We are living in a time of great uncertainty, turmoil, and unrest. The clash of values has intensified with greater polarization, not just politically but also relationally. Families are divided, nations that once were allies are becoming adversarial. Our world seems fragile. Jesus warned that times like these would mark the end of the age. The question raised by the early disciples was, what would be the sign of Christ’s coming and of the end of the age (Mt. 24:3)?’
Jesus answered: ‘Watch out that no one deceives you. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, But the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.[i]
We have the warning of Jesus, but we also have the example of other times in history that were chaotic and distressing. What did God have to say to His people in such times? We find the period just prior to exile and the concluding of the Jewish exile to be such a time. Jeremiah’s message to his nation was not just one of impending judgment but was also a word of hope. Here in the last message of Jeremiah we discover the impending judgment about to come upon Babylon, which was also designed to bring hope to God’s people. Babylon would fall but it was the key for Judah’s exile to end. Though good news it also brought uncertainty. How were they to now respond? The message was to flee from Babylon. The greater question we can ask is, how does this apply to us?
Jeremiah 51 is not simply a history lesson from the past; it is also a warning for the present. Babylon is not just a historic city. It stands for everything hateful and odious to God. Babylon is every culture that is proud, arrogant, wasteful, violent, and destructive. It represents every city that sets itself against the kingdom of God. Robert Linthicum calls it ‘a city which has no redeeming value, a city given over to the wholehearted worship and pursuit of evil.’ Or, as urban missiologist Ray Bakke observes, ‘Throughout the Bible, Babylon is a symbol of the city which is anti-God. …Augustine wrote about Babylon in his great book The City of God. He viewed the history of the world as a conflict between two great cities—the City of Man and the City of God. As Augustine studied the Bible, he discovered that Babylon represented the City of Man standing against the City of God. Then, as he examined his own culture, he realized that Rome had become the capital City of Man.’[ii]
So, what can we learn from this moment in the life of the nation of exiles that applies to the time in which we are living in? What is Babylon today and what are we told to flee from? What should our response be when our society seems to be breaking down around us? In Jeremiah 51 we find three things that bring hope to those who trust God in times of uncertainty and chaos.
THE FIRST THING THAT BRINGS HOPE IN TIMES OF UNCERTAINTY AND CHAOS IS THAT GOD IS JUST
God will bring injustice and oppression to an end. God hears the cry of the afflicted and shows mercy and grace to them. God will ultimately punish wickedness and bring justice to bear upon the perpetrators of evil. We need to be aware that God will render what we sow upon us. If we desire to experience mercy and forgiveness, we must show it to others. If we sow abuse and evil, there will come a day when evil overtakes us.
This is what the Lord says: ‘See, I will stir up the spirit of a destroyer against Babylon and the people of Leb Kamai [another name for Babylon]. I will send foreigners to Babylon to winnow her and to devastate her land; they will oppose her on every side in the day of her disaster. Let not the archer string his bow, nor let him put on his armor. Do not spare her young men; completely destroy her army. They will fall down slain in Babylon, fatally wounded in her streets. For Israel and Judah have not been forsaken by their God, the Lord Almighty, though their land is full of guilt before the Holy One of Israel.’[iii]
It was the Lord that raised up others to punish the Babylonian Empire for their transgressions against God and His people. Jeremiah’s message of the fall of Babylon seemed absurd at that moment. It seemed to be in the prime of its power.
Babylon was then at the height of her glory, with her fabulous Hanging Gardens, her mighty Ishtar Gate, and all the rest of her wonders. Jeremiah thus predicted the ruin of Babylon, not in simple words, for nothing seemed then more unreasonable than to announce the things which God at length proved by the effect. As Babylon was then the metropolis of the East, no one could have thought that it would ever be possessed by a foreign power.[iv]
Let us not allow what outwardly seems secure as though it will always be what it appears. The only eternal and secure element in life is what God says. His word is eternal.
Here in verse 5, we are reminded that God was committed to His people even though they had been unfaithful toward Him.
