Jeremiah 28 - Judgment against Babylon and the Nations - Jeremiah 49-50

[Music] Jeremiah chapter 49 is made up of prophecies of judgment against several nations that surround in Israel or were in the general region we begin with the ammonites the ammonites lived in the area on the east side of the Jordan River north of the Moabites their lands are included in what is today modern-day jordan matter of fact the capital of Jordan is called Aman Aman after the ammonites they were often in conflict with the Israelites now notice the words here in verse one has Israel no sons has he no heir why then does milcom inherit gad milcom was the god of the Moabites or at least one of their gods and milcom he's here used as a representation of the Moabites basically it's asking why does a pagan god occupy the land that was destined for god's people god inherited the land of the ammonites to be given to the Israelites on the east side of the Jordan River it was given to GAD Reuben and Manasseh now milcom who's also known as Molech lived so to speak in that land and it acted as if Israel's inheritance was invalid I just want us to pause here for a brief minute and notice this picture here where it just simply has he no air has he no sons why then does a new super occupy the inheritance of God's people and the reason why I bring that up is I wonder how many times that would be said of a believer today what do I mean by that well listen we could say there's a similar wonder today when God's people forsake their inheritance and do not possess it God has given us a spiritual inheritance as his people it's just as real as the inheritance that was supposed to be for GAD and Reuben and Manasseh in the land of but friends our inheritance is spiritual we have been given every spiritual blessing that is ours in the heavenly places in Jesus Christ this is our inheritance as believers and I wonder if there's not similar wonder in the spiritual realm if the Angels don't discuss it sometime why do they not occupy their inheritance Israel did not occupy all their inheritance under God's Old Covenant the believer under the New Covenant should certainly occupy all the inheritance that God has for them God has an inheritance of peace and power and love in Jesus it's inheritance that you and I his followers should actually possess and no one should take away from us in any regard verse 2 begins the warning of coming judgment against the ammonites therefore behold the days are coming says the Lord that I will cause to be heard an alarm of war in rabaa of the ammonites it shall be a desolate Mound and her villages shall be burned with fire then Israel shall take possession of his inheritance as the Lord o whale Heshbon for AI is plundered cry you and daughters of raba gird yourself with sackcloth lament and run to and fro by the walls for milcom shall go into captivity with his priests and with his people princes together so God will cause verse to an alarm of war there's gonna come war against the ammonites the devastating judgment that will be brought by the conquering army of Nebuchadnezzar now once the ammonites have been judged look what happens in verse two then Israel shall take possession of their inheritance God promised a day when Israel would possess these lands on the east side of the Jordan River I just want you to think about the form own it geopolitically right now these lands on the east side of the Jordan River do not belong to Israel not by any means they belong to Jordan the Kingdom of Jordan God promised that one day those lands would belong to the Kingdom of Israel friends I believe we await the fulfillment of that I believe it will come someday I don't know when I don't know how but God will fulfill his promise and those lands where the ammonites once lived where the king of Jordan now is will one day be given over to Israel once again and it says verse three milcom shall go into captivity you see the Babylonians would not only conquer the land and the peoples of the ammonites but also their national deity milcom all together with her priests and her people you see in the ancient world when one nation conquered another nation it was seen as the victory of the conquering nations gods over the conquered nations gods now there's much in the prophets and the Hebrew Scriptures in general that shows that Yahweh the Covenant God of Israel he showed that he was not just like the national deities of than other nations so when the Babylonians conquered the Israelites when they conquered Judah it did not show that Yahweh was inferior it showed that Yahweh brought the Babylonians to discipline his own people but it wasn't that way among the Moabites continuing on now to verse 4 why do you boast in the valleys your flowing valley o backsliding daughter who trusted in her treasures saying who will come against me behold I will bring fear upon you says the Lord God of hosts from all those who are around you you shall be driven out everyone headlong and no one will gather those who wander off but afterward I will bring back the captives of the people of ammon says the Lord now notice this in verse 4 it says that the ammonites boasted in their valleys they believe that their geography would help them against the Babylonians but it was a poorly placed trust the same could be said when it says that they trusted in their treasures all would fail them in the day of judgment and God says verse 5 that he would bring fear upon them and in verse 5 they shall be driven out and within a hundred years of Jeremiah's prophecy the arabian tribes came into the region they overwhelmed the ammonites and they were no more a kingdom of their own but notice this verse 6 God says afterwards I will bring back in the midst of judgment God had mercy and some promise for the nights even for them we don't know exactly how this was fulfilled maybe with the genetic descendants of the ammonites coming into the kingdom of God through the preaching of