Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 51:25
Behold, I [am] against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the LORD, which destroyest all the earth: and I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain.
25. O destroying mountain ] For the expression cp. 2Ki 23:13 R.V. mg. The figure is not appropriate in a literal sense, as Babylon is situated in a plain. The sense must be that she towers in supremacy over other countries. Perhaps Eze 35:3 ff. may have suggested this passage.
a burnt mountain ] barren and desolate.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
O destroying mountain – A volcano which by its flames and hot lava-streams destroys the whole land.
A burnt mountain – A burned-out mountain, of which the crater alone remains. Such was Babylon. Its destructive energy under Nebuchadnezzar was like the first outbreak of volcanic fires; its rapid collapse under his successors was as the same volcano when its flames have burned out, and its crater is falling in upon itself.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 25. O destroying mountain] An epithet which he applies to the Babylonish government; it is like a burning mountain, which, by vomiting continual streams of burning lava, inundates and destroys all towns, villages fields, c., in its vicinity.
And roll thee down from the rocks] I will tumble thee from the rocky base on which thou restest. The combustible matter in thy bowels being exhausted, thou shalt appear as an extinguished crater and the stony matter which thou castest out shall not be of sufficient substance to make a foundation stone for solidity, or a corner stone for beauty, Jer 51:26. Under this beautiful and most expressive metaphor, the prophet shows the nature of the Babylonish government; setting the nations on fire, deluging and destroying them by its troops, till at last, exhausted, it tumbles down, is extinguished, and leaves nothing as a basis to erect a new form of government on; but is altogether useless, like the cooled lava, which is, properly speaking, fit for no human purpose.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Babylon is not here called a mountain because it was situated upon any hills or mountains, for it appears from Gen 11:2 that it was situated in a plain, and we read, Jer 51:13, that it dwelt upon many waters; but because it was very high for its power and greatness, and had very high walls and towers, that it looked at a distance like a high rocky mountain, and, as some say, (being a very large city,) was full of trees. They had destroyed many people of the earth that lay near to them. God threatens to destroy them notwithstanding their towers and great fortifications, as many times they threw down malefactors from high rocks, mountains, and precipices; and to make them like tna or Vesuvius, or like some other mountains of sulphur, or other bituminous matter fired, which are always burning; or else he threateneth that their cities and towers, which appeared like a mountain, should be burnt.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
25. destroying mountaincalledso, not from its position, for it lay low (Jer 51:13;Gen 11:2; Gen 11:9),but from its eminence above other nations, many of which it had”destroyed”; also, because of its lofty palaces, towers,hanging gardens resting on arches, and walls, fifty royal cubitsbroad and two hundred high.
roll thee down from therocksthat is, from thy rock-like fortifications and walls.
burnt mountain (Re8:8). A volcano, which, after having spent itself in pouring its”destroying” lava on all the country around, falls into thevacuum and becomes extinct, the surrounding “rocks” alonemarking where the crater had been. Such was the appearance of Babylonafter its destruction, and as the pumice stones of the volcano areleft in their place, being unfit for building, so Babylon shouldnever rise from its ruins.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Behold, I [am] against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the Lord, which destroyest all the earth,…. Babylon is called a mountain, though situated in a plain, because of its high walls, lofty towers, and hanging gardens, which made it look at a distance like a high mountain, as Lebanon, and others: or because it was a strong fortified city; so the Targum renders it, O destroying city: or because of its power and grandeur as a monarchy, it being usual to compare monarchies to mountains; see Isa 2:2; here called a “destroying” one for a reason given, because it destroyed all the earth, all the nations and kingdoms of it: the same character is given of mystical Babylon and its inhabitants, Re 11:18:
