Jeremiah 51: against Babylon, part 2

 In Jeremiah 51 we read:

59 Jeremiah the prophet gave a job to Seraiah son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, when Seraiah went with Zedekiah king of Judah to Babylon. It was in the fourth year of Zedekiah’s reign. Seraiah was in charge of travel arrangements.

60-62 Jeremiah had written down in a little booklet all the bad things that would come down on Babylon. He told Seraiah, “When you get to Babylon, read this out in public. Read, ‘You, O God, said that you would destroy this place so that nothing could live here, neither human nor animal—a wasteland to top all wastelands, an eternal nothing.’

63-64 “When you’ve finished reading the page, tie a stone to it, throw it into the River Euphrates, and watch it sink. Then say, ‘That’s how Babylon will sink to the bottom and stay there after the disaster I’m going to bring upon her.’”

In the fourth year of Zedekiah's reign, Babylon was the most powerful nation. Jeremiah was prophecying that the Jews should surrender to Babylon and live there, blessing the city; but here, Jeremiah says:


1-5 There’s more. God says more:
“Watch this:
    I’m whipping up
A death-dealing hurricane against Babylon—‘Hurricane Persia’—
    against all who live in that perverse land.
I’m sending a cleanup crew into Babylon.
    They’ll clean the place out from top to bottom.
When they get through there’ll be nothing left of her
    worth taking or talking about.
They won’t miss a thing.
    A total and final Doomsday!
Fighters will fight with everything they’ve got.
    It’s no-holds-barred.
They will spare nothing and no one.
    It’s final and wholesale destruction—the end!
Babylon littered with the wounded,
    streets piled with corpses.
It turns out that Israel and Judah
    are not widowed after all.
As their God, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, I am still alive and well,
    committed to them even though
They filled their land with sin
    against Israel’s most Holy God.

Many decades before the Jews returning from the exile, while Zedekiah was going to Babylon, Jeremiah wrote:

6-8 “Get out of Babylon as fast as you can.
    Run for your lives! Save your necks!
Don’t linger and lose your lives to my vengeance on her
    as I pay her back for her sins.
Babylon was a fancy gold chalice
    held in my hand,
Filled with the wine of my anger
    to make the whole world drunk.
The nations drank the wine
    and they’ve all gone crazy.
Babylon herself will stagger and crash,
    senseless in a drunken stupor—tragic!
Get anointing balm for her wound.
    Maybe she can be cured.”

Jeremiah knew that the Lord would not abandon Jerusalem:

10 “God has set everything right for us.
    Come! Let’s tell the good news
Back home in Zion.
    Let’s tell what our God did to set things right.

Jeremiah compares the Lord, the Creator, to the men-made gods of Babylon:

15-19 By his power he made earth.
    His wisdom gave shape to the world.
    He crafted the cosmos.
He thunders and rain pours down.
    He sends the clouds soaring.
He embellishes the storm with lightnings,
    launches the wind from his warehouse.
Stick-god worshipers look mighty foolish!
    god-makers embarrassed by their handmade gods!
Their gods are frauds, dead sticks—
    deadwood gods, tasteless jokes.
They’re nothing but stale smoke.
    When the smoke clears, they’re gone.
But the Portion-of-Jacob is the real thing;
    he put the whole universe together,
With special attention to Israel.
    His name? God-of-the-Angel-Armies!

The Lord is not friend fo Babylon:

25-26 “I’m your enemy, Babylon, Mount Destroyer,
    you ravager of the whole earth.
I’ll reach out, I’ll take you in my hand,
    and I’ll crush you till there’s no mountain left.
I’ll turn you into a gravel pit—
    no more cornerstones cut from you,
No more foundation stones quarried from you!
    Nothing left of you but gravel.” God’s Decree.

Jeremiah 50: against Babylon

 In Jeremiah 50 we read a prophecy against Babylon. Jeremiah didn't see the fall of Babylon. Babylon treated Jeremiah well, but he was not in favor of Babylon.

1 The word which the Lord spoke concerning Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, through Jeremiah the prophet:
2 “Declare and proclaim among the nations.
Proclaim it and lift up a flag,
Do not conceal it. Say,
‘Babylon has been captured,
Bel has been put to shame, [a]Marduk has been [b]shattered;
Her idols have been put to shame, her images have been shattered.’
3 For a nation has come up against her from the north; it will make her land an object of horror, and there will be no inhabitant in it. Whether people or animals, they have wandered off, they have gone!


