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Jer_50:1-46. AND 51. ON BABYLON.
This attitude of reserve is not assumed without substantial grounds, derived from two sources—the epilogue (Jer_51:59-64) and the prophecy itself. First, as to the epilogue. It is clear that the words, "and they shall be weary," are out of place in Jer_51:64, and that they are wrongly repeated from Jer_51:58. But how came they to be repeated? Because, originally, the declaration, "Thus far are the words of Jeremiah," stood at the end of verse 58. When the short narrative in verses 59-64 (ending at "I will bring upon her") was combined with Jeremiah 1:1-51:58, the declaration in question was removed from Jer_51:58 to Jer_51:64, and, by accident, the preceding word (in the Hebrew) was removed with it. This leaves it open to us to doubt whether the present prophecy on Babylon is really the one referred to in Jer_51:60, supposing, that is, there are other reasons, derived from the prophecy itself, for questioning its Jeremianic authorship.
The reasons which have been adduced for doing so are analogous to those which lead so many students to doubt the Isaianic authorship of Isa_40:1-31 :46. ‹je-5›
I. The author of the latter prophecy (or the greater part thereof) writes as if he were living at the close of the Babylonian exile. So does the author of Isa_1:1-31 and Isa_51:1-23. "Yet a little while," he says (Jer_51:33), "and the time of her harvest shall come" the time, that is, of that judicial interposition which (comp. Isa_17:5, Isa_17:11; Mat_13:39) is the heavenly antitype of harvest. He urges his fellow countrymen to flee, while there is still time, from the doomed city (Jer_51:6, Jer_51:45). He mentions, as the instruments of the Divine vengeance, the Medes (Jer_51:11, Jer_51:28), and, as it would seem, refers, though obscurely, to Cyrus (Jer_51:20-23).
2. Although the above statement is literally true of most of Isa_40:1-31 :66; yet there are some passages which are much more suggestive of a Palestinian origin than of a Babylonian (see Cheyne's 'Prophecies of Isaiah,' 2:202). Precisely so in Isa_50:1-11 and Isa_51:1-23; at least according to one prevalent interpretation of Jer_50:5; Jer_51:50 (which are thought to imply a residence in Jerusalem); Jer_50:28; Jer_51:11, Jer_51:35, Jer_51:51 (suggestive, perhaps, of the continuance of Jerusalem and the temple); Jer_1:17; Jer_51:34 (implying, as some think, that Nebuchadnezzar was still alive). Still, there is so much doubt respecting the soundness of the inferences, that it is hardly safe to rely too confidently upon them. The case of Jer_1:1-19, and Jer_51:1-64. is, therefore, in so far rather less favourable to Jeremiah's authorship than that of Isaiah 40-66, is to that of Isaiah.
3. Amongst much that is new and strange in the style of phraseology of Isaiah 40-66; there is not a little that reminds one forcibly of the old Isaiah. Similarly with Isa_50:1-11 and Isa_51:1-23, as compared with Jeremiah, "Every impartial judge," says Kuenen (who will not be suspected of a prejudice for tradition), "must admit that the number of parallel passages is very large, and that the author of Jer_50:1-46 and Jer_51:1-64. agrees with no one more than with Jeremiah." For instance, the formula, "Thus saith Jehovah Sabaoth, the God of Israel" (Jer_1:18; Jer_51:33), also occurs in Jer_7:3; Jer_9:15, and some twenty-six other passages; comp. also Jer_1:3 with Jer_9:9; Jer_1:5 with Jer_32:40; Jer_1:7 with Jer_2:3, Jer_14:18, Jer_17:13; and see other passages referred to in the Exposition.
The probability would, therefore, appear to be that, whatever solution we adopt for the literary problems of Isaiah 40-66; an analogous solution must be adopted for Isa_50:1-11 and Isa_51:1-23. The whole question is so large, and connects itself with so many other problems, that the present writer declines to pronounce upon it here. Only it should be observed
(1) that both subject and tone remind us of Isaiah 40-66, and the kindred prophecies scattered about in the first part of the Book of Isaiah, and more especially of Isa_13:1-22. and the closely related prophecy, Isa_34:1-17;
(2) that these two chapters, Isa_50:1-11 and Isa_51:1-23; present some striking points of contact with Ezekiel, who, though contemporary with Jeremiah, was still a later contemporary, and allusions to whom (since Ezekiel was a literary rather than an oratorical prophet) imply that his prophetic book was already in circulation—in other words, suggest a date well on in the Exile for the prophet who alludes to him;
(3) that, though there are many Jeremianic allusions in Jer_50:1-46 and Jer_51:1-64; there are also several passages copied almost verbally from prophecies of Jeremiah, and applied to Babylon and its assailants (it seems difficult to believe that Jeremiah should have been such a good economizer of his literary work). It deserves to be added
(4) that, though Jeremiah is a great student of the earlier prophetic writings, and makes numerous allusions to them (see especially ch. 46-49.), nothing approaching to the mosaic work in Jer_50:1-46 and Jer_51:1-64. can be pointed to in the undoubted prophecies of Jeremiah. In fact, the Exposition will show that the author of these two chapters has borrowed almost the whole of their contents from other prophets—his own property, so to speak, being too insignificant to be worth mentioning.
Here, in justification of
(1) is a list of points of contact between Jer_50:1-46 and Jer_51:1-64. and Isa_13:1-22.:—
(a) "To consecrate [or, 'sanctify']," used of persons, Jer_51:27; Isa_13:3. Here only (elsewhere with "war" following).
(b) "Lift ye up a banner," Jer_50:2; Jer_51:27; also Isa_13:2.
(c) Comp. Jer_50:16 with Isa_13:14; close phraseological agreement.
(d) Comp. Jer_50:6, Jer_50:17 with first part of Jer_13:14; agreement as to sense.
(e) "Behold, I will stir up against Babylon," Jer_51:1 (comp. Jer_50:9); so Isa_13:17. Comp. also, however, Isa_41:25; Joe_3:1-21. (Hebrew, 4.) 7-9.
