The word that Jehovah spoke concerning Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, through Jeremiah the prophet.
For chapters Jeremiah told Judah to bow to Babylon as God's chosen master of the earth. Now God hands the same prophet a word against Babylon herself, and these chapters tell us why.
Babylon comes last in a long line of judgments on the nations. The reason is her rank among them.
Now we come to the last of the nations marked out for judgment. It was mainly Babylon that judged them, and now her own turn has come. Babylon of the Chaldeans is the greatest, the earliest, and the most characteristic of the world's empires.
In chapters 50 and 51 the tone toward Babylon changes. One writer traces the change to a shift in viewpoint.
The book of Jeremiah has made it clear that God Himself raised up Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon, to be His servant. He gave him world power and dominion. He took it from Jerusalem, His proper city of earthly government, and gave it straight to Babylon. In our two chapters, however, this is not so much in view. The prophecy looks at Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon from the side of their own actions. Instead of the Lord's servant, the king now carries a name of contempt, "this Nebuchadnezzar" (Jer. 50:17), and Babylon, "O destroying mountain" (Jer. 51:25). She had destroyed instead of ruling the earth; she had corrupted the nations as well. So God rejects her in these two chapters, and settles the redemption of Israel and Judah.
The name in the verse matters. People hated Jeremiah for telling them to surrender to the Chaldeans, the people of Babylon. The same man wrote out Babylon's doom, long before Jerusalem fell.
Jeremiah knew the high position that the sovereign Lord had given to Babylonia, and above all to King Nebuchadnezzar. That is why he urged the people to submit to the Chaldeans. Yet even then, before Jerusalem fell, he also knew of Babylon's fall and doom.
The prophecy is not about the ruin of a city for its own sake. One writer names the result that mattered most to God.
Babylon's doom comes under the Medes, led on by Cyrus the Persian. The result that matters most to God is this: the fall of Babylon opens the door for His people to return from captivity. It is a picture of a final deliverance. Then One greater than Cyrus will be there to destroy the last holder of the last empire completely.
after_note: DELETE
Commentators agree that the detail here overflows what happened in 539 BC. Certain promises attached to this judgment — a covenant never forgotten, a city that sinks and never rises — were not exhausted by the return of a small remnant.
These two chapters do show us what happened to Babylon and the land of the Chaldeans. But the prophecy goes deeper than history. It shows us principles that develop in the prostitute Babylon of the book of Revelation, and that bring down the righteous judgment of God.
If those principles are still at work, this old word has a present edge. It shows the reader how to stay clear of a system under God's judgment.
Babylon's principles are widespread today. As we see God's judgment on this system, we ourselves are kept clear of it with understanding… We see that the Lord has purposed to judge it and to overthrow it altogether. We also see that He will save His people from its power. On this Scripture says, "Their Redeemer is strong" (Jer. 50:34).
- Turn. Babylon judged the nations for God. In chapter 50 her own turn arrives, last and greatest on the list.
- Reason. God gave her dominion, but she destroyed instead of ruling, and she corrupted the nations. So "My servant" gives way to "this Nebuchadnezzar."
- Messenger. Jeremiah urged surrender to Babylon and wrote out her doom at the same time. Both words came from the same sovereign Lord.
- Purpose. Her fall opened the door for God's people to go home. It pictures a final deliverance by One greater than Cyrus.
- Reach. The prophecy runs past the ancient ruins into the Babylon of Revelation. So its warning still stands, and so does its comfort: "Their Redeemer is strong."
Declare ye among the nations, and publish, and lift up a banner; publish, conceal not! Say, Babylon is taken, Bel is put to shame, Merodach is dismayed her images are put to shame, her idols are dismayed.
Jeremiah 50 opens with news to shout, not whisper. The order is to raise a signal and tell the nations that Babylon has fallen — the empire that had swallowed Judah. The announcement does not stop at the city walls. It names Babylon's gods and reports their shame alongside hers.
One writer sets out what the herald must say, and what the two names in the verse mean.
The message begins with a command: publish among the nations that Babylon has been conquered, that Bel (which means "lord") is put to shame, and that Merodach is dismayed. Merodach was the chief god of Babylon, known as Marduk in Babylonian inscriptions. The fall of the city throws the gods of Babylon into confusion. The disaster comes from the north (Medo-Persia, the conqueror of Babylon; Daniel 7).
A reference work confirms the second name behind the ancient records:
An idol of Babylon. Jeremiah 50:2. It is MARDUK on the monuments.
Another passage shows Bel and Nebo at the moment their city falls. Their images have to be loaded onto animals and hauled off by the winning side.
"Bel [their chief god, matching the Greek god Zeus] bows down; Nebo [matching the Greek god Hermes] stoops. Their idols are loaded on animals and cattle... They stoop, they bow down together; they could not save the load, and they themselves have gone into captivity." So, whether chief god or lesser god, these false gods could do nothing for their worshippers, and could not save themselves. The conquering enemy carries them off as part of the spoil.
The verse treats the fall of Babylon and the shaming of her gods as one event. That is because idolatry was what Babylon was known for, and God had a dispute with it that this judgment settled.
Babylon was full of idolatry. See Isaiah 21:9, and Jeremiah 50:38: "It is the land of carved images, and they are mad about their idols." So in Isaiah the Lord settles His dispute with these idols by judging Babylon, and it begins, "Bel bows down, Nebo stoops."... Back then, Satan's aim in idolatry was to deny the glory and unity of the divine Being. Now his aim is to deny the one glorious and effective work of the Mediator — the work by which God brings men back to Himself in grace.
