Jeremiah 51:20-26 – Our role is a divine/human collaboration

As established in our previous discussion, no nation was outside the sovereign control of God. He had the right to choose whichever nation He wanted to fulfill His plan for His people and the world. David in Psalm 24:1 declared that “The earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains, the world, and those who dwell in it.” And God had chosen to use Babylon as His instrument of judgment on His people to fulfill His purpose of straightening them up.

However, the Babylonians must realize that were merely God’s instrument and they were also liable for their atrocities. She was accountable to God.  He was going to use another power to deal with her. Rhetorically addressing the upcoming dominant power, the combined forces of the Medes and the Persians, Jeremiah 51:21-23 show how they would go about the assignment. And no one would be able to stand against this battle axe of God. Notice how thoroughly they would go about their task. This is how God declared to them in verses 21-23: 

“You are My war-club, My weapon of war;
And with you, I shatter nations,
And with you I destroy kingdoms.
“With you, I shatter the horse and his rider,
And with you, I shatter the chariot and its rider,
And with you, I shatter man and woman,
And with you, I shatter old man and youth,
And with you,  I shatter young man and virgin,
And with you,  I shatter the shepherd and his flock,

And with you, I shatter the farmer and his team,
And with you, I shatter governors and prefects.”

 

The reason the Babylonians would be punished was stated in verse 24.  They would be dealt with for all the evil that they had done in Zion in the full view of the Lord. In verses 25-26 God declared that though Babylon was strong and powerful and appeared indomitable, He was going to repay them for their evil and atrocities.  God was going to devastate her and make her land a desolate wasteland. 

 

Being God’s instrument can be exhilarating. But we must never overstep our bounds. It is one thing to be granted the privilege but another to carry out His assignment with sensitivity with humility.  The focus of any God-given task we are given the privilege to do must not be on us, His instrument. It must always be for the purpose and the glory of God. Remember that even in discharging our God-given task, we still need His enabling. We can never do it without Him. Every assignment we are granted to do must be a divine-human collaboration. Without Him we cannot, and without us, God will not.