(f) Comp. Jer_51:3 (Jer_50:14, Jer_50:29) with Isa_13:18; agreement as to sense.
(g) Comp. Jer_51:11, Jer_51:28 with Isa_13:17 (mention of the Medes).
(h) Comp. Jer_50:39, Jer_50:40 with Isa_13:19-22.
This last parallel may, perhaps, be questioned. At first sight it may appear that both Jer_50:40 and Isa_13:19 are based upon Jer_49:18 (which see), but when we inspect Isa_13:19 more closely in the Hebrew, we shall find reason to conclude that the original, both of this passage and of Jer_50:40, is Amo_4:11. We must, therefore, put Jer_49:18 out of the question, and learn to be on our guard against plausible inferences. The only point which remains to be decided is the relation between Jer_50:40 and Isa_13:19; which passage is the original? One important element in our decision will be the naturalness in the mode of reference to Sodom and Gomorrah; to the present writer this seems to determine the question against Isa_50:1-11 and Isa_51:1-23. and in favour of Isa_13:1-22. (The imitation is limited to Isa_13:1-22. because Isa_14:1-32. passes on to another though a related subject.)
And here, in justification of
(2) are points of contact between Isa_50:1-11 and Isa_51:1-23. and the Prophet Ezekiel.
(a) Ideas and "motives."
( α ) Figure of scattered flock, Jer_50:6, Jer_50:7 (Eze_34:1-31.).
( β ) Effects of the avenging Sword of Jehovah, Jer_5:1-31 :35-38 (Eze_21:1-32 :80; Eze_33:1-6).
(b) Words and phrases
( α ) No word is more distinctly peculiar to Ezekiel than gillulim, idol blocks, which occurs no less than thirty-nine times in his book, and elsewhere only once in Leviticus, once in Deuteronomy, six times in Kings, and once in Jeremiah (Jer_50:2).
( β ) Anaq, to groan, occurs thrice in Ezekiel, once in Jeremiah (Jer_51:52), and nowhere else. It is remarkable that in the latter passage we find not only a word but a phrase of Ezekiel's (see Eze_26:13).
( γ ) Pekod, the name of a Chaldean district, occurs in Jer_50:21; also Eze_23:23.
( δ ) The striking combination, pakhoth useghanim, occurs in Jer_51:28, Jer_51:57; also Eze_23:6, Eze_23:12, Eze_23:23.
( ε ) Kasdim for "Chaldea" (properly the Chaldeans), Jer_51:10; Jer_51:24, Jer_51:35; also Eze_16:29; Eze_23:16.
( ζ ) Ch. 51:25, 26 seems to allude to Eze_35:3-5, Eze_35:9 (see the Hebrew, and verify the statement by the Hebrew concordance).
(c) General characteristics of style. Granting that the style of ch. 50. and It. approaches nearest on the whole to that of Jeremiah, it must be admitted, in the words of the latest German critic, Budde, that it "frequently enough declines from the simple, plain, and rather loose style of Jeremiah, to the flowery and turgid manner of speech of Ezekiel;" also that the points of contact are such as imply the originality of Ezekiel and the dependence upon him of ch. 50 and 51.
Jer_50:1
Against; rather, concerning.
Jer_50:2-10
Babylon's fall and Israel's deliverance.
Jer_50:2, Jer_50:3
The prophet, with the eye of faith, sees his revelation accomplished. Babylon (like Moab) is taken; her idols are destroyed. In his exuberant joy, he calls on the bystanders to proclaim the good news to the sympathetic nations, and to set up (or rather, lift up) a standard (as Jer_4:6), to call the attention of those who might not be within hearing of the proclamation. The idols have been convicted of false pretensions; they are ashamed and dismayed (so we should render rather than confounded and broken in pieces) at the terrible result to their worshippers. Bel and Merodach are not different deifies, but merely different names of one of the two principal gods of the later Babylonian empire. Bel, it is true, was originally distinct from Merodach, but ultimately identified with him. Merodach was the tutelary god of Babylon, and Nebuchadnezzar seems to have been specially addicted to his worship, though, indeed, he mentions Nebo also with hardly less honour. This is the beginning of an inscription of this king's, preserved at the India House:—"Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, glorious prince, worshipper of Marduk, adorer of the lofty one, glorifier of Nabu, the exalted, the possessor of intelligence" (Mr. Rodwell's translation, 'Records of the Past,' 5:113). Elsewhere Nebuchadnezzar speaks of Marduk as "the god my maker," "the chief of the gods," and of himself as "his (Marduk's) eldest son, the chosen of his heart." Her images. It is a very peculiar word (gillulim), specially frequent in Ezekiel, and also found in a chapter of Leviticus with which Ezekiel has affinities (Le 26:30). It evidently involves a sore disparagement of idol worship. The etymological meaning is "things rolled," which may be variously interpreted as "idol blocks" (Gesenius), or "doll images" (Ewald).
Jer_50:3
Out of the north. There was a peculiar mystery attaching to the north in the Hebrew mind, as, in fact, the word very for "north" in Hebrew (literally, the hidden) indicates. The burnt offering was to be sacrificed on the north side of the altar (Le Jer_1:11), and the four cherubim, in the vision of Ezekiel, are described as coming from the north (Eze_1:4). The horror with which Babylon was regarded was intensified, apparently, by its northern position (Jer_1:14), and now the "hidden" north again pours forth its swarms of warriors against Babylon herself. They shall remove, they shall depart; rather, they are fled, they are gone; almost the same clause occurs in Jer_9:10. The prediction is realized as past.
