Recently my son and daughter-in-law attempted to purchase their first house. They were married not quite two years ago, and in the meantime both got great jobs. So they were looking to move out of their one-bedroom apartment. It was a wonderful apartment to be able to save up for a down payment, but now they were hoping for a bit more room for themselves and their dog.
As they searched, they prayed, we prayed, and many other people prayed. They put in offer after offer on houses for sale, and every time the sellers chose other buyers. In the housing market of 2023, this is par for the course. A home will go on sale, and in no time a seller will have a slew of overs, often many above asking price. My son and daughter-in-law resigned themselves to the fact that it might not be happening for them. Maybe you’ve been in a similar situation. There are plenty of difficulties in life that test our patience and can lead us to give up hope. What do we do when we are struggling to keep hope alive?
In this devotional we’re finishing the book of Jeremiah, and I have to admit that the life and ministry of Jeremiah has been difficult to study. The entire context of the book is the devastating end of the nation of Judah. There have been visions of hope here and there, but for the most part we’ve watched Judah rebel against God, and God tearfully allow Judah to face the consequences of their decision to break covenant with him. It seems like hope is lost. How will Jeremiah end? To get to the end, we’ll need to cover four chapters, 49-52. That’s a lot in one devotional, but I think we can do it. Here’s how: we’ll be able to briefly summarize chapter 49, and then we’ll peek ahead to chapter 52. Finally, we spend the bulk of our time studying chapters 50-51.
For the last few weeks, we’ve been studying the final section of the book of Jeremiah, a section of prophetic poems about the nations around Israel. We come to chapter 49, a series of short prophetic poems about Ammon, Edom, Damascus, Kedar & Hazor, and Elam. The short poems of chapter 49 convey a similar message found in the long poem about Moab in chapter 48 (post here): the nations are arrogantly self-deceived, and Babylon will destroy them. In the end, God says, of the five nations, he will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites and Elamites, and he will protect the orphans and widows of the Edomites. God is a God of restoration, a God whose heart beats for the vulnerable. As you and I desire to follow after God’s heart, then we hold out hope for restoration, we passionately pursue justice for those on the margins.
Now let’s temporarily skip over chapters 50 and 51, and have a short glance at the final chapter of Jeremiah, chapter 52. The book of Jeremiah finishes with a historical recounting of the fall of Jerusalem, a census of the exiles, and a few words about the fate of Judah’s exiled king, Jehoiachin. Most of chapter 52 is a retelling of Jeremiah 39, as well as passages in 2 Kings 24 & 25 and 2 Chronicles 36. Feel free to read it as a reminder of the fall of Jerusalem, but this post, we aren’t going to cover it.
We’re clear to return to Jeremiah chapters 50 and 51, the final prophetic poem, a long message for the Babylonians. This prophetic poem is very similar to all the previous prophetic poems, in that its message is that a nation will be attacked and destroyed. What is surprising is that every other poem it was Babylon who did the attacking, and now we read that Babylon will be attacked and destroyed. Additionally this poem is unique in that it contains numerous messages for Israel. We’re going to pay special attention to what God says to his people Israel.
In chapter 50, verses 1-3, we learn that the great attacker, Babylon, will herself be attacked by a nation from the north. That northern nation is likely Persia, another regional superpower. In the rest of the poem, God will refer to Babylon’s foe as “an alliance of nations” (9) and “the kings of the Medes” (51:11, 28).
For now, God points out that Babylon’s gods will be put to shame and filled with terror. In other words, Babylon’s gods will be shown as false, powerless. God’s reference to Babylon’s gods is important, especially for people in the Ancient Near East. When two nations waged war against each other, that battle was very much seen as a contest between each nation’s gods. When Babylon swept through the region defeating everyone in sight, including Judah, both the victorious Babylonians and their many defeated foes had strong evidence to conclude that Babylon’s gods were more powerful than any other god, including Judah’s God.
This is perhaps at least partly why the people of Judah, often seemingly easily, fell prey to worshiping the false gods of the Babylonians. Maybe their God wasn’t as powerful as their ancient stories suggested. Maybe Babylon’s gods were more powerful. In chapter 50, verses 1-3, God corrects that false impression. Those seemingly all-powerful Babylonian deities will be revealed for the shams they are. That should be extremely instructive for the people of Israel and Judah, whose God is Yahweh, the one true God. So it makes sense that God would, though this is still a poem for Babylon, now have a few words for the people of Israel and Judah.
In verses 4-7, God says that when Babylon is attacked, when her gods are put to shame, then the people of Israel and Judah will together tearfully seek God. That word “together” is eye-popping. This would be the first time in centuries that the people of God will be together. Israel fell apart in civil war after the reign of Solomon, and ever since they were divided. Now God envisions them repenting together. An astounding unification will take place.
