CHAPTER 25

(606 B.C.)

THE REBELLION OF JUDAH

¹The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, that was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon (this Chapter records the great Prophecy of the 70 years servitude in Babylon. It also predicts the overthrow of Babylon by the nations whom she had enslaved. However, the Prophecy goes much further than the judgment of ancient Babylon, for the principle of universal judgment is also developed and foretold. The repetition of the Judgment of Verse 10 in Rev. 18:23 shows that the predictions of this Chapter were not exhausted by the destruction of the Chaldean Empire in the days of Cyrus);

²The which Jeremiah the Prophet spoke unto all the people of Judah, and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying (the expression, Jeremiah the Prophet, is given in this manner to emphasize the fact that this Prophet is the one to whom God is speaking concerning the future of the people of Judah and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem),

³From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, even unto this day, that is the three and twentieth year, the Word of the LORD has come unto me, and I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking; but you have not hearkened. (Jeremiah had been a Prophet from the Thirteenth year of Josiah, which now totaled about twenty-three years. This was eighteen years under Josiah, 3 months under Jehoahaz, and 4 years under Jehoiakim.)

⁴And the LORD has sent unto you all His Servants the Prophets, rising early and sending them; but you have not hearkened, nor inclined your ear to hear. (This actually refers to all the Prophets who had come before Jeremiah. Israel little heard them, as well!)

⁵They said, Turn you again now everyone from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that the LORD has given unto you and to your fathers forever and ever (settlement in the Land of Promise was contingent upon obedience):

⁶And go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, and provoke Me not to anger with the works of your hands; and I will do you no hurt. (Upon relationship with the Lord, the ancient as well as the modern Believer can either gladden the heart of God or anger Him. Such shows a direct and total involvement in the lives of those who claim His Name.)

⁷Yet you have not hearkened unto Me, says the LORD; that you might provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt. (It was not a matter of not hearing or understanding what the Lord was saying, but a matter of not believing what He was saying. Such also is the modern Church!)

SEVENTY YEARS CAPTIVITY FORETOLD

⁸Therefore thus says the LORD of Hosts; Because you have not heard My Words (Gods Words were given through Jeremiah, but yet they had all been given before in the Bible. In fact, the Book of Deuteronomy was basically the foundation of all of Jeremiahs Prophecies [Deut., Chpt. 28]),

⁹Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, says the LORD, and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and an hissing, and perpetual desolations. (The families of the north consist of Nebuchadnezzar plus all those who followed him. My servant, concerning Nebuchadnezzar, does not refer to relationship, but rather as an instrument of punishment.)

¹⁰Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the candle. (Moreover I will take from them, refers to total desolations, and in fact perpetual desolations, meaning long-continued.)

¹¹And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. (The Lord sentenced Judah to seventy years of service to the king of Babylon, because she had ignored the yearly Sabbath that was supposed to be conducted every seventh year. In fact, they had gone for about 490 years without keeping this yearly Sabbath, which amounted to 70 years they owed the Lord, which He would now collect. However, the fact of the judgment was because of continued unrepented sin. The length of time was for the reason given [Lev. 25:1-7; II Chron., Chpts. 20-21].)

JUDGMENT ON BABYLON

¹²And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, says the LORD, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations. (The king of Babylon at that time was Belshazzar. The kings used by God to punish him were Darius the Mede and Cyrus the Persian.)

¹³And I will bring upon that land all My Words which I have pronounced against it, even all that is written in this Book, which Jeremiah has prophesied against all the nations. (My Words... written in this Book, are Gods Words, and they were written in a Book of the Bible, i.e., the Book of Jeremiah, the very Book we now hold in our hands. Such is Inspiration! [I Pet. 1:11].)

¹⁴For many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of them also: and I will recompense them according to their deeds, and according to the works of their own hands. (Although certain nations were commissioned by the Lord to punish Judah and Jerusalem, still, every indication is that they carried this commission too far regarding cruelty and oppression. Now, the Lord will call them to account, as well!)

THE CUP OF WRATH FOR ALL NATIONS

¹⁵For thus says the LORD God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this fury at My Hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send you, to drink it. (This part of the Prophecy leaps ahead to the future, and in fact has not yet been fulfilled. The fulfillment will come in the Great Tribulation [Rev. 16:19].)

¹⁶And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them. (This refers not only to the coming destruction of Babylon by Darius and Cyrus, but as well to the Great Tribulation when the Antichrist will take peace from the Earth [Rev. 6:4].)

