Jeremiah 51:59 This is the wording the prophet Jeremiah used when he commanded Seraiah son of Neriah son of Mahseiah, the quartermaster, when he went to Babylon with King Zedekiah of Judah in the fourth year of Zedekiah’s reign. Jeremiah 51:60 Jeremiah wrote on one scroll about all the disaster that would come to Babylon; all these words were written against Babylon. Jeremiah 51:61 Jeremiah told Seraiah, “When you get to Babylon, see that you read all these words aloud. Jeremiah 51:62 Say, ‘Yahveh, you have threatened to cut off this place so that no one will live in it – people or animals. Indeed, it will become permanently desolate.’ Jeremiah 51:63 When you have finished reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and throw it into the middle of the Euphrates River. Jeremiah 51:64 Then say, ‘In the same way, Babylon will sink and never rise again because of the disaster I am bringing on her. They will grow weary.'” Up to this point are the words of Jeremiah.
sunk to never rise
We have been looking at Jeremiah’s predictions about Babylon. We have been noticing two things that are true of each of these prophecies. First, each of these predictions came true. The empire is no more, just as God predicted through Jeremiah.
Secondly, each of these prophecies about Babylon reflects an element of the New Testament teaching about the fate of the wicked at the last judgment. This is not a coincidence. The Revelation to John in the New Testament uses Babylon as a symbol of the great conspiracy of all nations against God’s Kingdom and God’s Messiah.
Yesterday’s text focused on two ways of expressing the fate of those who oppose God and his will: fire and permanent sleep. Today’s text introduces another way of expressing that fate. Babylon will be sunk like a great ship, never to rise again.
e-books by Jefferson Vann
Another Bible Commentary
A devotional commentary on every passage in the Bible (based on the English Standard Version –ESV).
655 pages Price: $4.99, US.
an Advent Christian systematic theology
Systematic Theologies answer the questions that people have about God and the universe. This book is an example of a systematic theology written from a viewpoint shared by members of the Advent Christian denomination.
881 pages Price: $4.99, US.
Words from the Collector
He collected everything from money to buildings to women, but he is most famous for collecting wise sayings. His name is Solomon, and one of the books we have from him is called Ecclesiastes.
This is a new translation of that Old Testament book Ecclesiastes, and a reader’s guide to its content.
65 pages $5.00 US
Finding Gold in Genesis
Gold can be found throughout the pages of this book. It is a simple book, with a new translation of Genesis, some devotional thoughts, and some prayers. But there is gold here. I challenge you to find it.
172 pages $ 4.99 US
All three of these descriptions of Babylon’s fate are indicative of the ultimate fate of the lost: permanent destruction.
Jeremiah 51:54 A sound of a cry from Babylon! And a terrible collapse of the land of the Chaldeans! Jeremiah 51:55 You see, Yahveh is going to devastate Babylon; he will silence her mighty voice. Their waves roar like a huge torrent; the tumult of their voice resounds, Jeremiah 51:56 because a destroyer is coming against her, against Babylon. Her warriors will be captured, their bows shattered, because Yahveh is a God of retribution; he will certainly repay. Jeremiah 51:57 I will make her princes and sages drunk, along with her governors, officials, and warriors. Then they will fall asleep permanently and not wake up. This is the King’s declaration; Yahveh of Armies is his name. Jeremiah 51:58 This is what Yahveh of Armies says: Babylon’s thick walls will be totally demolished, and her high gates set ablaze. The peoples will have labored for nothing; the nations will worn themselves out only to feed the fire.
Babylon’s fate
Once again, Jeremiah declares to Babylon that a permanent sleep awaits them (see verse 39). But he also says that its people and nations will have worn itself out, only to feed the fire. Normally, we don’t talk about sleeping and fire at the same time. But in this case, both are symbols of the complete destruction that Babylon would experience. They would be annihilated as a result of God’s judgment for their sins.
The final judgment will be like that for all those who reject Jesus. There is only one hell, and is not a place where people will have the luxury of consciousness. It is a place where the torment is real, because those who experience it are being consumed by fire. Its result will be permanent destruction.
Lord, we cling to you, and trust your grace to keep us from Babylon’s fate.
e-books by Jefferson Vann
Another Bible Commentary
A devotional commentary on every passage in the Bible (based on the English Standard Version –ESV).
