Jeremiah 25: 1 – 38
Mercy in His Judgement
1 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah (which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), 2 which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying: 3 “From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, even to this day, this is the twenty-third year in which the word of the LORD has come to me; and I have spoken to you, rising early and speaking, but you have not listened. 4 And the LORD has sent to you all His servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, but you have not listened nor inclined your ear to hear. 5 They said, ‘Repent now everyone of his evil way and his evil doings, and dwell in the land that the LORD has given to you and your fathers forever and ever. 6 Do not go after other gods to serve them and worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands; and I will not harm you.’ 7 Yet you have not listened to Me,” says the LORD, “that you might provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt. 8 “Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Because you have not heard My words, 9 behold, I will send and take all the families of the north,’ says the LORD, ‘and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land, against its inhabitants, and against these nations all around, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, a hissing, and perpetual desolations. 10 Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp. 11 And this whole land shall be a desolation and an astonishment, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. 12 ‘Then it will come to pass, when seventy years are completed, that I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity,’ says the LORD; ‘and I will make it a perpetual desolation. 13 So I will bring on that land all My words which I have pronounced against it, all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah has prophesied concerning all the nations. 14 (For many nations and great kings shall be served by them also; and I will repay them according to their deeds and according to the works of their own hands.)’?” 15 For thus says the LORD God of Israel to me: “Take this wine cup of fury from My hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send you, to drink it. 16 And they will drink and stagger and go mad because of the sword that I will send among them.” 17 Then I took the cup from the LORD’s hand, and made all the nations drink, to whom the LORD had sent me: 18 Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and its princes, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, a hissing, and a curse, as it is this day; 19 Pharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his princes, and all his people; 20 all the mixed multitude, all the kings of the land of Uz, all the kings of the land of the Philistines (namely, Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod); 21 Edom, Moab, and the people of Ammon; 22 all the kings of Tyre, all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of the coastlands which are across the sea; 23 Dedan, Tema, Buz, and all who are in the farthest corners; 24 all the kings of Arabia and all the kings of the mixed multitude who dwell in the desert; 25 all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the Medes; 26 all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another; and all the kingdoms of the world which are on the face of the earth. Also the king of Sheshach shall drink after them. 27 “Therefore you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Drink, be drunk, and vomit! Fall and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you.”?’ 28 And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup from your hand to drink, then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: “You shall certainly drink! 29 For behold, I begin to bring calamity on the city which is called by My name, and should you be utterly unpunished? You shall not be unpunished, for I will call for a sword on all the inhabitants of the earth,” says the LORD of hosts.’ 30 “Therefore prophesy against them all these words, and say to them: ‘The LORD will roar from on high,
And utter His voice from His holy habitation; He will roar mightily against His fold. He will give a shout, as those who tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth. 31 A noise will come to the ends of the earth—For the LORD has a controversy with the nations; He will plead His case with all flesh. He will give those who are wicked to the sword,’ says the LORD.” 32 Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Behold, disaster shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the farthest parts of the earth. 33 “And at that day the slain of the LORD shall be from one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth. They shall not be lamented, or gathered, or buried; they shall become refuse on the ground. 34 “Wail, shepherds, and cry! Roll about in the ashes, you leaders of the flock! For the days of your slaughter and your dispersions are fulfilled; You shall fall like a precious vessel. 35 And the shepherds will have no way to flee, nor the leaders of the flock to escape. 36 A voice of the cry of the shepherds, and a wailing of the leaders to the flock will be heard. For the LORD has plundered their pasture, 37 And the peaceful dwellings are cut down because of the fierce anger of the LORD. 38 He has left His lair like the lion; For their land is desolate because of the fierceness of the Oppressor, and because of His fierce anger.”
In today’s study we are going to see that our Holy Father God Yahweh has determined the sentencing of His people as far as being exiled from the land. The Israelites would be banished from the land for seventy years.
One thing that is overlooked is His Mercy relative to this judgment. I want to show you how Merciful He Is even in His judgment.
During the prophet Haggai’s time people were living two lives. Professing to be one thing but living and doing a different lifestyle. Sounds like he is talking about our time. People are playing church.
Today, too many people profess that they are Christians but do not possess the life of our Lord Jesus in their walk. Have you ever experienced a co-worker or neighbor’s surprise when they find out that you are a Christian? If that doesn’t convict you, nothing will.
