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.
Jeremiah 50:1 This is the word Yahveh spoke about Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, through the prophet Jeremiah:
Jeremiah 50:2 Report to the nations; announce and raise up a signal flag; announce it, and hide nothing. Say, “Babylon is captured; Bel is put to shame; Marduk is terrified.” Her idols are put to shame; her false gods, devastated.
Jeremiah 50:3 You see, a nation from the north will attack her; it will make her land desolate. No one will be living in it – both people and animals will run away.
Babylon gets theirs
Nobody expected Jeremiah to say something like this. He was widely criticized because he had predicted that his own nation would be defeated, captured and exiled by the mighty armies of Nebuchadnezzar.
But God was going to use Babylon to render his punishment to all the nations. When their time came, they would get theirs too.
Fast forward to the New Testament. The book of Revelation speaks of the destruction of Babylon. It is a symbol of all the terrible means whereby God would judge the nations through other nations during this age. But at the end, even the great Babylon will get theirs.
When God sets up his new sky and land, there will be no Babylon the Great. All means of destruction will be destroyed, then our God will be all in all.
Lord, thank you for your eventual destruction of all things that destroy.
Jeremiah 49:34 This is the word of Yahveh that came to the prophet Jeremiah about Elam at the first of the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah.
Jeremiah 49:35 This is what Yahveh of Armies says: I am about to shatter Elam’s bow, the first of their might.
Jeremiah 49:36 I will bring the four winds against Elam from the four corners of the sky, and I will scatter them to all these winds. There will not be a nation to which Elam’s banished ones will not go.
Jeremiah 49:37 I will devastate Elam before their enemies, before those who intend to take their lives. I will bring disaster on them, my burning anger. This is what Yahveh declares. I will send the sword after them until I finish them off.
Jeremiah 49:38 I will set my throne in Elam, and I will destroy the king and officials from there. this is what Yahveh declares.
Jeremiah 49:39 Yet, in the last days, I will restore the fortunes of Elam. This is what Yahveh declares.
devastate – restore
Elam is just one of the many nations that would suffer devastation by means of the Babylonian invasion — and then restoration eventually.
This is the nature of our God. He is serious about sin, and we will suffer badly as long as we remain in rebellion against him and his word. But that same word offers hope for us, because our God wants to restore us.
Lord, bring the nations to repentance, acceptance of your Son as their king, and restoration in the last days.
Jeremiah 49:28 This is what Yahveh says about Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, which King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon defeated: Rise up, attack Kedar, and destroy the people of the east!
Jeremiah 49:29 They will take their tents and their flocks along with their tent curtains and all their equipment. They will take their camels for themselves. They will call out to them, “Terror is on every side!”
Jeremiah 49:30 Run! Escape quickly! Lie low, residents of Hazor – this is what Yahveh declares – because King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon has drawn up a plan against you; he has devised a strategy against you.
Jeremiah 49:31 Rise up, attack a nation at ease, one living in security. This is what Yahveh declares. They have no doors, not even a gate bar; they live alone.
Jeremiah 49:32 Their camels will become plunder, and their massive herds of cattle will become spoil. I will scatter them to the wind in every direction, those who clip the hair on their temples; I will bring calamity on them across all their borders. This is what Yahveh declares.
Jeremiah 49:33 Hazor will become a jackals’ den, a permanent desolation. No one will live there; no human being will stay in it even temporarily.
he sees what we don’t
Kedar and Hazor were Arab nomaic tribes, and their kingdoms were ruled by tribal chiefs. There does not seem to be much information in the prophecy about the reason God chose to turn the Babylonians loose on Kedar and Hazor.
Matthew Henry has an interesting take on this section:
“These people had lived inoffensively among their neighbours, as many do, who yet, like them, are guilty before God; and it was to punish them for their offences against him that God said (v. 28): Arise, go up to Kedar, and spoil the men of the east. They will do it to gratify their own covetousness and ambition, but God orders it for the correcting of an unthankful people, and for warning to a careless world to expect trouble when they seem to be most safe.”
Many often wonder about those nations who do not seem to be bothering anyone else — whose only crime seems to be that they are different from us.
There has to be a point where we allow our sovereign God to be sovereign. If he chooses to judge another nation, he has the right to do so. If he is judging us, he has good reason to do it.