Jer_50:4
In those days, etc. The destruction of Babylon is immediately followed by the deliverance of Israel. But the description of the latter is a remarkable one. We are by no means to regard it as an idealized picture of the return of the Jews under Zerubbabel, any more than we can suppose the glowing promises in the second part of Isaiah to have their sole fulfilment in that disappointing event. No; it is the characteristic of Messianic prophecy that, with "foreshortened perspective," the prophets represent as equally near events which are really separated by ages. In the Book of Isaiah, for instance, preliminary judgments are repeatedly described in terms which, properly speaking, only apply to the great final judgment. In fact, each great political revolution is a stage in the Divine drama of judgment, which will reach its close in the final cataclysm. And so too here (as well as in Isaiah 40-46.) the promise of mercy to Israel, which began to be fulfilled in the edict of Cyrus, is represented as if the still future conversion of the people of Israel were actually accomplished. The description reminds us of Jer_3:18-21. Notice the penitence of the returning exiles, and the reunion of Israel and Judah (see on Jer_3:18). Going and weeping; they shall go; rather, they shall go, weeping as they go.
Jer_50:5
Thitherward; rather, hitherward: The prophet is evidently writing from Jerusalem (comp. Jer_51:50). Let us join ourselves. A conjectural emendation (nilveh for nilvu, a difficult reading, meaning, perhaps, "join yourselves"). A perpetual covenant. The same phrase occurs in Jer_32:40. The addition, "that shall not be forgotten," reminds us of "the ark of the covenant," which was "not to be remembered" (Jer_3:16).
Jer_50:6
Lost sheep. Not merely with reference to the scattering of the Captivity (as in Isa_27:13, where the Authorized Version has "ready to perish"), but to the transgressions of the Law of God, of which the Jews had been constantly guilty (comp. Psa_119:176; Isa_53:6). Their shepherds … mountains. This is the marginal correction in the Hebrew Bible; the text has, "Their shepherds have caused them to go astray upon the seducing mountains"—a strange expression, which is, however, defended by Naegelsbach on the ground of Jer_2:20; Jer_3:2, Jer_3:23; Jer_17:2. Their resting place; literally, their couching place; i.e. their pasture, Jehovah, at once their Pasture (Jer_17:7) and their true Shepherd (Psa_23:1).
Jer_50:7
We offend not; rather, we incur no guilt. As long as Israel lived a life consecrated to Jehovah, "all that devoured him incurred guilt" (Jer_2:3). But now that he had wandered from Jehovah, and so forfeited his protection, his adversaries denied that they could be brought to account. Habitation of justice; strictly, pasture of righteousness. The same title is applied in Jer_31:23 to Jerusalem. But Jerusalem's spiritual efficacy is only derivative; rest and life flow from Jehovah alone, who is, therefore, the true Pasture of his people. In the Hebrew, "Jehovah" is placed emphatically at the end of the verse. The hope of their fathers (comp. Psa_22:4). To forsake Jehovah was an act of treason to the former generations.
Jer_50:8
The prophet returns to the fate of Babylon. He exhorts the captive Israelites to flee in time, before the hostile army reaches the city (comp. Isa_48:20). Be as the he goats before the flocks; rather, as the rams, whose example is followed unhesitatingly by the flock. The "flocks" in this case are the strangers in Babylon (Jer_50:16).
Jer_50:9
I will raise; literally, I will stir up (or, awaken); comp. Jer_6:22; Isa_13:17. An assembly of great nations. So in a parallel prophecy, "the kingdoms of nations gathered together" (Isa_13:4). Callias in Ebers' learned story, 'The Egyptian Princess,' speaks of "an empire so casually heaped together, and consisting of seventy populations of different tongues and customs, as that of Persia." From thence; i.e. from the headquarters of the array of nations. As of a mighty expert man; rather, as of an expert warrior (or, mighty man). The marginal rendering of the Authorized Version represents a various reading of the Hebrew found in three old editions, and presupposed in the Targum and Vulgate, "one making childless," i.e. "a destroyer." The received reading, however, is self-evidently right. None shall return in vain. It seems doubtful whether this refers to the arrow or to the mighty man. The arrow may be said to "return [or, 'turn'] in vain" when it misses its aim or strikes the mark without piercing it; the mighty man when he retires from the field defeated. This wider use of the phrase is sanctioned by Isa_55:11.
Jer_50:11-20
Babylon's desolation and Israel's glorification.
Jer_50:11, Jer_50:12
Because ye were glad, etc.; rather, Truly ye may be glad; truly ye may rejoice, ye spoilers of mine heritage; truly ye may leap as a heifer at grass, and neigh as steeds; yet your mother, etc. Your triumph shall be of short duration; disgrace follows closely upon its heels. "Your mother" is a term for the nation regarded as a whole (comp. Isa_51:1; Hos_2:2; Hos_4:5). "At grass" is the reading adopted by the Septuagint and Vulgate; the pointed text has (the vowels alone are different), "(a heifer) that thresheth," i.e. allowed to eat its fill of corn, agreeably to the direction in Deu_25:4. It is not clear why the Authorized Version deserted the received pointing. Behold, the hindermost of the nations shall be a wilderness; rather, Behold, the hindermost of the nations! a wilderness, etc. The subject understood in the first part is obviously the people, in the second the land, of Babylon.
Jer_50:13
All but the first clause of this verse is taken from Jer_19:8; Jer_49:17.
Jer_50:14
Put yourselves in array, etc. The Authorized Version, guided, perhaps, by considerations of rhythm, has misplaced the first stop, which ought to be after "bow." The Medes are referred to in a parallel prophecy as great archers (Isa_13:18).
Jer_50:15
Shout against her; i.e. raise the battle cry (comp. Jos_6:16; Isa_42:13). She hath given her hand. This action is generally mentioned as a pledge of friendship or a ratification of a promise (2Ki_10:15; Eze_17:18; Ezr_10:19); but the notion of surrender or submission would naturally follow (so in 1Ch_29:24; 2Ch_30:8). Dr. Payne Smith well quotes the words of Turnus, when begging his life of AEneas, "Vicisti, et victum tendere palmas Ausonii videre" ('AEneid,' 12.936). Her foundations. The word is difficult, but a comparison with the Syriac suggests the rendering, her walls. "Foundations" is obviously wrong.
