Jeremiah 51:1-32. The Lord Is Our Everlasting Portion. He Is The One We Trust
The Lord Is Our Everlasting Portion. He Is The One We Trust
Jeremiah 51:1-32 Kevin E. Jesmer
Key verse 51:19 6-19-18
“He who is the Portion of Jacob is not like these, for he is the Maker of all things, including the people of his inheritance—the Lord Almighty is his name.” (19)
Dear Lord, I come to you today to meditate on your words. It is so hard to do this. We all think that we are so busy and have no time. We think that everything takes precedent over study of your words. I fall into this way of thinking. Help me to put knowing you and your words as top priority in my life. Teach me something deeply through this passage I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen!
Part 1. God Holds All Nations To Account (1-10)
Verses 1-10, “Thus says the Lord: “Behold, I will stir up the spirit of a destroyer against Babylon, against the inhabitants of Leb-kamai, 2 and I will send to Babylon winnowers, and they shall winnow her, and they shall empty her land, when they come against her from every side on the day of trouble.3 Let not the archer bend his bow and let him not stand up in his armor. Spare not her young men; devote to destruction all her army. 4 They shall fall down slain in the land of the Chaldeans and wounded in her streets. 5 For Israel and Judah have not been forsaken by their God, the Lord of hosts, but the land of the Chaldeans is full of guilt against the Holy One of Israel. 6 “Flee from the midst of Babylon; let everyone save his life! Be not cut off in her punishment, for this is the time of the Lord’s vengeance, the repayment he is rendering her.7 Babylon was a golden cup in the Lord’s hand, making all the earth drunken; the nations drank of her wine; therefore, the nations went mad. 8 Suddenly Babylon has fallen and been broken; wail for her! Take balm for her pain; perhaps she may be healed. 9 We would have healed Babylon, but she was not healed. Forsake her, and let us go each to his own country, for her judgment has reached up to heaven and has been lifted up even to the skies. 10 The Lord has brought about our vindication; come, let us declare in Zion the work of the Lord our God.”
This seems very strange that God would punish the very nation that he sent to be his instrument of judgement on the people of Judah. The Babylonians were sent to deliver a blow to the unrepentant people of Judah and take them into exile. But, now God was calling Babylon to task and condemning them for their sins that they committed. In Jeremiah the people of Judah did deserve to be invaded by Babylon. They did deserve to go into exile to Babylon. But they did not deserve some of the evil and barbaric practices of the Babylonians.
And so, Jeremiah continued to prophesy about the fate of Babylon. Babylon had committed many sins towards all the nations in the region. They were cruel and led the nations astray with their idols. They caused immeasurable suffering. People felt that there was no end to their tyranny. But God tells them that Babylon will completely fall. The Lord will vindicate his people. They will rejoice over what God has done.
We can learn here that God calls all nations accountable for their sins, no matter if they have been called to serve a godly purpose or not. Think about it this way. The Nazi’s in WWll were doing some horrible things to the people. They were very evil. God raised up the Allies to defeat them and bring a stop to their reign of terror. The Allies were serving God’s purpose. But that did not give the Allies a right to inflict evil sufferings on the people that they liberated. They had a mandate to treat the people justly and help the survivors to build up their lives and their nations. And that is what the Marshall Plan set out to do. If they took advantage of the people then they would have to answer to God’s judgement.
The same principle is when a person tries to arrest someone. Yes, a person can arrest another person. If the person is a doing a criminal act then the arrest is a just act. But if the arrestor abuses his power and uses excessive force in the arrest then that is not a just act and the arrestor can face charges for using excessive force. God holds everyone to account. God’s justice will be upheld across the board.
For me this means that even though I am a child of God and am called to serve, I still must seek to please the Lord in all that I do. I am called to treat people with kindness and compassion and live as an ambassador of Christ.
God did not forsake his people. God was still watching out for them. His people may not have agreed with this at the time. They might have been convinced that God had abandoned them and was treating them unjustly. But that was not true. Verse 5 reads, “For Israel and Judah have not been forsaken by their God, the Lord of hosts, but the land of the Chaldeans is full of guilt against the Holy One of Israel.” God never abandons his people. He may train and discipline his people so that they may grow in faith and be sanctified, but he never abandons them. He is their God all the time. A portion of the people of Judah would return to Jerusalem to rebuild their nation. Their descendants would testify that God did not forsake them and was with them.
