Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible
Jeremiah 50:2-5
The Fall Of Babylon Will Lead On To The Spiritual Restoration Of Israel (Jeremiah 50:2).
What is to come on Babylon is to be a warning to God's people not to trust in Babylon or enjoy its debauchery and its false religious ideas. Rather they are to take heed to YHWH's words and return to Him in repentance and tears. For God's purpose is not only the destruction of Babylon, but the spiritual restoration of His people. And this is equally true for us today.
“Declare you among the nations and publish,
And set up a standard (or ‘signal'),
Publish, and conceal not,
Say, ‘Babylon is taken!'
Bel is put to shame,
Merodach (Marduk) is dismayed,
Her images are put to shame,
Her idols are dismayed.
For out of the north there comes up a nation against her,
Who will make her land desolate,
And none will dwell in it,
They are fled, they are gone, both man and beast.”
The prophet looks ahead and speaks as though Babylon's defeat has just occurred. It is such an important and exciting event that the news has to be spread far and wide, by messenger, by signal fire, and by every other means. And the message is that ‘Babylon is taken'. It was news for which the world of that day had long waited. And not only is Babylon taken but also her chief god, Bel/Marduk, is put to shame (as he had been once before when Sennacherib had borne him off to Nineveh along with Nebo - Isaiah 46:1), along with all her other idols. The humiliation of the gods of these nations is an important aspect of Jeremiah's prophecies (Jeremiah 46:25; Jeremiah 48:7; Jeremiah 49:3). They had been seen by these nations as rivals of YHWH. Now they were being revealed for what they were.
Nebuchadrezzar himself boasted of himself as a ‘worshipper of Marduk', and confirmed it by naming his son ‘Amel-marduk (Evil-merodach)', whilst in inscriptions at Borsippa Marduk is described as ‘the great lord, the most ancient of the gods, the lord of the gates of heaven --'. Here ‘he' is being brought down to size.
The antagonists who will do this will come ‘out of the north' (compare Jeremiah 1:14; Jeremiah 4:6; Jeremiah 6:1; Jeremiah 10:22; Jeremiah 13:20; Jeremiah 46:20 ' Jeremiah 47:2; Jeremiah 50:9; Jeremiah 50:41; Jeremiah 51:48). From the point of view of Palestine Egypt was to the south. The ‘neighbouring nations' were east and west. Any invaders must therefore come ‘from the north'. (To Babylon the Persians came from the east, bur from the Palestinian viewpoint from the north. Cyrus did not destroy Babylon, but sought to preserve its ancient structures. It was finally destroyed by Xerxes in 478 BC). These invaders will make her land desolate and uninhabited.
‘None will dwell in it. They are fled, they are gone, both man and beast.' For this compare Jeremiah 46:19; Jeremiah 49:18; Jeremiah 49:33. What Babylon have done to others, will be done to them. Alexander the Great planned to restore the city, but died before it could be accomplished, and it began to deteriorate further. By the Christian era Babylon had virtually disappeared, although according to cuneiform texts the temple of Bel continued in existence until at least 75 AD.
“In those days, and in that time,
The word of YHWH,
The children of Israel will come,
They and the children of Judah together,
They will go on their way weeping,
And will seek YHWH their God.
The future of the people of Israel/Judah is directly contrasted with the fate of Babylon. ‘In those days and at that time' (the time when God will do His work of restoration) Israel and Judah together will come in weeping and repentance, seeking YHWH their God. This coming together of Israel and Judah is a fulfilment of Jeremiah 3:18. Note that the weeping and repentance is prior to their looking towards Jerusalem There will be a new attitude of heart resulting in a new beginning. We can see a partial fulfilment of this in Ezra 3:13; Ezra 8:21. A greater fulfilment occurred at the coming of our Lord, Jesus Christ. It is a reminder to us that however grievously we have sinned we can always turn to God in weeping and repentance with the assurance that we will be accepted as long as we intend to commence a new beginning.
“They will enquire concerning Zion,
With their faces turned towards it (literally ‘hitherward'),
Saying, ‘Come you, and join yourselves to YHWH,
In an everlasting covenant which will not be forgotten.' ”
Their weeping and repentance will result in their looking towards Zion, calling on all His people to join themselves to YHWH in an everlasting covenant, one that will not be ‘forgotten' as the old one had been. We have here a reminder of the new covenant promised in Jeremiah 31:31, the covenant written in the heart. Note the use of the term ‘hitherward' indicating that the author was in Palestine.
This commenced fulfilment when Israelites returned to Palestine in repentance from all parts of the world during the inter-testamental period, and continued when our Lord Jesus Christ came into the world and entered Jerusalem calling men and women to respond to the new covenant (Luke 22:20; Matthew 26:28; Mar 14:24; 1 Corinthians 11:25; Hebrews 8:6). It continues as men continually respond to Jesus Christ and become partakers in that new covenant, turning their backs on ‘Babylon', as members of the true Israel of God (Galatians 3:29; Galatians 6:16).