The Lord used Babylon as an instrument to punish his people, but Babylon was evil. We read:

7 All who found them have devoured them;
And their adversaries have said, ‘We are not guilty,
Since they have sinned against the Lord who is the habitation of righteousness,
The Lord, the hope of their fathers.’

The adversaries of Israel and Judah thought that they were not guilty because they sinned against the Lord. However, the Lord doesn't think so:

9 For behold, I am going to rouse and bring up against Babylon
A contingent of great nations from the land of the north,
And they will draw up their battle lines against her;
From there she will be taken captive.
Their arrows will be like [h]an expert warrior
Who does not return empty-handed.
10 [i]Chaldea will become plunder;
All who plunder her will have enough,” declares the Lord.

11 “Because you are glad, because you are jubilant,
You who pillage My heritage,
Because you skip about [j]like a threshing heifer
And neigh like [k]stallions,
12 Your mother [l]will be greatly ashamed,
She who gave you birth [m]will be humiliated.
Behold, she will be the least of the nations,
A wilderness, a dry land and a desert.
13 Because of the wrath of the Lord she will not be inhabited,
But she will be completely desolate;
Everyone who passes by Babylon will be horrified
And will hiss because of all her wounds.

The Lord says that his people should leave Babylon:

8 “Wander away from the midst of Babylon
And [f]go out from the land of the Chaldeans;
Be like male goats [g]at the head of the flock.

33 This is what the Lord of armies says:
“The sons of Israel are oppressed,
And the sons of Judah as well;
And all who took them captive have held them firmly,
They have refused to let them go.
34 Their Redeemer is strong, the Lord of armies is His name;
He will vigorously plead their case
So that He may bring rest to their land,
But turmoil to the inhabitants of Babylon.

Jeremiah 49: Many countries will be destroyed

 In Jeremiah 49 we read many prophecies against many nations and cities: Ammon, Edom, Damascus, Kedar, Hazor and Elam. It seems to me that the cause of the great destruction to so many places is the same: the Babylonians will invade and take everything. It reminds me the flood in Noah times: a great destruction to many places. It is interesting what the Lord says about Ammon:

4 How you boast about the valleys!
Your valley is flowing away,
You backsliding daughter
Who trusts in her treasures, saying,
‘Who can come against me?’

I know that the Lord calls Israel his son in many verses, but it surprised me that He refers to Ammon as a "backsliding daughter" who trusts in her treasures. The Lord says:

6 But afterward I will restore
The fortunes of the sons of Ammon,”
Declares the Lord.

It seems that after the exile, Ammon will be restored, as Judah. Some other countries were not restored, as Elam.

Jeremiah 48: Prophecy against Moab

1 Concerning Moab. This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says:
“Woe to Nebo, for it has been destroyed;
Kiriathaim has been put to shame, it has been captured;
The high stronghold has been put to shame and [a]shattered.
2 There is no longer praise for Moab;
In Heshbon they have devised disaster against her:
‘Come and let’s cut her off from being a nation!’
You too, [b]Madmen, will be silenced;
The sword will follow you.
3 The sound of an outcry from Horonaim,
‘Devastation and great destruction!’
4 Moab is broken,
Her little ones have sounded out a cry of distress.
5 For they will go up by the ascent of Luhith
With continual weeping;
For at the descent of Horonaim
They have heard the [c]anguished cry of destruction.
6 Flee, save yourselves,
So that you may be like a juniper in the wilderness.
7 For because of your trust in your own achievements and treasures,
You yourself will also be captured;
And Chemosh will go off into exile
Together with his priests and his leaders.
8 A destroyer will come to every city,
So that no city will escape;
The valley also will be ruined
And the plateau will be destroyed,
As the Lord has said.
9 Give [d]wings to Moab,
For she will [e]flee away;
And her cities will become a desolation,
Without inhabitants in them.
10 Cursed is the one who does the Lord’s work negligently,
And cursed is the one who restrains his sword from blood.

Jeremiah lists many places (Nebo, Kiriathaim, Heshbon, Horonaim, ...) from Moab. They will be destroyed because they trust in their own achievements and treasures v8. They will be captured. They had a god called Chemosh, but he will go off into exile with his priests and leaders v7. Verse 10 is somehow strange. I understood that cursed is the one who restrains his sword from killing Moabites.
If Moab was not guilty because they trusted in their own achievements and treasures, then many people today will also taken as not guilty.

Jeremiah 47: prophecy against Philistia

 In chapter 47 we read a prophecy against Philistia, but who will destroy Philistia; the Egypt or Babylon?

We read;
1 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the Philistines, before Pharaoh conquered Gaza.