and I will stretch out mine hand upon thee: in a way of vindictive wrath, pouring it out upon her, and inflicting his judgments on her; laying hold on and seizing her in a furious manner, as a man does his enemy, when he has found him:
and roll them down from the rocks; towers and fortresses in Babylon, which looked like rocks, but should be now demolished:
and will make thee a burnt mountain: reduced to cinders and ashes by the conflagration of it: or, “a burning mountain”: like Etna and Vesuvius; we never read of the burning of literal Babylon, but we do of mystical Babylon: see Re 18:8; and with this compare Re 8:8. The Targum renders it, a burnt city.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
There is no doubt but that the Prophet speaks of Babylon. But it may seem strange to call it a mountain, when that city was situated in a plain, as it is well known; nay, it has no mountains near it. It was a plain, so that streams might be drawn here and there in any direction. Hence they think that the city was called a mountain on account of the height of its walls and also its great buildings. And this is probable, as though the Prophet called it a great mass; for historians tell us that its walls were very high, about two hundred feet, and a foot commonly exceeded three fingers. Then the towers were very high. In short, Babylon was a prodigy for the quantity of its bricks, for the walls were not built with squared stones, but formed of bricks. Their breadth also was incredible; for chariots drawn by four horses could go along without touching one another. Their breadth, according to Strabo and also Pliny, was fifty feet. Then this metaphor was not used without reason, when the Prophet, regarding in one respect the state of the city, called Babylon a mountain, as though Ninus, or Semiramis, or others, had contended with nature itself. The beginning of Babylon was that memorable tower mentioned by Moses, but then the work was left off. (Gen 11:0) Afterwards, either because such a beginning inflamed the desire of men, or because the place was very pleasant and fertile, it happened that a city of great size was built there. In short, it was more like a country than a city; for, as Aristotle says, it was not so much a city as a country or a province. This much as to the word mountain.
Now God himself declares war against Babylon, in order that more credit might be given to this prophecy; for the Prophet had no regard to the Chaldeans, but to his own nation, and especially to the remnant of the godly. The greater part derided his prophecy, but a few remained who received the Prophet’s doctrine with becoming reverence. It was then his object to consult their good and benefit; and, as we shall see at the end of this chapter, he wished to lay up this treasure with them, that they might cherish the hope of restoration while they were as it were lost in exile. God then does here encourage them, and declares that he would be an enemy to the Babylonians.
Behold, he says, I am against thee, O mountain of perdition The mountain of perdition is to be taken in an active sense, for destroying mountain, as also a clearer explanation follows, when he says that it had destroyed all the earth For the Babylonians, as it is well known, had afflicted all their neighbors, and had transferred the imperial power of the Medes to their own city. When they subdued the Assyrians they extended their power far and wide, and at length advanced to Syria, Judea, and Egypt. Thus it happened that the Babylonians enjoyed the empire of the east till the time of Cyrus; and then the monarchy was possessed by the Persians. But our Prophet had respect to the former state of things; for he said that the Chaldeans had been like a hammer, which God had employed to break in pieces all the nations; and, according to the same meaning, he now says that all the earth had been destroyed by the Babylonians.
