17 “Israel is a scattered [q]flock, the lions have driven them away. The first one who devoured him was the king of Assyria, and this last one who has broken his bones is Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. 18 Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I am going to punish the king of Babylon and his land, just as I punished the king of Assyria. 19 And I will bring Israel back to his pasture and he will graze on Carmel and Bashan, and his [r]desire will be satisfied in the hill country of Ephraim and Gilead. 20 In those days and at that time,’ declares the Lord, ‘search will be made for the iniquity of Israel, but there will be none; and for the sins of Judah, but they will not be found; for I will pardon those whom I leave as a remnant.’
21 “Against the land of [s]Merathaim, go up against it,
And against the inhabitants of [t]Pekod.
Slay and [u]utterly destroy them,” declares the Lord,
“And do according to all that I have commanded you.
22 “The noise of battle is in the land,
And great destruction.
23 “How the hammer of the whole earth
Has been cut off and broken!
How Babylon has become
An object of horror among the nations!
24 “I set a snare for you and you were also caught, O Babylon,
While you yourself were not aware;
You have been found and also seized
Because you have engaged in conflict with the Lord.”
25 The Lord has opened His armory
And has brought forth the weapons of His indignation,
For it is a work of the Lord [v]God of hosts
In the land of the Chaldeans.
26 Come to her from the [w]farthest border;
Open up her barns,
Pile her up like heaps
And [x]utterly destroy her,
Let nothing be left to her.
27 Put all her young bulls to the sword;
Let them go down to the slaughter!
Woe be upon them, for their day has come,
The time of their punishment.
As God continues to speak of Babylon’s judgment, there are two more passages with a contrast between them. Israel was attacked by both Assyria and Babylon, and God affirms that He will punish Babylon just as Assyria had already been punished. Israel would be brought back to their land and their sin would not be found–not because they were sinless, but because God had wiped it away.
The Babylonians, on the other hand, are going to be snared by God, they would be lulled into a false sense of security. Cyrus of the Medes would divert the river which ran through their city, and enter by that very channel, while the rulers of Babylon feasted and gloated in their might. The cities named in v. 21 are aptly named and mean “double rebellion” and “punishment”.
For Nebuchadnezzar had been chastised by God and repented, but his son was no king and was just as arrogant and haughty, though he had not the accomplishments to warrant it. His pride was so great that he called for the vessels taken from the temple of God and used them for his banquet. In the midst of that feast, God’s doom fell, and Babylon was captured.
I want to go back to this idea in v. 20 though, for it is a promise that wasn’t just for the remnant of Israel. This wasn’t simply stating that God would never judge their sins again, or that they would remain sinless. They were just as human as you or I, so though God might wipe their slate clean, how could it stay so? God was instead looking to the future, when the blood of His Son would not just cover their sins, but would pay the penalty for their rebellion (which was more than double).
Even more, it would restore all who called upon the name of Jesus, reconnecting them with God the Father, making the orphan a child of the Most High. That might be cause to boast, but it is in spite of our sins that we are made so. Nothing that we have done, or could do, will ever be enough to warrant the grace of God. Instead, He pours it out on we who are willing to surrender our hearts to Him.
Babylon did not and would not submit, and for that matter, even Israel was stubborn as well. Despite times of repentance and devotion, neither nation was able to achieve their own salvation. Only by submitting to God and accepting His sacrifice could they, and we, be made clean, once and for all time. We ought to thank God for His provision and grace and love once more today, and if you haven’t submitted your heart to God yet (or need to do it again), today is a good day for that too.