In verse 1, it is clear that this prophecy was made just before pharaoh from Egypt conquer Gaza, a city from Philistia.
Then, we read the prophecy:


2 This is what the Lord says:
“Behold, waters are going to rise from the north
And become an overflowing torrent,
And overflow the land and everything that is in it,
The city and those who live in it;
And the people will cry out,
And every inhabitant of the land will wail.


The prophecy says that waters are going to rise from the north, but Egypt is at south of Philistia. Waters may be related to chaos, or may be related to an army that comes from the north. Maybe, the information that pharaoh conquered Gaza isn't to that it is the fulfillment of the prophecy. Pharaoh was loosing power comparing to Babylon.

4 ... For the Lord is going to destroy the Philistines,
The remnant of the coastland of Caphtor.
5 Baldness has come upon Gaza;
Ashkelon has been destroyed.
Remnant of their valley,
How long will you gash yourself?
6 Ah, sword of the Lord,
How long will you not be quiet?
Withdraw into your sheath;
Rest and stay still.
7 How can [d]it be quiet,
When the Lord has given it an order?
Against Ashkelon and against the sea shore—
There He has summoned it.”

Although nor Egypt neither Babylon were believers in the Lord, but the sword of the Lord uses nations, people because He rules all the earth.

Jeremiah 46: Egypt will loose

 Jeremiah 46 happened around 606BC, so chapter 46 is before chapter 44. Both chapters talk about Egypt, but with two different pharaohs: Necho (46) and Hoprah (44).

1 That which came as the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations. 2 To Egypt, concerning the army of Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates at Carchemish, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:

Although Egypt is preparing for the battle against Babylon, their warriors are terrified "And have taken refuge in flight,
Without facing back." The Lord is sovereign, we read:

10 For that day belongs to the Lord [i]God of armies,
A day of vengeance, so as to avenge Himself on His foes;
And the sword will devour and be satisfied,
And drink its fill of their blood;
For there will be a slaughter for the Lord [k]God of armies,
In the land of the north at the river Euphrates.

13 This is the [n]message which the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to strike the land of Egypt:

18 As I live,” declares the King,
Whose name is the Lord of armies,
“One certainly shall come who is like Tabor among the mountains,
Or like Carmel by the sea.
19 Make your baggage ready for exile,
Daughter living in Egypt,
For Memphis will become a desolation;
It will be destroyed and [q]deprived of inhabitants.

The army of Babylon shall come like the great mountain Tabor among the mountains, exiling Egypt from the region.

25 The Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “Behold, I am going to punish Amon of Thebes, and Pharaoh, and Egypt along with her gods and her kings, indeed, Pharaoh and those who trust in him. 26 I shall hand them over to those who are seeking their lives, that is, to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and to his [v]officers. Afterward, however, it will be inhabited as in the days of old,” declares the Lord.

The chapter ends with a message to Jacob/Israel/Judah:

27 “But as for you, Jacob My servant, do not fear,
Nor be dismayed, Israel!
For, see, I am going to save you from far away,
And your descendants from the land of their captivity;
And Jacob will return and be undisturbed
And secure, with no one making him afraid.
28 Jacob My servant, do not fear,” declares the Lord,
“For I am with you.
For I will make a complete destruction of all the nations
Where I have driven you,
Yet I will not make a complete destruction of you;
But I will correct you properly
And by no means leave you unpunished.”

However, this prophecy happened even before the exile, so , Jacob "will return and be undisturbed" happened many decades later. Before that, the Lord corrected Israel properly, and by no means left it unpunished.

Jeremiah 45: Baruch and his plans for future

We read:

1 This is what Jeremiah told Baruch one day in the fourth year of Jehoiakim’s reign as he was taking dictation from the prophet:

Jeremiah is not in chronological order. It happened around year -609+4 = -605

2-3 “These are the words of God, the God of Israel, to you, Baruch. You say, ‘These are bad times for me! It’s one thing after another. God is piling on the pain. I’m worn out and there’s no end in sight.’

The Lord knows everything, our thoughts included. Although Baruch had the privilege to walk with Jeremiah, he was tired of living in bad times. So, the gracious Lord decided to say a message to Baruch.


4-5 “But God says, ‘Look around. What I’ve built I’m about to wreck, and what I’ve planted I’m about to rip up. And I’m doing it everywhere—all over the whole earth! So forget about making any big plans for yourself. Things are going to get worse before they get better. But don’t worry. I’ll keep you alive through the whole business.’”

