Jeremiah · chapter 51 of 52
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Jeremiah 51 continues the oracle against Babylon: the Lord will bring her down like a destroying wind, though Israel has not been forsaken by his God. Babylon was a golden cup in his hand that made the nations drunk, but now she falls suddenly. The idols are worthless, the Lord is the Creator, and the chapter ends with Seraiah, who reads the oracle in Babylon and sinks it in the Euphrates with a stone.
This is the last chapter of Jeremiah's prophecies. It completes the oracle of chapter 50 with more images of war, creation and vengeance, and reminds the exiles that neither Babylon nor her gods have the last word. It closes with a symbolic act that solemnly seals the section of oracles against the nations.
The Lord stirs up a destroying wind against Babylon and the inhabitants of Chaldea, and sends foreigners to winnow her. Israel and Judah have not been widowed by their God, though their land is full of guilt. They are told to flee from the midst of Babylon and save their lives, for it is the time of the Lord's vengeance. Babylon was a golden cup in the Lord's hand, making all the earth drunk; suddenly she has fallen and been broken. They tried to heal her, but she was not healed. Each goes back to his own land.
The Lord stirs up the kings of the Medes, because his purpose against Babylon is to destroy her, the vengeance for his temple. Verses 15 to 19 recall the Creator: he made the earth by his power and established the world by his wisdom. Every man is stupid and without knowledge, and every goldsmith is put to shame by his idol, which has no breath. The portion of Jacob is not like these, for he is the one who formed all things. Babylon was the Lord's war club, with which he shattered nations, but now he will repay Babylon and the Chaldeans for all the evil they did in Zion.
Israel, the people say, was devoured by Nebuchadnezzar like a monster, and the Lord answers that he will plead their cause and take vengeance on Babylon. The fall of her wall and the defeat of her warriors are announced. The Lord tells his people to go out of her midst, to save their lives from his fierce anger, and not to fear the rumors they hear.
The chapter ends with a command of Jeremiah to Seraiah son of Neriah, who went with Zedekiah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. He is to write in a book all the disaster that will come on Babylon, read it there, tie a stone to it and throw it into the Euphrates, saying: so shall Babylon sink, to rise no more. Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
Israel and Judah have not been widowed by their God, though their land is full of guilt. Even after judgment, the Lord is still their God and remains faithful to his covenant.
Babylon was a golden cup in the Lord's hand that made all the earth drunk. The empire that seemed powerful was only an instrument in God's hands, and the nations drank its wine until they went mad.
The Lord made the earth by his power, established the world by his wisdom and stretched out the heavens by his understanding. The exiles, surrounded by Babylonian gods, are reminded that their God is the Creator.
The book sinks in the Euphrates as a sign that Babylon will fall and not rise. The act closes Jeremiah's words with a simple picture of the certainty of God's promise.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: That they have not been widowed by their God, though their land is full of guilt. — Jeremiah 51:5
Answer: To a golden cup in his hand that made all the earth drunk. — Jeremiah 51:7
Answer: The kings of the Medes. — Jeremiah 51:11
Answer: That they are worthless, a work of delusion, and have no breath. — Jeremiah 51:17-18
Answer: To go out of her midst and save their lives. — Jeremiah 51:45
Answer: He read it in Babylon, tied a stone to it and threw it into the middle of the Euphrates. — Jeremiah 51:61-63
Jeremiah 51 invites us to see the world from God's perspective. Babylon seemed eternal, yet the Lord calls her a cup in his hand. In a small group you can talk about how we live surrounded by systems and values that promise security, and how to remember that the Creator is greater than any human power.
The call to come out of Babylon has a practical echo: there are environments and habits we must leave in order to preserve life and faith. Consider what to let go of or give up, and trust that the God who made the earth by his power can sustain you as you obey.
With the stone and the scroll sunk in the Euphrates, the words of Jeremiah end. The book closes with a historical appendix, chapter 52, which tells of the fall of Jerusalem and ends with a note of hope for King Jehoiachin.
It is an image of the cup of God's wrath: Babylon was used to make the nations drink divine judgment, and her power made them drunk. Afterward the same cup is broken, because the instrument is also judged for its pride.
It was a symbolic act ordered by Jeremiah: the book with Babylon's sentence sinks, as Babylon will sink. Tying a stone to it and throwing it into the river that ran through the city made the certainty of the announcement visible.