The historical event stands behind the announcement — and so does the reason God cared about it.
Its doom comes under the Medes, led by Cyrus the Persian. The consequence of deepest interest to God is that the fall of Babylon opens the door for the return of His people from captivity. It is the picture of a final deliverance, when someone greater than Cyrus will be there to destroy the last holder of the last empire completely.
One writer looks at the rest of the chapter, and at what Babylon still means for readers now.
The principles of Babylon are widely at work today, and as we see God's judgment on this system we ourselves are kept clear of it with understanding... The news was to be declared "among the nations" that Babylon ruled: she and her idols are put to shame and broken in pieces (Jeremiah 50:1-3). Israel and Judah then seek the Lord their God. Their faces are turned toward Zion... The temporary centre of government is overthrown. The true centre is set up when Christ returns and Israel returns to Him... All this goes beyond the past overthrow of Babylon.
Commentators differ on how far ahead the chapter looks. One sees more in it than the ancient conquest. Another is firm about the older event:
I have no doubt that Jeremiah 50 and 51 apply to ancient Babylon. Also, in the message given to Seraiah it says, "So Babylon will sink, and will not rise again from the disaster that I will bring on her."
- Publish — Hide nothing. A signal goes up, and the nations Babylon once ruled hear what has happened to her.
- Named — Bel means "lord"; Merodach is the Marduk of Babylonian inscriptions. The report names Babylon's top gods and calls them shamed.
- Powerless — These gods could not rescue their worshippers or themselves. The winning army carted them off as spoil.
- Settled — Babylon was full of idolatry. Judging her settled God's long dispute with her idols. The same enemy now attacks the work of the Mediator.
- Opened — Babylon's fall opened the door home for God's people. That release pictures a greater deliverance still ahead.
For out of the north there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein both man and beast are fled; they are gone.
Jeremiah 50 is God's word against Babylon, the empire that had carried Judah away. Verse 3 names a nation from the north as her ruin, which raises two questions: who is it, and is the desolation past or still to come?
The chapter opens like a herald's announcement: Babylon is taken. One commentator names the conqueror. He then points to what mattered most to God in her fall.
Its doom has come under the Medes, led by Cyrus the Persian. The consequence of deepest interest to God is that the fall of Babylon opens the door for the return of His people from captivity. It is the type of a final deliverance. Then One greater than Cyrus will be there to completely destroy the last holder of the last empire.
"Out of the north" had a settled meaning earlier in Jeremiah, and it was not good news for Judah.
From start to finish, Jeremiah says much about Babylon. Babylon was this northern power that is in the mind of the Spirit of God throughout. It is not the Assyrian. The Assyrian was northern too, but that power was now destroyed, and only in the latter day will Assyria rise again. At that time Babylon was the great power that overshadowed the earth. So Jeremiah draws attention to this new kingdom. "Then the LORD said to me, Out of the north disaster shall be let loose upon all the inhabitants of the land."
Now the same direction turns against her. Another commentator names the empire that came:
The disaster comes from the north (Medo-Persia, the conqueror of Babylon; Daniel 7).
Verse 3 follows straight on from verse 2, which names Bel and Merodach. They were Babylon's own gods, and the announcement includes their fall.
The message begins with a command to publish the conquest of Babylon among the nations. Bel ("lord") is put to shame. Merodach, the chief god of Babylon, known as Marduk in Babylonian inscriptions, is dismayed. The gods of Babylon are put to confusion because of the fall of the city.
Babylon had been God's own tool for punishing Judah. That did not protect her.
Babylon was God's instrument of wrath upon Judah. But she served herself and was proud against the LORD, the Holy One of Israel. So she comes under righteous judgment.
Verse 3 says man and beast alike move off. One commentator compares these chapters with Isaiah and names the cause of the emptiness:
If we examine Jeremiah 50 and 51 we shall see the very same thing as in Isaiah. Verse 3 puts the desolation, so that no one lives there, down to the northern nation. The full consequences of her fall at their hands are in view.
Does the chapter stop with the ancient city? One writer sees more in it than the fall of Babylon under Cyrus:
Many details in Jeremiah 50 and 51 show us there is more in the mind of the Spirit than the overthrow of Babylon by Cyrus. There is more than the partial restoration of Israel afterwards too. The day is yet to come when Israel is to be joined to the Lord in "an everlasting covenant that will never be forgotten"... The day is yet future, as Revelation 18 shows, when "every purpose of the LORD against Babylon" will be performed.
The same writer turns from the ancient city to what this means for us:
Babylon's principles are widely at work today. As we see God's judgment on this system, we ourselves will be kept clear of it with understanding... Whatever belongs to Babylon is always ready to trap those who seek to exalt the Lord and to call on Him out of a pure heart. But as we learn the mind of God, we are strengthened against the advances of this lawless and superstitious system. We see that the Lord has purposed to judge it and to overthrow it altogether. We also see that He will save His people from its power. On this point it says, "THEIR REDEEMER IS STRONG."
- Announced — God has Babylon's fall published among the nations before it happens. Bel and Merodach, her own gods, go down with the city.
- North — "Out of the north" once meant Babylon marching on Judah. Here it means Medo-Persia marching on Babylon.
- Rod — Babylon was God's instrument of wrath on Judah. She served herself and was proud against the LORD, so she comes under righteous judgment.
- Emptied — The desolation, so that no one lives there, comes from that invading nation. The full consequences of her fall are in view.
- Redeemer — What interests God most in this ruin is the release of His people. Their way home opens, and a greater deliverance follows, because "their Redeemer is strong."