But God here declares that he would be their judge, because he would extend his hand over Babylon, and roll it down from the rocks, he proceeds still with the same metaphor; for as he called Babylon a mountain on account of its great buildings, and especially on account of its high walls and lofty towers, so now he adopts the same kind of language, I will cast thee down, or rather roll thee, from the rocks, and make thee a mountain of burning. He thus intimates that Babylon would become a heap of ashes, though this was not immediately fulfilled; for as we have said, it was so taken as not to be entirely laid waste. For in the time of Alexander the Great, many years after, Babylon was standing, and there Alexander died. It then follows that it was not reduced to solitude and ashes by Darius and Cyrus. But we have already untied this knot, that is, that the Prophet does not only speak of one vengeance of God, but includes others which followed. For Babylon soon after revolted and suffered a grievous punishment for its perfidy, and was then treated with great contempt. Afterwards, Seleucus tried in various ways to destroy it, and for this end Seleucia was built, and then Ctesiphon was set up in opposition to Babylon. Babylon then was by degrees reduced to that solitude of which the Prophet here speaks. Pliny says that in his time the temple of Bel was there, whom they thought to have been the founder of the city; but he afterwards adds that the other parts of the city were deserted. If Jerome, as he says, visited it, we ought; to believe what he had seen; and he says that Babylon was a small ignoble town, and ruins only were seen there. There is, then, nothing unreasonable in this prophecy, for it ought not to be restricted to one calamity only; for God ceased not in various ways to afflict Babylon until it was wholly laid waste, according to what our Prophet testifies. According to this view, then, he says that Babylon would become a mountain of burning, or a burnt mountain, (88) for ruins only would remain; and in the same sense he immediately adds, —
(88) Blayney views “the mountain” differently, as a metaphor for a nation, or a prince, rising above others in power: and “the rocks” he considers to be the strongholds of this mountain. — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(25) O destroying mountain.Singularly enough the phrase is the same as that which is applied in 2Ki. 23:13 to the Mount of Olives, and is there rendered by the Authorised version as the Mount of Corruption. It adds to the interest that this name so given appears in the reign of Josiah, and must therefore have been familiar to Jeremiah. There it is applied to the Mount of Olives as having been the centre of the worship of Ashtoreth and Chemosh and Milcom, destroying the faith and life of Israel. Here, not without the thought that the false worship of Babylon was the root of all its evils, the prophet applies it to that city. The use of the term mountain, literally quite inapplicable, was symbolical of its sovereignty. The latter clause of the verse suggests the idea that the prophet had before him the picture of a volcano.
And will make thee a burnt mountain.Literally, a mountain of burningeither actively, as rolling down its lava and stones to the destruction of all below; or passively, as spent and burnt out. As the sentence describes the doom of Babylon, the latter meaning seems preferable. It is interesting to note the fact that there is an extinct volcano known as Koukal (= fire), which rises to a height of 300 feet above the river Khabour, in Western Assyria (the Chebar of Eze. 1:3), consisting of loose lava, scori, and ashes. (Rawlinsons Ancient Monarchies, i. 189.) Possibly the prophet, who had journeyed to the Euphrates, had seen in this the symbol of the destroying mountain that destroyed itself. Babylon was for him an extinct volcano.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
25, 26. Destroying mountain The same phrase is used in 2 Kings xxiii, 13, and is translated “mount of corruption.” It is there applied to the southern portion of the mount of Olives, in view of the idolatrous shrines set up by Solomon. Here the phrase is applied to Babylon, and suggests its eminence among the nations, and its power for evil in working physical and moral ruin.
Roll thee down The explanation of this phrase is doubtful. I will make thee a burnt mountain Literally, a mountain of burning. Language founded on the conception of a volcano. The threat, Thou shalt be desolate forever, falls in well with the notion of a burnt-out mountain, though it means evidently more than that it should be a scene of ruin. It is never more to be used.
They shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations Its history is terminated. Never again are human hopes and interests to be founded on Babylon.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Preparation For The Coming Total Destruction Of Babylon ( Jer 51:25-29 ).
With the mention of what is to happen to Babylon in Jer 51:24, YHWH’s attention now turns on Babylon, describing it as a ‘destroying mountain’ or ‘mountain of destruction’. Interestingly the same phrase is used in 2Ki 23:13 of the mountain on which Solomon erected temples to false gods on behalf of his wives, a phrase which may well have been known to Jeremiah. This would then bring out that Babylon was seen as destructive, not only in warfare, but also in the pernicious influence it wielded in forcing its own idolatry, with all its accompaniments, on the nations, including Israel/Judah (compare Isa 47:9-15). It destroyed not only the body but the soul. It was the very enemy of God. That was why it had to be annihilated.
The passage then goes on to describe the preparations to be made for the invasion of Babylon, and its subsequent pain.
