Jeremiah 25

IAn idealist believes the short run doesn’t count. A cynic believes the long run doesn’t matter. A realist believes that what is done or left undone in the short run determines the long run. Sidney J. Harris n these chapters, we see the prophet involved in four different ministry experiences as he served the Lord and sought to bring the kingdom of Judah back to God.

Jeremiah had been serving for twenty-three years when he delivered the messages recorded in chapters 25 and 26 (25:3; 26:1). He was called into prophetic service in the year 626 BC (1:2) and continued to minister after the fall of Jerusalem in 587 BC, a period of over forty years. He was now at the midpoint of his career. When you consider the unsympathetic response of the people both to him and to his messages, you marvel that Jeremiah wasn’t discouraged and ready to quit, but he continued to be faithful to his calling.

He delivered two messages—one to the Jews (vv. 1–14) and one to the Gentile nations (vv. 15–38).

Chastening for the people of Judah (vv. 1–14). Four times in this message, Jeremiah pronounced the solemn indictment, “You have not listened” (vv. 3–4, 7–8 nkjv). The earlier prophets, many of whom are unknown to us, had warned of great judgment if the nation didn’t repent and turn to Jehovah, but their ministry went unheeded. Jeremiah had preached to the leaders and common people of Judah for twenty-three years and had received the same response. As they disobeyed the law, worshipped idols, and rejected God’s servants, the people deliberately provoked God to anger, and the day of His wrath was fast approaching.

Once again, Jeremiah announced that Nebuchadnezzar and the armies of Babylon would be God’s tool for punishing Judah (21:7, 10), and he dared to call the Babylonian king “my servant” (25:9; 27:6; 43:10). Nebuchadnezzar wasn’t a believer in the true God of Israel, but in his conquests he was accomplishing God’s will (51:20–23). God’s own people wouldn’t obey the Lord when they had everything to gain, but pagan rulers like Pharaoh (Rom. 9:17), Cyrus (Isa. 44:28; 45:1), and Nebuchadnezzar were servants of God to fulfill His purposes. The church today needs to remember that the Lord is sovereign and can use whatever tools He deigns to use to accomplish His purposes on earth, even unconverted leaders.

For the first time, Jeremiah shared the “secret” that the captivity in Babylon would last seventy years (Jer. 25:11–14; 29:10; see Dan. 9:1–2). One reason God determined a period of seventy years was that the land might enjoy the rest that the Jews had denied it (2 Chron. 36:20–21; Lev. 25:3–5). The law of the sabbatical year had been ignored for nearly five hundred years!

Judah, however, wouldn’t be the only nation to suffer at the hands of the Babylonians, for “all these nations round about” (Jer. 25:9) would also be punished; among them the nations listed in 25:18–25 and 27:3. In one way or another, these nations were confederate with Judah against Babylon, but God’s command was that the nations submit to Nebuchadnezzar. In fact, God would make even the animals obey the king of Babylon!

The end of the seventy years would mean not only freedom for the Jewish remnant but also judgment for the Babylonian Empire because of the ruthless way they treated both Jews and Gentiles (25:12–14). It was one thing for Nebuchadnezzar to do God’s work, but when his attitude became proud and hateful, he overstepped his bounds. Babylon fell to the armies of the Medes and Persians in 539 BC (see Dan. 5).

Judgment for the Gentile nations (vv. 15–38). Jeremiah was called of God to minister not only to Judah but also to the other nations (Jer. 1:5). God had set him over the nations (v. 10) and given him authority to tell the Word of God. Though the Lord had not given His law to the Gentile nations or entered into a covenant relationship with them, He still held them accountable for their sins (Rom. 1:18ff.; Amos 1—2).

In this message, Jeremiah used eight vivid images to describe the judgment God was sending to the Gentiles.

The cup of wrath (vv. 15–29). The psalmists used this familiar image of suffering and judgment (Ps. 60:3; 75:8), as well as the prophets (Isa. 29:9; 51:17, 22; 63:6; Jer. 25:15–16; 49:12; Ezek. 23:32–34; Hab. 2:16). You find the image repeated in the New Testament (Rev. 14:8–10; 16:19; 18:6). “Babylon was a golden cup in the Lord’s hand that made all the earth drunk” (Jer. 51: nkjv).

