Thou art my maul, [my] weapons of war and with thee I will break in pieces the nations, and I will with thee destroy kingdoms;
This verse hands someone a title. God calls him His "hammer and weapon of war" — older translations read "battle axe." Two questions follow. Who is God speaking to, and why does He break nations through an agent at all?
Behind the title is a real piece of ancient hardware. One reference work describes the tool and then the figure drawn from it:
Morrish Bible DictionaryA large hammer or axe on the end of a long handle, a formidable ancient weapon. Jer. 51:20. It is applied figuratively to Jacob as God's weapon to break the nations into pieces.
The dictionary points the title at Jacob, that is, at Israel. A battle axe has no will of its own; it swings where the arm swings it. Whoever the "you" is, the verse gives them the place of a tool in another's hand.
Commentators differ on who is addressed. Most read the verse as spoken to Israel. William Kelly reads it as spoken to Babylon, and in the past tense — a review of the service she had already done before her own fall:
William KellyThen the Spirit of prophecy addresses Babylon with a detailed list of the ways God had used her before her fall. "You were my battle axe, weapons of war: with you I have broken nations in pieces, and with you I have destroyed kingdoms. And with you I have broken in pieces the horse and his rider. And with you I have broken in pieces the aged and the young." … "And I have repaid Babylon and all the people of Chaldea for all the evil they have done in Zion before your eyes, says Jehovah." But this did not hold back His vengeance now.
On that reading the verse carries a warning. God used Babylon, and God still judged her.
The more common reading finds a turning of the tables here. It rests on where the verse sits in the book:
H. J. VineThis part of the book ends by foretelling God's judgment on Babylon and Israel's deliverance. Jeremiah began by foretelling God's judgment coming from Babylon, and Israel's captivity. At the end, we are told, not Babylon but Israel is the power God will use! "You are My battle axe and weapons of war: for with you I will break in pieces the nations, and with you I will destroy kingdoms" (Jer. 51:20).
The nation that was broken becomes the instrument of breaking.
The hard part of the verse is not the picture but the method: God destroys kingdoms through armies. One writer answers by tracing the pattern across Scripture. The instrument changes; the right to judge stays God's:
F. B. HoleGod has the right to judge men and take their lives, when they carry their sin to unbearable heights. He did it by the flood of waters, when the people before the flood had filled the earth with violence and corruption. When the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah had become very grievous, He did it by an eruption of some kind. In the days of Abraham the wickedness of the Amorites was not yet full. Now it was full. God chose to destroy them, not by flood or fire, but by the armies of Israel. They were to act as His "battle axe and weapons of war" (Jer. 51:20).
Writers who read the verse of Israel put it after God sets the nation right, not before. Peace inside comes first; judgment outside follows:
J. N. DarbyMany passages speak of this time: Micah 5, several chapters in Zechariah, Jeremiah 51:20-21, Ezekiel 25:14. In it Israel is already reconciled and acknowledged, and at peace within. Israel will then be the instrument that carries out Jehovah's judgments outside.
The task is not only destructive. Alongside the breaking runs a second one:
W. W. FeredayHere we have Israel's twofold mission; as a lion among the beasts they put down foes, and as a dew from Jehovah they dispense blessing all around.
This verse could be taken as a licence for religious force. One writer draws the line, and draws it from the character of the present age:
W. TrotterThe saints of the present age could not do this work, at least while they are still on earth. The present age is one of pure, perfect grace. The Church's place is to walk in the steps of Him "who, when He suffered, took it patiently," and who cried out on the cross, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." But just as surely, an age of righteousness will follow the present age of grace.
- Weapon. A battle axe is a tool with no will of its own — the title honours the hand that swings it, not the axe.
- Wielder. Every clause credits the breaking to God: with you I break, with you I destroy.
- Warning. If Babylon is the one addressed, her past service to God bought her no escape when her own turn came.
- Reversal. Jeremiah opens with judgment falling on Israel from Babylon. It ends with Israel as the power God uses.