Jer 51:25-26
“Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain,
The word of YHWH,
Which destroys all the earth,
And I will stretch out my hand on you,
And roll you down from the rocks,
And will make you a burnt mountain,
And they will not take of you a stone for a corner,
Nor a stone for foundations,
But you will be desolate for ever,
The word of YHWH.”
The description of Babylon as a mountain refers to its might and power as like a gigantic mountain it engulfed the nations, towering over those nations, and destroying them, both physically and religiously. The later reference to foundations may suggest that it also saw itself as founding a new culture, presumably based on its gods. We can compare how in Daniel 3 Nebuchadrezzar does seek to make all the nations worship his false god. But it is then put in its place by the fact being made clear that it is not huge in YHWH’s eyes. For He will simply stretch out His hand and take that great mountain, and roll it like a stone down the mountainside of a far larger mountain of which it is only a part, informing it that it will become nothing but a burnt out volcano (such an extinct volcano known as Koukal is known in Western Assyria near the River Khabour) whose stones have been rendered useless for anything, its dreams of glory vanishing into thin air as it becomes desolate for ever. Nothing will ever be founded on it again. All that is anti-God will be destroyed. And this is the prophetic word of YHWH.
Jer 51:27-28
Set you up a standard (or ‘signal’) in the land,
Blow the trumpet among the nations,
Prepare (literally ‘sanctify’) the nations against her,
Call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz,
Appoint a marshal against her,
Cause the horses to come up like the bristly young locusts,
Prepare against her the nations,
The kings of the Medes,
Their governors and all their deputies,
And all the land of his dominion.”
.
How God will roll Babylon down the mountains is now described historically. The command goes out to an unknown royalty connected with the Medes to set up the signal and blow the war trumpet among the nations, calling them to join him in his campaign against Babylon. These would include the Median kingdoms of Ararat, Minni and Ashkenaz. He was to ‘sanctify’ the nations against her, a reminder that armies dedicated themselves to their gods. They would include ‘the kings of the Medes’ and all who were under his control. The Persians and Medes were closely associated. Initially, the Medes were the more powerful, and Persia was subject to them. But Cyrus the Persian, who had a Median mother and was allied with the kings of Media, increased in power and gradually took over the kingdoms of Persia and Media, finally establishing from this power base a huge empire. He took the titles of ‘king of the Medes’ and ‘king of Elam’.
Ararat is ancient Urartu, mentioned regularly in inscriptions and located near Lake Van in what is today eastern Turkey. Minni is the ancient Mannai of Assyrian records, located south-east of Lake Urmia. Ashkenaz is connected with ancient Ascania, and is connected with the Ashguzai, nomads who lived east of Lake Urmia. Many identify them as Scythians. Ashkenaz and Mannai were involved together in a revolt against Assyria in c. 673 BC, but Mannai later sided with the Assyrians against the Babylonians in 616 BC. All were to be involved in the invasion of Babylonia. They had a reputation as fearsome fighters.
‘Appoint a marshal.’ The word for ‘marshal’ is a rare one coming from the Akkadian tupsarru. It occurs also only in Nah 3:17. There too it is connected with locusts. The ‘bristly young locusts’ were the locusts in the third stage of growth prior to their wings unfolding. Such locusts moved across the ground in huge numbers (see the awesome descriptions in Joe 1:6-7; Joe 2:2-10) destroying all in their path. Thus the idea is of horsemen in awesome numbers who cause a wave of destruction.
Jer 51:29
“And the land trembles and is in pain,
For the purposes of YHWH against Babylon do stand,
To make the land of Babylon a desolation,
Without inhabitant.”
