©Bonnie LaBelle
Jeremiah 25:1-14 (ESV) - 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 (that was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem: “For twenty-three years, from the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, to this day, the word of the LORD has come to me, and I have spoken persistently to you, but you have not listened. You have neither listened nor inclined your ears to hear, although the LORD persistently sent to you all his servants the prophets, saying, ‘Turn now, every one of you, from his evil way and evil deeds, and dwell upon the land that the LORD has given to you and your fathers from of old and forever. Do not go after other gods to serve and worship them, or provoke me to anger with the work of your hands. Then I will do you no harm.’ Yet you have not listened to me, declares the LORD, that you might provoke me to anger with the work of your hands to your own harm.
“Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: Because you have not obeyed my words, behold, I will send for all the tribes of the north, declares the LORD, and for Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants, and against all these surrounding nations. I will devote them to destruction, and make them a horror, a hissing, and an everlasting desolation. Moreover, I will banish from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the grinding of the millstones and the light of the lamp. This whole land shall become a ruin and a waste, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. Then after seventy years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity, declares the LORD, making the land an everlasting waste. I will bring upon that land all the words that I have uttered against it, everything written in this book, which Jeremiah prophesied against all the nations. For many nations and great kings shall make slaves even of them, and I will recompense them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.”
Question to consider: Why is this judgment called an everlasting desolation?
Habakkuk, a contemporary of Jeremiah’s during the reign of King Josiah, was deeply concerned about the fact that the LORD would use Babylon as His sword against the kingdom of Judah. In his mind, if Judah fell to a godless people like the Chaldeans, there would be no hope for peace in the world. He posed the question, “Is he then to keep on emptying his net and mercilessly killing nations forever?” (Habakkuk 1:7) Simply put, when the ruler of a nation believes himself to be a god, he desires world domination.
The LORD reassured Habakkuk that the reign of the Chaldeans would be temporary, and the word of the LORD which came to Jeremiah about 23 years later during the start of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign in Babylon, gave a clear and specific time-frame of seventy years for this reign. It is worth noting that throughout history, the LORD has sovereignly anointed and deposed rulers and kings and used them to bring about His ultimate plan of redemption in Christ (past, present and future). This may seem shocking to us due to our limited understanding of the world which is clouded by sin. Scripture rarely answers the question of why a particular event in history is allowed to take place, but it reveals the goodness and mercy of God so we have faith in God’s ability to bring about ultimate justice at His appointed time.
You may ask why it took twenty-three years for this word of the LORD to come to pass, but from the context, we can infer that it is due to His mercy. Jeremiah’s proclamations of this word over the twenty-three years were always followed by a warning to turn from their evil ways and come back to the LORD.
In yesterday’s study of chapter 24, I quoted 2 Chronicles on why seventy years was chosen, “All the days that it lay desolate it kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.” We studied this law of the Shemittah which ended with a sabbath year for the land back in Deuteronomy 15:1-11.
Those mentioned as “bad figs” in yesterday’s passage were not only about to be judged for time but for eternity. “I will devote them to destruction, and make them a horror, a hissing, and an everlasting desolation. Moreover, I will banish from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the grinding of the millstones and the light of the lamp.” Jesus referred to this separation from the LORD as the place of outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. The image of hell captured by the valley of Hinnom (also called Gehenna) was from the perspective of being cast away from the blessings of God and into the fires of His judgment. The image of being separated from the "light of the lamp" or being cast into outer darkness was one of dis-fellowship and disunity with God and His people.
Dear heavenly Father, please turn our hearts to Christ so that we may be spared from this banishment. Thank You for Your word. May it do its work to refine us and remold us into the image of Your Son. It’s in His name we pray. Amen.