the gospel may very well be that but ladies and gentlemen God promised that he would not utterly forsake the ammonites and their people now in verse 7 we shift from the ammonites and we work our way south to the notices verse 7 against Edom thus says the Lord of hosts is wisdom no more intamin as counsel perish from the prudent has their wisdom vanished flee turned back dwell in the depths o inhabitants of Daedong for I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him that time I will punish him now again we moved southward from the ammonites to the the were also a cousin nation to Israel something like the Moabites their founder was Esau the son of Isaac the twin brother of Jacob they lived in the lands east of the Jordan River and the Dead Sea toward the south mountains and the deserts and their wisdom would escape them verse 7 is wisdom no more and tamam part of God's judgment against the would being to bring foolish leadership to the nation let me pause just for a moment on that point could it not be now I I don't know if politically speaking you are pleased or displeased with the leadership of our nation but if you are displeased I invite you to consider the fact that it may be part of a judgment of God it may be I'm not gonna say it with certainty but I will say that there have been times when God brought judgment to a people by giving them foolish and corrupt leadership that's part of what he did to the that's why he says is wisdom no more in tomb on has it vanished from there all together and then he says dwell in the depths in other words flee get away as much as you can get out of there you got to escape this judgment that's gonna come upon you why verse 8 I will bring the calamity of Esau upon them the calamity of Esau refers to Esau sense that he lost everything when the birthright was given to Jacob God promised that the would also feel that way when they lost everything with the judgment to come upon them verse 9 if grape growers came to you would they not leave some gleaning grapes if thieves by night would they not destroy until they've had enough but I have made Esau bare I have uncovered his secret places and he shall not be able to hide themselves his descendants are plundered his brethren and his neighbors and he is no more leave your fatherless children I will preserve them a lie and let your widow's trust in me now in most everything when people are taking things they leave a little bit behind that was the process of gleaning grapes in verse 9 God says when judgment comes upon the they would be completely stripped bare nothing would be left behind but God would give them some preservation verse 11 leave your fatherless children I will preserve them alone God would do something to preserve the fatherless children and the widows of the nevertheless there was going to be a judgment for the people of Edom look at it here in verse 12 for thus says the Lord behold those whose judgment was not to drink of the cup have assuredly drunk and are you the one who will altogether go unpunished you shall not go unpunished but you shall surely drink of it for I have sworn by myself says the Lord that Basra shall become a desolation a reproach a waste and a curse and all its cities shall be perpetual wastes I have heard a message from the Lord and an ambassador has been sent to the nations gather together come against her and rise up the battle for indeed I will make you small among nations despised among men your fierceness has deceived you the pride of your heart o you who dwell in the clefts of the who hold the height of the hill though I make your nest as high as the Eagle I will bring you down from there says the Lord now notice this we have the picture here in verse 12 that God promised that the would drink the cup of God's judgment and it was easy for the to kind of ignore this to not take it seriously because the mountainous and wilderness terrain of Edom gave the many natural advantages and they proudly thought that they would escape the judgment that came upon other peoples they thought sure the Babylonians are invading the land but we can escape their judgment God says no you shall drink of it the judgment will come upon you verse 16 says your fierceness has deceived you o you who dwell in the clefts of the rock Edom trust in the courage of their soldiers who were very courageous and fierce and in their defensible territory all that trust would be broken and they thought of themselves as being as high and safe as the Eagle but God promised to bring them down from there matter of fact there's a very interesting mention there in verse 16 where it refers to the clefts of the rock the rock or rocks refer to what is later called Sayla or the city of Petra their capital city and chief Fortress of the God says that's going down and I will conquer that and by the way today you go to the rock city of Petra and it's a beautiful place to go it's a striking tourist spot but that's all it is Edom is gone they have been defeated verse 17 Edom shall also be an astonishment everyone who goes by it will be astonished and will hiss at all its plagues as in the overthrow of sodom and gomorrah and their neighbors says the Lord no one shall remain there nor shall the Son of Man dwell in it behold he shall come up like a lion from the plug plain of the Jordan against the dwelling place of the strong but I will suddenly make him run away from her and who is a chosen man that I may appoint over her for who was like me who will array me and who is that Shepherd who will withstand me therefore here the Council of the Lord that he has taken against Edom and his purposes that is proposed against the inhabitants of teman surely the least of the flock shall draw them out surely he shall make their dwelling places desolate with them the earth shakes at the noise of their fall and at the cry its noise is heard at the Red Sea behold he shall come up and fly like the Eagle and spread his wings over