Part 2: The Portion of Jacob Brings Victory (11-32)
Verses 11-32, “Sharpen the arrows! Take up the shields! The Lord has stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes, because his purpose concerning Babylon is to destroy it, for that is the vengeance of the Lord, the vengeance for his temple.12 “Set up a standard against the walls of Babylon; make the watch strong; set up watchmen; prepare the ambushes; for the Lord has both planned and done what he spoke concerning the inhabitants of Babylon. 13 O you who dwell by many waters, rich in treasures, your end has come; the thread of your life is cut. 14 The Lord of hosts has sworn by himself: Surely, I will fill you with men, as many as locusts, and they shall raise the shout of victory over you. 15 “It is he who made the earth by his power, who established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding stretched out the heavens. 16 When he utters his voice there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain, and he brings forth the wind from his storehouses. 17 Every man is stupid and without knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols, for his images are false, and there is no breath in them. 18 They are worthless, a work of delusion; at the time of their punishment they shall perish. 19 Not like these is he who is the portion of Jacob, for he is the one who formed all things, and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance; the Lord of hosts is his name. 20 “You are my hammer and weapon of war: with you I break nations in pieces; with you I destroy kingdoms; 21 with you I break in pieces the horse and his rider; with you I break in pieces the chariot and the charioteer; 22 with you I break in pieces man and woman; with you I break in pieces the old man and the youth; with you I break in pieces the young man and the young woman; 23 with you I break in pieces the shepherd and his flock; with you I break in pieces the farmer and his team; with you I break in pieces governors and commanders.24 “I will repay Babylon and all the inhabitants of Chaldea before your very eyes for all the evil that they have done in Zion, declares the Lord. 25 “Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain, declares the Lord, which destroys the whole earth; I will stretch out my hand against you, and roll you down from the crags, and make you a burnt mountain. 26 No stone shall be taken from you for a corner and no stone for a foundation, but you shall be a perpetual waste, declares the Lord. 27 “Set up a standard on the earth; blow the trumpet among the nations; prepare the nations for war against her; summon against her the kingdoms, Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz; appoint a marshal against her; bring up horses like bristling locusts. 28 Prepare the nations for war against her, the kings of the Medes, with their governors and deputies, and every land under their dominion. 29 The land trembles and writhes in pain, for the Lord’s purposes against Babylon stand, to make the land of Babylon a desolation, without inhabitant. 30 The warriors of Babylon have ceased fighting; they remain in their strongholds; their strength has failed; they have become women; her dwellings are on fire; her bars are broken. 31 One runner runs to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to tell the king of Babylon that his city is taken on every side; 32 the fords have been seized, the marshes are burned with fire, and the soldiers are in panic.”
In this passage we are blessed to discover so many wonderful aspects of God. God is a God of justice. We already talked about how the Babylonians will have to answer to God for their evil ways. We also learned that God does not forsake his people, though their present conditions may make them think otherwise.
Now it times to ponder more about who our God is. God could defeat the Babylonians because of who He is. He is the Creator, the Maker of all things, even the Maker of his people. He is the Lord Almighty. He reveals idols as frauds as he carries out his justice. Though all people are senseless and without knowledge, He leads his people by His wisdom and strength and on to victory in Him.
Let’s think about each section. First, verse 11 reads, “Sharpen the arrows! Take up the shields! The Lord has stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes, because his purpose concerning Babylon is to destroy it, for that is the vengeance of the Lord, the vengeance for his temple.” And verse 12b: “….for the Lord has both planned and done what he spoke concerning the inhabitants of Babylon.”
Here we learn about the sovereign power of God. He is the one who stirred up the spirit of the king of the Medes. His purpose concerning Babylon is fulfilled. God’s purposes will surely be fulfilled for he is the all-powerful sovereign Lord. For me this means that I can trust what God is doing in the world. The whole Palestine/Israel issue seems overwhelming. The only way to approach the whole thing is with faith in the sovereign power of God to work out his will. The whole school shooting issue in the USA is sickening. But I could have some peace knowing that the Sovereign Lord is in control, though I may not understand everything that is going on. The challenges of being a missionary is overwhelming. But missionaries can have peace and inner strength trusting in the sovereign power of the almighty Creator who is with them.
God is the highest authority. Verse 14 reads: “The Lord of hosts has sworn by himself: Surely, I will fill you with men, as many as locusts, and they shall raise the shout of victory over you.”
God is the all-powerful Creator. He established the earth by his wisdom. He controls nature. Verse 15: “It is he who made the earth by his power, who established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding stretched out the heavens. 16 When he utters his voice there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain, and he brings forth the wind from his storehouses.”
God is the inheritance of his people. Look at verse 19: “Not like these is he who is the portion of Jacob, for he is the one who formed all things, and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance; the Lord of hosts is his name.” God is our inheritance and our everlasting portion. He is worth more than inheriting several hundred thousand dollars and a house and an old car. He is our Portion and inheritance.
God’s purposes stand. Look at verse 29: “The land trembles and writhes in pain, for the Lord’s purposes against Babylon stand,” He has his will. He is powerful and almighty. Of course, his purposes’ stand. What can weak human beings do to thwart God’s plan?
Prayer: “Lord, I know you are my God. Thank you for not forsaking me and being with me. Thank you for being my everlasting portion. I can stand up and walk in this world because of your love, grace and power that you freely pour out on those who have faith in you.”
One Word: The Lord Almighty is his name. We trust in you Lord. We rejoice in your grace.
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