Climaxing Jeremiah’s pronouncements upon the nations comes the word against Babylon in chapters 50-51. Just as Egypt, Philistia, Moab, Ammon, Edom, Syria, the peoples of Kedar and Hazor, and Elam all stood under God’s judgment, so did Babylon. What is significant about this is that Babylon was at the time the greatest superpower on the planet. Babylon had arisen as the most powerful of the nations and had displaced Assyria. At the time, they probably seemed unstoppable, especially to the people of Judah who had just been conquered by them.
Yet, God had His purpose and plans for Babylon (50:45) and unlike Israel His plans for Babylon weren’t good. Israel had a future and a hope, Babylon, however, was destined for destruction. In fact, God says that Babylon’s destruction would be as thorough as that of Sodom and Gomorrah (50:40).
Surely when God’s people were freshly taken into captivity in Babylon this message would’ve seemed difficult to believe. Babylon was at the top, how in the world could they end up obsolete? If Babylon was powerful enough to conquer everyone else, how could they one day disappear? Again and again in Jeremiah we see the truth that God is sovereign over the nations, and He moves nations and leaders around as He pleases.
Those of us who live about 2,500 years later in world history now know that Babylon is nowhere to be found. Just as God promised, He performed. Babylon that was once the greatest is no more. God will raise up and put down those whom He will, and we can trust that His plans will be performed. Jeremiah predicted it, Judah got to experience it firsthand, and we get to look back in history and see the accuracy and reliability of God’s decree.
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