Basra the heart of the mighty men of Edom in that day shall be like the heart of a woman in birth pangs again a poetic and powerful destructive description of the judgment that will come upon the a judgment that they could not escape it would be as devastating as the overthrow of sodom and gomorrah described in verse 18 and it'll come up like a lion from the flood plain of the Jordan by the way which is a very fitting description of Nebuchadnezzar in the Babylonian armies Nebuchadnezzar himself was represented by a lion and that judgment would surely come against them okay that ends the judgment against the so in chapter 49 we've had against the ammonites against the now against the Syrians the city of Damascus look at it here verse 23 against Damascus Hama 'then dartpad ashamed for they have heard bad news they are faint-hearted there's trouble on the sea it cannot be quiet Damascus has grown feeble she turns to flee and fear has seized her anguish and sorrows have taken her like a woman in labor verse 23 describes judgment against Damascus which was the chief city of the Syrians one of Israel's neighbors to the north Damascus by the way is one of the oldest continuously occupied cities of the world and we see here in verse 24 Damascus has not has grown feeble you see in comparison to the might of the rising Babylonian Empire Damascus and the Syrians would become weak and feeble they could not stand against the coming judgement and they would respond in pain and in sorrow by the way it's sort of interesting today that Syria is a complete mess they have a autocratic and a tyrannical leader in Assad a bloodthirsty man who slaughters many you have rebels such as Isis against them you have chaos and tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands dead because of the brutal and bloody civil war there now I cannot say that this is a film and of this particular prophecy because it seems as if this particular prophecy was fulfilled back in the Babylonia invasion it may be that there is still judgment against the Syrians to be had continuing on in verse 25 it says why is the city of praise not deserted my city of joy therefore her young men shall fall in the streets and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day says the Lord of hosts I will Kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus and it shall consume the palaces of ben-hadad now notice God gave honor to this ancient city of Damascus calling it the city of his joy and he noted that it would not be deserted a population like other major cities in the surrounding nations the Syrians back in Jeremiah's day were conquered by the Babylonians but the Babylonians did not exile in depopulate the Syrians as they did to other nations and this was predicted and described by Jeremiah but yet verse 26 they would be defeated militarily completely all the men of war shall be cut off they would suffer great defeat and death and even the palaces a Ben Haddad would be burned yet they would not be exiled in the same manner as Judah and the surrounding nations now we've had Amman Edom and Syria now we come to the arabian peoples of Kedar and Hazor look at what we mean here in verse 28 against kadar and against the kingdoms of Hazor which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon strike thus says the Lord arise go up to kadar and devastate the men of the east this speaks about the kingdoms of Kedar and Hazor and there may be a third group described in verse 28 the men of the east commentators divided whether two groups or three groups are described and basically these are the Arabic people who dwelled in that eighth region some of them being nomads that seems to be the people of Kedar and some of them dwelled in cities those seem to be the people of 'has or verse 29 their tents and their flocks they shall take away they shall take themselves their curtains all their vessels and their camels for they shall cry out to them fear is on every side flee get far away 12 in the depths Oh inhabitants of a hazard says the Lord for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has taken counsel against you and has conceived a plan against you arise go up to the wealthy nation that dwell securely says the Lord which has neither gates nor bars dwelling alone their camels shall be for booty and the multitude of the cattle for plunder I will scatter to all winds to the farthest corners and I will bring their calamity from all its size says the Lord has or shall be a dwelling for jackals a desolation for ever no one shall reside there nor son of man dwell in it again god describing the judgment that would come upon these Arabic peoples of Kedar and Hazor through the army of Babylon that would come in a few years against them I just need to pause right here I don't know how you're doing through this Bible study right now I don't know if you are well look let me just be straight I don't know if you're bored silly maybe like what kadar haze or Amman Edom who cares that listen let me just bring it to you this way these are ancient peoples who lived and breathed just as you and I do right now and they had to face the judgment of God God brought his judge against them just as he promised what chapters like this should do is not only make us see the certainty of God's Word and that it will be fulfilled but it should also make us breathe and taking we are under the judgment of God unless we find our refuge in Jesus Christ his Savior judgment came against others it will come against us if we are not prepared let's take a look at the judgment that came against Alam described starting at verse 34 that'll conclude this chapter xlix the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the Prophet against Alam in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of judah saying thus says the lord of hosts behold i will break the bow of alam the foremost of their might against Elom I will bring the four winds against the four quarters