655 pages Price: $4.99, US.
an Advent Christian systematic theology
Systematic Theologies answer the questions that people have about God and the universe. This book is an example of a systematic theology written from a viewpoint shared by members of the Advent Christian denomination.
881 pages Price: $4.99, US.
Words from the Collector
He collected everything from money to buildings to women, but he is most famous for collecting wise sayings. His name is Solomon, and one of the books we have from him is called Ecclesiastes.
This is a new translation of that Old Testament book Ecclesiastes, and a reader’s guide to its content.
65 pages $5.00 US
Finding Gold in Genesis
Gold can be found throughout the pages of this book. It is a simple book, with a new translation of Genesis, some devotional thoughts, and some prayers. But there is gold here. I challenge you to find it.
Jeremiah 51:45 Come out from among her, my people! Save your lives, each of you, from Yahveh’s burning anger. Jeremiah 51:46 May you not become cowardly and fearful when the report is proclaimed in the land, because the report will come one year, and then another the next year. There will be violence in the land with ruler against ruler. Jeremiah 51:47 Therefore, notice, the days are coming when I will punish Babylon’s carved images. Her entire land will suffer shame, and all her victims will lie fallen within her. Jeremiah 51:48 The sky and land and everything in them will shout for joy over Babylon because the destroyers from the north will come against her. This is what Yahveh declares. Jeremiah 51:49 Babylon must fall because of the victims from Israel, even as the victims from the whole land fell because of Babylon. Jeremiah 51:50 You who have escaped the sword, go and do not stand still! Remember Yahveh from far away, and let Jerusalem come to your mind. Jeremiah 51:51 We are ashamed because we have heard insults. Humiliation covers our faces because foreigners have entered the sacred places of Yahveh ‘s temple. Jeremiah 51:52 Therefore, notice, the days are coming – this is what Yahveh declares – when I will punish her carved images, and the victims will groan throughout her land. Jeremiah 51:53 Even if Babylon should ascend to the sky and fortify her tall fortresses, destroyers will come against her from me. This is what Yahveh declares.
cooperate or get away
When the lord first sent Babylon to do its destroying work, his message through Jeremiah was that his people should settle in and live at peace with the Babylonians, because their power and control were God’s will.
Now, Jeremiah is told to reverse his message. The plan for Babylonian rule has run its course. It is now time to get out and get away.
How do we know what attitude is the right one to have in our present situation? Is God calling us to cooperate or escape?
We don’t know. Unless we get undeniable directions from the lord, we should do what we think he wants, and respect those who choose a different path.
Lord, give us discernment for this confusing time.
e-books by Jefferson Vann
Another Bible Commentary
A devotional commentary on every passage in the Bible (based on the English Standard Version –ESV).
655 pages Price: $4.99, US.
an Advent Christian systematic theology
Systematic Theologies answer the questions that people have about God and the universe. This book is an example of a systematic theology written from a viewpoint shared by members of the Advent Christian denomination.
881 pages Price: $4.99, US.
Words from the Collector
He collected everything from money to buildings to women, but he is most famous for collecting wise sayings. His name is Solomon, and one of the books we have from him is called Ecclesiastes.
This is a new translation of that Old Testament book Ecclesiastes, and a reader’s guide to its content.
65 pages $5.00 US
Finding Gold in Genesis
Gold can be found throughout the pages of this book. It is a simple book, with a new translation of Genesis, some devotional thoughts, and some prayers. But there is gold here. I challenge you to find it.
Jeremiah 51:36 Therefore, this is what Yahveh says: I am about to champion your cause and take vengeance on your behalf; I will dry up her sea and make her fountain run dry. Jeremiah 51:37 Babylon will become a heap of rubble, a jackals’ den, a desolation and an object of scorn, without inhabitant. Jeremiah 51:38 They will roar together like young lions; they will growl like lion cubs. Jeremiah 51:39 While they are flushed with heat, I will serve them a feast, and I will make them drunk so that they celebrate. Then they will fall asleep permanently and not wake up. This is what Yahveh declares. Jeremiah 51:40 I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams together with male goats. Jeremiah 51:41 How Sheshach has been captured, the praise of the whole land seized. What a horror Babylon has become among the nations! Jeremiah 51:42 The sea has risen over Babylon; she is covered with its tumultuous waves. Jeremiah 51:43 Her cities have become a desolation, an arid desert, a land where no one lives, where no human being even passes through. Jeremiah 51:44 I will punish Bel in Babylon. I will make him vomit what he swallowed. The nations will no longer stream to him; even Babylon’s wall will fall.