This action is taken because Israel and Judah are still the object of God’s concern. The term rendered ‘forsaken’ is an adjective from of ‘widow.’ That is, this people is not without the strong protective husband who will intervene on its behalf.[v]
Although Israel and Judah had been unfaithful to God, God did not abandon them but rescued them. So, what is God’s message to us? Or how does this apply to us? God does not rescue us because of how good we are, but out of His great mercy and gracious nature, He rescues us. When we enter a covenant relationship with God, though at times we fail, God never fails us. God is faithful and always keeps His end of the agreement. Philip Ryken shares the reason for this Divine judgment on Babylon.
Whether people believed Jeremiah or not, his prophecies came true. Babylon plunged like a rock to the bottom of the Euphrates. The history of Babylon’s fall teaches many valuable lessons. It teaches that God is just. “‘Before your eyes I will repay Babylon and all who live in Babylonia for all the wrong they have done in Zion,” declares the Lord’ (v. 24). Or again: ‘Babylon must fall because of Israel’s slain, just as the slain in all the earth have fallen because of Babylon.’(v. 49). ‘A destroyer will come against Babylon; her warriors will be captured, and their bows will be broken. For the Lord is a God of retribution; he will repay in full.’ (v. 56) Because God is just, He must repay evil for evil. The fall of Babylon also teaches that God is all-powerful.[vi]
THE SECOND THING THAT BRINGS HOPE IN TIMES OF UNCERTAINTY AND CHAOS IS THAT THERE IS NO NEED FOR DESPAIR
We, as God’s people should realize that God governs the affairs of humanity and He will work out His purposes including our salvation despite our struggles, weaknesses, doubts, and sins. God can work to bring about our transformation. This mighty work comes from within us. He is working to change our hearts, not just our external situations. Andrew Blackwood explains that often the moments of difficulty and suffering in our lives are God’s vehicle of restoration.
The Hebrew people did not know it at the time, but the period of exile, that seemed to them the destruction of their faith, was in actuality its resurrection.[vii]
God had brought their idolatry to an end in the collapse of Judah and Jerusalem. The exile was a time of reflection and tears that brought about a change of mind. Now we see the word of the prophet that Babylon is about to be destroyed. What should their response be? Though God would destroy Babylon, He spared His people from destruction. The response commanded by God was to flee Babylon.
Flee from Babylon! Run for your lives! Do not be destroyed because of her sins. It is time for the LORD’S vengeance; he will repay her what she deserves.[viii]
A. We are called to flee the values of our sinful and rebellious society.
As already pointed out, Babylon is the culture in rebellion to God. We are also called to flee Babylon. We are challenged to present or offer our lives as living sacrifices to God (Rom. 12:1), and not to conform to the pattern or values of our society that is in rebellion against God, but rather we are to be transformed (changed), by considering and thinking differently (Rom 12:2). We are warned in the book of James that if we embrace the values and world view of our rebellious society, we will find ourselves in opposition to God.
You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God?[ix]
Though God had used Babylon to discipline the nations, Babylon would now suddenly and unexpectedly fall. We are not only to reject the values of our society, but we are also to intercede for her that God would deliver people from her seductive grasp. When we embrace God’s values, we will be vindicated in the end.
Babylon was a gold cup in the Lord’s hand; she made the whole earth drunk. The nations drank her wine; therefore they have now gone mad. Babylon will suddenly fall and be broken. Wail over her! Get balm for her pain; perhaps she can be healed. ‘We would have healed Babylon, but she cannot be healed; let us leave her and each go to our own land, for her judgment reaches to the skies, it rises as high as the heavens. The Lord has vindicated us; come, let us tell in Zion what the Lord our God has done.’[x]
B. Vengeance belongs to God.
We are instructed not to take matters into our own hands and respond to evil by rendering evil in return. God will address these issues in His time. When we trust God, He will repay. We can only overcome evil by doing good.
Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord. On the contrary: ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.[xi]
A contrast is made between the idolatry of Babylon and the nature of the true God as Creator (15-19). If we trust in that which is false, it will eventually fail. However, it is wisdom to trust in the One who created and sustains all things and works out His purposes in our world.
C. We need not fear what tomorrow holds because we trust the One who created all things.
He made the earth by his power; he founded the world by his wisdom and stretched out the heavens by his understanding. When he thunders, the waters in the heavens roar; he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth. He sends lightning with the rain and brings out the wind from his storehouses. ‘Everyone is senseless and without knowledge; every goldsmith is shamed by his idols. The images he makes are a fraud; they have no breath in them. They are worthless, the objects of mockery; when their judgment comes, they will perish. He who is the Portion of Jacob is not like these, for he is the Maker of all things, including the people of his inheritance— the Lord Almighty is his name.[xii]
While the Babylonians attributed the creation of the world to their god Bel or Marduk, Jeremiah takes issue with this claim. All idols are frauds. They are lifeless, worthless and objects of mockery. They will perish as well as all those who put their trust in them.
