11 Sharpen the arrows, fill the quivers!
The Lord has aroused the spirit of the kings of the Medes,
Because His purpose is against Babylon to destroy it;
For it is the vengeance of the Lord, vengeance for His temple.
12 Lift up a [q]signal against the walls of Babylon;
Post a strong guard,
Station [r]sentries,
Place men in ambush!
For the Lord has both purposed and performed
What He spoke concerning the inhabitants of Babylon.
13 O you who dwell by many waters,
Abundant in treasures,
Your end has come,
The [s]measure of your [t]end.
14 The Lord of hosts has sworn by Himself:
“Surely I will fill you with a [u]population like locusts,
And they will cry out with [v]shouts of victory over you.”15 It is He who made the earth by His power,
Who established the world by His wisdom,
And by His understanding He stretched out the heavens.
16 When He utters His voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,
And He causes the clouds to ascend from the end of the earth;
He makes lightning for the rain
And brings forth the wind from His storehouses.
17 All mankind is stupid, devoid of knowledge;
Every goldsmith is put to shame by his [w]idols,
For his molten images are deceitful,
And there is no breath in them.
18 They are worthless, a work of mockery;
In the time of their punishment they will perish.
19 The portion of Jacob is not like these;
For the [x]Maker of all is He,
And of the [y]tribe of His inheritance;
The Lord of hosts is His name.
20 He says, “You are My [z]war-club, My weapon of war;
And with you I shatter nations,
And with you I destroy kingdoms.
21 “With you I shatter the horse and his rider,
And with you I shatter the chariot and its rider,
22 And with you I shatter man and woman,
And with you I shatter old man and youth,
And with you I shatter young man and virgin,
23 And with you I shatter the shepherd and his flock,
And with you I shatter the farmer and his team,
And with you I shatter governors and prefects.
In the next section, God does a bit of a flex to remind us of something very important. So far, He has been content to foretell that a people from the north would come against Babylon, without really naming names. But no more, as God lays it out plain and straight that the “kings of the Medes” would be the undoing of Babylon. Oh sure, fine and dandy if this were only a few years in the future… Yet this fulfillment is decades away and no one can contest their power at this time.
It isn’t exactly clear who God is speaking of in v. 20 when he says “You are My war-club, My weapon of war…” However, it very well could have been said of Babylon and Nebuchadnezzar, for God used them to do all these same things, and ultimately to bring judgment on Israel and Judah. Still the nations of the earth largely ignored God and presumed it was of their own doing.
God calls them out on this in vv. 15-18 with a bit more “flexing”, a reminder of who made the earth and controls the waters, the clouds, lightning and wind. In contrast, anyone who attributes such things to golden idols is a fool. Nebuchadnezzar would become very much the “king of fools” when he built a golden statue of himself, thumbing his nose at the dream given by God (Daniel 2).
The very idea that his kingdom could ever end was absurd! Yet before that dream, God had already spoken these words to Jeremiah, making things quite clear. We like to think all our ideas are pretty solid too, but when we leave God out of the picture, we are treading on thin ice. Worse yet, at times we put the makings of our own hands before God, instead of remembering He is our King.
God can use us to accomplish His plan in either state, but I’d much rather it be willing. Instead, too often we chafe at the bit, and try to pull in our own direction. Reminds me a bit of my dog right now, who wants outside, because the kids are out there. He’d be scared to death though, once he got out and heard the mower. Submission isn’t easy, even more so when we are distracted by our own cravings and desires.
We need to surrender those to God and do the work He has set before us. I think it would help if we remembered that God is not distant. He is right here, ready to walk alongside us, and He has a name. Well, a lot of them actually. In our English translations, we just say God or Lord, but sometimes I fear that is too generic.
In Jeremiah’s day, He was known as Adonai or Yahweh (some translate it Jehovah/Yehovah). In any case, He is also Father, Redeemer, and so much more. Call Him by name today, and ask for His help, His strength and provision to give you what you need to follow whole-heartedly.