- Restraint. God sets Israel right before He sends her out. The lion's work comes paired with dew. And the Christian's calling now is the patience of the cross, not the axe.
and with thee I will break in pieces the horse and his rider; and with thee I will break in pieces the chariot and its driver;
God takes a nation and swings it like a hammer. That is the picture here, and it raises two questions: whose hand holds the weapon, and who gets broken by it?
The weapon God swings here is a real, fearsome piece of equipment, not a vague symbol of strength.
Morrish Bible DictionaryA large hammer or axe at the end of a long handle, a formidable ancient weapon. Jeremiah 51:20. It is used figuratively of Jacob as God's weapon to break the nations into pieces.
Verse 21 shows what the hammer strikes first: horse and rider, chariot and driver. War machines come apart in God's hand.
Commentators differ here, and the difference turns on tense. One reading takes these words as God's address to Babylon, listing what He had already used her to do before her fall.
William KellyThen the Spirit of prophecy addresses Babylon in a detailed account of the ways she had been used by God before her fall. "You were my battle axe, weapons of war: with you I have broken nations in pieces, and with you I have destroyed kingdoms." … But this did not stop His vengeance now.
Being God's instrument gave Babylon no protection when her own turn came.
The other reading points to Israel, and finds the reversal that closes the book.
H. J. VineThis section shows that the future deliverance of Israel is still in view. It ends by foretelling God's judgment on Babylon and Israel's deliverance. Jeremiah began by foretelling God's judgment from Babylon and Israel's captivity. At the end, we are told, not Babylon but Israel is the power God will use!
Those who apply the verse to Israel place it at a set moment: not while Israel still struggles, but after God has settled and accepted her.
J. N. DarbyI do not doubt that Jesus will reign in the character of David before taking up that of Solomon. He will reign as David, Israel being blessed and accepted, but all their enemies not yet destroyed. And finally He will reign as Solomon, that is to say, as Prince of peace. Many passages speak of this time: Micah 5, several chapters in Zechariah, Jeremiah 51:20-21, Ezekiel 25:14. In it Israel, already reconciled and acknowledged and at peace within, will be the instrument for carrying out Jehovah's judgments abroad.
So where does this fall on God's calendar?
Edward DennettThis is the order: after the glory, after the appearing of the Lord, after He shows Himself to Israel — when, as we read in Zechariah 12:10, they will look on Him whom they had pierced. Then He will establish His earthly throne in Jerusalem. And He will use His people as His battle-axe and weapons of war to break the nations in pieces and to destroy kingdoms (Jer. 51:20).
Does a verse about breaking horse and rider give Christians something to copy? The answer turns on the difference between two dispensations — two ways God deals with the world, one following the other.
W. TrotterMany passages foretell that Israel will be used to carry out God's judgments on the stubbornly wicked and rebellious. The saints of the present dispensation could not share in such a work, at least not while they are still on earth. The present is a dispensation of pure, perfect grace. The Church's place is to walk in the steps of Him "who, when he suffered, took it patiently," and who on the cross cried out, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." But just as surely, a dispensation of righteousness will follow the present dispensation of grace.
The point of studying Babylon's fall is not curiosity about the past. It is separation in the present.
H. J. VineBabylon'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… What 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 fortified against the inroads of this lawless and superstitious system. We see that the Lord has purposed to judge it, to overthrow it altogether, and also that He will save His people from its power. On this point we read, "THEIR REDEEMER IS STRONG" (Jer. 50:34).
- Weapon — The image is a war-hammer on a long handle, and the one who swings it is God. Whoever the instrument is, the arm is never theirs.
- Reversal — Commentators differ. The words may look back at Babylon's service or forward to Israel's. Either way, the empire that broke nations is broken itself.
- Order — Israel serves as that weapon only after the glory. The Lord appears, they look on Him whom they pierced, and His throne stands in Jerusalem. The nations come last.
- Peace first — God reconciles the nation and gives it rest at home before He sends it out. Blessing comes first, judgment after — never the other way round.
- Not yours — This is the time of pure grace. The Church's place is to suffer patiently and say, "Father, forgive them." The verse tells you what God will do, not what you may do.