Jeremiah 50:33-34

YHWH Will Act On Behalf Of His People (Jeremiah 50:33).

One reason why it was necessary to bring judgment on Babylon was because otherwise God's people would not be released. While they had a certain amount of freedom, there were apparently strict regulations which prevented them from returning to their homeland. This applied both to the children of Israel exiled under the Assyrian empire, and the children of Judah exiled under the Babylonian. All were now being oppressed. And those who were oppressing them refused to let them go. However there was One Who purposed to deliver them, a strong Redeemer (Deliverer, Payer of a Price) Who would set them free from their obligations. He was about to plead their cause in order to bring rest to the earth, and if that involved disquieting the inhabitants of Babylon, so be it. This was why Babylon had to be destroyed as a ruling power, because it stood in the way of God's purposes.

Jeremiah 50:33

“Thus says YHWH of hosts,

The children of Israel and the children of Judah are oppressed together,

And all who took them captive hold them fast,

They refuse to let them go.”

‘Thus says YHWH of hosts.' In this passage this phrase demonstrates an important action about to take place in which God is directly involved, in this case His intention to plead on behalf of His people.

And the reason for His action is that His whole people, both Israel and Judah, are still under oppression. They are being forced to stay in a foreign land (even though with a certain amount of freedom as a reading of Ezekiel makes clear) by those who refuse to let them go. They are forbidden to return to their own land.

Jeremiah 50:34

“Their Redeemer is strong,

YHWH of hosts is his name,

He will thoroughly plead their cause,

That he may give rest to the earth,

And disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.”

But their position is not desperate because they have a strong Redeemer, Whose name is YHWH of Hosts. The idea of a Redeemer is of one Who steps in on behalf of another in order to obtain their relief either by the exertion of effort or by the paying of a price (Leviticus 25:25; Leviticus 25:35; Leviticus 25:47; Ruth 4:1; Ruth 4:8; Job 19:25). Here YHWH will step in to plead their cause, and it is made clear that this will involve the people of Babylon in some ‘disquiet'. And this is because they have disquieted others.

However His overall purpose is to bring ‘rest to the earth' through His people. Whilst Babylon was around there could be no permanent rest, thus its cessation would result in a period of rest (under the Persian empire which was much more humane). But we must never overlook the fact that Israel were chosen in order that they might bring blessing to the world (Genesis 12:3; and often). Thus the purpose in their deliverance was to be blessing for the world. And when they were re-established in the land the process began. Many Gentiles responded to their teaching in synagogues around the world and became proselytes (those who were circumcised and became full Jews) and God-fearers (those who accepted their teachings and partook with them in worship but refused to be circumcised). The light was reaching out to the Gentiles. Then came God's crowning solution. Our Lord Jesus Christ came into the world and offered Himself up outside Jerusalem in order to obtain salvation and redemption for all who would turn to Him, and then established a remnant who would go out into the world from Jerusalem proclaiming the Gospel. Rest was indeed being given to the earth as a consequence of deliverance from Babylon.