©Kris Gerbrandt
Chapter 51:1-11 (ESV) - Thus says the LORD:
“Behold, I will stir up the spirit of a destroyer
against Babylon,
against the inhabitants of Leb-kamai,
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.
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.
They shall fall down slain in the land of the Chaldeans,
and wounded in her streets.
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.
“Flee from the midst of Babylon;
let every one 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.
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.
Suddenly Babylon has fallen and been broken;
wail for her!
Take balm for her pain;
perhaps she may be healed.
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.
The LORD has brought about our vindication;
come, let us declare in Zion
the work of the LORD our God.
“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.
Question to consider: Why would the LORD judge Babylon after they were His sword against the world’s sin?
In yesterday’s passage, the LORD was Israel’s “strong Redeemer” (50:34) who would restore a remnant to the land and usher in an everlasting covenant with them. In today’s passage, the LORD’s word was a winnowing fork which would separate the faithful from Babylon so that it could be given over to destruction to vindicate Zion. A winnowing fork was used by farmers to separate wheat from chaff— the faithful from the unfaithful.
The warning for inhabitants to flee reflects the LORD’s mercy to the Chaldeans as well as the exiled from Israel and Judah. The fall of Babylon would come by the Persian king, Cyrus, against king Nabonidus and his son, Belshazzar a couple of generations after Nebuchadnezzar. In the book of Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar received the LORD’s discipline as he was sent into madness for seven years. During this time, he recognized the LORD as the one true God. Given his influence, and the influence of faithful Israelites like Daniel, it is not a surprise that there were those among the Babylonians who would heed this warning from the LORD to flee His wrath against their armies.
You may ask yourself why God would judge the Babylonians for being the sword He used to judge Judah and Jerusalem. From the text, it would seem that it was for the mistreatment of those who belonged to the Holy One of Israel while in captivity and for the destruction of the LORD’s temple. As the sword of God, Babylon was to judge those among the Israelites who had forsaken the LORD for idols. While the temple was to remain desolate for seventy years, the LORD had promised to bring back to the land His faithful remnant.
The miraculous success of Babylon as well as the word of the LORD given to them beforehand concerning that success should have brought them to faith, but instead their influence on the nations was to participate in their sin. It’s interesting that the symbolism used for this was in being a gold cup in the hand of the LORD making the nations drunk on her wine. The judgment decree against Babylon came when king Belshazzar put on a great feast in which he had everyone drink from gold and silver cups taken from the LORD’s temple. From Daniel 5:5, “Immediately the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace, opposite the lampstand. And the king saw the hand as it wrote.” Daniel was brought in to interpret this writing and gave the explanation that while Nebuchadnezzar had repented, Belshazzar in full knowledge of this set himself against the LORD with his idolatry and defiled His cups at this feast.
Dear heavenly Father, please help us to see Your hand in the world and the great mercy You have given us through Your Son, Christ Jesus. Help us to receive that mercy and turn to You in praise rather than continue to worship things of gold, wood, and stone. Amen.