In a brief synopsis Jeremiah describes the effect on Babylonia. ‘The land trembles and is in pain.’ For such a picture of the land trembling and writhing in pain see Jdg 5:4; Nah 1:5; Hab 3:6. And the reason for it is because of YHWH’s purpose against Babylon, which is to make it desolate and totally deserted. It is coming under the judgment of the Almighty.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Jer 51:25. Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain The Vulgate renders it more properly, O corrupting mountain, which corruptest the whole earth. Babylon, though seated in a low watery plain, is here called a mountain, not only on account of its lofty buildings, but of its pride, and as being the first and most haughty seat of idolatry. See Rev 17:5. The similitude made use of in the subsequent part of the verse is strong and expressive. Earthquakes were frequent in Palestine; and the sacred writers have embellished their writings with repeated allusions to this terrible phaenomenon. The prophet here compares a powerful nation doomed to destruction, to a ruinous mountain, or rather a volcano, which would soon be consumed, and involve other mountains in its ruins, and be so entirely wasted by its flames, that its very stones would be rendered useless. See Michaelis’s notes, and Newton’s Dissertations, vol. 1: p. 279.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
15. THE DESTROYING MOUNTAIN
Jer 51:25-26
25Behold, I come to thee, thou destroying mountain,
Saith Jehovah, which destroyed the whole world;
And I stretch forth my hand over thee,
And roll thee from the rocks and make thee a burnt mountain.
26And they shall take no stone of thee for a corner,
Nor a stone for foundations,
But thou shalt be perpetual ruins, saith Jehovah.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Babylon is here compared to a mountain, which has a widely destroying influence. This can refer only to a volcano, and with this it agrees that the mountain, after being laid bare to its rocky heart, is said to be a burnt-out mountain (Jer 51:25). So much, however, has it suffered by the destroying energies that its stones are not even available for building material.We see that these two verses afford a picture perfectly complete in itself. [Cowles: This blending of the figures of the volcano and the avalanche may not conform to the nicest rules of rhetoric, but none can say the conceptions are not grand and their significance both clear and strong.S. R. A.]
Jer 51:25-26. Behold, I come saith Jehovah.Behold, etc. Comp. Jer 21:13; Jer 23:30-32; Jer 50:31.The expression destroying mountain [ ], occurs besides only in 2Ki 23:13, where the mount of Olives (or the southern peak thereof, the mons scandali or offensionis of ecclesiastical tradition; comp. Keil on Kings, S. 362), is so called [A. V. Mountain of corruption]. The Mount of Olives evidently received this appellation from the corrupting influence which proceeded from it in religious matters. May not Babylon also be called a destroying mountain in spiritual relations? If then we remember that the name of Babylon is connected even in primval traditions with defiant worldly power and idolatry (comp. Jer 50:29-32, and Naegelsb.Jer. u. Bab., S. 5 ff.), we may well suppose that the prophet also had the corrupting spiritual influence of Babylon in mind (comp. also Jer 50:38; Jer 51:1; Jer 51:44). We are not, however, justified in restricting his view to this single point, the element of destructiveness in a physical sense being also quite natural. It is repeatedly expressed in this prophecy. Comp. the hammer, Jer 50:23, and the cup, Jer 51:7 coll.Jer 25:15-17.We may then assume that Babylon is designated as a destroying mountain in a spiritual and physical reference. Perhaps in the term mountain, there is also a hint at the tower which was widely visible, and corresponded to the widely extended influence. As to the picture in itself the question arises, What sort of a mountain had the prophet in mind? How must a (natural) mountain be constituted so as to be fitly designated a widely destroying mountain? I am of opinion that this designation can be given only to a volcano, for men seek the vicinity of mountains because these afford protection to their habitations and agriculture. Even the vicinity of volcanoes is not shunned, because these become dangerous only from time to time, and the general advantage of their vicinity outweighs the temporary disadvantage. The following description seems also to point to a volcano. How otherwise can we explain the words roll thee from the rocks, than of a volcanic eruption? The mountain is to be laid bare, the overlying strata are to be thrown down so that nothing will remain but the skeleton,the masses of stone which form its interior. All this can be said only of volcanoes. And when finally the