of heaven and scatter them towards those winds there should be no nations where the out Casas belong will not go here he speaks against the most distant nation of all those we've considered the people of alarm alam is the ancient name for some of the peoples of ancient persia modern-day Iran the Persians or the people of alarm were at first allies to the Babylonians but later they conquered the Babylonian Empire this prophecy is spoken of their eventual conquest and fall now that the Elamites were more than 200 miles east of Babylonian this is by far the most distant nation that Jeremiah refers to but I just want you understand something they're not out of God's reach and said well they're so far away from Israel they're so far away from Jeremiah doesn't matter the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof they lived far from Israel but they did not live outside the sovereignty of God and God speaks to them as well he says in verse 35 I'll break the bow of Elam the Elamites soldiers were known for their brilliant archery and God says those bows in which they trusted for the military might I'm gonna break them and I'm gonna verse 36 scatter them towards all the earth look now at verse 30 7:4 I will cause alarm to be dismayed before their enemies and bring those who seek their life i will bring disaster upon them my fierce anger says the Lord and I will send the sword after them until I have consumed them I will set my throne in Elom and I will destroy from there the king and the princes says the Lord but it shall come to pass in the latter days that I will bring back the captives of alarm says the Lord now it's very interesting in verse 37 he says I will bring disaster upon them my fierce anger but it's interesting God doesn't say that it would come from the Babylonians when judgment eventually came upon the people of Elom it came from the Greeks not from the Babylonians God would assert his rule his throne over them but it would not come through the Babylonians the Babylonians never conquered Elom but Jeremiah never said they would he just said that they would be conquered not who would do it but did you notice there in verse 39 I'm sure this caught your eye it says in the latter days I will bring back the captives of Alam now you might y'all on it just a little bit and say well you know these kind of promises have been there a lot we've seen them already God promises to bring back captives or to restore in some way even these pagan nations know the one thing that I find kind of fascinating about that is simply this that Acts chapter 2 verse 9 tells us that among the audience that heard Peter preached on the day of Pentecost in Acts chapter 2 there were people from along is that great but presumably some people from alam put their trust in jesus christ on the day of pentecost would Peter preached in Acts chapter 2 and that means that God was not finished with the people of alarm that he would do his work in and for them and bring them to his kingdom through the preaching of the gospel now this brings the end of chapter 49 don't relax yet we're gonna cover chapter 50 which is a long chapter but before we get into chapter 50 chapters 50 and 51 deal with Babylon you see God spoke judgment against all these different nations against Egypt against Phyllis - against the Moabites against the ammonites against the against the Elamites against all these various peoples but don't miss this babylon will have a special place but before we talk about babylon starting in the next chapter philip Reich and the commentator has a good summary of this chapter of chapter 49 and what it teaches us about God's judgment let me read you this quote I think it's excellent I said wealth did not save the ammonites they were not able to buy their way out of judgment wisdom did not save the nor did their military might fame did not save the are man's because God is no respecter of persons independence did not save the better winds God found them in the wilderness and destroyed them just the same weapons did not save the Elamites do you get the picture there God's judgment is in escapable and it's not just inescapable for the bad people it's inescapable for everyone the only way we can find refuge against the judgment of God is to find it in the saving work of Jesus Christ because in the end there's only two places of judgment there's the judgment that mankind will be resolved in hell or at the cross of Calvary at Calvary where Jesus Christ put himself in the place of judgment for all who would put their trust in him that is the place of salvation from judgment but judgment is inescapable and all sin will be judged you can decide whether or not you want your sin to be judged by you personally or in you personally in hell or whether your sin will be accounted as judged by the work of Jesus on the cross at Calvary judgment is certain it can only be escaped in Jesus now on to chapter 50 which as I said is a long chapter but it's not the only one chapters 50 and 51 deal with the judgment amount Babylonians we're going to deal with chapter v this week in chapter 51 next week verse 1 Jeremiah chapter 50 the word of the Lord spoke against Babylon and against the land of the Chaldeans by Jeremiah the Prophet declare among the nations proclaim and set up a standard proclaim and do not conceal it say Babylon has taken bail is shamed mera dock is broken in pieces her idols are humiliated her images are broken in pieces 4 out of the North a nation comes up against her which shall make her land desolate and no one shall dwell therein they shall move they shall depart both man and beast Babylon which is a city and associated with the Empire of the Babylonians and the people of Babylon the Chaldeans are now spoken to regarding the judgment of God now ladies of Gemini need you to think about this because I need you think about it very carefully throughout the entire Book of Jeremiah God has said that judgment would come