they will fall asleep permanently
The ultimate end of the Babylonian empire was described by Jeremiah as a permanent sleep from which it would not wake up. It was to become a desolation, an arid desert land where nobody lives. Such is the fate of all those who take their stand against God.
Some people think that God made us all with an immortal core that even he cannot destroy. That is not the picture of his judgment that he gave us in his word. At the end, all who refuse to turn to God will be destroyed by him — body and soul — in Gehenna. There is no place in his new creation for the old rebellion.
Lord, thank you for your ultimate justice. Thank you also for your gospel, calling people from rebellion to repentance.
e-books by Jefferson Vann
Another Bible Commentary
A devotional commentary on every passage in the Bible (based on the English Standard Version –ESV).
655 pages Price: $4.99, US.
an Advent Christian systematic theology
Systematic Theologies answer the questions that people have about God and the universe. This book is an example of a systematic theology written from a viewpoint shared by members of the Advent Christian denomination.
881 pages Price: $4.99, US.
Words from the Collector
He collected everything from money to buildings to women, but he is most famous for collecting wise sayings. His name is Solomon, and one of the books we have from him is called Ecclesiastes.
This is a new translation of that Old Testament book Ecclesiastes, and a reader’s guide to its content.
65 pages $5.00 US
Finding Gold in Genesis
Gold can be found throughout the pages of this book. It is a simple book, with a new translation of Genesis, some devotional thoughts, and some prayers. But there is gold here. I challenge you to find it.
Jeremiah 51:20 You are my war club, my weapons of war. With you I will smash nations; with you I will bring kingdoms to ruin. Jeremiah 51:21 With you I will smash the horse and its rider; with you I will smash the chariot and its rider. Jeremiah 51:22 With you I will smash man and woman; with you I will smash the old man and the youth; with you I will smash the young man and the young woman. Jeremiah 51:23 With you I will smash the shepherd and his flock; with you I will smash the farmer and his ox-team. With you I will smash governors and officials. Jeremiah 51:24 “Before your very eyes, I will repay Babylon and all the residents of Chaldea for all their evil they have done in Zion.” This is what Yahveh declares. Jeremiah 51:25 Look, I am against you, devastating mountain. This is what Yahveh declares. You devastate the whole land. I will stretch out my hand against you, roll you down from the cliffs, and turn you into a charred mountain. Jeremiah 51:26 No one will be able to retrieve a cornerstone or a foundation stone from you, because you will become a permanent desolation. This is what Yahveh declares. Jeremiah 51:27 Raise a signal flag in the land; blow a ram’s horn among the nations; commit the nations against her. Summon kingdoms against her – Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz. Appoint a marshal against her; bring up horses like a swarm of locusts. Jeremiah 51:28 Commit the nations for battle against her – the kings of Media, her governors and all her officials, and all the lands they rule. Jeremiah 51:29 The land quakes and trembles because Yahveh’s intentions against Babylon stand: to make the land of Babylon a desolation, without inhabitant. Jeremiah 51:30 Babylon’s warriors have stopped fighting; they sit in their strongholds. Their might is exhausted; they have become like women. Babylon’s homes have been set ablaze, her gate bars are shattered. Jeremiah 51:31 Messenger races to meet messenger, and herald to meet herald, to announce to the king of Babylon that his city has been captured from end to end. Jeremiah 51:32 The fords have been seized, the marshes set on fire, and the fighting men are terrified. Jeremiah 51:33 You see, this is what Yahveh of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Daughter Babylon is like a threshing floor at the time it is trampled. In just a little while her harvest time will come. Jeremiah 51:34 “King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon has devoured me; he has crushed me. He has set me aside like an empty dish; he has swallowed me like a sea monster; he filled his belly with my delicacies; he has vomited me out. Jeremiah 51:35 Let the violence done to me and my family be done to Babylon,” says the inhabitant of Zion. “Let my blood be on the inhabitants of Chaldea,” says Jerusalem.
the devourer, devoured
Jeremiah’s message to Babylon is that they have devoured many nations, including God’s nation. It is now their turn to be devoured.
