Jeremiah

Jeremiah 25:1-3

The word came to Jeremiah for the people of Judah again, as it had for 23 years.  This had to create a fair amount of frustration on Jeremiah's part to preach at them for 23 years but they would not listen. 

Jeremiah 25:4-7

Many had tried, the Lord sent them over and over again but they were stiff-necked and stubborn.  They failed to listen, instead of turning from their evil ways and practices, they chose to make their idols with their hands.  Then they followed, served, worshiped these things, arousing the wrath of God.  Their failure to listen to the Lord amounted to them bringing harm on themselves.  They exercised the freedom the Lord gave them to run from Him.

Jeremiah 25:8-11

• Bring them against the land and people.
• Completely destroy them
• Banish them from the joy of life.

The rebellion would lead to the desolation of the land.  They would be delivered to captivity for seventy years. 

The 'complete destruction' was a term used early on in Israel as they were conquering the Promised Land.  They were to go into pagan cities and bring utter destruction on it.  This destruction was to purge the evil and prevent it from spreading to the Israelite community and leading them astray.  Now the term is applied to Israel.  They had been led astray, they were now being purged as the evil from the land. 

Jeremiah 25:12-14

The seventy years were due and was now fixed.  At the end of that time the Lord when then punish Babylon for its wickedness.  Unlike the sentencing of the Jews, which had a time frame, Babylon's destruction would be utter and complete, never to recover.  Babylon would fall and its people enslaved as they had done to Israel.  The Lord held them accountable for their evil, even though he allowed it for His purpose. 

Jeremiah 25:15-16

The cup of wine is seen metaphorically in different places in scripture; see Is 51:17; Ps75:8; Jer 49:12; Hab 2:15-16.  In this case the cup of wine is a metaphor for God's wrath.  Jeremiah was to take this cup and make all the nations drink it.  This is Jeremiah's declaration of judgment.  A cup this large, if it were wine, would make one stagger, lose their mind and bring death.  Likewise, this cup of wrath, this judgment will bring death.

The cup is revealed as Babylon in Jeremiah 51:7; the sword in verses 20-23.

Jeremiah 25:17-29

How would Jeremiah make the nations drink of this cup?  We don't really know if this was acted out in some way; it seems more likely that this cup was delivered to the nations by way of God's word.  Jeremiah delivered the message of judgment and wrath by way of saying "thus says the Lord".  All the nations are made to drink from the cup; judgment started with Jerusalem, Judah and the leaders there; then it would go to all the neighboring nations, near and far.

The final king on the list was the current king at the time of Jeremiah's writing, this was the king of Babylon.  Sheshak is a name derived from a cryptogram called an athbash.  This is simple substitution, the first letter of alphabet substituted for last, second for second from last, and so on.  The cryptogram probably wasn't to hide this identity but must have been a play on words of some kind that has been lost. 

A nation could not ignore that they would be judged.  It would be ridiculous to imagine God judging His nation and giving the sinful godless nations a pass.  No, they would be judged in time.  They could look to how it played out in Israel and know it would come to them. 

Jeremiah 25:30-31

The prophesy starts as a metaphor where the execution of judgment is like a lion roaring forth from its den to attack.  It then transitions to another metaphor, that of great warrior thundering forth from battle in great victory.  Then, within the warrior metaphor, we see a simile of the 'treading out of grapes.'  The resounding tumult will go to the ends of the earth leaving no nation untouched.  The judgment of nations will be experienced by all without exception.

Jeremiah 25:32-38

Judgment will bring disaster, it will spread from nation to nation, one by one, sweeping across the land.  The metaphor not is God like a storm sweeping across the lands.  There will be so many slain that they won't be able to have proper funeral and burial. 

The shepherds and leaders of the flocks would be included.  They were ungodly shepherds who didn't guard the flock but led them astray.  They may have felt the Lord wasn't paying attention or they may have thought they were getting away with their crimes against the people, but the time had come.  Judgment would come by the sword of the oppressor but because of God's anger. 

©2018 Doug Ford