result of this process is designated by the words , is not this a good conclusion to the figure drawn from a volcano? is combustio, exustio. Comp. Isa 9:4; Isa 64:10. A mons combustionis or exustionis is either one from which the combustio issues, or one which suffers or has suffered combustion. In the former case it would be difficult to perceive how this could be a punishment. In the latter case the question arises, whether the mount of combustion is to be understood as burning or burnt out. If we regard the previous and following context, we cannot doubt that the words make thee a mountain of combustion, designate the result of the process, which is further described in Jer 51:26. The mountain is so burnt, out that its stones are not even available for building materials. To Grafs remark that this latter point in itself doubtful was hardly so established in the experience of a Jew, that he could make use of it as a figure which would commend itself to his countrymen, I reply, that it did not need much experience to know that stones cracked or vitrified by fire, are bad building material, and that, moreover, here at the close the discourse evidently passes from figure to reality. The prophet has certainly the burnt up city in view, the stones of which could not be used for building purposes. [Cowles: In fact, large building stones were never there. Her immense structures were built of brick, either sundried or kiln-burnt. Hence the great mass of these materials lie to this day more or less decomposed in the mountains of rubbish which mark the site of that once magnificent city.S. R. A.]But thou Shalt, etc. Comp. Jer 51:62; Jer 25:9.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. Daniels Babylonian empire resumes, as it were, the thread which was broken off with the tower-erection and kingdom of Nimrod. In the Babylonian tower-building the whole of the then existing humanity was united against God; with the Babylonian kingdom began the period of the universal monarchies, which again aspired after an atheistical union of entire humanity. Babylon has since and even to the Revelation (Jeremiah 18) remained the standing type of this world. Auberlen, Der proph. Daniel, S. 230.
2. For what reason does Babylon appear as a type of the world? Why not Nineveh, or Persepolis, or Tyre, or Memphis, or Rome? Certainly not because Babylon was greater, more glorious, more powerful or prouder and more ungodly than those cities and kingdoms. Nineveh especially was still greater than Babylon (comp. Duncker, Gesch. d. Alterth. I. S. 474, 5), and Assyria was not less hostile to the theocracy, having carried away into captivity the northern and larger half of the people of Israel. Babylon is qualified for this representation in two ways: 1. because it is the home of worldly princedom and titanic arrogance (Gen 10:8; Gen 11:1-4); 2. because Babylon destroyed the centre of the theocracy, Jerusalem, the temple and the theocratic kingdom, and first assumed to be the single supreme power of the globe.
3. When God has used a superstitious, wicked and tyrannical nation long enough as His rod, He breaks it in pieces and finally throws it into the fire. For even those whom He formerly used as His chosen anointed instruments He then regards as but the dust in the streets or as chaff before the wind. Cramer.
4. No monarch is too rich, too wicked, too strong for God the Lord. And He can soon enlist and engage soldiers whom He can use against His declared enemies. Cramer.
5. Israel was founded on everlasting foundations, even Gods word and promise. The sins of the people brought about that it was laid low in the dust, but not without hope of a better resurrection. Babylon, on the other hand, must perish forever, for in it is the empire of evil come to its highest bloom. Jeremiah owns the nothingness of all worldly kingdoms, since they are all under this national order to serve only for a time. We are to be subject to them and seek their welfare for the sake of the souls of men, whom God is educating therein; a Christian however cannot be enthusiastic for them after the manner of the ancient heathen nor of ancient Israel, for here we have no abiding city, our citizenship is in heaven. The kingdoms of this world are no sanctuaries for us and we supplicate their continuance only with the daily bread of the fourth petition. Jeremiah applies many words and figures to Babylon which he has already used in the judgments on other nations, thus to intimate that in Babylon all the heathenism of the world culminates, and that here also must be the greatest anguish. What, however, is here declared of Babylon must be fulfilled again on all earthly powers in so far as, treading in its footprints, they take flesh for their arm and regard the material of this world as power, whether they be called states or churches. Diedrich.