When we look around our world today, people are struggling with what will happen to them in this uncertain future. They look to the financial gurus, the stock market, those in political leadership for answers, but will be disappointed. Our world is in a free fall. When we make anything other than the Lord our hope and trust, we will be filled with anxiety and fear. These things are all false hopes, idols that people cling to their own destruction. God will see His children through this time of uncertainty and chaos.
Like God’s destruction upon Babylon (vss. 41-47), in the past. God’s word of comfort to the exiles living in Babylon is the word we need to cling to.
Do not lose heart or be afraid when rumors are heard in the land; one rumor comes this year, another the next, rumors of violence in the land of ruler against ruler.[xiii]
Why are so many fearful today? We’ve heard of this and that and hearts fail for fear.
Andrew Blackwood explains the political turmoil that was happening in Jeremiah’s hour.
After Nebuchadnezzar’s death the political situation in his empire was near chaos; rumor contradicted rumor and king rose up against king. The exiled Hebrews both hoped for the destruction of Babylon and dreaded it, for they knew that they and their families might well be destroyed with the city they hated.[xiv]
Whenever there come chaotic conditions, we must not despair, nor lose heart, but trust that God’s purposes will prevail.
THE FINAL THING THAT BRINGS HOPE IN TIMES OF UNCERTAINTY AND CHAOS IS OBEDIENCE OVER FALSE HOPE
What is seen can be a hindrance to obedience in the Christian life. We often act as if what we are currently experiencing is the greater reality in life, taking precedence over God’s word. However, as already stated, God’s word is eternal. When God warns us, it is folly to disobey.
Here in Jeremiah 51, are warnings of impending judgment upon Babylon. Yet, as we read, let us not think solely of that ancient city, but of this ungodly society in which we are living in and in which we often succumb to its charms and false promises. Let us not put our hope in what this world offers, as it is transitory. Let us build our lives on what is enduring and eternal.
Anybody who pinned their hope on Babylon was doomed to disappointment, but so is anyone today who pins his or her hope on this present world.[xv]
The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.[xvi]
F. B. Meyer (1847-1929) explained:
One is disposed to enlarge the scope of the prophecy and to believe that every form of anti-Christian power, whether systems of false philosophy, structures of ancient superstition, or gigantic wrongs like the drink traffic and the opium trade, shall wither and die before the all-conquering might of Emmanuel, who was manifested to destroy the works of the devil. He must reign until all enemies are put beneath his feet. Let us strengthen our confidence in the certain prevalence of good over evil, of the Church over the world, and of Christ over Satan, as we consider the precise fulfillment of Jeremiah’s predictions concerning the fall of Babylon.[xvii]
Listen to the warnings of the prophet regarding what is about to befall Babylon.
‘Before your eyes I will repay Babylon and all who live in Babylonia for all the wrong they have done in Zion,’ declares the Lord. ‘I am against you, you destroying mountain, you who destroy the whole earth,’ declares the Lord. ‘I will stretch out my hand against you, roll you off the cliffs, and make you a burned-out mountain.’[xviii]
How desolate Babylon will be among the nations! The sea will rise over Babylon; its roaring waves will cover her. Her towns will be desolate, a dry and desert land, a land where no one lives, through which no one travels. I will punish Bel in Babylon and make him spew out what he has swallowed. The nations will no longer stream to him. And the wall of Babylon will fall.[xix]
For the time will surely come when I will punish the idols of Babylon; her whole land will be disgraced and her slain will all lie fallen within her. Then heaven and earth and all that is in them will shout for joy over Babylon, for out of the north destroyers will attack her,’ declares the Lord. ‘Babylon must fall because of Israel’s slain, just as the slain in all the earth have fallen because of Babylon. You who have escaped the sword, leave and do not linger! Remember the Lord in a distant land, and call to mind Jerusalem.’[xx]
A. The challenge for the exiles.
So, if we are to flee Babylon, where are we going? What should we be doing? They were to return to their homeland and rebuild and restore what had been destroyed. They were to walk by faith and fulfill God’s purposes.