upon Judah Jerusalem and the surrounding nations through the Babylonians and it would have been entirely fair for somebody to say yeah but what about the Babylonians are they God's little angels and God says no no no no I've got judgment reserved for them as well we've got to long in-depth chapters that deal with the judgment that's going to come upon the Babylonians that's why it says in verse 1 against Babylon and against the land of the Chaldeans verse 2 declare among the nations God wanted all the nations to hear about the judgment to come against the Babylonians verse 2 they should know Babylon has taken Belle is shamed you see the gods the pagan deities that the Babylonians honored they would be broken they would be humiliated and the city would be broken in pieces now there's something I need to talk about here in verse 2 where it says their idols are humiliated that phrase her idols it's an unusual one and I need to find a way to speak about this delicately the word there in the Hebrew is not a delicate word it actually means balls of excrement it's applied to pagan idols in Leviticus in Deuteronomy in first Kings and Ezekiel uses the word time and time again ladies and gentlemen God refers to the idols of Babylon as little balls of poop that's what he's talking about there's no other way to say it he's not only announcing judgment he's mocking them along the way you little poop balls judgment is coming upon you why verse 3 4 out of the north a nation comes against her God used Babylon to bring judgment against Judah and other nations but when the time was right God would use a nation out of the north to judge khaldiya and make her land desolate verse 4 in those days and at that time says the Lord the children of Israel shall come they and the children of Judah together with continual weeping they shall come and seek the Lord their God and shall ask the way to Zion with their faces toward it saying come and let us join ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual covenant that will never be forgotten now pause right here verse 4 sees an abrupt changing of the focus verses 1 2 & 3 announce judgment against Babylon her cities and her poop ball gods that's what it's talking about in verse 4 the gaze suddenly turns over to the people of God and as it turns over to the people of God we see a description of restoration it's almost as if God says alright I'm just getting warmed up in my announcement of judgment against Babylon but I don't want anybody to think that I have neglected my people no judgment against Babylon restoration for my people the verse 4 in those days and at that time jeremiah connected the coming judgment upon babylon with the restoration of israel and judah they would return to God with repentance that his continual weeping and they would seek the Lord their God now friends we've spoken about this many times that there is this principle that we often find in the scriptures regarding prophecy where a prophecy is given and it has a near fulfillment and a distant fulfillment the near fulfillment of this was when Babylon was conquered by the medo-persian Empire and under the Persians the Israelites were allowed to go back to the land that's the near fulfillment but there is a greater fulfillment of this when Babylon the Great will be judged ladies and gentleman you can't separate Babylon that Jeremiah speaks about from the Babylon spoken of in the book of Revelation chapter 17 and 18 Babylon the Great that will one day be fall and will probably be connected in some way to Babylon of the Old Testament but this representation of the world in both its commercial and spiritual and just simply worldly aspects that that's gonna fall and in that day there will be a massive turning to the Lord among the people of Israel this is a prophecy with both a near and a distant fulfillment both the judgment of Babylon and the restoration of Israel are prophesied here and have a near fulfillment and an ultimate fulfillment in the very last days and they will come and repent the people of Israel with continual weeping did you see that in verse 4 it's also spoken of in jet dry at chapter 12 verse 10 and they shall look upon him whom they appears and they shall mourn for him as one mourns for there's only son and they're gonna come back to the Lord verse 5 they shall ask the way to Zion with their faces towards it part of the restoration of Israel will be gathering them back into the land of which we see a foreshadowing a precursor even now and they will verse five come and let us join ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual covenant they would come back to God on his terms not on their own terms friends it's a glorious thing to come back to God but to come on his terms his perpetual covenant this describes in the ultimate sense the regather and the restoration of Israel with Babylon fallen and them coming back into relationship with God under the terms of the New Covenant and the fulfillment of it by the way this reminds us that the believer has a relationship with God based on something that has a tremendous foundation a perpetual covenant it is a powerful description of the Great covenant that God has made with us through Jesus Christ called the New Covenant I need to read to something that I read from Charles Spurgeon on this I'll just read you the quote he's speaking of how believers should regard the idea of covenant I'll just read you the quote and I think you'll get it he says I rejoice in those old Scottish books about the Covenant covenant truth was so in wrought into the Scottish heart that Scottish peasants as well as Divine's talked about it perpetually you remember the good old Cottagers grace over his porridge I cannot repeat it in pure Doric but it ran like this lord I thank thee for the porridge I thank thee for an appetite for the porridge and I thank thee most of all that I have a covenant right to the porridge only think of that a covenant right