6. On Jer 50:2. In putting into the mouth of Israel, returning from Babylon, the call to an everlasting covenant with Jehovah, the prophet causes them 1. to confess that they have forgotten the first covenant; 2. he shows us that the time of the new covenant begins with the redemption from the Babylonish captivity. He was far, however, from supposing that this redemption would be only a weak beginning, that the appearance of the Saviour would be deferred for centuries, that Israel would sink still deeper as an external , and that finally the Israel of the new covenant would itself appear as a , (1Pe 1:9-12).
7. From what Jeremiah has already said in Jer 31:31-34 of the new covenant we see that its nature and its difference from the old is not unknown to him. Yet he knows the new covenant only in general. He knows that it will be deeply spiritual and eternal, but how and why it will be so is still to him part of the .
8. On Jer 50:6. Jeremiah here points back to Jeremiah 23. Priests, kings and prophets, who should discharge the office of shepherds, prove to be wolves. Yea, they are the worst of wolves, who go about in official clothing. There is therefore no more dangerous doctrine than that of an infallible office. Jer 14:14; Mat 7:15; Mat 23:2-12.
9. On Jer 50:7. It is the worst condition into which a church of God can come, when the enemies who desolate it can maintain that they are in the right in doing so. It is, however, a just nemesis when those who will not hear the regular messengers of God must be told by the extraordinary messengers of God what they should have done. Comp. Jer 40:2-3.
10. On Jer 50:8. Babylon is opened, and it must be abandoned not clung to, for the captivity is a temporary chastisement, not the divine arrangement for the children of God. Gods people must in the general redemption go like rams before the herd of the nations, that these may also attach themselves to Israel, as this was fulfilled at the time of Christ in the first churches and the apostles, who now draw the whole heathen world after them to eternal life. Here the prophet recognizes the new humanity, which proceeds from the ruins of the old, in which also ancient Israel leads the way; thus all, who follow it, become Israel. Diedrich.The heathen felt somewhat of the divine punishment when they overcame so easily the usually so strongly protected nation. But Jeremiah shows them still how they deceived themselves in thinking that God had wholly rejected His people, for of the eternal covenant of grace they certainly understood nothing. Heim and Hoffmann on the Major Prophets.
11. On Jer 50:18. The great powers of the world form indeed the history of the world, but they have no future. Israel, however, always returns home to the dear and glorious land. The Jews might as a token of this return under Cyrus; the case is however this, that the true Holy One in Israel, Christ, guides us back to Paradise, when we flee to His hand from the Babylon of this world and let it be crucified for us. Diedrich.
12. On Jer 50:23. Although the Chaldeans were called of God for the purpose of making war on the Jewish nation on account of their multitudinous sins, yet they are punished because they did it not as God with a pure intention, namely, to punish the wrong in them and keep them for reformation; for they were themselves greater sinners than the Jews and continued with impenitence in their sins. Therefore they could not go scot-free and remain unpunished. Moreover, they acted too roughly and dealt with the Jews more harshly than God had commanded, for which He therefore fairly punished them. As God the Lord Himself says (Isa 47:6): When I was angry with My people I gave them into thine hands; but thou shewedst them no mercy. Therefore it is not enough that Gods will be accomplished, but there must be the good intention in it, which God had, otherwise such a work may be a sin and call down the divine punishment upon it. Wrtemb. Summ.
13. On Jer 50:31-34. God calls Babylon Thou Pride, for pride was their inward force and impulse in all their actions. But worldly pride makes a Babylon and brings on a Babylons fate . Pride must fall, for it is in itself a lie against God, and all its might must perish in the fire; thus will the humble and meek remain in possession of the earth: this has a wide application through all times, even to eternity. Diedrich.
