Jeremiah Hands To One Of The Godly Leaders Who Is Going With King Zedekiah On A Journey To Babylon A Scroll Containing His Prophecies About Babylon. This Was To Be Used Symbolically To Denote The Certain Judgment Coming On Babylon By Being Thrown Into The Euphrates (Jeremiah 51:59-64).
In what may be seen as a postscript to the section on the judgment coming on Babylon, Jeremiah hands to Seriah, the quarter-master general (‘prince of the resting place') who was going on a journey to Babylon with King Zedekiah, (presumably in order to swear fealty and pay tribute), a scroll which contained his prophecies declaring all the evil that was coming on Babylon. This serves to confirm that these prophecies were given prior to this date (the fourth year of Zedekiah).
The scroll was then to be read aloud in Babylon, no doubt to a select group, declaring God's judgment on Babylon, prior to its being thrown into the Euphrates as a symbol of what was coming on Babylon. This would be seen by those who knew of it as making certain the fulfilment of the prophecies.
‘The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. Now Seraiah was the quarter-master general (‘prince of the resting place').'
This incident arises out of a journey made to Babylon by King Zedekiah of Judah, in the fourth year of his reign (594/3 BC), presumably required in order to swear fealty and pay tribute. He may also have been subject to questioning about the gathering of ambassadors from neighbouring countries at the beginning of his reign (Jeremiah 27:3), which may well have been seen as having in it a hint of rebellion, for although it would be quite normal for neighbouring countries to send ambassadors at the commencement of a new reign there is a hint in chapter 27 of possible rebellion brewing.
Accompanying King Zedekiah was Seraiah, a man who came from an important family in Judah, and whose responsibility would be to see to all the preparations for the journey, and the best place for ‘resting' each night on the journey. He is called ‘the prince of the resting places'. He was brother to Baruch, Jeremiah's friend and secretary (see Jeremiah 32:12; Jeremiah 36:8-32; Jeremiah 45:1), which may well explain why Jeremiah chose him for the assignment that he had for him. The importance of Seraiah comes out in that not only his father's name is given, but also his grandfather's. A stamp seal has been discovered bearing the name of ‘Seraiah the son of Neriah'.
The date given, the fourth year of the reign of Zedekiah (594-3 BC), suggests that all the above prophecies to the nations were given prior to that date.
‘And Jeremiah wrote in a scroll all the evil that should come on Babylon, even all these words which are written concerning Babylon.'
We are clearly intended to see from ‘all these words which are written concerning Babylon' that the above prophecies against Babylon were included in the scroll, which was an accumulation of prophecies against Babylon. The purpose of taking them to Babylon would be in order to ensure that the prophecies were declared in the place in which they would be fulfilled, giving added impact to their proclamation. This would probably be seen by the people as ensuring that the prophecies would be fulfilled. The word of YHWH was being released in Babylon. We can compare with this act Jeremiah's own prophetic action in Babylon (Jeremiah 13:1-11), which in that case affected Israel/Judah.
‘And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, “When you come to Babylon, then see that you read all these words, and say,
‘O YHWH,
You have spoken concerning this place,
To cut it off,
That none shall dwell in it,
Neither man nor beast,
But that it shall be desolate for ever.'
The words were seemingly to be read aloud in Babylon, presumably to a select company of reliable people who would act as witnesses. It is very unlikely that it was to be read to the Babylonians, who anyway would hardly be likely to take any notice of the prophecies of an obscure Judean prophet. It could, however, have been construed as treason if heard in the wrong quarters.
Having read the words he was then to lift them before YHWH, calling on YHWH to heed what He had promised, namely the cutting off of Babylon; and the removal of its inhabitants and its permanent desolation.
“And it shall be, when you have made an end of reading this scroll, that you shall bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates, and you will say,
‘Thus will Babylon sink,
And will not rise again,
Because of the evil that I will bring on her,
And they will be weary.'
Having carried through the ceremony in due form he was to take the scroll to the Euphrates, bind it to a stone (so that it would sink), and hurl it in, and as he did so he was to proclaim that Babylon would sink in like measure, never to rise again. And this was because of the evil that YHWH Himself would bring on her. Note the words ‘and they will be weary' repeated from Jeremiah 51:58, the final words of the judgment section on Babylon. The indication is that all that association with Babylon finally produces is permanent weariness.
So ends the two Chapter s of judgments on Babylon, the city which summed up all that was anti-God in the world. Apocalyptically Babylon represented all that was bad in the world (compare Isaiah 14; Revelation 17). These Chapter s were a guarantee that one day God would bring it all into judgment.
‘Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.'
This statement seals off Jeremiah's prophecies. It may well have been penned by Baruch as he accumulated Jeremiah's prophecies together. It is also preparation for the historical narrative that follows, separating it off from the prophecies of Jeremiah. There is no real reason for doubting that it covers all that has gone before of his words in Chapter s 1-51, and it has been pointed out that ‘the words of Jeremiah' echoes the opening words of the book (Jeremiah 1:1 a) forming an inclusio.