Though this message centered mainly on the Gentiles, note that Jeremiah began his list with Jerusalem and the cities of Judah (25:18); judgment begins with God’s people (Ezek. 9:6; 1 Peter 4:17). “See, I am beginning to bring disaster on the city that bears my Name, and will you indeed go unpunished?” (Jer. 25: niv).

How did Jeremiah make the various nations drink the cup of God’s wrath? Certainly he didn’t travel from nation to nation and meet with their leaders. There wasn’t time for such an itinerary, and they wouldn’t have welcomed him to their courts anyway. Perhaps he invited representatives of the various nations present in Jerusalem (see 27:3) to have a meal with him, preached his message to them, and then passed the cup around. It could have been another “action sermon” that would have gotten attention in the city, and when the foreign visitors returned to their own nations, they would have reported what the strange prophet in Jerusalem had said and done.

To drink a cup is a symbol of submission to the will of God. “The cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?” (John 18:11). Jeremiah called the nations to submit to God’s will, surrender to Nebuchadnezzar, and be spared destruction. Jeremiah would later illustrate this message by wearing a yoke (Jer. 27). If the nations didn’t drink the cup of submission, they would end up drinking the cup of judgment and “get drunk and vomit, and fall, to rise no more” (25: niv).

The roaring lion (vv. 30a, 38). Lions roar to paralyze their prey with fear, and God will roar in judgment when He visits the nations (see Hos. 11:10; Joel 3:16; Amos 1:2; 3:8). God had spoken in love to His people, but they refused to obey. Now He must speak in wrath. In the last days, the Lamb of God will become like the lion and pour out His wrath on a wicked world (Rev. 5:5–7).

The winepress (v. 30b). This is another familiar metaphor for judgment (Isa. 63:3; Joel 3:13; Rev. 14:19–20). As they shared in the joy of the harvest, those treading the grapes shouted and sang to one another (Isa. 16:10), but God would do the shouting as He judged the nations that had resisted His will.

The lawsuit (v. 31). “The Lord will bring charges against the nations” (niv; see Hos. 4:1; Mic. 6:2). The Lord first brought charges against His own people for abandoning Him and turning to idols (Jer. 2:9–13). In this “trial” there would be a Judge but no jury, an indictment but no defense, and a sentence but no appeal. God had given His people plenty of opportunity to admit their guilt and repent, but they refused. Now it was too late. Like a tornado, The storm (vv. 32–33). Nebuchadnezzar’s army would move from nation to nation and city to city and leave only devastation behind. “Behold a whirlwind of the Lord has gone forth in fury—a violent whirlwind! It will fall violently on the head of the wicked” (23: nkjv; see 30:23; Isa. 30:30).

The refuse (v. 33). Not to have a proper burial was a disgrace, for then the body was being treated like common rubbish (8:2; 9:22; 16:4; 22:19). The Hebrew word means “dung,” which is even worse (see Isa. 25:10–11 niv).

The broken pottery (v. 34). “You will fall and be shattered like fine pottery” (niv). This reminds us of Jeremiah’s “action sermon” when he publicly broke the clay vessel (Jer. 19:1–13; see also 13:14; 48:38). One day, Jesus Christ shall break the nations like so many clay pots (Ps. 2:9). The Hebrew word translated “pleasant vessel” (Jer. 25:34) refers to fine pottery and not just common pots. God wants His vessels to be clean and yielded. If they aren’t, He has the right to smash them.

The slaughtered flock (vv. 34–38). The shepherds were the leaders of the nation—kings and nobles, priests and false prophets—who had exploited God’s flock and not compassionately cared for God’s people. Now it was time for them to be slaughtered, and there would be no place for them to hide! Instead of hearing the cries of the sheep, the shepherds would hear their own wailing as they saw their pasture (Judah) destroyed. Like a fierce lion (v. 38; see v. 30), God would leap out on the shepherds and the sheep, and there would be no escape.

“For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?” (1 Peter 4:17).