to the porridge is it a beautiful thought I would love to hear Spurgeon say that and try to imitate a Scottish accent as he said it but can you think of a poor person in a Scottish cottage saying lord I thank you for the porridge I thank you that I have an appetite for the porridge I think you that I have a covenant right to the porridge that's simply a dramatic way of an expressing the truth that everything we have with God we have by covenant we have by his solemn and secure promise it's not just us wishing it's not just us hoping he's made a covenant with us in Jesus Christ and here we find a reference to that covenant now continue on in verses 6 and 7 the need for their restoration they say my people have been lost sheep their shepherds have led them astray they've turned them away on the mountains they've gone from mountain to Hill they've forgotten their resting place all who found them have devoured them and their adversary said we have not offended because they have sinned against the Lord the habitation of justice the Lord the hope of the father's you see here speaking through Jeremiah the Prophet Yahweh looks at his people tenderly has lost sheep betrayed by their Shepherds yet their poor leadership of their Shepherds led to God's people being turned away and scattered from mountain to hill with no resting place ladies and gentlemen when God's people are treated poorly by their leaders God sees from heaven and he cares you can be sure that God has some discipline appointed for those poor shepherds but he doesn't forget his people in the midst of it now verse 8 we turn our focus back to Babylon move from the midst of Babylon go out from the midst of the Chaldeans and be like rams before the flocks for behold I will raise and cause to come against Babylon an assembly of great nations from the north country and they shall array themselves against her from there she shall be captured their arrows shall be like that of an expert warrior none shall return in vain and Chaldea shall become plunder all who plunder her shall be satisfied says the Lord you see there was going to come against the Chaldeans against Babylon a great army that God would rise from the north and just as they had been used as an instrument of judgment against many God would raise up an instrument of judgment against them now verse 11 because he were glad because he rejoiced you destroyers of my heritage because you have grown fat like a heifer threshing grain and you bellow like bulls your mother shall be deeply ashamed she who bore you shall be ashamed behold the least of the nation shall be a wilderness a dry land in a desert because of the wrath of the Lord she shall not be inhabited but she shall be wholly desolate everyone who goes to Babylon shall be horrified and hiss at all her plagues put yourself in a ray against Babylon all around all you who bend the bow shoot at her spare no arrows for she has sinned against the Lord shout against her all around she has given her hand her foundations have fallen her walls are thrown down for it is the Vengeance of the Lord take vengeance on her as she has done so do to her cut off the sewer from Babylon and him who handles the sickle at harvest time for fear of the oppressing sword everyone shall turn to his own people and everyone shall feel he to his own land now look what we could go in and take apart this verse-by-verse but you get the sense of it don't you traumatic vivid devastating judgment was apportioned to Babylon now there is one thing that I want to spend a little time taking a look at look at verse 15 with me where it says her foundations have fallen her walls are thrown down these phrases and similar phrases found in Jeremiah chapters 50 and 51 are an interesting challenge to understanding prophetic fulfillment look at verse 15 again look at it carefully her foundations had fallen her walls are thrown down does this not describe the complete destruction of Babylon of course it does if the walls are thrown down if the foundations are fallen then Babylon is a city Babylon is an empire is completely destroyed such as happened to Jerusalem when the Babylonians conquered it or such as heavy Jerusalem when the Romans conquered it in 70 AD now you know what's fascinating about this ladies and gentlemen this isn't how it happened when the Persians and the Medes conquered Babylon they conquered the city no doubt Babel fell but the city was not destroyed you know what this tells us this tells us that this is another aspect of the prophecy that is yet to be fulfilled let me put it to you this way God is not done with Babylon Babylon is not only a city in the scriptures not only an empire it is a concept and it is the concept of the world and this same terminology the same heart is carried over into the book of Revelation chapter 17 and 18 where Babylon in both its commercial and its spiritual aspect is fallen and destroyed again the great lesson of this is God is not finished with Babylon and Friends I don't know how literal Babylon the city and how spiritual Babylon intersect and coincide I don't really know I can't describe that to you but I can tell you this God's not done with Babylon and it's gonna fall and it's gonna be found to be true that her foundations have fallen and her walls are thrown down when cyrus the meed conquered Babylon it wasn't destroyed the city was taken the Babylonians were defeated but the city was not destroyed verse 17 Israel is like scattered sheep but stop right there isn't it fascinating again Jeremiah go back and forth he'll talk about the devastation to come upon Israel excuse me upon Babylon but then he'll come back and speak very tenderly to Israel that's what we do again here in verse 17 Israel is like scattered sheep the Lions have driven him away for the first the king of Assyria devoured him now at last this Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has broken his bones therefore thus says the Lord of hosts the God