But what is so important about this passage is not just the joy of a reunification of Israel; what is so important is why they are unified. Together they will turn toward Zion (another name for the holy city of Jerusalem), and they will bind themselves to God in an everlasting covenant. This is a powerful image of a new covenant between God and his people.
God depicts the people as sheep who are lost, led astray by their shepherds. This metaphor is what we have heard from Jeremiah frequently. The Jewish leaders, kings, priests and prophets, led the people away from God. The leaders and people sinned against God, choosing not to believe that God was their true hope. But a new day is coming, a day of restoration. God gives the people a vision of hope in a new covenant.
Then the poem turns again to the destruction of Babylon in verses 8-16. But in verses 17-20, God has more to say to Israel. Though his people are like scattered sheep, he will bring Israel back to the land of Palestine, where they will have safe, bountiful pasture. In those days, there will be no more sign of Israel and Judah’s sin, because God will forgive the remnant.
In these verses, God’s action is featured. He not only restores Israel, he also forgives their sin. What we are hearing from God is astounding hope. Restoration, forgiveness, safety, peace, flourishing. Israel can hope in God because he is active, intentional and good.
A pattern has begun to emerge. Have you seen it? I hinted at it earlier when I said that this prophetic poem is unique in that while it is a message of destruction to Babylon, God also embeds within the poem a message of hope for Israel. We’ve seen two cycles of this pattern thus far. Now watch how the pattern continues.
Cycle three begins when God’s poem spells doom on Babylon throughout verses 21-32. After that curse on Babylon, he pronounces more blessing on Israel in verses 33-34. God points out the oppression of his people Israel and Judah, and he reminds them that he is their Redeemer, the Lord Almighty. He will vigorously defend them and bring rest to their land. There is hope!
Cycle four is found in verses 50:35-51:4, as God prophesies more judgment against Babylon, and as he gives assurance to Israel and Judah in 51:5. God is honest with Israel and Judah, reminding them that their land is full of guilt. They chose disobedience and rebellion. But he, the Lord Almighty, the Holy One, will not forsake them.
Cycle five in the pattern of destruction for Babylon and hope for Israel begins in chapter 51, verses 6-9 which describe how God will break Babylon, and concludes in verse 10 as describes the people of God declaring how he vindicates them in Zion/Jerusalem.
Cycle six, up next in chapter 51, verses 11-18, is about Babylon’s downfall, while verse 19 declares God as the Portion of Jacob, the Maker, the Lord Almighty (we’ve heard that title for God three times in the poem). God describes Israel as the tribe of his inheritance.
Cycle seven begins in verses 20-35, where God describes more of the destruction of Babylon, and it finishes in verse 36 as God declares he will defend Israel’s cause and avenge her.
The eighth cycle starts in verses 37-45 where God says Babylon will be destroyed, and it concludes in verses 46-48, where he says Israel should not lose heart or be afraid. There is always hope! God will punish Babylon, and there will be great joy in all heaven and earth.
Two more cycles to go. Number nine is short. In verse 49 God refers to Babylon’s downfall, and in verse 50 he tells Israel to remember him, though they are in exile far away. They should think of Jerusalem. In other words, keep hope alive.
Cycle number ten is different. In verses 51-58, God concludes the poem with a message of destruction. This time there is no message for Israel. The focus is entirely on Babylon, which leads to the chapters powerful conclusion.
In verses 59-64 the book concludes with a brief historical note saying that Jeremiah instructed this poem (all of chapters 50-51) to be read in Babylon. Then in a final act of prophetic drama, the scroll on which the poem is written is to be tied to a stone and dropped into the Euphrates as a metaphor of Babylon sinking to its death. It was an ancient mic drop of epic proportions!
Through the repeating cycle of prophecy about Babylon’s destruction and Israel’s restoration, God drives home the message. He is not done. Sure, the people can look around them and assume that the great history of Israel is over. But with God, what appears to be the end is not necessarily the end. With God there is always hope.
My son and daughter-in-law knew that with God there is always hope. They lived in that hope as they kept putting offers on houses for sale. We all kept praying. Then a couple months ago, we got a text on our family group chat: “We got a house!!!” Sixteen people put an offer in on the house, and my son and daughter-in-law were picked! There’s wasn’t even the most lucrative offer. God blessed them with a delightful home. I’m not saying that every situation turns out like that. Many don’t. But know that no matter what you are going through, we have a God who is a God of hope, restoration, forgiveness and flourishing. Place your hope in him. He is with you.
Photo by Faris Mohammed on Unsplash
Engaging Scripture 