Good day Saints of God in Christ Jesus. You are all welcome to another new day. Glory to God for the gift of life.
In our today’s episode 538 of studying and understanding the Bible, we shall be examining Jeremiah Chapters 50 – 52 titled:
Surprise! Babylon Is Down And Israel Restored. This Is How
Babylon was the capital of Babylonia. It was known to be a very powerful empire in the old Mesopotamia. If we are to trace the location of Babylon in our modern day, we will be looking at the nation of Iraq.
Is it not shocking to see the fall of a nation who was popular for its ability to invade and conquer other nations effortlessly?
In verse 3, he prophesied about the nation that invaded and conquered them. It was the Persian Army. Specifically, Babylon was brought down to its knees by Cyrus, the King of Persia (read Ezra Chapter 1; Daniel Chapter 5). Researching more into the location of the Persian Empire in our modern-day world, we will be heading to the nation of Iran. Imagine Iran invading Iraq and conquering it
Why did Babylon fall?
The same thing that led to the fall of other nations that we have previously looked at.
They were known to be an idolatrous nation and they also maltreated their captives in horrible ways. In Chapter 50 verse 2 Prophet Jeremiah even mentioned the name of their god – Marduk. Babylon was also full of pride with no regard to God after they have gained fame and wealth from their loots.
In chapter 51, Prophet Jeremiah likened Babylon to a golden cup of wine making the whole world drunk and also got themselves drunk as well. This is just a figurative expression meaning that Babylon was used to serve judgement to other nations and they themselves became judged with the same cup. The cup was a golden one because of how wealthy and powerful they were. This is why they were able to defeat many nations.
They were also likened to a hammer of judgement used to smash other nations with which they too became judged.
Another figure of speech used to describe them was that they were likened to a mountain that was destroying nations from different parts of the world, which was eventually levelled to the ground.
Juxtaposed with this prophesy of judgement against Babylon was also a message of hope for the Israelites that were taken captive by the Babylonian forces.
God promised them He would restore them, and they would gladly return home.
That’s why Prophet Jeremiah made a prophetic statement about it in Chapter 50:4 that a time is coming when the people of Israel and Judah will come back to God, weeping and feeling remorseful about their actions and they would begin to ask for the Way to Zion and they would go in that direction. They would be established in an eternal covenant with God.
Verse Jeremiah Chap 50:4 is purely a message of Salvation in a coded form for everyone that believes.
Chapter 52 is simply a repetition of what Jeremiah predicted during the era of King Zedekiah. Remember Jeremiah had previously predicted the fall of Jerusalem and how the nation of Israel would be taken into captivity. This chapter is just an extended version of it. Like I said in my previous posts, which have been confirmed by various Bible scholars that the book of Jeremiah was not chronologically put together. Read more about the fall of Jerusalem here in 2Kings 24:18-25:7
Lessons To Learn
No matter how far away you may feel from God, a simple prayer of faith and genuine study of God’s Word will rekindle that relationship. Simply humble yourself and ask God for help and He will surely help you. He did that already in Christ. He is only waiting for you to receive what has already been provided.
Never be a destroyer of lives by any means either by words of the mouth or by weapons because it has a way of fighting back. It is called the law of cause and effect. The Bible calls it: “reaping what you sow” Please Galatians 6:8; Prov 11:18; Prov 14:14; Luke 6:38
This marks the end of the book of Jeremiah.
To be continued…stay tuned and stay blessed as we move to the book of Lamentations in our next study.
Let us pray. Please declare the followings with me:
I receive the capacity from God through the Holy Spirit, to produce spiritual fruits that will build the body of Christ up and bring in more outsiders to experience the dividends of redemption in Christ. I refuse to be a tool in the hand of the devil because I am now seated with Christ in the place of authority, in Jesus name.
Bible Readings For Today: Job Chapters 25, 26 & 27 with Isaiah Chapter 4
I call you blessed now and always.
Thursday September 17, 2020 (DDMI)