Evil continues to take advantage of weak and helpless people, devouring them. But God has a word for all of us. He is fed up with the oppression and violence, and he is going to devour the devourers.
Lord, we trust you to bring justice to those eaten up by evil.
Last week’s sermon
e-books by Jefferson Vann
Another Bible Commentary
A devotional commentary on every passage in the Bible (based on the English Standard Version –ESV).
655 pages Price: $4.99, US.
an Advent Christian systematic theology
Systematic Theologies answer the questions that people have about God and the universe. This book is an example of a systematic theology written from a viewpoint shared by members of the Advent Christian denomination.
881 pages Price: $4.99, US.
Words from the Collector
He collected everything from money to buildings to women, but he is most famous for collecting wise sayings. His name is Solomon, and one of the books we have from him is called Ecclesiastes.
This is a new translation of that Old Testament book Ecclesiastes, and a reader’s guide to its content.
65 pages $5.00 US
Finding Gold in Genesis
Gold can be found throughout the pages of this book. It is a simple book, with a new translation of Genesis, some devotional thoughts, and some prayers. But there is gold here. I challenge you to find it.
Jeremiah 51:15 He made the land by his strength, established the world by his wisdom, and spread out the skies by his intelligence. Jeremiah 51:16 When he thunders, the waters in the sky agitate, and he causes the clouds to rise from the ends of the land. He makes lightning for the rain and brings the wind from his storehouses. Jeremiah 51:17 Everyone is stupid and ignorant. Every goldsmith is put to shame by his carved image, because his cast images are a lie; there is no breath in them. Jeremiah 51:18 They are temporary, a work to be mocked. At the time of their punishment they will be destroyed. Jeremiah 51:19 Jacob’s Portion is not like these because he is the one who formed all things. Israel is the tribe of his inheritance; Yahveh of Armies is his name.
no breath in them
Jeremiah had the same argument against idolatry that Habakkuk used:
“Woe to him who says to a piece of wood, ‘Awake!’ To a mute stone, ‘Arise!’ And that is your teacher? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, And there is no breath at all inside it (Habakkuk 2:19 (NASB)
Remember that Moses, describing God’s creation of the universe, spoke of his Breath shaking the waters. Habakkuk accentuates a clear distinction between the paltry gods of the nations, who cannot even put breath in their idols, but God puts his breath of life into the universe, and creates new life.
So, what Habakkuk is saying is that these idols are not gods, and he proves it by asserting that they lack the one thing that God himself has: breath. The idols are dead stone and wood, and that is why it is blasphemy to worship them. They are not the givers of life. They are not the Sacred Breath.
Lord, thank you for giving us life. Keep us from worshiping lifeless things.
Last week’s sermon
e-books by Jefferson Vann
Another Bible Commentary
A devotional commentary on every passage in the Bible (based on the English Standard Version –ESV).
655 pages Price: $4.99, US.
an Advent Christian systematic theology
Systematic Theologies answer the questions that people have about God and the universe. This book is an example of a systematic theology written from a viewpoint shared by members of the Advent Christian denomination.
881 pages Price: $4.99, US.
Words from the Collector
He collected everything from money to buildings to women, but he is most famous for collecting wise sayings. His name is Solomon, and one of the books we have from him is called Ecclesiastes.
This is a new translation of that Old Testament book Ecclesiastes, and a reader’s guide to its content.
65 pages $5.00 US
Finding Gold in Genesis
Gold can be found throughout the pages of this book. It is a simple book, with a new translation of Genesis, some devotional thoughts, and some prayers. But there is gold here. I challenge you to find it.