Jer_50:16
Cut off the sower, etc. "Babylon" here probably means Babylonia, for it is clear from Jer_50:12 that the curse belongs to the country as well as the city of Babylon; indeed, "Babylon" in Jer_50:13 seems to be used in the wider sense. Others think of the open spaces within the walls of Babylon, in which it is said that crops were raised to provision the city in case of a siege (see Rawlinson, 'Ancient Monarchies,' 2:518); but this is less natural. They shall turn, etc. The subject is, not the husbandmen, but the strangers in Babylonia; comp. the parallel passage, Isa_13:14, on which this passage is based. AEsehylus ('Pers.,' 53) speaks of the Πάμμικτος ὄχλος in Babylon. Whether brought by force from their homes, like the Jews, or voluntary residents for the sake of commerce, all should hurry from the doomed city.
Jer_50:17
Israel is a scattered sheep, etc. Here a pause in the discourse occurs. The prophet returns to the present condition of Israel, who is likened to a sheep scared away from its fold by lions. The ruin wrought by the lions is described first as "devouring" and then as "breaking the bones" of Israel—in either case it is complete destruction, but the completeness is more emphasized by the second figure. In fact, when the "ten tribes" were carried captive, the elements of the theocracy still remained in the southern kingdom.
Jer_50:19
The flock restored. His habitation is an unfortunate rendering, which obscures the beautiful figure; read, his pasture (as in Jer_50:7). The places mentioned were all famous for their rich pasturage (comp. Jer_22:6; Isa_33:9; Mic_7:14 (especially); Eze_34:13, Eze_34:14; So Eze_4:1).
Jer_50:20
In those days, etc. An evangelical promise, reminding us of Jer_31:34 and Jer_33:8, and of the combination of spiritual with temporal blessings in the latter part of Isaiah.
Jer_50:21-28
The punishment of Babylon, corresponding to her crimes.
Jer_50:21
The land of Merathaim; i.e. of double rebellion. Probably enough an actual geographical name may lie at the root of this singular expression; but we are not able at present to say what it was. The prophet has, at any rate, modified it in such a way as to convey a definite meaning, symbolic of the character of Babylon (comp. on Jer_50:31). What was this meaning? According to Gesenius, there is an allusion to the two great blows inflicted on Israel and Judah by Assyria and Babylon respectively; but as these two powers were but the instruments of a higher Hand, this explanation would seem to be inconsistent with the prophetic teaching. Dahler, De Wette, and Keil take the two rebellions to be the spiritual ones of idolatry and pride; and there is no obvious objection to this. But the dual may be simply intended to express intensity; comp. Jer_17:18, "Destroy them with double destruction" (see note). The inhabitants of Pekod; i.e. of punishment. But here too a geographical name very probably lies underneath. The Taylor cylinder inscription of Sennacherib mentions a Pukudu (= Pekod), together with Havrann (Hauran) and Nabatu (Nabathaeans); but this was the name of a tribe. In Eze_23:23 we read, "The Babylonians, and all the Chaldeans, Pekod, and Shoa, and Koa," etc.; and in 'Records of the Past,' 11.92, we find a town Pikudu mentioned, lying to the south of Babylon, which may, perhaps, have given its name to a district, and to this district the prophet not improbably alludes. M. Halevy conjectures that the event which corresponds to the prophecy is the decisive battle which virtually terminated the Babylonian empire. According to the newly discovered Cyrus inscription, this battle was fought near a place called Rutu, which appears to have been situated in the neighbourhood of Pukudu ('Records,' l.c.). About the symbolic meaning there can be no doubt: Pekod is a worthy pendant to Merathaim. Sin and punishment are so closely connected in the prophetic mind that one word sometimes covers both notions. It is doubtful, for instance, whether the better rendering of Isa_5:18 is "draw sin as with a cart rope" or "draw punishment."
Jer_50:23
The hammer of the whole earth. So in Isaiah (Isa_14:5), "Jehovah hath broken the staff of the wicked, the rod of the rulers; which smote peoples in passion with an unceasing stroke." In the next chapter a similar title is conferred upon Israel, with the right to retaliate upon Babylon all the evil which Babylon had done to Zion (Jer_51:20-24). Compare the epithet Martel, "The Hammer," given to Charles, Duke of the Franks, on account of his great victory over the Saraoens at Tours; it is tempting to add "Makkabi," the epithet of Judas (Maccabaeus), but the k is not the same letter as that in maqqab, hammer.
Jer_50:24
I have laid a snare for thee. It was very natural, as long as Cyrus's own account of the capture of Babylon was unknown, to refer for a fulfilment to the stratagem which, as Herodotus relates, that king employed, viz. diverting the waters of the Euphrates into an already existing reservoir, and entering the city unexpectedly by the river channel (Herod; 1.191). But the cylinder inscription, translated by Sir H. Rawlinson in 1880, shows that Babylon opened its gates of its own accord, on hearing the defeat and capture of Nabonidus. There is no occasion to look for any further fulfilment of the prophecy than the surprise which must ever come upon the bystander when he sees a mighty empire suddenly pass into the hands of its enemies. The tenses in this verse are not very happily rendered. It would be better to translate, I laid a snare for thee, and thou wast taken, O Babylon, unawares; thou wast found, etc; because thou hadst striven against the Lord.
Jer_50:25
Hath opened his armoury. A truly grand figure. The north country (the "hidden" part of the earth, as it was called in Hebrew) is regarded by the prophet as a storehouse of young and "inexhaustible" nations, from which Jehovah can at any time "bring forth weapons of his indignation." The latter phrase, occurs again in the parallel prophecy (Isa_13:5), where it is evidently applied to the army of Medo-Persian invaders. For this is the work, etc.; rather, For the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, hath a work.
Jer_50:26
Come against her; rather, Come to her. Dr. Payne Smith infers that Babylon has already fallen, and that the persons addressed are not warriors only, but plunderers of every kind. This is almost too subtle. The prepositions "to" and "against' (literally, upon) are so frequently interchanged (comp. Jer_46:22; Jer_49:9). From the utmost border; rather, all together; it is an idiom expressing universality. Those who are spoken of are regarded as a totality, "from the utmost end" of which its members come. Cast her up as heaps; rather, Cast it up as sheaves; i.e. ransack the repositories of Babylon's wealth, and heap it up like corn; last of all, destroy her (rather, it) utterly. The verb is a very emphatic one. Its primary meaning is "to cut off, or shut off." Hence kherem, a devoted thing, is applied in the Law to that which is "tabooed," as it were, cut off from any but sacred uses. In Le Jer_27:21 it is used of a field wholly appropriated to the sanctuary, and in 1Sa_15:21 and 1Ki_20:42 to living beings doomed to destruction. Destruction is generally a part of the meaning; but it is not merely destruction, but an act of homage to the Divine justice.