Lord, forgive us for passively judging you. Only you see the world as it truly is.
Jeremiah 49:23 About Damascus: Hamath and Arpad are put to shame, because they have heard a bad report and are agitated, like the anxious sea that cannot be calmed.
Jeremiah 49:24 Damascus has become weak; she has turned to run; panic has gripped her. Distress and labor pains have seized her like a woman in labor.
Jeremiah 49:25 How can the city of praise not be abandoned, the town that brings me joy?
Jeremiah 49:26 Therefore, her young men will fall in her public squares; all the warriors will be silenced on that day. This is the declaration of Yahveh of Armies.
Jeremiah 49:27 I will set fire to the wall of Damascus; it will consume Ben-hadad’s citadels.
like labor pains
Damascus of Syria was a joy to the Lord, but he had to destroy it. He speaks of their time of distress before their destruction as a horrible time like a woman’s labor pains. Sound familiar?
Jesus described a time of global distress before his coming judgment with similar words:
Mark 13:8 (JDV)
“Because nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be disasters in various places; there will be famines. These events are just the beginning of the birth pangs.”
Lord, prepare us for your coming judgment. Help us to warn the people of all the nations of the coming destruction.
Jeremiah 49:7 This is what Yahveh of Armies says about Edom: Is there no longer wisdom in Teman? Has counsel been destroyed from the prudent? Has their wisdom rotted away?
Jeremiah 49:8 Run! Turn back! Lie low, residents of Dedan, because I will bring Esau’s calamity on him at the time I punish him.
Jeremiah 49:9 If grape harvesters came to you, wouldn’t they leave some gleanings? Were thieves to come in the night, they would destroy only what they wanted.
Jeremiah 49:10 But I will strip Esau bare; I will uncover his secret places. He will try to hide, but he will be unable. His descendants will be destroyed along with his relatives and neighbors. He will exist no longer.
Jeremiah 49:11 Abandon your fatherless; I will preserve them; let your widows trust in me.
Jeremiah 49:12 You see, this is what Yahveh says: “If those who do not deserve to drink the cup must drink it, can you possibly remain unpunished? You will not remain unpunished, because you must drink it too.
Jeremiah 49:13 You see, by myself I have sworn” – this is what Yahveh declares – “Bozrah will become a desolation, a disgrace, a ruin, and an example for cursing, and all its surrounding cities will become permanent ruins.”
Jeremiah 49:14 I have heard an envoy from Yahveh; a messenger has been sent among the nations: Assemble yourselves to come against her. Rise up for war!
Jeremiah 49:15 I will certainly make you insignificant among the nations, despised among humanity.
Jeremiah 49:16 As to the terror you cause, your arrogant heart has deceived you. You who live in the clefts of the rock, you who occupy the mountain summit, though you elevate your nest like the eagles, even from there I will bring you down. This is what Yahveh declares.
Jeremiah 49:17 “Edom will become a desolation. Everyone who passes by her will be appalled and whistle because of all her wounds.
Jeremiah 49:18 Like when Sodom and Gomorrah were overthrown along with their neighbors,” says Yahveh, “no one will live there; no human being will stay in it even temporarily.
Jeremiah 49:19 “Look, it will be like a lion coming from the thickets of the Jordan to the watered grazing land. I will chase Edom 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 49:20 Therefore, hear the plans that Yahveh has drawn up against Edom and the strategies he has devised against the people of Teman: The flock’s little lambs will certainly be dragged away, and their grazing land will be made desolate because of them.
Jeremiah 49:21 At the sound of their fall the land will quake; the sound of her cry will be heard at the Red Sea.
Jeremiah 49:22 Notice! It will be like an eagle soaring upward, then swooping down and spreading its wings over Bozrah. In that day the hearts of Edom’s warriors will be like the heart of a woman with contractions.
a desolation like Sodom and Gomorrah
Jeremiah predicts the destruction of Edom by comparing their fate with that of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Peter says that God’s final judgment will also result in the ungodly being reduced to ashes. It is a terrible fate and irreversible.
“and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; and if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly lives thereafter” (2 Peter 2:5-6 NASB).
Lord, give us the wisdom to turn from our wickedness before your final judgment destroys us.
Devotions 