Jeremiah 25:1-11

II. GOD AND THE WORLD RULER Jeremiah 25:1-38

Chapter 25 is one of the most important Chapter s in the entire book. A great deal can be learned about the message of Jeremiah from this single chapter. After a brief introduction (Jeremiah 25:1-3) Jeremiah speaks of God's judgment on Judah (Jeremiah 25:4-11), Babylon (Jeremiah 25:12-14), surrounding nations (Jeremiah 25:15-29) and finally the whole world (Jeremiah 25:30-38).

COMMENTS

Chronologically chapter 25 precedes the last four Chapter s. The precision in dating the events of this chapter indicates that Jeremiah was aware of the tremendous importance of the year 605 B.C., the fourth year of Jehoiakim and first year of Nebuchadnezzar (Jeremiah 25:1). The battle of Carchemish was certainly one of the most important battles in ancient history and perhaps in all history. Control of the world was at stake. Jeremiah had been speaking in somewhat vague terms about the approach of an enemy from the north. He now sees his prophecies fulfilled. This was to be the year in which the first of four recorded deportations to Babylonia took place. Just before the armies of Nebuchadnezzar arrived, Jeremiah is bidden to make one last appeal to his countrymen for repentance (Jeremiah 25:2). Even though God knew that His call for repentance would be unheeded yet His love for Judah constrained Him to issue the appeal through the mouth of His prophet.

A. Judgment on Judah Jeremiah 25:1-11

TRANSLATION

(1) The word which came unto Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, the king of Judah, (that was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), (2) which Jeremiah the prophet spoke unto- all the people of Judah and unto all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. (3) From the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah, unto this day, these twenty-three years the word of the LORD has come unto me, and I have spoken unto you in earnest but you have not listened. (4) And the LORD sent unto you all of His servants the prophets in earnest, but you did not hearken nor did you incline your ear to listen. They said, Turn now each man from his evil way and from the evil of your deeds, and you shall live in this land which the LORD has given to you and to your fathers forever and ever; (6) and do not go after other gods to serve them and to worship them, and do not provoke Me with the work of your hands, and I will not harm you. But you did not hearken unto Me (oracle of the LORD) in order to provoke Me with the work of your hands to your own hurt. (8) Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: Because you have not listened to My words, (9) behold, I am about to send and take all the families of the north (oracle of the LORD), and also Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon My servant, and I will bring them against this land, and against its inhabitants, and against all these nations round about; and I will utterly destroy them, and I will make them an astonishment an object of hissing and perpetual desolations. (10) And I will destroy from them the sound of joy and the sound of rejoicing, the voice of bridegroom and the voice of bride, the sound of millstones and the light of the lamp. (11) And all this land shall become a desolation and astonishment, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.

COMMENTS

For some twenty-three years Jeremiah had been preaching the word of God to the people of Judah but they had not hearkened. His ministry had begun in the thirteenth year of Josiah. Since Josiah reigned a total of thirty-one years (2 Kings 22:1) Jeremiah prophesied for eighteen or nineteen years in the reign of that good king. Then followed three months of the reign of Jehoahaz (2 Kings 23:31) and three years of the reign of Jehoiakim. Throughout this period Jeremiah had been receiving divine revelations and had been communicating them to the people. He emphasizes the earnestness of his proclamation by using a Hebrew idiom which if translated literally would be rising early and speaking. But in spite of the earnestness of Jeremiah throughout his ministry the people had not been receptive.

God had sent other prophets besides Jeremiah to plead with the people of Judah. It is not certain whether Jeremiah is referring to prophets who preceded him or prophets who were contemporary with him. Since most of the prophets who were contemporary with Jeremiah were unfaithful, he probably is referring to his prophetic predecessors. In either case Jeremiah 25:4 indicates that the people of Judah had more than one opportunity to hear the message of the Lord. It was not merely a dislike for the personality of Jeremiah which had caused the people to reject his message, for they had rejected others before him (Jeremiah 25:4). one by one those prophets had come before the nation to urge the people to abandon then- evil practices in order that they might continue to dwell in the land which God had given to their fathers (Jeremiah 25:5). God's gift of the promised land to the descendants of Abraham was conditional and the prophets of God repeatedly set forth the conditions upon which the promised land could be retained. One of the foremost conditions was that the people cease to worship and serve other gods, idols, the work of their hands. If they would but cease this deliberate provocation of God, He would not harm them (Jeremiah 25:6). But the people would not hearken to the earnest appeals of God's messengers. They continued to provoke God with their idolatry to their own hurt (Jeremiah 25:7). When one disobeys God he courts disaster! All of God's commandments are for the benefit and well-being of man.

In view of the fact that the people of Judah had not listened to and obeyed the word of the Lord (Jeremiah 25:8), God was about to execute judgment upon them. As he had done so many times before, Jeremiah makes mention of the powerful enemy from the north which was about to descend upon Judah. But here for the first time in his ministry Jeremiah positively identifies that ominous foe. The enemy from the north is Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon whose forces even at that very moment were poised for the strike against Carchemish. Nebuchadnezzar is about to sweep down upon Judah and her neighbors and utterly destroy them all. The tiny nations of Syria-Palestine would be so completely destroyed that travelers would hiss or whistle in astonishment at the desolate condition of the lands. These desolations are not of brief duration but are perpetual i.e., they would last for a very long time (Jeremiah 25:9). Silence will reign supreme in these lands. All joyous sounds as, for example, the voice of bridegroom and bride will cease. Even the sound of the millstones will cease because no one will be left to grind the grain. The routine business of everyday life will cease. No light from oil lamps will illuminate the darkness of the night. There is absolutely no sign of life throughout the lands (Jeremiah 25:10). The land of Judah will become such a desolation that men will be astonished at what has taken place there. For seventy years Judah and the neighboring nations of Syria-Palestine will serve the king of Babylon. Commentators are divided as to whether the seventy years are to be interpreted literally or figuratively. Cheyne, for example, believes the figure is to be taken as an indefinite or round number as in Isaiah 23:17. In this case seventy years would simply mean a very long time. Other commentators insist that the figures are to be taken literally but they disagree as to when the seventy years commenced. For a detailed discussion of the seventy years prophecy see the special study at the end of this chapter.

Nebuchadnezzar is called by God in Jeremiah 25:9 My servant. Cyrus the Persian is called in prophecy My shepherd and My anointed (Isaiah 44:28; Isaiah 45:1). But no foreigner is ever accorded the title My servant except Nebuchadnezzar. Generally to be a servant of a deity is to be a worshiper of that deity (cf. Daniel 6:20). The chosen people are called My servant (Jeremiah 30:10; Jeremiah 46:27-28; Ezekiel 37:25) and Isaiah describes the Suffering Messiah as God's servant. But certainly Nebuchadnezzar was no worshiper of the Lord. He was a polytheist and an idolater. The Chaldean king is called the servant of God because he was the unconscious agent of the Lord. It is interesting to note that in each case where the title My servant is applied to Nebuchadnezzar the Septuagint translation omits the title.