The Lord said to Baruch that He would keep him alive in the middle of a great destruction; so comparing to many others who will die from war, sickness, hungry, etc. Baruch is in a good position. The Lord says that he should forget his big plans for himself. Interestingly, we pass our whole life making plans for ourselves; but near death we see the privilege to be alive.

Jeremiah 44: Who is the god to fear: the Queen of Heavens or the Lord?

 In Chapter 44, Jeremiah is in Egypt with the remaining Jews. They seem to fear the Lord but also other gods, but for the Lord wants to be the only one God to his people:

2 This is what Yahweh Tsebaoth, the Elohim of Israel, says: You have seen all the disasters I brought on Jerusalem and on all the cities of Judah. Today they are deserted ruins. 3 It is because their people did evil, and they made me angry. They went to burn incense and serve other gods that neither you nor your ancestors heard of. 4 I have sent my servants the prophets to you again and again to tell you not to do these detestable things that I hate. 5 But you wouldn’t listen or pay attention. You wouldn’t turn from your wicked ways and wouldn’t stop burning incense as an offering to other gods. 6 That is why my fury and anger were poured out and continued to burn in the cities of Judah and on the streets of Jerusalem. So they became the desolate ruin that they are today.
7 Now, this is what Yahweh Elohim Tsebaoth, the Elohim of Israel, says: Why do you bring this terrible disaster on yourselves? Why do you keep destroying men, women, children, and babies from Judah until none are left? 8 Why do you make me angry by burning incense to other gods in Egypt, where you have come to live. You will destroy yourselves and be cursed and ridiculed by all the nations on earth. 9 Have you forgotten the wicked things done by your ancestors, by the kings of Judah and their wives, and by you and your wives in Judah and on the streets of Jerusalem? 10 You have not humbled yourselves even to this day. You haven’t feared me or lived your lives by my teachings or by my decrees that I gave your ancestors.

Despite this message, they resoned the opposite:

15 Then all the men who knew that their wives were burning incense to other gods, all the women who were standing there, and all the people who lived at Pathros in Egypt answered Jeremiah. They said, 16 “We won’t listen to the message that you have spoken to us in Yahweh’s name. 17 We will do everything we said we would do. We will burn incense to the queen of heaven and pour out wine offerings to her as our ancestors, our kings, and our officials did in the cities of Judah and on the streets of Jerusalem. We had plenty to eat then, and we lived comfortably and saw no disaster. 18 But since we stopped burning incense to the queen of heaven and pouring out wine offerings to her, we have had nothing but wars and famines.”
19 The women added, “When we burned incense to the queen of heaven, poured out wine offerings to her, and made cakes for her with her image on them, do you think our husbands didn’t approve?”

They said that they should be more careful with the queen of heaven and less careful with the Lord, because, in their mind, the queen of heaven was angry with them. Jeremiah replies that it is the Lord who is charge of everything, and he gives a sign:

30 This is what Yahweh says: I’m going to hand Pharaoh Hophra, king of Egypt, over to his enemies and to those who want to kill him, just as I handed over King Zedekiah of Judah to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and to those who wanted to kill him.’”

Jeremiah 43: Johanan fears Babylon and flees to Egypt with all Jews that remained in the land

 In Jeremiah 43 we read how Johanan opposed Jeremiah words:

1-3 When Jeremiah finished telling all the people the whole Message that their God had sent him to give them—all these words—Azariah son of Hoshaiah and Johanan son of Kareah, backed by all the self-important men, said to Jeremiah, “Liar! Our God never sent you with this message telling us not to go to Egypt and live there. Baruch son of Neriah is behind this. He has turned you against us. He’s playing into the hands of the Babylonians so we’ll either end up being killed or taken off to exile in Babylon.”

Johanan believes in what he wants to believe. For instance: he believed that Gedaliah would be killed, but now, he doesn't believe that the Lord told to stay and not go to Egypt because he had already decided to go to a country that seemed safe. However, the Lord says that this plan will fail. They will meet death, exile and slaughter in Egypt.

10-13 “Then address them: ‘This is what God-of-the-Angel-Armies says: Be on the lookout! I’m sending for and bringing Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon—my servant, mind you!—and he’ll set up his throne on these very stones that I’ve had buried here and he’ll spread out his canopy over them. He’ll come and absolutely smash Egypt, sending each to his assigned fate: death, exile, slaughter. He’ll burn down the temples of Egypt’s gods. He’ll either burn up the gods or haul them off as booty. Like a shepherd who picks lice from his robes, he’ll pick Egypt clean. And then he’ll walk away without a hand being laid on him. He’ll shatter the sacred obelisks at Egypt’s House of the Sun and make a huge bonfire of the temples of Egypt’s gods.’”