Our Holy Master used a pagan leader by the name of Cyrus to allow the Jews to return to the Promised Land prior to the ending of the 70-year sentence. If you read the book of Ezra you come to find out about this return of many Jews.
The first matter to take care of when they got back in the land was to re-establish an altar and begin the process of re-building the Temple. However, the people hesitated in doing this.
What do you think the reason was for their procrastination? Well, first, I would suggest that the people had a prophetic misunderstanding. What do I mean by that? The people were interpreting Scripture incorrectly.
The returning exiles had accepted a fatalistic resignation. In the book of Jeremiah as previous mentioned our Supreme Judge passed down a ruling that the Jews would be banished from re-inheriting the land for 70 years. They then incorrectly took the position that nothing could be done for the entire duration of 70 years. They said, ‘The time has not come, the time that the LORD’s house should be built.’ This was a wrong interpretation.
Their real thinking was selfish. It was a dislike of the trouble, the expense, and the danger arising from their enemies. Our Lord Jesus said that if the world hated Me, they would also hate you. Do not be surprised if you try to act more Christ like, that people will come running to crucify you also.
It is amazing how the unwilling heart always finds excuses. The altar was in place now, so why not just settle down with the minimum and not go out on your limb. Why volunteer for any other hassles.
There are a few things that I have learned in life. One – there are no such things as coincidences. God Is in control of all things. Second – our God always displays mercy and grace even during His correction. How does this figure out? Let’s look at the dates all this took place. Jerusalem falls in 586 BC. The Lord allows the people to come back in 538 BC. This equals 48 years, not 70. What a Merciful and Gracious God we have. The people had built an altar and in 536 began working on the Temple. Then for 6 years work was done on the Temple. Then persecutions started in earnest and the people stoped working on the Temple. Our Holy Yahweh sends Haggai to get them refocused on the right priorities, that is, their relationship with Him.
You want to be blessed amazingly. Look at this fact. Guess when the Temple was finished? It was in 516 BC. – 70 years after the desolation of Jerusalem. Our Holy Father to the exact date did not wait to reinitiate His Love and Relationship with His chosen. He didn’t have the people wait 70 years and then be allowed to go back to Israel to start work on building a personal and close relationship of worship Him. In His Awesome and Wonderful Heart, He had planned all along to fellowship again to the very day their punishment had ended. What a Neat Merciful and Great God we have.
This final chapter contains Jeremiah’s own brief summary, given to the people in a sermon, describing what has gone before during the previous twenty three years of his ministry. He warns them that because they have not listened to YHWH’s voice the land must suffer for ‘seventy years’ in subjection to Babylon, but he then goes on to bring out that YHWH’s wrath will subsequently be visited on Babylon, and not only on them, but on ‘the whole world’. For YHWH will be dealing with all the nations in judgment, something which will be expanded on in chapters 46-51. There is at this stage no mention of restoration, (except as hinted at in the seventy-year limit to Babylon’s supremacy), and the chapter closes with a picture of the final desolation which is to come on Judah because of YHWH’s anger.
1 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah (which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), 2 which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying:
It was around 604 BC. Egypt were now licking their wounds after Carchemish and Hamath, and Jehoakim would have had to submit to Nebuchadnezzar and would be paying tribute. It was no doubt in the light of this that Jeremiah came to the feast and spoke these words.
3 “From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, even to this day, this is the twenty-third year in which the word of the LORD has come to me; and I have spoken to you, rising early and speaking, but you have not listened.
He pointed out to them that he had now been engaged in his ministry for twenty-three years, diligently bringing to them the word of YHWH. But he points out that they had not listened.
4 And the LORD has sent to you all His servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, but you have not listened nor inclined your ear to hear.
YHWH Father God had previously been diligent (rising early) in sending many prophets among them who had been equally diligent and had proclaimed His word to them. But they had not listened to them either.
5 They said, ‘Repent now everyone of his evil way and his evil doings, and dwell in the land that the LORD has given to you and your fathers forever and ever.
So he now with great patience calls on them, as the previous prophets had called on them (2 Kings 17.12-14), again to return from their evil ways, and from the evil of their doings (for they needed to be right in both their behavior and their attitude) if they wished to dwell ‘for evermore’ in the land which YHWH had of old given to their fathers.
