BibleProject | One Story That Leads to JesusSample

For most of the book of Jeremiah, Babylon was on top of the world. The great empire crushed nation after nation under its feet on a climb to global domination. Drunk on their own power, the Babylonians even reached for the heavens—the Hebrew word shamayim, which, as you’ll learn in the video, refers not only to the skies, but also to the divine realm beyond them.

It’s not the first time we’ve seen a towering Babylon defy God’s authority. By hyperlinking the audacity of Nebuchadnezzar’s empire to humanity’s rebellion in Genesis 11 (at the tower of “Babel”), Jeremiah presents Babylon as an archetype of all arrogant nations who gain wealth and power with violence rather than trusting and following Yahweh.

But now, Jeremiah announces that the cosmic waters of de-creation will consume Babylon. He adds a dramatic flourish to his final words by writing Babylon’s fate on a scroll and having it thrown into a river, where the raging waters swallow it whole.

The final chapter of the book vindicates Jeremiah’s message by reporting, in excruciating detail, how all the prophet’s warnings of judgment ultimately came to pass. Still, the story ends with a small glimmer of hope.

In the very last paragraph of Jeremiah, one of David’s descendants is released from prison and eats at the king’s table in Babylon. Despite Israel’s heart-wrenching spiral into rebellion and ruin, Yahweh has not abandoned his people or the promise of a future king from David’s line. Israel faces a long, dark night of exile—but dawn will eventually break.

Reflection Questions

• Where else in the biblical story have you seen God use proud and violent agents to accomplish his purposes? (Try the latter half of Judges if you need a hint.) What happened? What do these stories reveal about God’s sovereignty and justice?
• You may recognize the narrative in Jeremiah 52 from 2 Kings 25. What do the stories and poems in Jeremiah add to your understanding of this familiar story?