Warren Wiersbe reminds us of their state of mind and the challenges that were to face them.
The exiles felt disgraced before the world because of what the Babylonians had done to the temple in Jerusalem. If the Lord wasn’t strong enough to protect His house, how could He ever be strong enough to defeat Babylon? If they left Babylon, they would go home only to ruin and shame. During the years of their captivity, those who had obeyed Jeremiah’s instructions (Jer. 29:4–14) probably enjoyed fairly comfortable lives. Thus, they would be exchanging security for danger and plenty for want.
God, however, made it clear that there was no future in Babylon, for He had determined to destroy the city. ‘For the Lord [is a] God of recompenses’ (51:56). If His people remained in Babylon, they would suffer the fate of the city. If they obeyed the Lord and returned home, they would experience a new beginning under the blessing of the Lord.
It’s a matter of walking by faith and not by sight, trusting God’s Word instead of our own human evaluation. The exiles saw the high walls and huge gates of the city and concluded that such fortifications would repel any enemy, but they were wrong. Those walls and gates would become only ‘fuel for the flames’ when the invaders arrived on the scene (v. 58).[xxi]
We could even argue that earlier in Jeremiah’s message they were to seek the prosperity of Babylon, but now the message was to seek the prosperity of Jerusalem and to flee Babylon. What does all this mean for us? We are to focus our energies on building God’s kingdom on earth. It is a spiritual kingdom, therefore we ought to be investing our time and energy into the lives of people, instilling God’s values into their lives. The greatest asset our society has today is the redeeming nature of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It saves, it restores and reconciles lives. It is eternal in nature, even death cannot overcome it.
In perilous and chaotic times, we need to know that God is in control, and He is working out His purposes. He is a just God. There is no need for panic and despair, rather we need to obey God rather than look for all the false hopes that are being promised. When we come to the end of the New Testament writings in the book of Revelation, we hear the same message as that which is seen here at the end of the book of Jeremiah.
Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great! She has become a dwelling for demons and a haunt for every impure spirit. Then I heard another voice from heaven say: Come out of her my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues,[xxii]
God is calling us to reject the values of this corrupt and rebellious society and embrace God’s values and kingdom regardless of the cost and rejection that we can anticipate from our culture seduced by sin and Satan. Let us respond to God’s word by rejecting the false promises of this culture and embracing God’s eternal kingdom, laboring with God to see lives transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ.
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[i] Matthew 24:4, 6, 9-10, 12-13, The New International Version of the Bible, Zondervan, 2011.
[ii] Philip Ryken, Jeremiah and Lamentations: From Sorrow to Hope, (Wheaton, IL: Crossways Books, 2001), 712-13.
[iii] Jeremiah 51:1-5.
[iv] John Calvin, A Commentary on Jeremiah, 5 vols., Vol. 5 (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1989), 122.
[v] Walter Brueggemann, A Commentary on Jeremiah: Exile and Homecoming, (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1998), 473.
[vi] Philip Ryken, Jeremiah and Lamentations: From Sorrow to Hope, 710-11.
[vii] Andrew Blackwood, Commentary on Jeremiah, (Waco, TX: Word Books, Publishers, 1977), 317.
[viii] Jeremiah 51:6.
[ix] James 4:4.
[x] Jeremiah 51:7-10.
[xi] Romans 12:19-20a, 21.
[xii] Jeremiah 51:15-19.
[xiii] Jeremiah 51:46.
[xiv] Andrew Blackwood, Commentary on Jeremiah, 318.
[xv] Warren Wiersbe, Be Decisive, (Victor Books, 1996), 179.
[xvi] 1 John 2:17.
[xvii] F. B. Meyer, Jeremiah: Priest and Prophet, rev. ed. (Fort Washington, PA: Christian Literature Crusade, 1993), 152, as quoted by Philip Ryken, Jeremiah and Lamentations: From Sorrow to Hope, 716.
[xviii] Jeremiah 51:24-25.
[xix] Jeremiah 51:41b-44.
[xx] Jeremiah 51:47-50.
[xxi] Warren Wiersbe, Be Decisive, 182.
[xxii] Revelation 18:2a, 4.