Jer_50:27
In this verse we are told that the kherem, i.e. the Divine ban, falls upon the entire male population, as in the holy wars of Joshua (Jos_6:21; Jos_11:11, Jos_11:20). All her bullocks. As in Jer_51:40 and Isa_34:6, the doomed people is likened to sacrificial victims (comp. Jer_46:10). The same fact is described without figure in Jer_48:15. Go down to the slaughter; i.e. be forced down to the slaughtering trough.
Jer_50:28
The voice of them that flee, etc.; rather, Hark! those that flee, etc. A confused murmur indicates the approach of the fugitives with their great tidings. The vengeance of his temple; i.e. the punishment due to Babylon for burning the temple; comp. next verse, also Jer_50:15, "The vengeance of the Lord," and Jer_51:11.
Jer_50:29-40
The completeness of Babylon's destruction.
Jer_50:29
Call together the archers, etc. A dramatic way of indicating that the siege is about to begin.
Jer_50:30
With the exception of "her" in the second clause, a repetition of Jer_49:26.
Jer_50:31
O thou most proud; rather, O Pride! Just as in Jer_50:21 Babylon is called Merathaim, and as Egypt is, in Hebrew poetry, called Rahab, i.e. "boisterousness" or "arrogance" (Isa_30:7; Isa_51:9; Job_26:12; Psa_87:4; Psa_89:10).
Jer_50:32
The most proud; rather, Pride. Raise him up. For the sake of uniformity, "her" would be better; for it is Babylon who is spoken of. There is an inconsistency in the use of the persons in the original. Elsewhere in this description Babylon is feminine; here it is masculine, to agree with "Pride."
Jer_50:33
At the end of Jer_50:32 a pause occurs in the discourse. Then the prophet takes up the theme again with renewed emphasis. Were oppressed; rather, are oppressed. Because the oppression of Israel and Judah still continues, whereas Israel has by this time been amply punished ("received double," Isa_40:2) for her transgressions, Jehovah will himself interpose. He is, in fact, Israel's Goel ("Redeemer"), i.e. charged, like the next of kin, with the duty of recovering thy rights and avenging thy wrongs (comp. Isa_41:14; Isa_47:4). On the Goel, see Le Jer_25:25; Rth_4:6; Num_30:1-16 :19.
Jer_50:34
That he may give rest to the land; rather, to the earth. Babylon was one of the great world empires; we can hardly dispense with this convenient Germanism. It was the wont of the Chaldeans, as Habakkuk puts it (Hab_1:6), "to walk through the breadth of the earth, to possess dwelling places that were not theirs." Observe the striking contrast—"rest" to the world which has been too long deprived of it, and "disquiet" to those who have hitherto spread it far and wide (comp. Isa_14:2, Isa_14:3).
Jer_50:35-38
No human aid avails against so terrible a foe; therefore Jehovah calls upon his Sword (see on Jer_47:6) to avenge the cause of his people.
Jer_50:35
A sword is, etc; should rather be, Sword upon the Chaldea, it is an exclamation equivalent to "Let the Sword come upon the Chaldeans"—that sword which never "returns empty." The wise men are, partly the astronomers and astrologers at the various observatories in Babylonia, whose duty it was to send in monthly reports of the appearances in the sky, which were regarded as having an occult political significance (comp. Isa_47:13). In the next verse they are called liars, or praters. In Isa_44:25 this word stands parallel to "diviners." Possibly "liars" may be a wider term than "wise men," and includes an inferior grade of pretenders to "wisdom."
Jer_50:37
The mingled people; rather, the foreign peoples. Even if in Jer_25:20 the Hebrew ‛ is an ethnographical term reminding us of the Assyrian Urbi used of Bedouin tribes, ‹je-6› it is clear that no such explanation will suit here (see on Jer_25:20).
Jer_50:38
A drought. The Maasoretic critics, in their prosaic realism, were unable to see how a "sword" could be "upon the waters;" hence they altered khereb into khoreb. But the sword is merely a symbol of the Divine vengeance, and may be interpreted differently according to the exigencies of the context. Render, Sword upon the waters. They are mad upon their idols; rather, through Terrors they befool themselves. "Terrors" is a synonym for the gods of the heathen, which inspired a feeling of awe rather than affection, unlike Jehovah as he revealed himself through the authors of the psalms and prophecies.
Jer_50:39
Parallel passages: Isa_34:14; Isa_13:20-22. The wild beasts of the desert; rather, wild cats. Wild beasts of the islands; rather, jackals. Owls; rather, ostriches.
Jer_50:40
A verbal copy of Jer_49:18.
Jer_50:41
Jer_51:4.—The instruments of the judgment. The section is partly a cento from other prophecies. Thus Jer_51:41-43 are a repetition of Jer_6:22-24, except that what is there said of Jerusalem is here applied to Babylon; and verses 44-46 of Jer_49:19-21, the reference, however, being in the latter passage to Edom. In verse 46 At the noise of the taking of Babylon would be more literally rendered, At the cry, Babylon is taken.
I. BABYLON HAD BEEN THE GREATEST POWER OF HER TIME.
1. Earthly greatness is transitory. The supremacy of the world is an insecure position. Rivalries and hatreds inevitably spring up about it.
2. No might nor dignity can secure a people from the judgment of Heaven. The more talents are entrusted to a nation the heavier must its responsibility be. England will have to answer to God for her use of the vast resources on which she foolishly prides itself. The wealth and population of London are no defence against Divine judgments.