Jeremiah 50:21 Attack the land of Merathaim, and those living in Pekod. Put them to the sword; completely destroy them – this is what Yahveh declares – do everything I have commanded you. Jeremiah 50:22 The sound of war is in the land – a crushing blow! Jeremiah 50:23 How the hammer of the whole land is cut down and smashed! What a horror Babylon has become among the nations! Jeremiah 50:24 Babylon, I laid a trap for you, and you were caught, but you did not even know it. You were found and captured because you pitted yourself against Yahveh. Jeremiah 50:25 Yahveh opened his armory and brought out his weapons of wrath, because it is a task of the Lord Yahveh of Armies in the land of the Chaldeans. Jeremiah 50:26 Come against her from the farthest places. Open her granaries; pile her up like mounds of grain and completely destroy her. Leave her no remainder. Jeremiah 50:27 Put all her young bulls to the sword; let them go down to the slaughter. Tragedy to them because their day has come, the time of their punishment. Jeremiah 50:28 There is a voice of fugitives and refugees from the land of Babylon. The voice announces in Zion the vengeance of Yahveh our God, the vengeance for his temple. Jeremiah 50:29 Summon the archers to Babylon, all who string the bow; camp all around her; let none escape. Repay her according to her deeds; just as she has done, do the same to her, because she has acted arrogantly against Yahveh, against the Holy One of Israel. Jeremiah 50:30 Therefore, her young men will fall in her public squares; all the warriors will perish in that day. This is what Yahveh declares. Jeremiah 50:31 Look, I am against you, you arrogant one – this is the declaration of the Lord Yahveh of Armies – for your day has come, the time when I will punish you. Jeremiah 50:32 The arrogant will stumble and fall with no one to pick him up. I will set fire to his cities, and it will consume everything around him. Jeremiah 50:33 This is what Yahveh of Armies says: sons of Israel and sons of Judah alike have been oppressed. All their captors hold them tight; they refuse to release them. Jeremiah 50:34 Their Redeemer is strong; Yahveh of Armies is his name. He will fervently champion their cause so that he might bring rest to the land but agitation to those who live in Babylon. Jeremiah 50:35 A sword is over the Chaldeans – this is what Yahveh declares – against those who live in Babylon, against her officials, and against her sages. Jeremiah 50:36 A sword is against the diviners, and they will act foolishly. A sword is against her heroic warriors, and they will be terrified. Jeremiah 50:37 A sword is against his horses and chariots and against all the foreigners among them, and they will be like women. A sword is against her treasuries, and they will be plundered. Jeremiah 50:38 A drought will come on her waters, and they will be dried up. You see, it is a land of carved images, and they go mad because of terrifying things. Jeremiah 50:39 For this reason, desert creatures will live with hyenas, and ostriches will also live in her. It will never again be inhabited or lived in through all generations. Jeremiah 50:40 Just as God demolished Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring towns – this is what Yahveh declares – so no one will live there; no human being will stay in it even temporarily as a temporary resident. Jeremiah 50:41 Notice! A people comes from the north. A great nation and many kings will be stirred up from the remote regions of the land. Jeremiah 50:42 They grasp bow and javelin. They are cruel and show no mercy. Their voice roars like the sea, and they ride on horses, lined up like men in battle formation against you, Daughter Babylon. Jeremiah 50:43 The king of Babylon has heard about them; his hands have become weak. Distress has seized him – pain, like a woman in labor. Jeremiah 50:44 “Notice, it will be like a lion coming from the thickets of the Jordan to the watered grazing land. I will chase Babylon away from her land in a flash. I will appoint whoever is chosen for her. You see, who is like me? Who will issue me a summons? Who is the shepherd who can stand against me?” Jeremiah 50:45 Therefore, hear the plans that Yahveh has drawn up against Babylon and the strategies he has devised against the land of the Chaldeans: Certainly the flock’s little lambs will be dragged away; certainly the grazing land will be made desolate because of them. Jeremiah 50:46 At the sound of Babylon’s conquest the land will quake; a cry will be heard among the nations. Jeremiah 51:1 This is what Yahveh says: I am about to rouse the breath of a destroyer against Babylon and against the population of Leb-qamai. Jeremiah 51:2 I will send strangers to Babylon who will scatter her and strip her land bare, because they will come against her from every side in the day of disaster. Jeremiah 