¹⁷Then took I the cup at the LORDs Hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom the LORD had sent me (this would have proper fulfillment in Jeremiahs near future, and would include all the nations surrounding Judah. But yet, the words, The cup at the LORDs Hand, jump ahead to the Book of Revelation [Rev. 14:10]):

¹⁸To wit, Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and the kings thereof, and the princes thereof, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, an hissing, and a curse; as it is this day (judgment was to begin at Jerusalem because it is the House of God [I Pet. 4:17], and it will end with Babylon [Rev., Chpt. 18]);

¹⁹Pharaoh king of Egypt, and his servants, and his princes, and all his people (after Judah, mighty Egypt is addressed first of all. Pharaoh is especially signaled out, because of Egypts supposed strength, and because of Pharaoh being worshipped as Deity. Egypt as well as others to be listed will all taste of the Wrath of God!);

²⁰And all the mingled people, and all the kings of the land of Uz, and all the kings of the land of the Philistines, and Ashkelon, and Azzah, and Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod (it is interesting that the land of Uz is mentioned, inasmuch as it was the home of Job about 1,000 years before),

²¹Edom, and Moab, and the children of Ammon (this is the area that makes up present day Jordan. Strangely enough, this area will escape the hand of the Antichrist in that coming terrible day of Judgment, to which Israel will flee after being invaded and defeated by the Antichrist [Isa. 26:20; Rev., Chpt. 12]),

²²And all the kings of Tyrus, and all the kings of Zidon, and the kings of the isles which are beyond the sea (these two cities, Tyrus and Zidon, situated on the Mediterranean, were to become two of the most powerful cities of commerce in the world of that day. Tyre would become so rich and lifted up with pride that the Holy Spirit would use her king as a symbol of Satan [Ezek., Chpt. 28]),

²³Dedan, and Tema, and Buz, and all who are in the utmost corners (Dedan is on the border of Edom, while Tema is the area that Eliphaz came from, regarding one of Jobs friends [Job 2:11]. Buz is the place that Elihu came from, who was the last one to admonish Job, and whom God totally ignored [Job 32:2]),

²⁴And all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the mingled people who dwell in the desert (all are singled out because of their association with Judah, whether near or far),

²⁵And all the kings of Zimri, and all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the Medes,

²⁶And all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another, and all the kingdoms of the world, which are upon the face of the Earth: and the king of Sheshach shall drink after them. (Many of the statements, such as All the kingdoms of the world, prove that this Prophecy belongs to the future. It speaks to the coming Great Tribulation.)

²⁷Therefore you shall say unto them, Thus sa ys the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel; Drink you, and be drunken, and spue, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you. (Because of the sword which I will send among you, refers to Gods total control over all the nations of the world.)

²⁸And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at your hand to drink, then shall you say unto them, Thus says the LORD of Hosts; You shall certainly drink. (You shall certainly drink, portrays these nations reaping what they have sown [Gal. 6:7-8].)

²⁹For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by My Name, and should you be utterly unpunished? You shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the Earth, says the LORD of Hosts. (The city which is called by My Name is Jerusalem.)

³⁰Therefore prophesy you against them all these words, and say unto them, The LORD shall roar from on high, and utter His voice from His holy habitation; He shall mightily roar upon His habitation; He shall give a shout, as they who tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the Earth. (This Prophecy speaks of the forthcoming glee of the surrounding nations at the destruction of Judah; however, their glee shall be short-lived! As well, the phrase, Against all the inhabitants of the Earth, proclaims the fact that the fall of Judah would adversely affect the entirety of the world. However, the world was entirely ignorant of that.)

³¹A noise shall come even to the ends of the Earth; for the LORD has a controversy with the nations, He will plead with all flesh; He will give them who are wicked to the sword, says the LORD. (The word plead means to judge. The Prophecy now extends from Jeremiahs day to the coming Great Tribulation, and even the Battle of Armageddon [Rev. 14:20].)

³²Thus sa ys the LORD of Hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the Earth. (All of this refers to Rev. 16:13-14.)

³³And the killed of the LORD shall be at that day from one end of the Earth even unto the other end of the Earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground. (From one end of the Earth even unto the other end of the Earth, refers to the Antichrist taking peace from the Earth, which will take place in the coming Great Tribulation [Rev. 6:4].)

³⁴Howl, you shepherds, and cry; and wallow yourselves in the ashes, you principal of the flock: for the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are accomplished; and you shall fall like a pleasant vessel. (The Prophecy now reverts back to Jeremiahs time. These shepherds were Zedekiah and his ministers and men of war. The pleasant vessel refers to Judah. When a precious but fragile vessel falls, it breaks in pieces beyond repair. Such was Israel, a pleasant vessel, now broken, and never to be repaired. However, a new Israel, a pleasant vessel never to be broken, will be made by the Heavenly Potter, which will take place immediately after the Second Coming [Zech. 13:1].)

³⁵And the shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor the principal of the flock to escape. (The last kings of Judah, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah, all came to a miserable end [II Ki. 23:34-24:16; 25:7].)

³⁶A voice of the cry of the shepherds, and an howling of the principal of the flock, shall be heard: for the LORD has spoiled their pasture. (His habitation, i.e., His pasture, is now their pasture, because disowned by Him.)

³⁷And the peaceable habitations are cut down because of the fierce anger of the LORD. (We learn from all of this that the Lord can abide sin in His Own no more than He can in the heathen in fact, not nearly as much!)

³⁸He has forsaken His covert, as the lion: for their land is desolate because of the fierceness of the oppressor, and because of His fierce anger. (The oppressor is the Chaldean, while His fierce anger is Gods anger.)