6 Do not go after other gods to serve them and worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands; and I will not harm you.’
For YHWH’s promise was that if they did not go after other gods to worship and serve them, and did not provoke Him to anger by breaking the requirements of the covenant, then He would bring no harm upon them. This was still in the stage when repentance was seen as possible and was looked for.
7 Yet you have not listened to Me,” says the LORD, “that you might provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt.
YHWH now charges them with the fact that they had not listened to any of the prophets and had also certainly not listened to Jeremiah. And therefore, they had not listened to Him. This was the sure ‘word of YHWH’. And the consequence was that they had provoked Him to anger by what they had been doing, and especially by their idolatry, in such a way as would bring hurt upon them.
8 “Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Because you have not heard My words, 9 behold, I will send and take all the families of the north,’ says the LORD, ‘and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land, against its inhabitants, and against these nations all around, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, a hissing, and perpetual desolations.
Magnificent Father God Yahweh warns them that because of their failure to listen to the prophets and to hear His word, He would now summon the people of the countries to the north, including ‘My servant’ Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, and would bring them all against both their land, and also the land of neighboring countries, to destroy them and make them a spectacle in the eyes of all.
In Isaiah 44.18; 45.1 YHWH had called Cyrus ‘My shepherd’ and ‘My anointed’. Here He calls Nebuchadnezzar ‘My servant. In both cases it was because they were adopted by Him as His instruments in carrying out His purposes. It did not indicate that they had become believers. And Nebuchadnezzar would come at the head of a coalition of different nations, for in the fight against Assyria the Medes and the Scythians, together with a number of other allies, had been involved.
10 Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp.
The devastating effect of the invasion is described. All festivities and activities, the things for which men lived, will come to a halt. There would be no more festal occasions with their mirth and gladness, there would no more be bridegrooms and brides enjoying their wedding celebrations, and even the maids who ground the corn during the day would be affected. The mill stones would cease operating, and the lamps at night would not be lit, for there would be no grain and no oil, and no one to tend to them. Life as they had always known it would have ground to a halt.
11 And this whole land shall be a desolation and an astonishment, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.
This description has in mind a land made so desolate that people who pass through look at it with open mouths, hardly able to believe what they are seeing. And the length of time during which these nations would have to serve the king of Babylon was ‘seventy years’, that is, the normal lifetime of a man from cradle to the grave.
The purpose of the seventy years according to 2 Chronicles 36.21 was so that the land could ‘enjoy its sabbaths’, which may be an indication that the seventh Sabbatical year during which no crops were to be sown (Exodus 23.10-11) had overall been ignored in Judah and Israel.
12 ‘Then it will come to pass, when seventy years are completed, that I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity,’ says the LORD; ‘and I will make it a perpetual desolation.
Once the ‘seventy years’, the period determined by God, was over, the then king of Babylon, together with the whole nation of Babylon would be punished because of their iniquity. And this was the sure word of YHWH. So like the Assyrians before them, having been the ‘rod of YHWH’s anger’ (Isaiah 10.5), they would be punished because they themselves were utterly sinful. And eventually the whole land of the Chaldeans would be made desolate into the distant future. It would nevermore attain its former glory.
That the mighty Babylonian empire would only last for around seventy years must have seemed inconceivable at the time to anyone who had no divine help in understanding the situation. The Assyrian empire had lasted far longer. But Jeremiah was to be proved correct.
13 So I will bring on that land all My words which I have pronounced against it, all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah has prophesied concerning all the nations.
The doom of Babylon had been already proclaimed by Isaiah long before (Isaiah 13-14), because of its arrogant pride. To Isaiah Babylon had symbolized the world in rebellion against God from the time of Babel onwards and he had prophesied its utter ruin.
14 (For many nations and great kings shall be served by them also; and I will repay them according to their deeds and according to the works of their own hands.)’”
For Babylon also would be caught up in the tide of history and many great nations and great kings would arise and would bring Babylonia into bondage, commencing with Cyrus the Persian who would later be followed by Alexander the Great. Babylon too would be recompensed for their behaviour and doings, and for their idolatry (Isaiah 47.11-15).
In these remarkable words the destinies of all nations are in YHWH’s hands. And their destiny is to be drunk and to reel about because of YHWH’s wrath. None will escape.
