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Chapter 25:15-29 (ESV) - Thus the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from my hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it. They shall drink and stagger and be crazed because of the sword that I am sending among them.”
So I took the cup from the LORD's hand, and made all the nations to whom the LORD sent me drink it: Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and officials, to make them a desolation and a waste, a hissing and a curse, as at this day; Pharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his officials, all his people, and all the mixed tribes among them; all the kings of the land of Uz and all the kings of the land of the Philistines (Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod); Edom, Moab, and the sons of Ammon; all the kings of Tyre, all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of the coastland across the sea; Dedan, Tema, Buz, and all who cut the corners of their hair; all the kings of Arabia and all the kings of the mixed tribes who dwell in the desert; all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of Media; all the kings of the north, far and near, one after another, and all the kingdoms of the world that are on the face of the earth. And after them the king of Babylon shall drink.
“Then 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 that I am sending among you.’
“And if they refuse to accept the cup from your hand to drink, then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: You must drink! For behold, I begin to work disaster at the city that is called by my name, and shall you go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, for I am summoning a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth, declares the LORD of hosts.’
Question to consider: In what way was Jesus the better Jeremiah in this vision?
As I mentioned in yesterday’s study, the prophet, Habakkuk, had grave concerns that the godless Chaldeans would seek world domination if God allowed them to destroy the kingdom of Judah. Babylon would indeed be the sword of God used to pour out His wrath upon Jerusalem and then all of the nations, but it’s apparent from the word of the LORD given to Jeremiah that once this was accomplished, the king of Babylon would also drink from this cup of God’s wrath.
After the seventy years of exile in which the land of Judah received its Sabbath rest, the Medes and the Persians successfully overthrew Babylon, and the LORD allowed Ezra and Nehemiah to lead people back to Jerusalem in order to rebuild the temple and city.
I’d be curious to know how this word from the LORD came to Jeremiah. I would doubt that he went on a road trip to visit all of the surrounding nations with a bottle of wine and force the kings to drink. I think he instead was describing to the people of Judah a vision or dream in which the LORD had him do these things.
The rantings of a Jewish prophet would have had no significance to the kings of the surrounding nations, but this description of the LORD forcing all of the nations to drink from the cup of His wrath would have been meaningful to the people of Jerusalem. They would understand that even though judgment may begin with the house of the LORD, the other nations would not escape judgment, and ultimately Babylon, the instrument of destruction, would be judged as well.
While Jeremiah was the LORD’s man to deliver the message of judgment to the world and give the people a chance to repent, he did not have the power to deliver the world from sin. After Jeremiah’s proclamation, the world stood condemned, but Jesus came into the world as the better Jeremiah who was worthy to stand for us in righteousness.
Jesus proclaimed this to Nicodemus in the gospel according to John, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” (John 3:16-18)
Dear heavenly Father, thank You for accepting the work of Christ on our behalf to deliver us from the condemnation we deserve. Open our hearts to receive this free gift of mercy and to set aside our own attempts at earning Your favor. Amen.