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Jeremiah 51-52
We are in the Prophetic Stream reading from the New English Translation.
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Commentary by Dr. Drake Travis
As we read today, the 51st chapter was prophecy of the final destruction of Babylon; an event that happened in 539 B.C. Then the 52nd chapter was the end of Judah/Jerusalem in this era; an event that happened in 586 B.C.; 47 years earlier. So they are juxtaposed but there’s no confusion now, right?
51 – This is it for Babylon. The empire is going to sink into history, just like the scroll was sunk into the Euphrates River as told at the end of 51.
“Blown away” is usually a term applied to explosions. But here Babylon is going to be blown away like chaff in the wind. Chaff is never chased after and gathered because it is worthless–>Soon Babylon will be as sc. Their army will be destroyed, the foreigners are urged to leave before the onslaught. This is just like when a country calls home its ambassadors before it attacks that same country. Judah is told that they will have passage out of this wrecking zone. Judah is assured that they are leaving. The enemy is approaching and it’s as if God is playing stage manager who will give cue to the approaching armies to signal the attack. Babylon had become rich yet it was all stolen. They were not in good graces with the God whom they had transgressed against. The sovereignty of God is told as He rules over nature…and He rules over Babylon too. Yes, Babylon was used to punish many nations. Now they would be used but as an example to what happens to the enemies of Zion. God would be summoning kingdoms against Babylon. Soon her wealth would be gone for there wold be no fight left in Babylon; nor strength, nor courage, nor victory. Their razing Jerusalem to the ground took God to the edge of patience and beyond. Babylon would be therefore dried out and burned up, slaughtered and swept over. This would be a horror show that would not seem to end. No light at the end of this tunnel. Jeremiah wanted his words taken personally to Babylon and you know what he wanted done as a statement made to Babylon: sunken, never to rise again.
52 – .The former chapter came true 47 years before this chapter came true. It was the final words of “the book of Jeremiah” even though it was written in by another; not Jeremiah. The collateral tale is told in II Kings 24-25 that we just read here recently. So as you read it and felt, “hey, we just read this” -you are right. Many of this overlaps and the effect is that the truth is only further driven home. We’ll read the fall of Jerusalem again at the end of II Chron. in November. It’s the same reason we have four tales of the same Savior in Mt/Mk/Lk/&Jn. No writer is off on a tangent. It all pieces together. Get our bookmarks on the website and it’s even simpler to follow along like a personal chart. Like we said, what happened here in Jeremiah 52 we read nine days ago in II Kings 24-25. The dates of the siege, the attack, the famine, the breaking in to the city, the pillaging of Jerusalem, the attempt to escape, the burning of the city, Zedekiah’s horrible ending, the executing of the royal officials of Jerusalem once they reached Babylon, the exile, Jehoiachin’s coasting through and aging peacefully. . . it’s all told again. Jeremiah is gone by now. Jerusalem is in ruins. For the next three weeks in the Prophetic Stream we will read Lamentations. It’s a closer tale of the sentiment in Jerusalem that is desolate, in ashes, and still smoking. It’s all so sad. God had a better plan, but the Judeans were more committed to their worse plan, and they did it their way.