A Prophetic Description Of The Fulfilment Of YHWH's Word Spoken Against Babylon And Confirmation That It Would Be So (Jeremiah 51:54-58).
The section dealing with YHWH's word against Babylon, which began at Jeremiah 50:1, ends with these verses making clear that Babylon will be laid waste and that God will obtain recompense for what Babylon had done to Israel/Judah, to His Temple and to the nations. It follows on Jeremiah 51:50 where we have more than a hint of the coming restoration of Jerusalem. Thus the restoration of Jerusalem and the destruction of Babylon can be seen as inter-connected. It is not accidental that chapter 52 will major on Babylon's destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple, followed by the hint of the restoration of the Davidic monarchy. Out of darkness will come the first glimmer of light.
“The sound of a cry from Babylon,
And of great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans!
For YHWH lays Babylon waste,
And destroys out of her the great voice,
And their waves roar like many waters,
The noise of their voice is uttered,
For the destroyer is come upon her,
Even on Babylon,
And her mighty men are taken,
Their bows are broken in pieces,
For a God of recompenses is YHWH,
He will surely requite (‘requiting He will requite').
And I will make drunk her princes and her wise men,
Her governors and her deputies, and her mighty men,
And they will sleep a perpetual sleep,
And will not wake,
The word of the King,
Whose name is YHWH of hosts.”
Note the continuing play on the idea of the voices arising from the land. Initially the sound of a cry coming from Babylon probably indicates a cry of hopelessness, for it is accompanied by the sounds of destruction coming from the land, and these arise because YHWH Himself is laying the land waste, even though the instruments be Medo-Persians. There might be a case, however, for seeing the cry that arises as being that of the invaders, tying in with Jeremiah 51:55 b. But either way the consequence is that ‘the great voice' of Babylon is destroyed. The great voice of Babylon is the noise of the city's conversations and cries arising out of its day to day living, and especially out of its festivities. That will be destroyed as the cry of Jeremiah 51:51 goes upwards.
‘And their waves roar like many waters, the noise of their voice is uttered, for the destroyer is come upon her, even on Babylon.' If we take the cry in Jeremiah 51:54 as that of the invaders then the ‘their' refers back to it. If we see it as referring to the plaintive cry of Babylon then the ‘their' must still be seen as referring to the invaders, with the antecedent being found in ‘the destroyers' of Jeremiah 51:53. ‘Their waves roaring like many waters' parallels ‘the noise of their voice being uttered', and refers not to literal waters but to the flood of armed men who will pour over the land crying out their war-cries, and shouting exultantly as they seize booty and rape women (compare Jeremiah 6:23), as the destroyer comes on Babylon. For the idea of a flood of invaders compare Isaiah 8:7-8
‘And her mighty men are taken, their bows are broken in pieces, for a God of recompenses is YHWH, He will surely requite.' The result is that Babylon's armed mighty men are rendered helpless, and their bows are broken in pieces. Compare Jeremiah 51:3. And this is because it is the recompense of God towards a sinful and evil nation. For He is ‘a God of recompenses'. It is His very nature. And He is requiting on them what they have done to others, and especially what they have done to His people, a continuing theme of the whole two Chapter s.
‘And I will make drunk her princes and her wise men, her governors and her deputies, and her mighty men, and they will sleep a perpetual sleep, and will not wake. The word of the King, Whose name is YHWH of hosts.' Note the repetition of the idea in Jeremiah 51:29. The primary idea here is that they will drink of the cup of YHWH's anger (antipathy against sin) which will result in perpetual sleep, i.e. death. See chapter Jeremiah 25:15-16; Jeremiah 25:26-27. There was, however, a more literal fulfilment as Daniel 5 makes clear. On the night that Babylon was taken Belshazzar and his lords were feasting and drowning themselves in drink, something which was immediately followed by their deaths as the Persian soldiery arrived in the palace. Herodotus tells us that in fact the whole city was engaged in feasting.
And so that we might have no doubt as to the fulfilment of this prophecy it is declared to be that, not only of YHWH, but of YHWH, King over all, in contrast to the mere princes of the Babylonians (which included their king).
‘Her princes and her wise men, her governors and her deputies, and her mighty men.' This description covers all the people whom Babylon depended on for its security. The chief princes and their advisers, the governors and the deputies, and finally the trained fighting machine.
“Thus says YHWH of hosts,
The broad walls of Babylon will be utterly overthrown,
And her high gates will be burned with fire,
And the peoples shall labour for vanity,
And the nations for the fire,
And they will be weary.”
The section on the judgment of Babylon closes with a confirmation of the fact that all its attempts to make itself invulnerable would fail. Its huge walls, one of the wonders of the ancient world, would eventually be overthrown. Its massive gates would be burned with fire. The labour of those who had built and erected them would turn out to be in vain, and they would weary themselves over something that would end up being burned with fire. That is the end of all labour and activity which is not truly God-driven (1 Corinthians 3:10-15).
‘The peoples shall labour for vanity (for what is in vain).' This is also cited in Habakkuk 2:13, possibly suggesting that it was a common saying.
‘And they shall be weary.' The people will have worn themselves out for nothing. Possibly it also contains the idea that, having laboured so much on the walls, to then see their destruction rendering their labour useless, would add to their weariness. But its repetition in Jeremiah 51:64 suggests that it has a deeper meaning, and that is that the fruit of association with Babylon was not to be ‘rest' (which was the destiny of God's people) but permanent weariness. The repetition in Jeremiah 51:64 brings out that the state is to be seen as being a permanent one, just as today we live in a weary world.