15 For thus says the LORD God of Israel to me: “Take this wine cup of fury from My hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send you, to drink it.
The visitation of God’s wrath is often seen in terms of drinking wine from a cup. It was a fitting picture of nations reeling at the disasters that came on them.
16 And they will drink and stagger and go mad because of the sword that I will send among them.”
The cup is defined in terms of the sword at work among them in the hands of other nations. The reeling to and fro and being mad is an apt picture of the effects of war at the hands of a powerful conqueror.
17 Then I took the cup from the LORD’s hand, and made all the nations drink, to whom the LORD had sent me: 18 Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and its princes, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, a hissing, and a curse, as it is this day;
The first to drink are Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, along with their kings (the king and his co-regents) and princes. And it would result in their being desolated and becoming a spectacle to all nations, a cause for astonishment and hissing and a curse.
19 Pharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his princes, and all his people; 20 all the mixed multitude, all the kings of the land of Uz, all the kings of the land of the Philistines (namely, Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod); 21 Edom, Moab, and the people of Ammon; 22 all the kings of Tyre, all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of the coastlands which are across the sea;
The list commences with Judah’s nearest neighbors, commencing with the most powerful. It is comprehensive in scope covering not only the kings and their peoples, but also any who had come to dwell among them (‘all the mingled people’).
Egypt and Uz (a part of Edom, possibly mentioned because at this time seen as under the control of Egypt) were to the south, Philistia with its principal cities to the west, Edom, Moab and Ammon to the south east and the east, and Tyre and Sidon to the north west. The isle which was beyond the sea may have been Cyprus.
23 Dedan, Tema, Buz, and all who are in the farthest corners; 24 all the kings of Arabia and all the kings of the mixed multitude who dwell in the desert;
The description then goes beyond the nearest neighbors to those more distant, in the south east, the Arab cities in Arabia, whose distinctive hair style is described (it was always seen as indicative of idolatry), and all the varied tribes which occupied the desert.
25 all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the Medes; 26 all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another; and all the kingdoms of the world which are on the face of the earth. Also the king of Sheshach shall drink after them.
Zimri was within the same area as the Elamites and the Medes to the north east. ‘All the kings of the north far and near’ is comprehensive, and any nation omitted is swept up in the description of ‘all the kingdoms of the (known) world, which are on the face of the earth’ which indicates those beyond Judah’s usual perspective.
Finally, Sheshach (Babylon) would drink after them. Sheshach is written in ‘code’ with the letters of the Hebrew alphabet reversed. Thus for Aleph Taw would be written, for Beth SHin would be written, for Gimel Resh would be written, and so on. Thus, SheSHaCH signifies BaBeL. The purpose was probably not to hide the name from the uninitiated (the Babylonian spies were not stupid and such codes were well known) but in order to indicate that the world would be turned upside down.
27 “Therefore you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Drink, be drunk, and vomit! Fall and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you.”?
The picture of the drunkard drinking, and becoming more and more drunk, and vomiting, and then collapsing in a state of total inebriation is vividly descriptive of the confusion irrationality and effects of warfare. Notice that it is YHWH of the hosts of Heaven and earth, the God of Israel, Who is personally sending this sword among them.
28 And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup from your hand to drink, then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: “You shall certainly drink!
And that is why they have no choice but to drink. They cannot protest. They have no option. For YHWH of Hosts has determined that they will drink. There is an unashamed emphasis on the total sovereignty of YHWH as controller of all the hosts of men, all men’s armies.
29 For behold, I begin to bring calamity on the city which is called by My name, and should you be utterly unpunished? You shall not be unpunished, for I will call for a sword on all the inhabitants of the earth,” says the LORD of hosts.’
And this had necessarily to be so because if YHWH was beginning to work evil on ‘the city which was called by His Name’ (Jerusalem) because they had followed the ways of the nations, how could the nations whose ways they had followed go unpunished? It would not be so, for YHWH of hosts was calling for the sword to come upon them.
What is coming on the world is pictured in terms of ‘universal’ catastrophe, as so often in the prophets. The idea is that the world will be turned upside down. But the nations described, and the context of the prophecy, make clear that this is not intended as relating to the final destiny but as practical. It was the world of Jeremiah’s own day that was to be affected.