51:3 Don’t let the archer string his bow; don’t let him put on his armor. Don’t spare her young men; completely destroy her entire army! Jeremiah 51:4 Those who were victims will fall in the land of the Chaldeans, those who were pierced through, in her streets. Jeremiah 51:5 For Israel and Judah are not left widowed by their God, Yahveh of Armies, though their land is full of guilt against the Holy One of Israel. Jeremiah 51:6 Leave Babylon; save your lives, each of you! Don’t perish because of her guilt. You see, this is the time of Yahveh ‘s vengeance – he will pay her what she deserves. Jeremiah 51:7 Babylon was a gold cup in Yahveh ‘s hand, making the whole land drunk. The nations drank her wine; therefore, the nations go mad. Jeremiah 51:8 Suddenly Babylon fell and was shattered. Wail for her; get balm for her wound – perhaps she can be healed. Jeremiah 51:9 We tried to heal Babylon, but she could not be healed. Abandon her! Let each of us go to his own land, for her judgment extends to the sky and reaches as far as the clouds. Jeremiah 51:10 Yahveh has brought about our vindication; come, let’s tell in Zion what Yahveh our God has accomplished. Jeremiah 51:11 Sharpen the arrows! Fill the quivers! Yahveh has roused the breath of the kings of the Medes because his plan is aimed at Babylon to destroy her, for it is Yahveh’s vengeance, vengeance for his temple. Jeremiah 51:12 Raise up a signal flag against the walls of Babylon; fortify the watch post; set the watchmen in place; prepare the ambush. You see, Yahveh has both planned and accomplished what he has threatened against those who live in Babylon. Jeremiah 51:13 You who reside by abundant water, rich in treasures, your end has come, your life thread is cut. Jeremiah 51:14 Yahveh of Armies has sworn by himself: I will fill you up with men like a swarm of locusts, and they will sing the victory song over you.
your end has come
Babylon had a long and powerful reign, but even they came to their limit. Jeremiah told them that their end has come.
You and I need to keep our pride in check by staying aware that our end will come as well. Only a Savior who can raise the dead will matter then.
Lord, we thank you for the time you give us in this life. We trust in you for a permanent life afterwards, at your coming.
Last week’s sermon
e-books by Jefferson Vann
Another Bible Commentary
A devotional commentary on every passage in the Bible (based on the English Standard Version –ESV).
655 pages Price: $4.99, US.
an Advent Christian systematic theology
Systematic Theologies answer the questions that people have about God and the universe. This book is an example of a systematic theology written from a viewpoint shared by members of the Advent Christian denomination.
881 pages Price: $4.99, US.
Words from the Collector
He collected everything from money to buildings to women, but he is most famous for collecting wise sayings. His name is Solomon, and one of the books we have from him is called Ecclesiastes.
This is a new translation of that Old Testament book Ecclesiastes, and a reader’s guide to its content.
65 pages $5.00 US
Finding Gold in Genesis
Gold can be found throughout the pages of this book. It is a simple book, with a new translation of Genesis, some devotional thoughts, and some prayers. But there is gold here. I challenge you to find it.
Jeremiah 50:17 Israel is an isolated lamb, chased by lions. The first who devoured him was the king of Assyria; the last who crushed his bones was King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.
Jeremiah 50:18 Therefore, this is what Yahveh of Armies, the God of Israel, says: I am about to punish the king of Babylon and his land just like I punished the king of Assyria.
Jeremiah 50:19 I will return Israel to his grazing land, and he will feed at Carmel and Bashan; he will be satisfied in the hill country of Ephraim and of Gilead.
Jeremiah 50:20 In those days and at that time – this is what Yahveh declares – one will search for Israel’s violation, but there will be none, and for Judah’s failures, but they will not be found, because I will forgive those I leave as a remainder.
his promise to his lamb
God’s promise to forgive Israel and lead the nation back to the promised land was fulfilled in history.
His promise to forgive us and to lead us into a new creation can be trusted. God does what he promises.
Lord. thank you for being faithful to those who call on your name. We trust in you for forgiveness today, and a permanent future in your new creation.
Jeremiah 50:11 Because you celebrate, because you exult – you who plundered my inheritance – because you frisk like a young cow treading grain and neigh like stallions,
Jeremiah 50:12 your mother will be utterly humiliated; she who bore you will be put to shame. Notice! She will lag behind all the nations – an arid open country, a desert.
