes against them,
Who will not value silver or take pleasure in gold.

• Isaiah chapter thirteen is rich in comparison of the judgment of Babylon to what Jeremiah was given. This verse gives the details that the motivation for the action of the Medes is not their greed for the plunder of silver and gold.

  • Jer. 51:29 The land will quake and writhe used for the LORD’s purpose of making Babylon desolate.

  • The simple understanding here would draw one to understand the LORD may bring earthquakes to the land to accomplish His desire for Babylon; this may also be a description of the people of the land quaking and writhing from the army that is coming to bring destruction.

• Verse 30 These events of armies coming against Babylon and the land quaking causes the mighty men of Babylon to stay where they can hold up. They are cowering.

  • They are weak from exhaustion, they become like women which we have seen to be a characterization used to describe when men writhe in pain like a woman in childbirth.

  • The places they live in are set on fire and their barriers of protection are broken down.

• Verse 31 The message is sent by a relay of messengers to inform the king of Babylon that his city has been captured.

  • The modern forms of communication used today do not seem to exist in this day.

• Verse 32 The fords are seized by those kingdoms called by the LORD for Babylon’s destruction.

  • Any marshes that existed before are now burned with fire.

  • All these events cause the men of war to be terrified.

Jer. 51:33 For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel:
“The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor
At the time it is stamped firm;
Yet in a little while the time of harvest will come for her.”
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.
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.

• Verse 33 The LORD of hosts, the God of Israel speaks. There is a focus on the angelic armies when this title is used.

  • The LORD speaks of the daughter of Babylon being like a threshing floor.

    • The threshing floor is a place where the separation of the chaff from the grain occurs.

  • The LORD is going to use the daughter of Babylon to apply pressure and a separation of His people will occur.

  • In Jeremiah’s time the LORD has determined the daughter of Babylon will be prepared like a threshing floor that is stamped firm; ready to be used for the work of threshing the LORD’s people.

    • There will be a future day when the LORD will again use Babylon for the same purpose.

    • This time will be during the Tribulation brought on the Jews at the end of the age.   

  • After a little time has passed then it will be the daughter of Babylon that will experience the threshing floor described as, ‘the time of harvest’.

• Verse 34 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has devoured me and crushed me.

  • This king was the beginning of the threshing floor for the LORD’s people.

  • He discarded the city after removing the inhabitants.

  • He took the people whole into exile, like a monster who is large enough to swallow men whole.

  • He took all the best of the city and the inhabitants for his use in Babylon.

• Verse 35 The cry from those who suffered the threshing floor, will be that the violence done to them be put upon Babylon.

  • The people who suffered under the violence imposed on them over the years will cry out for retribution on the inhabitants of Chaldea for the blood that was shed.

  • The judgment imagery of the threshing floor of Babylon is seen in Is. 21:8-10

Is. 21:8  Then the lookout called,
“O Lord, I stand continually by day on the watchtower,
And I am stationed every night at my guard post.
Is. 21:9 “Now behold, here comes a troop of riders, horsemen in pairs.”
And one said, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon;
And all the images of her gods are shattered on the ground.”
Is. 21:10  O my threshed people, and my afflicted of the threshing floor!
What I have heard from the LORD of hosts,
The God of Israel, I make known to you.

• Verse 8 There is a lookout assigned to watch for what comes from the direction of Babylon.

  • Verse 9 There are troops of riders coming as horsemen in pairs.

    • One of them says, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon. This is the city.

  • Next we are told all the images of her gods are shattered on the ground.

  • These are her idols, images of the false gods they worshipped.

• Verse 10 The people receiving the message are refereed to as, “O my threshed people, and my afflicted of the threshing floor!”

  • This is what Isaiah was told by the LORD of hosts.

  • Isaiah passes what the God of Israel wants made known to those threshed and afflicted people.

    • The one who had carried out the threshing and affliction of His people has now fallen.

• Jer. 51:35 The cry for retribution from those who suffered the threshing floor treatment of Babylon will hear that Babylon has fallen.

  • The purpose of the LORD’s people to suffer the threshing floor is outlined in Dan. 9:24

Dan. 9:24 “Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place.

• This time-period in total was to accomplish six things for the LORD’s people:

  • To finish the transgression

  • To make an end of sin

  • To make atonement for iniquity

  • To bring in everlasting righteousness.

  • To seal up vision and prophecy

  • To anoint the most holy place.

    • This is accomplished by refining of the LORD’s people Zech. 13:7-9.

Zech. 13:7 “Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd,
And against the man, My Associate,”
Declares the LORD of hosts.
“Strike the Shepherd that the sheep may be scattered;
And I will turn My hand against the little ones.
Zech. 13:8 “It will come about in all the land,”
Declares the LORD,
“That two parts in it will be cut off and perish;
But the third will be left in it.
Zech. 13:9 “And I will bring the third part through the fire,
Refine them as silver is refined,
And test them as gold is tested.
They will call on My name,
And I will answer them;
I will say, ‘They are My people,’
And they will say, ‘The LORD is my God.’”

• The refining of the LORD’s people is the purpose of the LORD. It is the picture of the process to be completed on the threshing floor.

  • The LORD will also hold the nations responsible for the shedding of the blood of His people.

Deut. 32:43 “Rejoice, O nations, with His people;
For He will avenge the blood of His servants,
And will render vengeance on His adversaries,
And will atone for His land and His people.”

• The LORD completes and fulfills His words for His people as given through His Word.

  • The Tribulation is the process the LORD uses to bring about the completion of His promises for His people.

  • For those who come to faith now there is still the process of refining used by the LORD in our lives.

James 1:2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,
James 1:3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
James 1:4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

• This is a difficult process for us to understand but it is the LORD’s way.

  • It is when we understand the testing produces faith that we can then consider it with joy.

  • Ultimately we need to understand it is a demonstration of the LORD’s love.

Prov. 3:11 My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD
Or loathe His reproof,
Prov. 3:12  For whom the LORD loves He reproves,
Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org