It can also be a reminder that man’s sinfulness is always such that it can only bring on him God’s future judgment from which none will be excluded. In that sense therefore it can be seen as dealing with the final outcome. It is a principle of creation. ‘The soul who sins will die’. The significance of final judgment lies in the fact that the hope of mankind is not be placed in the expectation of the world getting better but awaits the coming of a Deliverer Who will restore all things, especially the hearts of men.
30 “Therefore prophesy against them all these words and say to them: ‘The LORD will roar from on high, and utter His voice from His holy habitation; He will roar mightily against His fold. He will give a shout, as those who tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth.
The initial picture is of YHWH roaring from ‘on High’ and speaking from His holy habitation, which in parallel with ‘on High’ must indicate Heaven. God is acting from above. The roaring is that of the Divine Lion as He comes to His pasture, here seen as the whole world, to attack the shepherds and seize the sheep (verses 34-36). He will cry out in enthusiastic vigor as He treads the grapes. The treading of grapes represents His bringing judgment on the people, Isaiah 63.2-6; Revelation 14.14-15. And this will ‘on all the inhabitants of the (known) earth’. The whole area will be in turmoil.
31 A noise will come to the ends of the earth—For the LORD has a controversy with the nations; He will plead His case with all flesh. He will give those who are wicked to the sword,’ says the LORD.”
The noise is the noise of approaching armies and it comes from distant places, because YHWH is, as it were, bringing the nations to court to face up to His charges and there He will enter into judgment with all flesh, and will give the wicked to the sword. And this is the sure word of YHWH.
32 Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Behold, disaster shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the farthest parts of the earth. 33 “And at that day the slain of the LORD shall be from one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth. They shall not be lamented, or gathered, or buried; they shall become refuse on the ground.
The local judgment is seen in terms of the future judgment, for the one merge into the other. Nation after nation will experience ‘evil’ from YHWH as the enemy armies arrive, and those armies will be like a great tempest raised up from the furthest points on earth (as known at that time). And those who are slaughtered in battle or because of invading armies will in fact be ‘the slain of YHWH’ for it is He Who is bringing their judgment on them. The slaughter will be so great that there will be none left to lament, none left to gather the bodies, none left to bury the dead (Ezekiel 39.12). They will simply lie like pats of cow dung on the face of the ground.
34 “Wail, shepherds, and cry! Roll about in the ashes, you leaders of the flock! For the days of your slaughter and your dispersions are fulfilled; You shall fall like a precious vessel. 35 And the shepherds will have no way to flee, nor the leaders of the flock to escape.
The picture turns back to the Divine Lion as He attacks the shepherds responsible for the flocks (the shepherds who have devastated His people. The shepherds (rulers of the nations) are to wail and cry, and the king is to wallow in ashes in grief, because the day of slaughter has come on them and, on the flock,, and the day when they will be scattered has come. They will ‘fall like a fine, ornamental vessel’. We should see here how Jehoiachin was a broken vessel (22.18) while Judah itself was also depicted in those terms, being broken in the Valley of Slaughter. Nor will there be anywhere for the shepherds to flee, nor for their leader to escape. Death will be a certainty for all.
The alternative ‘choice rams’ instead of ‘fine vessel’ is not strictly correct as the word means ‘lambs.’ In view of the relevance of a broken vessel to the wider context it is preferable to retain it.
36 A voice of the cry of the shepherds, and a wailing of the leaders to the flock will be heard. For the LORD has plundered their pasture, 37 And the peaceful dwellings are cut down because of the fierce anger of the LORD. 38 He has left His lair like the lion; For their land is desolate because of the fierceness of the Oppressor, and because of His fierce anger.”
The cries and wailings of the rulers of the nations will be everywhere as YHWH the Divine Lion lays waste their pasture, slaughtering the sheep, resulting in an eerie silence from the folds which had previously been so at peace. And it would be because of the severe anger of YHWH. For like a lion on the hunt for prey He has left His covert, and by means of foreign armies is turning their lands into spectacles which astonish all who see them, because of the fierceness of the oppressing sword, a consequence of the fierce anger of YHWH. The picture is of total war.
And so, this Section in which the sins of Judah have been underlined and openly declared, and the certainty of judgment has been revealed, ends in a picture of universal catastrophe. Compare 4.23-28. Such is the consequence of rebellion against God.
