God As Creator Is Compared With Foolish Man Who Can Only Make Idols Which Are Futile And Lifeless (Jeremiah 51:15-19).
These verses are a repetition of Jeremiah 10:12-16 where YHWH as the genuine God of creation, the ‘former of all things', was contrasted with the gods of the nations who had not made the heavens and the earth, but were themselves the ‘creations' of foolish men, and who would themselves perish, gods in whom Israel were foolishly trusting. In a similar way here YHWH is set alongside the men who make those gods, His wisdom and understanding being compared with their folly and lack of knowledge. For whereas He makes and controls the heavens and the earth, they make gods which are false and have no life in them. Here, however, it is mainly the Babylonian gods which are in mind.
“He has made the earth by his power,
He has established the world by his wisdom,
And by his understanding,
Has he stretched out the heavens,
When he utters his voice,
There is a tumult of waters in the heavens,
And he causes the vapours to ascend,
From the ends of the earth,
He makes lightnings for the rain,
And brings forth the wind out of his treasuries.
The greatness and power of YHWH is now contrasted with the follies wrought by man, lifeless gods which are false and vain. It is He Who by His great power and wisdom has made and established the earth. It is He Who by His understanding has stretched out the heavens. Thus both earth and heaven owe their existence to Him. This in contrast with foolish men who make gods for themselves, gods which are false, and thus demonstrate that they are brutish in nature and without true knowledge. They make for themselves a delusion.
But YHWH has not only made the world. He is the living God Who has but to speak to fill the heavens with water, as the vapours and mists arise from the earth. He also controls lightning and wind. The whole world was dependent on such water, which watered and fed the crops. And the world also marvelled at the lightning which often accompanied the rain, as well as benefiting by (it assisted them in winnowing the grain), or fearing (it could be hugely destructive), the wind. All were under God's control.
“Every man is become brutish,
Without knowledge,
Every goldsmith is put to shame,
By his image,
For his molten image is falsehood,
And there is no breath in them,
They are vanity,
A work of delusion,
In the time of their visitation,
They will perish.”
In huge contrast to the Creator God are the earthly ‘creators' who make false images. When such men turn their thoughts towards divine things, instead of recognising the great Creator of all things, they make idols which cannot live or breathe, and which are vain and useless and a delusion. That Babylon's gods are especially in mind comes out in the reference to ‘their (Babylon's idol-makers) visitation'. At such a visitation by the living God, their gods will perish. They cannot even stand up for themselves. Thus YHWH is revealed as all-powerful, and the gods of Babylon as idle nothings who are helpless in the face of YHWH's judgment.
“The Portion of Jacob is not like these,
For he is the former of all things,
And he (Israel/Jacob) is the tribe of his inheritance,
YHWH of hosts is his name.”
For the products of the idol-makers are in total contrast to the One Who is Jacob's Portion. He is the ‘Former of all things'. All of heaven and earth owe their being to Him. And He is also ‘Jacob's Portion', in a unique way the God of Israel, the One Who has chosen Israel to be His own inheritance, a special treasure to Him (Exodus 19:5-6), the One Who is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and the One Who has chosen Israel in order that He might reveal His purposes through them. That is why Babylon will collapse, and why Israel will prosper at Babylon's downfall.
And what is the Name of the One so described? His Name is YHWH of Hosts. ‘YHWH', the One ‘Who will be what He will be' (Exodus 3:13-15); ‘of hosts', the One Who is creator of ‘the hosts of heaven and earth' (i.e. of all creation - Genesis 2:1), of the heavenly armies (Genesis 32:2; Nehemiah 9:6; Isaiah 24:21) and the earthly armies (regularly called ‘hosts'), and of all ‘the hosts of heaven', the sun, moon and stars (Deuteronomy 4:19; Nehemiah 9:6; Psalms 33:6; Isaiah 34:4; Isaiah 40:26).