Recap

So far in Jeremiah we’ve looked at Jeremiah’s calling and accusations against Judah, the destruction of Jerusalem, and then started the final section of warning to the foreign nations. The book of Jeremiah is a collection of messages and poems by the prophet Jeremiah, who was a prophet to Judah immediately before their exile. We read as God called Jeremiah to be his mouth pieces to Judah to weed out corruption and idolatry in Judah. The people would not listen to him, but his teachings would serve as a foundation for the people after they’d been exiled.

We read as Jeremiah tried to lead the people to repentance, but they would not listen. He grieved the destruction he knew was coming to Judah, likening it to decreation. Returning the land to its state before God created it. Again, Jeremiah called the people to repent, but God tells Jeremiah not to pray for them. Their opportunity to change has gone. The era of wise men is gone. It's time for the women who mourn to lead.

We saw the first few cracks for Jeremiah. He was being persecuted and sometimes it looked like wicked people are flourishing. God encouraged Jeremiah that punishment was coming. We read as Jeremiah wrestled with his job. He tried to intercede for the people again, but God told him not to. Instead, Jeremiah has to settle with being hated and mocked by the people.

As Babylon came and started taking some people into exile, God warned them that they would be in exile for seventy years. Then he would punish Babylon for its wickedness along with the other nations.

Then came messages of hope. God will reunite and restore the nation of Israel. They will rejoice and flourish in their land again. God will make a new covenant with them that he will write on their hearts. Yes, things are hard now, but God will bring life where there was death. But for now, the people were digging their own graves. They set their slaves free, only to re-enslave them again.

We read how Jeremiah was arrested and then saved from being killed by an Ethiopian man. Jeremiah remained under arrest until Babylon came and sacked Jerusalem. They led the people, including king Zedekiah, into exile. The king of Babylon freed Jeremiah and placed him under the responsibility of one of his officials. The new governor of Judah was killed, and the people asked Jeremiah what to do. After seeking God, Jeremiah told the people to stay in Judah and trust that God would protect them. Instead, the people fled to Egypt, taking Jeremiah with them. Jeremiah warned that God was going to send Babylon to defeat Egypt as well.

We then started the final section of the book; the collection of warnings against the foreign nations. We read God's judgement against the Egyptians, Philistines, Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Assyrians, Elamites, and Babylonians. Some of these nations were given a spark of hope that would come after their judgement. God has authority over the whole earth, and will restore the whole earth to himself.

Jeremiah 51-52

Much of this word against Babylon is God describing the method or reason for Babylon's destruction in different ways. God will send someone to destroy Babylon, like a winnower who sifts out grain from chaff and dirt.

God has not forgotten his people who have been exiled in Babylon. He will use the destruction of Babylon to lead them out. Babylon was the tool that God used to pour out judgement on the rest of the world, but now it is their turn.

God then names the future destroyers of Babylon Medes, also known as the Persian empire. God will fill Babylon with enemy soldiers like locusts. For God is mighty and powerful. He created the earth and established it. He is the one that controls the weather with his voice. Compared to him, all humans are stupid, particularly those who waste their time creating and worshipping idols who have no power. Israel does not need to rely on idols because they have God.

God reminds Babylon who they were in their prime. They were God's tool to break the other nations and slaughter their people. But the important thing to remember is exactly that. They were just a tool that belonged to God. They got proud in their own strength, so God will now punish them too. Now God is rallying all the nations to come and tear down Babylon.

Then we get a section from the point of view of Judah. Judah cries out that Babylon has crushed and consumed her. They have been violent towards the people of Judah, and so Judah asks that may their innocent blood be on the hands of the Babylonians.

God responds, saying that he will avenge his people. He will dry up the sea and make Babylon a wasteland for all they have done. So God once again declares destruction over Babylon. He will get them drunk so that he can easily lead them to their deaths. After God has finished with them, they will be a horror to the rest of the earth. God encourages his people to escape the land before he destroys it.

The message continues, but it is a lot of what we've already read. It may seem confusing that God would use Babylon to punish other nations, but now wants to punish Babylon. But Babylon represents so much more than just the nation. It has come to represent all the wickedness and chaos in the world.

And so this highlights God's plan for addressing wickedness and evil. Just like God uses wicked Babylon to punish and remove the wickedness from the other nations, God sets up evil so that it destroys itself. This is why it is now time for the wickedness of Babylon to be destroyed.