II. BABYLON HAD BEEN THE MOST VICTORIOUS KINGDOM OF HER TIME. She had conquered in her wars with neighbouring nations. While they failed she had succeeded; fortune, frowning on them, had smiled upon her. Yet Babylon's time came. No ground of confidence is more delusive than previous success. If success induces carelessness and self-indulgence, it is sure to prepare the way for future failure. The "fortunate man" has not the slightest reason for presuming that his good fortune will help him in the future life. If he can argue anything from it, he may conclude that, since he has had his good things in this life, the evils that fall to his share must await him in the next.
III. BABYLON HAD TRIUMPHED OVER THE PEOPLE OF GOD. Some might have thought that this was a victory of her patron god over the Jehovah of the Jews. But now "Bel is confounded, Merodach is broken in pieces." For a season the evil powers of the world may triumph over the Church of Christ. But ultimately they must succumb. Persecution cannot finally crush the truth. Unbelief, proud and insolent as it may be for a while, must ultimately bow before the power of faith. For truth is great and eternal, and God is fighting on its side.
IV. BABYLON HAD BEEN AN INSTRUMENT IN THE HANDS OF GOD. Jehovah speaks of Nebuchadnezzar as "my servant" (Jer_27:6). Yet he must suffer. For he was not a deliberate, willing servant. If God overrules the action of a man for good, this result is no justification of his conduct. For he is judged by his aims and motives, and not at all by the unintentional and unforeseen results of his actions. The only service of God which renders the servant acceptable in his sight is conscious, willing, obedient service. We may be used by God for other service, and then be cast off and suffer for our sinful deeds as much as if no Divine ends had been fulfilled in in them. Thus the scourge is scourged.
Jer_50:4, Jer_50:5
I. REPENTANCE FOR THE PAST. The two elements of repentance are here indicated.
1. Sorrow for sin. The children of Israel are depicted as "weeping as they go." A due sense of sin will produce Sorrow. The penitent will feel himself a "miserable sinner." But to be genuine the sorrow of penitence must rise directly out of the conviction of sin. If it were induced by sympathy, by sensational influences, etc; it would be a vain and useless thing. Moreover, grief arising out of the fear of the painful consequences of sin is not the grief of repentance. This must be a sorrow of conscience directly produced by regret for the sin itself.
2. Change of conduct. The penitents are to "come" and "go," etc. The prodigal arises and goes to his father. Mere idle tears are not repentance. Real repentance is the turning round of the soul from darkness to light, the active desire to amend one's ways. It is true that repentance is not regeneration. It is not a renewal of nature nor is it the realization of a better life. But it is the first step towards this, and it must grow out of an honest desire to attain it.
II. AWAKENED RELIGIOUS DEVOTION IN THE PRESENT.
1. Inquiry. They "seek the Lord;" they "ask the way." The penitent becomes the seeker after light. Truth, which was once a matter of indifference, or a subject of abstract questions, is now felt to be of great practical importance.
2. A return to God. The sinner had feared the visitation of God, but the penitent new voluntarily seeks to enter his presence. There is awakened a desire to be reconciled to God and to enjoy close communion with him.
3. A revival of interest in public worship. The penitents are described with their faces turned Zionward. Love to God induces interest in the worship at his house, no doubt a far less important thing than the spiritual return to God, yet noteworthy as an evidence of this. One of the leading signs of a change of heart is a renewed interest in the ordinances of religion.
4. Brotherly companionship. The children of Israel and the children of Judah come together. The tears of repentance melt away the old barriers of jealousy and contention. When on our knees before God we are all brethren. The forgiveness of our sin by God is conditional on our mutual forgiveness of one another (Mat_6:14, Mat_6:15). Through union with the common Saviour all the redeemed become one family.
III. A NEW COVENANT FOR THE FUTURE. Repentance is but a beginning. The wicket gate is entered; now the pilgrimage must be followed. The soldier is enlisted; the warfare lies before him. The Christian must live in the future, not wasting his remaining days in idle grief for the misspent past, but "forgetting those things which are upon the new born fervour of the hour of penitence. We need a solid conviction, a firm resolution, a covenant. He who becomes a Christian enters a covenant. He receives blessings from Christ, but he binds himself to the service of Christ. In the course of years he may be tempted to forget it. He therefore needs constant prayer and watchfulness. God will not be satisfied with the fact that some one "great transaction" is "done." The transaction is the forming of a perpetual covenant. It brings the obligation of lifelong fidelity—faithfulness "unto death."
Jer_50:6
1. We are like sheep, because
(1) we are foolish and prone to err;
(2) we are weak and defenceless; and yet
(3) of some value in the sight of God.
2. We are like God's sheep, because
(1) we are not our own masters, we belong to God;
(2) he watches over us, guides, feeds, protects, and blesses us.
II. SIN IS LIKE THE STRAYING OF LOST SHEEP.
1. It is straying from God. The shepherd goes first; the way he chooses may be narrow, steep, rugged; it may seem to lead to pastureless deserts or to dangerous forests; but it is the duty of the flock simply to follow the shepherd wherever he goes. It is our one duty to follow God in Christ. To sin is to follow the devices and desires of our own heart instead of following his will.
2. It is straying from our own vocation. There is a path for the sheep. There is a path forevery man—a way of life into which he is called to walk. When he knows this, if he turn from his duty to any other way, no matter how pleasant and profitable it may be, he is failing in his mission, wandering from the right way.
III. MEN ARE LED ASTRAY BY BAD SHEPHERDS. It is terrible to think of the fatal work of men of great talents who have spent them in deluding or debasing their fellows. What vast harm has been done by the evil genius of great men! Intellectual leaders, philosophers, religious teachers, poets, directly turn men astray when their teaching is false and corrupt. Political leaders bring nations into great criminal wars. Court influence is potent for evil when the court is corrupt. Nevertheless men cannot throw off their own guilt upon their leaders. For they act with their free will.
IV. THE RESULT OF STRAYING IS HOMELESS WANDERING.
1. It is to be homeless. The sheep are lost on the mountains. God is the Home of his sheep. To be far from God is to be on the wild mountains, open to the tempest, at the mercy of the fiercest foes.
