Today, I am reading and commenting on  Jeremiah 51-52.

Before the fall of Jerusalem, Jeremiah had told those already in exile in Babylon to make lives for themselves there because their fortunes were tied to that of Babylon.  Right after the fall of Jerusalem, Jeremiah made a prophecy warning those living in Babylon, specifically those taken there in exile from Jerusalem, to be careful and to prepare for the fall of Babylon.  This was at the height of Babylon’s power, or near enough to not matter.  Yet, Jeremiah, after for years predicting Babylon’s dominance over all of the powers of the world, prophesied that Babylon would fall, and would fall catastrophically.  The lesson for us is that no matter how powerful a nation, or other human institution, may seem, God will bring it down when those who run it begin to believe that they will not be held to account for their actions.  I fear that day is fast approaching for many powerful nations and organizations.  Let us separate ourselves from such institutions, even if they claim to serve the Lord.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Jeremiah 51-52.

At the height of Babylon’s power, Jeremiah prophesied that it would fall and be completely destroyed, never to rise to power again.   Jeremiah told the world that for all of Babylon’s power it could not escape the Lord’s judgement against it.  There were those who would believe that the fall of Jerusalem, and the destruction of the temple there, meant that the gods of Babylon were more powerful than God.  God gave Jeremiah the prophecy about the fall of Babylon before the fall of Jerusalem in order to provide evidence for those who worshiped Him that Babylon’s gods were not more powerful than He was.   We live in a time when people believe that God is no longer relevant, but this is not true.  The God who told us of Babylon’s fall before it reached the height of its power continues to work in the world today.  History follows the course which He has laid out for it.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Jeremiah 51-52.

I had previously stated that we did not know when Jeremiah made the prophecy concerning Babylon.  I was mistaken, in today’s passage we are told that Jeremiah made this prophecy during the reign of King Zedekiah just before Zedekiah visited Babylon.  I struggle with what lesson to take from Jeremiah’s prophecy against Babylon.  As I have thought about it it seems that Jeremiah was speaking to those Exiles who had “gone native” in Babylon, who had decided that Babylon was “the future”.  There were those who thought that Babylon’s success proved that they need not obey God’s law.  Jeremiah’s prophesied that for all of Babylon’s might, it too would fall…and that God would restore the people of Israel.  We must never make the mistake of thinking that the interests if the nation in which we live are synonymous with God’s will.  While it is true that if the people of a nation do God’s will that nation’s interests will be served, we cannot assume that because something is in a nation’s interest it is in God’s will.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Jeremiah 51-52.

It is worth noting that Jeremiah prophesied the fall of Babylon before Babylon had reached the peak of its power.  At the time, everyone thought that Babylon was a power which could not be challenged and would be never be held accountable.  Here Jeremiah tells us that God will hold them accountable for their sins, despite the fact that he had also prophesied that God was using them to punish other nations. In particular, God would hold them accountable for their mistreatment of the people of Israel.  Again, this was despite the fact that God had used them to punish the people of Israel for their sins.  One lesson of this passage is playing out on the world stage today.  In Afghanistan some people have learned that putting your trust in an earthly power will lead to heartbreak and suffering.  While the United States is not, at least, not yet, suffering the fate prophesied here for Babylon, those who put their trust in her, rather than in God, are paying the price for that.  There are other lessons in this passage which the current masters of Afghanistan should heed: those who inflict suffering on God’s people, even if God has mandated that suffering for His people, will themselves experience suffering in God’s time.  And one lesson for all those who think their power will last: God will bring down all earthly powers at the time of His choosing.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Jeremiah 51-52.

A theme which runs through the Book of Jeremiah is that God raised up the Babylonians to punish the people of Judah, but that does not free the Babylonians from God’s judgement on them for abusing His People.  In fact, Jeremiah tells us that God raised up Babylon to punish many of the nations of the world for their sins.  Nevertheless, God destroyed Babylon for the wrong which they had done to His people.  So, God raises up nations and people to punish evil-doers, but that does not justify them committing evil acts against those they have been raised up to punish.  I dislike touching on the same theme two days in a row, but I think this message really is that important.  There are times when we wish to be God’s Hand of Judgement against those who have committed heinous sins, but we should keep it mind that those who have been God’s Hand of Judgement have usually later been subject to His Judgement.  We should rather desire to be those who deliver God’s mercy, because those who deliver God’s mercy will be the recipients of God’s Mercy.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Jeremiah 51-52.

Babylon was chosen by God to punish His people by conquering Jerusalem and destroying the Temple there.  Yet, here Jeremiah prophesied that God would punish Babylon and the Babylonians for what they had done to the people of Jerusalem.    So, let’s recap.  Jerusalem and the Temple was destroyed because of the sins of the Jewish people.  Babylon was God’s chosen tool for this task.  Nevertheless, God chose to punish Babylon for what they did to the people of Israel.  

As I read this I thought about the modern state of Israel.  There are many who condemn the modern state of Israel for what they perceive as the sins of its politicians and people.  I am not going to address the merits of those accusations today because it is not relevant to the point.  If the people of the modern state of Israel are guilty of the sins which their opponents accuse them of, God will punish them and the state of Israel will fall.  However, those who work to bring that about will pay a price, even if they are doing so because of the sins of the people of Israel.

However, as I started typing the last paragraph I realized there is a more general lesson.  One which all of us should heed.  Those who repeatedly sin will suffer God’s punishment for their sins (especially the sins of oppressing the weak and powerless).  However, when that punishment is delivered by their fellow human, the one delivering the punishment may be sinning by doing so.  We are all sinners and avoid God’s terrible punishment only by His grace.  It is not our place to decide who should receive God’s punishment and who should receive His grace.  Let us leave that to God.  Our place is to demonstrate God’s love.  That we should not leave to God.