Jeremiah 50:1-3 – What goes around comes around.

Babylon was the dominant power that God used as His instrument to deal with His people as well as the nations. Jeremiah throughout his ministry had called on the covenant people to yield to Babylon insisting that the Babylonians were but God’s tools to bring about His purpose. And though God would this nation, she would also be made to face the wrath of God for her arrogance and cruelty. This weeping prophet’s oracle on the judgment of God on Babylon can be found in Jeremiah 50 and 51 before the book closes in chapter 52 much like an appendix. The message Jeremiah had for Babylon is a lengthy one. As such, we shall dissect it segment by segment.

God’s message to them started plainly in Jeremiah 50:1-2 saying, “The word which the Lord spoke concerning Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, through Jeremiah the prophet.” The prophet was told to openly make the message known. It was to be proclaimed to the nations. Bel and Marduk were one and the same. Marduk was the chief god that the Babylonians worshipped. Marduk or Merodach had also v been referred to as Bel. God was saying that the deity the Babylonians depended on would be left powerless and incapable of saving them. Verse 2 said that “her images would be put to shame and her idols shattered and destroyed.  

How would God deal with Babylon? Verse 3 said, “…a nation has come up against her out of the north; it will make her land an object of horror, and there will be no inhabitant in it. Both man and beast have wandered off, they have gone away!” This would be the end of Babylon which we will look at in more detail as Jeremiah’s message to them progressed. God would use a nation from the north to deal with Babylon leaving her in horror and without any inhabitant – both man and beast.  

The destruction of Babylon would be the climax of the book of Jeremiah. As a nation, Babylon and her cruel kings would be toppled.  In the precious few chapters of Jeremiah, we saw how Babylon, the dominant power overthrew and defeated the surrounding nations. Judah, Egypt, Philistia, Moab, Ammon, Edom, Damascus, Kedar, and Elam were all her victims. However, despite being God’s instrument of judgment, Babylon was not a law to herself. She was also answerable to God for her cruelty.  As we come to the close of the book, we cannot help but see a version of the rooster coming home to roost. What goes around always comes around. When God is using us be sure to stay humble and connected to Him. Don’t be too cocky when we are on the upper hand.