2. It is to be restless. The sheep "have forgotten their resting place." The fascination of liberty to roam over the mountains tempts the sheep to wander from their shepherd. They soon find that this very liberty becomes a curse, and the wandering a doom of wretchedness. What the soul wants is rest, and it can find no rest but in God.
V. CHRIST RECOVERS THE WANDERING SHEEP. The sheep could not find their way back to the fold, neither could men find their way back to God. Christ came to seek as well as to save. As the good Shepherd, he gave his life for the sheep. They who have wandered furthest are not beyond recovery by Christ. If but one sheep be still straying, he will not be satisfied till that one is brought back. If, then, we have wandered, our safety will be found in hearkening to the voice of the good Shepherd and following him back to our home in God.
Jer_50:20
1. This is more than the remission of penalties. Some consequences of sin must still remain, though these are no longer indications of God's anger, but converted into merciful chastisements. But the essence of forgiveness lies deeper than any manipulation of external experience. It is inward, in the relation of God to the soul.
2. This spiritual forgiveness consists in the removal of all estrangement between God and the sinner. It is perfect reconciliation with no shadow cast upon it by old offences, Many men profess to forgive and yet bear a grudge, or say they will forgive but cannot forget, or forgive partially but retain a certain suspicion and coolness. God's forgiveness goes further. He is said to remove our sin from us "as far as the east is from the west," to "cast it into the sea," to "remember it no more." He treats his guilty but penitent child as if the sin had never been committed. No record of guilt is preserved, none can be found, even if an enemy search for it. The prodigal is not made a hired servant; he is welcomed with joy. The Christian is not grudgingly received into the outer courts of God's house; he is called to the presence of his Father and blessed with full privileges of sonship. If he is justified he is also glorified. Hence we may learn
(1) that, after genuine repentance and faith, a man need not remain in a state of fear and sadness; he may rejoice with confidence. His sin is not to be found; then he need think no more of it. If God has forgotten it he also may forget it. The typical Christian is not a weeping Magdalene, but a happy, hopeful servant of Christ. We may also learn
(2) to extend more charity and confidence to other men in their penitence. If God has forgiven them, who are we that we should treat them with contempt or anger?
II. HOW IT IS OBTAINED.
1. Often after chastisement. The promise to Judah and Israel is forgiveness after the sufferings of the Captivity. This is not invariably the case; for
(1) chastisement may fail in its work upon the soul, and then the forgiveness will not follow; or
(2) God may bring the sinner to penitence by milder means. But it is the design of chastisement to lead us to the blessedness of reconciliation.
2. After repentance. The people are first depicted as "going, weeping as they go." Forgiveness is offered to the worst man who repents, but not to the mildest offender who remains impenitent.
3. Through the mercy of God. This forgiveness is part of the blessedness of the restoration which God promises to effect for his children. It is not earned by future good conduct nor by any sacrifice or penance. We now know that it is not cheap. The price is no less than the life of the Son of God. But to us it is a free gift of God's love.
Jer_50:34
1. God is the Redeemer. He is the Goel, the Friend, Advocate, Avenger, and Saviour of his children.
(1) The goel was the next of kin (Le Jer_25:25). No man is so nearly related to us as God is.
(2) The goel was bound by law to redeem or avenge the sufferer. Human laws, in so far as they are just and good, are shadows of the Divine laws, i.e. of the ways of God's procedure. If the Jewish law of redemption was inspired by God, it was made after the pattern of God's manner of acting. In the New Testament we see this side of God's work brought into leading prominence. Jesus Christ is the manifestation of God in the flesh, and Jesus Christ is pre-eminently "the Redeemer" (Eph_1:7).
2. The almightiness of God is our assurance of redemption. The massive strength of the rock makes it painful for us to fall upon it, and fearful and fatal for it to fall upon us; but this very characteristic renders it a blessing if we rest under its shadow, build on its foundation, or cling to it for support in the driving tempest. Men may well shrink from the might of God when they are opposed to it, and tremble and despair when it rises up, awful and irresistible, to crush them; but if they can turn to it with trust and know it is working their good, they will find in it a ground for solid assurance. How disastrous would it be for us to have a weak God, though he might have all other Divine perfections! His love might be infinite; but if he could only pity, and not effectually save us, his grace would be of little use. But our Redeemer is the Lord of hosts. If a host encamp against us, the Lord of hosts is on our side. The strength of the Redeemer is of importance, because
(1) our foes are great—earthly trouble, sin, death;
(2) our evil state is disastrous—we have fallen far into sin, some of us, perhaps, into deep wretchedness, only a strong hand can pull us out of so horrible a pit;
(3) our own strength is slight. We are not able to cope with the dangers that beset us. In face of the great forces of evil we are like withered leaves before the autumn blast. Hence to us weaklings amid the strange and awful powers of time and eternity, what grand comfort lies in the thought that "our Redeemer is strong"!
II. THE METHOD AND FRUITS OF HIS REDEMPTION.
1. The method, "He shall throughly plead their cause." The case is intricate, many cross issues arise. The honour of God, justice, the maintenance of respect for law, the government of the universe, the highest good of all creatures, are concerned in the sin of man and its effects, and they must all be considered and fairly treated before redemption is possible. But we have no weak Advocate. God has gone through the whole labour and sacrifice. He has paid the price even the gift of his Son to die for us.
2. The fruits.
(1) Rest. "That he may give rest to the land." This was the greatest blessing to people who had been harried by invasions and wearied with exile. Rest is what the world most wants in its war and confusion, its toil and its sorrow. "Peace on earth" is the gospel benediction. Rest is what the soul most needs—rest from sin, from self, from fear and doubt and wearing grief. Rest is the blessing Christ offers to those who will "come unto" him. Heaven is rest.
(2) The overthrow of foes. Babylon, the troubler of the nations, will be disquieted. Christ, the Rock of salvation, is to his enemies "a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence." In the spiritual redemption of Christians the spiritual foes are vanquished; sin and death, the last enemies, are slain. We can only have rest to our souls in proportion as our sins are conquered. So the Redeemer who brings balm for our soul's wounds brings a sword for its sins.
