Jeremiah 51 – God answers desperate and sincere prayer

Judah was captured by Babylon and was treated terribly. So in Jeremiah 51:34-35,  portrayed as a nation collectively, Judah complained about how badly they were treated before lifting a desperate cry to their Covenant Lord.  And the Lord whose lovingkindness never waned responded in verses 36-40.  Having heard their imprecatory prayer God assured them that He was going to “plead their case.” What God was going to do to Babylon is also described in these verses.  

Nebuchadnezzar representing Babylon was specifically named for how they had treated the nation of Judah. Like a monster, Babylon had swallowed up God's people, crushed and devoured them like delicacies. What they did to Judah left the nation empty. In verse 35, the captives, the people of God lifted a call to God to avenge them for their suffering. This was not just wishful thinking, but a sincere and desperate imprecatory prayer to God. As if standing before the Sovereign Judge, they pled with God saying, “May the violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon …And may my blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea….”

In verse 36 God responded favourably.  He assured His people that He had heard their plea and would take up their complaints and exact vengeance on their behalf.  How would He do it? God was going to dry up Babylon's waters. Their water sources would be emptied. The Euphrates and its tributaries would be dried up. Babylon would be devastated and become a heat of rubble and make an uninhabitable wasteland. It would be Jackals’ haunt.  Verses 38-40 describe how Babylon like lions in their dens would enjoy their spoils.  And God would serve them with another kind of banquet till they become drunk to a point where their sleep would be perpetual. This was by way of saying that they would all be dead and never get up forever.  Babylon, which was once a devouring lion would be made a lamb for the slaughter.  

One lesson stands out in these verses. God hears the desperate cries of His people. He will come to their rescue and act on their behalf.  This presupposes that as His people, we must recognize His capability and His willingness to help His own. What’s also important is to realize how prone we are to stray in life and that we can never make it without His help. There must be a return to our faithful God no matter how far we have strayed from Him. We don’t need to be like God’s people of old who needed a crisis to wake them up.  Let us learn to be consistent in our walk with Him. Keep in mind what Jesus has said and come boldly to beseech our heavenly Father:-

“Ask, and it will be given to you; ^]seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!  (Matthew 7:7-11).