of Israel behold I will punish the king of Babylon and his land as I have punished the king of Assyria but I will bring back Israel to his home and he shall feed on caramel and Bashan his soul shall be satisfied on Mount Ephraim and Gilead in the most days and at that time says the Lord the iniquity of Israel shall be sought but there shall be none and the sins of Judah but they shall not be found for I will pardon those whom I preserve remember those scattered sheep of Israel who had the bad shepherd spoken of earlier in the chapter God says I'm gonna restore I'm gonna bring him back I'm gonna bring him back into the land which we see fulfilled at least in part in the glorious reestablished of the nation of Israel 1948 but God will punish Babylon but verse 19 I will bring back Israel to his home and look at the really wonderful promise in verse 20 the iniquity of Israel shall be sought but there shall be none friends that's New Covenant talk that's Israel returning to their Messiah and having their sins completely taken away in the sacrifice of their Messiah Jesus of Nazareth on the cross and God says I'll look for their sins but I won't be able to find it that's God's promise to every believer every participant in the New Covenant if you were to ask God yeah you know that sin I committed but but I repented of it I brought it before Jesus and of course God says I don't remember it I looked for it I can't even find it anymore that will be fulfilled unto a repentant Israel that comes under the New Covenant but it's fulfilled right now for you if you are a believer in God under the New Covenant this promise is for you continuing on now verse 21 go up against the land of Marathon against it and against the inhabitants of Pecha these are regions in Babylon waste and utterly destroy them says the Lord and do according to all that I have commanded you a sound of battle is in the land and of great destruction how the hammer of the whole earth has been cut apart and broken how Babylon has become a desolation among the nation's I have laid a snare for you you have indeed been trapped Oh Babylon and you were not aware for you have been found and also caught because you've contended against the Lord the Lord has opened his armory and has brought out the weapons of his indignation for this is the work of the Lord God of hosts in the land of the chaldeans come against her from the farthest border open her storehouses cast her up his heaps of ruins and utterly destroy her let nothing be left slay all her bulls let them go down to the slaughter whoa was them for the day has come the time of her punishment again friends we can go and we can take this apart piece by piece but you get the impression don't you slaughter devastation destruction is to come upon Babylon as the judgment of the Lord now verse 28 the voice of those who flee and escape from the land of Babylon declares in Zion the Vengeance of the Lord our God the Vengeance of his temple call together the archers against Babylon all you who bend the bow and camp against it all around that none of them escape repay her according to her work according to all she has done do to her for she has been proud against the Lord against the Holy One of Israel therefore her young men shall fall in the streets all her men of war shall be cut off in that day says the Lord behold I am against you O most haughty one says the Lord God of hosts for your day has come that time that I will punish you the most proud shall stumble and fall and no one will raise him up I will Kindle the fire in his sitters and will devour all around him again notice the core reason for judgment to come against the Babylonians it's found in verse 29 for she has been proud against the Lord this is the root of Babylon sin pride against the Lord exalting themselves now as something else I need you to consider here we see the announcement of complete devastation against Babylon did you get that back when we talked in verse 15 about her walls being thrown down and the foundations being fallen you say well why didn't that happen in the days of Babylon do you remember the very proud king of Babylon and the Babylonian Empire named Nebuchadnezzar and do you remember what happened to him in the Book of Daniel when he became so proud and thought that everything he accomplished was of his own hand God made him a madman and for seven years he went about as if he were a wild ox he was under some bizarre mental illness or delusion he ate grass he lived outside he thought he was a wild or a domesticated I ate a wild ox Nebuchadnezzar repented and turned to the Lord it may be the reason why God did not destroy the city of Babel he conquered it but he did not destroy it and merely reserved that devastation for the final days for the last days it may have been a response to Nebuchadnezzar's repentance Nebuchadnezzar was proud she has been proud against the Lord that was the story of Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon as a whole and when they humbled and repented themselves God may have lessened the judgment that came against him I find that a very provocative thought but look at verse 33 thus says the Lord of Hosts the children of Israel who were oppressed along with the children of Judah all who took them captive him held them fast they refused to let them go their Redeemer is strong the Lord of Hosts is his name he will thoroughly plead their case that he may give rest to the land and disquiet than inhabitants of Babylon again we have this back and forth thing going on in Jeremiah chapter 51 judgment against Babylon hope for Israel judgment against Babylon hope for Israel but this one I want you understand notice that phrase it's a very powerful phrase in verse 34 their Redeemer is strong the Lord of Hosts is his name Assyria and Babylon took Israel and Judah captive and they held them but you know what Israel has a redeemer now this is drawing on the ancient concept in the Hebrew concept