The Fulfillment Of God's Promises

INTRO

Today concludes our study of Jeremiah. Pastor Gordy yesterday covered chapter 50 and the beginning of Jeremiah’s oracle for Babylon. That oracle continues into chapter 51. The oracles in chapters 50—51 take up almost as much space as the oracles for all the other nations combined. There are also conversations taking place that were recorded in these chapters. Chapter 51 takes place after the fall of Jerusalem in 560 BC. Babylon was by far the greatest tragedy Jerusalem ever faced.

TEACHING

Jeremiah 51:1-8: In verses 1–8, God shared that He had used Babylon as His instrument (“a gold cup in the LORD’s hand”) of punishment against Judah. God had used Babylon against the nations, many of which were described in Jeremiah 46—49. However, that day of being God’s instrument was over. Babylon would be held accountable. God would place Babylon on the junk heap just as He had placed Assyria there when she had finished her task for Him with the northern kingdom.

Jeremiah 51:9–19: Through Jeremiah, God proclaimed He had tried to heal Babylon, but she could not be healed (v. 9). The righteous among the Israelites, including Daniel, had tried to lead Babylon the right way without success. God stated He would use the Medes to destroy Babylon (v. 11). God’s vengeance was in part for the destruction of His temple (v. 11). God promised He would send more men against the Babylonians than locusts in a plague who would sing of victory over them (v. 14).

God’s judgment against Babylon was a strange process and was often repeated through history: (1) God appointed a judgment to come; (2) God used a human instrument in that judgment; (3) the human instrument was not motivated by God but by their own sinful desire; (4) God brought judgment on the instrument He used. God’s fulfillment came through the Medes and the Persians. The Medes were allied with Babylon in the destruction of Nineveh in 612 BC but later joined the Persians to defeat Babylon in 539 BC.

Jeremiah 51:20–26: The next part of the conversation was to Cyrus of Persia (vv. 20–23), to Israel (v. 24), and to Babylon (vv. 25–26). God told Cyrus he would be His battle club in which God smashed the guilty. God then promised His people He would repay Babylon and its residents for what they had done to Israel and Judah before their eyes. God also promised He would destroy Babylon with His own hand.

Jeremiah 51:27–53: This is a confusing section, and no one is really sure who Jeremiah was talking to in it. Possibly Jeremiah was sending word to all the nations that had been affected by Babylon. Three groups were specified (v. 27), all of which were in the area of present-day Armenia located north of Babylon and connected to the empire of the Medes. Each of these was known in Assyrian cuneiform texts. God called for the nations to come together to fight against Babylon (v. 28). When Babylon fell to the Medes and the Persians, it was by a confederation of nations. This will also be true in the ultimate destruction of Babylon (Revelation 17—18).

Verse 33 begins another conversation. God called Israel (“Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon has devoured me; he has crushed me” to be ready because they would see Babylon trampled (vv. 34–35). God assured them He would deal with Babylon the way it deserved. In verses 36–44 God detailed what judgment He would bring upon Babylon. In verse 44 God promised He would punish Bel of Babylon as well. Bel is a reference to Baal, the god of the Babylonians. They had written the Babylonian Hymn of Bel, which has been translated from a cuneiform (wedge-shaped character writing) and reveals Baal as supreme ruler, the life-giver, the god of justice, who holds society together, is controller of the elements—particularly fire! These oracles call out to us today. Our deities have different names now, but we nonetheless bow to them and to their pretty visibility when we could be bowing to sheer majesty. In verses 45–48 God gave the people of Israel the command to leave Babylon. They did not receive that permission until after Babylon’s defeat.

Jeremiah 51:59–64: When King Zedekiah of Judah went to Babylon, Jeremiah gave Seraiah, the quartermaster, special instructions. Seraiah was the grandson of the high priest Hilkiah who had discovered the lost book of the law in King Josiah’s reign. Jeremiah wrote on a scroll all the disaster that Babylon would endure, gave the scroll to Seraiah, and told Seraiah to read the words aloud when he arrived in Babylon. Then Seraiah was to tie a stone to the scroll and throw it into the middle of the Euphrates river to demonstrate how Babylon would sink and never rise again. The words of Jeremiah end here.

Jeremiah 52: Chapter 52 provides the historical conclusion of what happened to Judah between 560–538 BC. It was written after the fall of Jerusalem and perhaps after Jeremiah’s death (Jeremiah 51:64, 586 BC) and before Babylon’s defeat by the Persians (538 BC). It was also written after King Evil-Merodach freed Jehoiachin (560 BC). It may have been written by Baruch, and it testifies to the truthfulness and integrity of Jeremiah’s long, faithful work as God’s prophet. Ryken states, “Nearly every verse of Jeremiah 52 is a fulfilled prophecy. In fact, reading the chapter is a good way to review the entire book of Jeremiah. The facts speak for themselves: Jeremiah spoke the true words of God.”¹

Zedekiah became king at 21 and reigned 11 years (v. 1), but he did evil in God’s sight (v. 2). God banished Jerusalem and Judah from His presence. Zedekiah rebelled against Babylon, whose army eventually advanced on Jerusalem and held it by siege for two years. After four months there was no food in Jerusalem and the people slipped out of the city (vv. 6–7). They were overtaken by the Chaldeans near Jericho. The army of Judah was scattered, and Zedekiah was taken to the king of Babylon (vv. 8–9). The king of Babylon slaughtered Zedekiah’s sons while he watched, blinded Zedekiah, and kept him in his custody until Zedekiah died (vv. 10–11). This appears to fulfill the mysterious promise God made through Ezekiel regarding Zedekiah shortly before the fall of Jerusalem: “But I will spread My net over him, and he will be caught in My snare. I will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, yet he will not see it, and he will die there” (Ezekiel 12:13).

The Babylonians completely destroyed the temple. Officials of Judah were killed. Almost 10,000 people were deported from Jerusalem and sent to Babylon. Yet the king of Babylon pardoned Judah’s King Jehoiachin who had been imprisoned in Babylon for years. The king of Babylon gave Jehoiachin a regular allowance, and Jehoiachin dined in the Babylonian king’s presence regularly (vv. 31–34). Why was this final conclusion given? Possibly to show the fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy of the judgment on the land. Also, Jeremiah saw hope for the future—for the New Covenant. Jehoiachin foreshadowed the coming restoration and the continuing of the kingly line through the real son of David—Jesus Christ. Jeremiah pointed to Christ as the true fulfillment of God’s promise.

CLOSING

What God called Jeremiah to do was to stand up for His Word even when no one else wanted to hear it. Remarkably Jeremiah was faithful to that calling. More remarkable, Jeremiah’s message was of the New Covenant that would be found in Christ. Jeremiah delivered the message of hope to all nations. We are called to do the same thing in humility and in truth—even if the world who hears us hates us!

Jeremiah 52:24–27 states what happened to Seraiah. Five years after he proclaimed God’s word in Babylon, Seraiah was taken into custody after the fall of Jerusalem, along with other city officials, and was executed outside the city.