Jeremian 42: a case of over precaution

The wise man makes decisions so as not to have bad days, but in some cases, it is foolish to take decisions based on possible dangers that will not come true.
In Jeremiah 42, the few Jews that remained in the land fears the reaction of Babylon when they discover that Gedaliah was killed. So:

1-3 All the army officers, led by Johanan son of Kareah and Jezaniah son of Hoshaiah, accompanied by all the people, small and great, came to Jeremiah the prophet and said, “We have a request. Please listen. Pray to your God for us, what’s left of us. You can see for yourself how few we are! Pray that your God will tell us the way we should go and what we should do.”

4 Jeremiah the prophet said, “I hear your request. And I will pray to your God as you have asked. Whatever God says, I’ll pass on to you. I’ll tell you everything, holding nothing back.”

5-6 They said to Jeremiah, “Let God be our witness, a true and faithful witness against us, if we don’t do everything that your God directs you to tell us. Whether we like it or not, we’ll do it. We’ll obey whatever our God tells us. Yes, count on us. We’ll do it.”

Johanan took a very good decision that everybody should copy: He wanted to listen to the Lord's will.
After 10 days, Jeremiah came with an answer:

9-12 He then spoke: “This is the Message from God, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your prayer. He says, ‘If you are ready to stick it out in this land, I will build you up and not drag you down, I will plant you and not pull you up like a weed. I feel deep compassion on account of the doom I have visited on you. You don’t have to fear the king of Babylon. Your fears are for nothing. I’m on your side, ready to save and deliver you from anything he might do. I’ll pour mercy on you. What’s more, he will show you mercy! He’ll let you come back to your very own land.’

However Jeremiah knew that they would not listen to the message:

13-17 “But do not say, ‘We’re not staying around this place,’ refusing to obey the command of your God and saying instead, ‘No! We’re off to Egypt, where things are peaceful—no wars, no attacking armies, plenty of food. We’re going to live there.’ If what’s left of Judah is headed down that road, then listen to God’s Message. This is what God-of-the-Angel-Armies says: ‘If you have determined to go to Egypt and make that your home, then the very wars you fear will catch up with you in Egypt and the starvation you dread will track you down in Egypt. You’ll die there! Every last one of you who is determined to go to Egypt and make it your home will either be killed, starve, or get sick and die. No survivors, not one! No one will escape the doom that I’ll bring upon you.’

Jeremiah knows that they are determined to go to Egypt, so why did they ask for the Lord's will? Anyway, who do they fear more? The Lord or Babylon? As they fear more Babylon they will make the wrong decision; so we see a case of over precaution. We all fear death, but the fear of the Lord must be greater.

Jeremiah 41: Ishmael was not any Messiah but he wanted the power.

 In Jeremiah 41 we read:

1-3 But in the seventh month, Ishmael son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, came. He had royal blood in his veins and had been one of the king’s high-ranking officers. He paid a visit to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah with ten of his men. As they were eating together, Ishmael and his ten men jumped to their feet and knocked Gedaliah down and killed him, killed the man the king of Babylon had appointed governor of the land. Ishmael also killed all the Judeans who were with Gedaliah in Mizpah, as well as the Chaldean soldiers who were stationed there.

Ishmael had royal blood and had been one of the Zedekiah's (I suppose) officers beside his connection with Amon (this is a little odd, but perhaps due to some marriage among royal families).  So, Ishmael must have considered very inappropriate that Gedaliah was in power. He and ten other men went to Mizpah and met Gedaliah who offered them a meal, but he was killed there.
Ishmael intercepted a group of 80 men heading to the temple of Jerusalem, carrying grain offerings and incense. They didn't know about the murder and Ishmael invited them to meet Gedaliah. 70 men were murdered in Mizpah, but 10 other men negotiated their lives saying that they had hidden grains to give for their lives. Ishmael had thrown the body of Gedaliah in a cistern, and used the other 70 bodies to hid Gedaliah's body. Besides, Ishmael took Zedekiah's daughters that were entrusted to the care of Gedaliah.

Johanan (who wanted to kill Ishmael in order to save Gedaliah) went with an army to Mizpah. He released Ishmael prisoners, but Ishamael flew to Amon with 8 other men (2 must have been killed). However, Johanan decided to flee to Egypt in order to avoid a retaliation from Babylon. Although he was innocent, he must found difficult to explain in details the situation to Babylon.
This narrative is the reason why Jeremiah went to Egypt as we are reading in next chapters.

Did Jeremiah go to Egypt by his own initiative? Did Jeremiah have free will to choose?