of the kinsman redeemer the go el the person in the family that would avenge wrongs done to the family God says I am Israel's kinsman redeemer I am Israel's go well don't mess around with me because if you take them captive I will bring judgment against you and that's exactly what he did all who dare to trouble Israel and I would say it in the modern world today they should remember their Redeemer is strong the nations of the world better take notice that God is the kinsman redeemer of israel he is committed to preserving them and championing them there cause it's true both in the ancient world and in today now let's continue on we're back to judgment against Babylon verse 35 a sword is against the Chaldeans says the Lord against the inhabitants of Babylon and against her princes and her wise men a sword is against the soothsayers and they will be fools a sword is against the mighty men and they will be dismayed a sword is against the horses against the chariots and against all the mixed peoples who are in their myths and they will become like women a sword is against her treasures and they will be robbed a drought is against her waters and they will be dried up for it is the land of carved images and they are insane with their idols again a very vivid description of God's sword and gods complete judgment to come against the Babylonians by the way don't you like that last phrase in verse 38 they are insane with their idols how that could be said of people today insane with their idolatry in any regard verse 29 excuse me 39 therefore the wild desert beast shall dwell there with jackals and the ostriches shall dwell in it it shall be inhabited no more forever nor shall be dwelt with from generation to generation as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighbor says the Lord so no one shall reside there nor man dwell in it friends do you see the lesson there just as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah he would destroy Babylon as well verse 41 behold a people shall come from the north and a great nation and many kings shall be raised up from the ends of the earth they shall hold the bow and the lad's there cruel and shall not show mercy their voice shall roar like to see there shall ride on horses set in array like a man for the battle against you o daughter of Babylon the king of Babylon has heard the report about them and his hands grow feeble anguish has taken hold of them pangs as of a woman in childbirth behold he shall come up like a lion from the flood plain of the Jordan against the dwelling place of the strong but I will make them suddenly run away from her and who is the chosen man that I may appoint to be over for who is like me who will array me and who is that Shepherd who will withstand me again God announcing to the Babylonians the judgment is coming and you can't stand against me friends I hate to sound a little bit like a broken record but let me just say it again we find the overriding theme in these chapters is the inescapable judgment of God and if God's judgment is inescapable we need to find refuge in our Savior Jesus Christ let's conclude the chapter with these last couple of verses verses 45 and 46 therefore here the counsel of the Lord that he has taken against Babylon and his purposes that he has proposed against the land of the Chaldeans surely the least of their flock shall draw them out surely he will make their dwelling place desolate with them at the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth trembles and the cry is heard among the nations you know what he's getting out in those last couple verses that the earth should learn something from the judgment that came upon Babylon ladies and gentlemen God is a righteous judge and he will judge all sin and all sinners you don't have to personally experience the judgment of God to learn from it you can learn by what he did to Babylon you can learn from it right now and do what go over to Jesus himself and receive the forgiveness and the rescue that he offers as the Dwan I heard a story and it's probably not a true story it's probably just a preacher story but it's a good story about a man and a son who were out hunting and the climate was kind of dry and the brush was kind of you know dry and burnable around them when off in the distance they saw a brush fire coming towards them very suddenly and the father looked at the terrain around them and he instantly understood that brush fire is moving so fast the wind is driving it in our direction we cannot outrun it we cannot find shelter from it we will be burned up by that brush fire rushing towards us and so you know what he did with his son he gave his son some matches and he and a son both instantly lit matches and burned an area around them as quickly as they could then when that area was burned already they crouched down in the burned-out area and what did the Wildfire do and it reached them it burned around them because the area had already been burned it had already been burned over there for the Wildfire did not fit them listen the judgment of God is like a wildfire coming your way the only refuge you and I have is to go to the burned-out area of Jesus himself you see the cross is the place where judgment has already been poured out upon it's already been burned over by the judgment of God therefore you are safe and secure there when the fires of judgment come around you you need to go to the place where God's judgment has already been poured out the burned over zone there you are for save from the fire of God's judgment we can learn from Babylon we can learn from these other nations and escape the judgment of God ourselves [Music] you

Channel: David Guzik

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Keywords: jeremiah 49, jeremiah 50, david guzik, guzik, enduring word, prophet jeremiah, judgment against babylon, judgment, jeremiah

Id: M096NbKxKfM

Length: 55min 26sec (3326 seconds)

Published: Mon Jan 13 2020