Jeremiah 50:13 Because of Yahveh’s wrath, she will not be inhabited; she will become a desolation, every bit of her. Everyone who passes through Babylon will be appalled and scoff because of all her wounds.
Jeremiah 50:14 Line up in battle formation around Babylon, all you archers! Shoot at her! Do not spare an arrow, because she has failed Yahveh.
Jeremiah 50:15 Raise a war cry against her on every side! She has thrown up her hands in surrender; her defense towers have fallen; her walls are demolished. Since this is Yahveh’s vengeance, take your vengeance on her; as she has done, do the same to her.
Jeremiah 50:16 Cut off the planter from Babylon as well as the wielder of the sickle at harvest time. Because of the oppressor’s sword, each will turn to his own people, each will flee to his own land.
Babylon thrown down
God’s word through Jeremiah was that the great empire of Babylon would become an uninhabited desolation. There are two things we need to understand about God’s prophetic books in the Old Testament.
First, the prophecies came true! God brought Babylon ruin and the whole land became uninhabited because God condemned their actions.
Secondly, some of those prophecies give us insight into God’s further revelation. For example, Babylon was a real empire that God destroyed as recorded in several Old Testament prophetic books. But Babylon also became a symbol of all human empires that seek to destroy God’s people.
“Then one powerful angel picked up a stone like a huge millstone, threw it into the sea, and said, “With this kind of sudden violent force Babylon the great city will be thrown down and it will never be found again!” (Revelation 18:21 NET).
Lord Jesus, come and throw down all your great enemies. Come and bring peace and righteousness back to our planet.
e-books by Jefferson Vann
Another Bible Commentary
A devotional commentary on every passage in the Bible (based on the English Standard Version –ESV).
655 pages Price: $4.99, US.
an Advent Christian systematic theology
Systematic Theologies answer the questions that people have about God and the universe. This book is an example of a systematic theology written from a viewpoint shared by members of the Advent Christian denomination.
881 pages Price: $4.99, US.
Words from the Collector
He collected everything from money to buildings to women, but he is most famous for collecting wise sayings. His name is Solomon, and one of the books we have from him is called Ecclesiastes.
This is a new translation of that Old Testament book Ecclesiastes, and a reader’s guide to its content.
65 pages $5.00 US
Finding Gold in Genesis
Gold can be found throughout the pages of this book. It is a simple book, with a new translation of Genesis, some devotional thoughts, and some prayers. But there is gold here. I challenge you to find it.
Jeremiah 50:4 In those days and at that time – this is what Yahveh declares – the sons of Israel and sons of Judah will come together, weeping as they come, and will seek Yahveh their God.
Jeremiah 50:5 They will ask about Zion, turning their faces to this road. They will come and join themselves to Yahveh in a permanent covenant that will never be forgotten.
Jeremiah 50:6 My people were lost sheep; their shepherds led them astray, guiding them the wrong way in the mountains. They wandered from mountain to hill; they forgot their resting place.
Jeremiah 50:7 Whoever found them devoured them. Their adversaries said, “We’re not guilty; instead, they have failed Yahveh, their righteous grazing land, the hope of their fathers, Yahveh.”
Jeremiah 50:8 Escape from Babylon; depart from the Chaldeans’ land. Be like the rams that lead the flock.
Jeremiah 50:9 You see, I will soon stir up and bring against Babylon a collection of great nations from the north country. They will line up in battle formation against her; from there she will be captured. Their arrows will be like a skilled warrior who does not return empty-handed.
Jeremiah 50:10 The Chaldeans will become plunder; all Babylon’s plunderers will be fully satisfied. This is what Yahveh declares.
together again
These are words of great comfort to a people who have undergone great tragedy. They knew tragedy spiritually, in that they lost their resting place, and everything that happened to them was the result of their own sin. They would come back to him again. They would come together again.
They knew tragedy physically, in that everything they had was lost. Even their children were killed or taken away to a foreign land by the Babylonians. Now, God says, they will be able to return. And that empire that caused all this tragedy will become plunder to other nations.
God speaks into the current situation with words of comfort for those who are facing tragedy.
Lord, we want to come together again, and turn to you, weeping.
Devotions 