This section of the book ends with Jeremiah writing all the words of destruction against Babylon in a book and handing it to a man called Seraiah. Seraiah was on his way to Babylon and so he was to read the book, and then when he was finished, he was to tie a large rock to it and throw it into the main river in Babylon, the Euphrates. Just as that book would sink and never be seen again, God will cause Babylon to sink and never be seen again.

Finally, tacked on the very end of the book is another account of the fall of Jerusalem. King Zedekiah had been serving under the king of Babylon before rebelling. At this, Babylon came down and laid siege to Jerusalem. This caused a famine in the city. Eventually, the Babylonians broke through and captured the city. They chased down Zedekiah, killed his family, and poked out his eyes. They then took many of the people into captivity.

A little later, one of the Babylons captains came back and destroyed the temple. He took more of the people into captivity, as well as raiding the temple for all its riches. Then some of Babylon’s captains came back and took more people away, perhaps in response to when the governor Gedaliah was killed.

In all, across the three different times, people were taken into captivity, 4,600 people were taken. This number is much lower than the numbers 2 Kings 24-25, but it may be that the number being counted here is only counting the adult men, and that the number including women and children would be much higher.

And so the book comes to its end on a very dark note. We've had multiple prophecies on the destruction and judgement of the earth, and we've had a recap of Judah's final dark days. But we get one final part of the book. A few verses that mention how Jehoiachin, one of the kings that had previously been taken into captivity, was freed in Babylon.

Not only was he freed, but he was given new clothes and allowed to dine with the king of Babylon each day. He was even given an allowance to live off. And the book ends there. Even in the face of darkest time in Judah's history, the book ends on the small glimmer of hope that God isn't finished with his people yet.

Jeremiah reads a lot like the pre-exilic prophets we’ve read already but it brings a couple of new editions. First of all, it gives us more of a view of the destruction of Jerusalem and exile into Babylon from the perspective of those who went through. But second, Jeremiah serves as an example of someone chosen by God who remains faithful to God, but through it all wrestles with what God has given him to do. He is a model that doubt, insecurities, frustrations, and more are all normal and okay when serving God, as long as they push you back towards God for answers.

Psalm 25

This psalm is attributed to king David and falls into the category of lament psalm. Biblical lament is whenever a person takes their pains, hurts, and frustrations before God. It tends to include four steps; turning to God, bringing the complaint, making a request of God, and then declaring trust in God. 

This psalm has some interesting things of note about its structure. The first is that it is an acrostic. Each verse starts with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The second is that it is a chiasm, where the passage reflects on itself.

a) Psalm 25:1 - God is my hope

b) Psalm 25:2 - Protect me from shame

c) Psalm 25:3 - But shame the treacherous

d) Psalm 25:4-5a - Be my salvation

e) Psalm 25:5b - I will wait 

f) Psalm 25:6 - Remember your mercy

g) Psalm 25:7 - Forget my sins

h) Psalm 25:8-9 - Instruct the meek

i) Psalm 25:10-12 - Be faithful and forgive me, Lord

h) Psalm 25:12-13 - Instruct the God-fearing

g) Psalm 25:14-15 - God’s friendship keeps me from sin

f) Psalm 25:16a - Be gracious to me

e) Psalm 25:16b - I will wait

d) Psalm 25:17-18 - Be my salvation

c) Psalm 25:19 - Take note of the violent

b) Psalm 25:20 - Protect me from shame

a) Psalm 25:21-22 - God is my hope

The various steps of lament are woven throughout this psalm, rather than having sections of their own. The psalmist opens by turning to God and declaring their trust in him. They ask that he protect them from shame and their enemies.

They focus inward and ask God to lead them and teach them, forgiving their sins. In this, they recognise their own failings and shortcomings. They appeal to God’s faithfulness and love. This combination of God’s faithfulness and love leading him to lead the psalmist and forgive their sins makes up a good section of the psalm (Psalm 25:4-15).

Next up is a clearer focus on the struggles the psalmist is facing. They feel lonely and troubled (Psalm 25:16-18). They have many enemies who seek them harm (Psalm 25:19). Having laid out their complaint, the psalmist ends with one more request for protection and a declaration of trust that God will intervene.