I. A PROVIDENTAL EVENT. The outward circumstances of life are altered. External tyrannies are brought suddenly to an end, and the children of God are set free to serve God or not as they please. In every life there are some such occurrences. The spell of evil is broken and moral freedom rendered possible. And this is often brought about impressively, with the stamp of the supernatural upon it. Especially was it so with Israel's escape from Babylon, because of the permanent influence that event was to have on the spiritual history of mankind.
1. It was of world wide import. Babylon was the central world power, holding in iron subjection many nations. As a universal empire it is to be broken in pieces, and its sentence is not only announced, but published abroad as an evangel to the nations.
2. Of evidently Divine authorship. The clear prophecies; the moral recompense involved in its fall, and so wonderfully corresponding to its deserts, and the vast spiritual consequences accruing therefrom, make this indubitable. And equally, we may be sure, was the hand of God visible to those who were the subjects of the deliverance (see Psa_124:1-8.).
II. A SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE. This corresponds to the external circumstances and gives them their real significance and effect.
1. Sorrow for past offences. "Weeping"—tears of grief and shame. The marvellous grace of God has broken their hearts. Tears, too, of joy and gratitude.
2. Return to the true God. Idolatry was henceforth and forever forsaken. The sublimity and spirituality of God have taken possession of imagination and heart. Each step of the way to Palestine is a further removal from the sin which took them away. And it is not the carnal delights of the promised land which constitute its attraction. It is Zion they seek, the house of the Lord, that they may rebuild her ruins and restore her worship. This proves repentance real.
3. Renewal of the covenant. In this is repentance perfected. It is to be a new covenant—more spiritual, vital, and therefore eternal. The awful years of visitation have left an undying memory; but the interposition and grace of God have written his covenant upon their heart.—M.
Jer_50:4, Jer_50:5
I. UNREAL. When the outward behaviour contradicts the profession, or the conduct exhibited is only conventional or intended to deceive. It is either:
1. Half hearted, not having its root in deep conviction of sin, and unaccompanied by thorough separation from carnal interests. The looks of the heart are alternately attracted towards Zion and towards the world, whilst the feet go to and fro or stand still. Or:
2. Hypocritical When there is no conviction and the behaviour is a pretence. When worldly aims are cloaked by religions profession.
II. REAL. "Their faces thitherward." The attitude and movement correspond with the profession. Every preparation is made to go away from "Babylon," and the journey is commenced at once. Grief and heavenly longing are the grand motives.
1. Genuine sorrow. "Weeping" as they go.
2. Pure aspiration. They seek Zion. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness," etc.
3. Resolute endeavour. The return is at once made, notwithstanding its difficulties and dangers. Only in Palestine can the perfect theocracy, the spiritual future, be realized, i.e. in a true Church fellowship, which they hasten to realize.
4. Inward and eternal fidelity. Covenant relationship is renewed. A new spiritual covenant, whose provisions are written on their hearts, is entered into. They are no longer their own, but the servants of God, "bought with a price."
5. Perfect unanimity. Both Israel and Judah. A guarantee this of success and thoroughness. The lesson has been learnt by all, and united Israel is "holiness to the Lord."—M.
Jer_50:6, Jer_50:7, Jer_50:17-20
I. IT WAS COMPLETE.
1. They had wandered. The allurements of idolatry had led them on and on, and they had at length yielded to them. They had sought other pastures and acquired preferences for other worship. It is an evil sign when men lose taste for the simple services of a spiritual religion. God should be sought alone and for his own sake.
2. They became alienated. A natural consequence. Step by step they went so far that they could not find their way back. Spiritual unfaithfulness produces confusion and spiritual darkness. They forgot their own fold.
3. They became degraded and morally odious. They bore the sign of their spiritual fall upon them. Their history, too, was the record of their shame to the neighbouring peoples. The backslider can never erase the past. He will bear his Cain mark to the end, and even the heathen and unbeliever will despise him. Their oppressors are so struck with the justice of their sentence that they justify themselves in even greater cruelties than were warranted. There is no corner of the world where the backslider can escape God's curse or hide his shame. Do what he may, he will not be as other men.
II. YET IT DID NOT BAFFLE THE SHEPHERDING OF GOD.
1. To avenge. The overdone punishment is not lost sight of; it will be duly recompensed. And the sacred character of the exiles will add to the guilt of those who used it as an excuse for their cruelties. God is the Judge of his lost ones even to the end. He commits his authority to no other. He who causes a child of God to go further astray, and delights in his degradation and ruin, will have to account terribly for this to his Father and Saviour.
2. To bring back. God's arm is strong to destroy the detaining influences, and outstretched far enough to reach his wanderers, even to the extremities of transgression and ruin. And he can detect them in every hiding place and covert. He is the good Shepherd. No wilderness too wide, no mountain too high or rocky, for him to traverse. He will bring them back to righteousness and then to happiness and peace.—M.
Jer_50:20
I. HOW IT MANIFESTS ITSELF.
1. Retrospectively. Sins that are past are to be blotted out. A complete severance is to be effected between the era of apostasy and the new one upon which they are to enter. The strictest justice, the most jealous hostility, will fail to make out a valid indictment.
2. Prospectively.
(1) In the character. It will be purified and confirmed in the righteousness of God.
(2) In the conduct. There will be no more lapses or infidelities. Israel will be "a peculiar people, zealous of good works." It is for the sake of this new future that the guilty past has been cancelled; and it is the legitimate fruit of the experience of God's pardoning grace that the "reserved" ones shall give themselves "with a glad heart and free" to his service and glory.
II. TO WHAT IT IS DUE. Not to Divine goodness in conflict with Divine righteousness, but to the satisfaction of Divine righteousness.
1. In atonement. The sacrifice of Christ was anticipated, and for its sake the national tribulation through which Israel had passed was accounted a satisfaction for guilt incurred. In itself that tribulation could never effect such an end, nor in any sense as supplementary of the sufferings of Christ, but only symb