14. On Jer 51:33. Israel is indeed weak and must suffer in a time of tyranny; it cannot help itself, nor needs it to do so, for its Redeemer is strong, His name The Lord Zebaothand He is, now, having assumed our flesh, among us and conducts our cause so that the world trembles. Diedrich.
15. On Jer 50:45. An emblem of the destruction of anti-christian Babylon, which was also the true hammer of the whole world. This has God also broken and must and will do it still more. And this will the shepherd-boys do, as is said here in Jer 51:45 (according to Luthers translation), that is, all true teachers and preachers. Cramer.
16. On Jeremiah 51. The doctrines accord in all points with the previous chapter. And the prophet Jeremiah both in this and the previous chapter does nothing else but make out for the Babylonians their final discharge and passport, because they behaved so valiantly and well against the people of Judah, that they might know they would not go unrecompensed. For payment is according to service. And had they done better it would have gone better with them. It is well that when tyrants succeed in their evil undertakings they should not suppose they are Gods dearest children and lean on His bosom, since they will yet receive the recompense on their crown, whatever they have earned. Cramer.
17. [Though in the hand of Babylon is a golden cup; she chooses such a cup, in order that mens eyes may be dazzled with the glitter of the gold, and may not inquire what it contains. But mark well, in the golden cup of Babylon is the poison of idolatry, the poison of false doctrines, which destroy the souls of men. I have often seen such a golden cup, in fair speeches of seductive eloquence: and when I have examined the venomous ingredients of the golden chalice, I have recognized the cup of Babylon. Origen in Wordsworth.S. R. A.]
The seat and throne of Anti-christ is expressly named Babylon, namely, the city of Rome, built on the seven hills (Rev 17:9). Just as Babylon brought so many lands and kingdoms under its sway and ruled them with great pomp and pride (the golden cup, which made all the world drunk, was Babylon in the hand of the Lord (Jer 51:7), and all the heathen drank of the wine and became mad)so has the spiritual Babylon a cup in its hand, full of the abomination and uncleanness of its whoredom, of which the kings of the earth and all who dwell on the earth have been made drunk. As it is said of Babylon that she dwells by great waters and has great treasures, so writes John of the Romish Babylon, that it is clothed in silk and purple and scarlet and adorned with gold, precious stones and pearls (Rev 18:12). Of Babylon it is said that the slain in Israel were smitten by her; so also the spiritual Babylon is become drunk with the blood of the saints (Rev 17:6). Just, however, as the Chaldean Babylon is a type of the spiritual in its pride and despotism, so also is it a type of the destruction which will come upon it. Many wished to heal Babylon but she would not be healed; so many endeavor to support the ruinous anti-christian Babylon, but all in vain. For as Babylon was at last so destroyed as to be a heap of stones and abode of dragons, so will it be with anti-christian Babylon. Of this it is written in Rev 14:8 : She is fallen, fallen, that great city, for she has made all nations drink of the wine of her fornication. And again, Babylon the great is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils and a hold of all foul and hateful birds (Rev 18:2). As the inhabitants of Babylon were admonished to flee from her, that every man might deliver his soul (Jer 51:6)and again, My people, go ye out from the midst of her and deliver every man his soul, etc. (Jer 51:45)so the Holy Spirit admonishes Christians almost in the same words to go out from the spiritual Babylon, that they be not polluted by her sins and at the same time share in her punishment. For thus it is written in Rev 18:4, I heard, says John, a voice from heaven saying, Go ye out of her, My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins and that ye receive not of her plagues, for her sins reach unto heaven and God remembers her iniquities. Wurtemb. Summarien.
18. On Jer 51:5. A monarch can sooner make an end of half a continent than draw a nail from a hut which the Lord protects.And if it is true that Kaiser Rudolph, when he revoked the toleration of the Picards and the same day lost one of his principal forts, said, I thought it would be so, for I grasped at Gods sceptre (Weismanni, Hist. Eccl. Tom. II. p. 320)this was a sage remark, a supplement to the words of the wise. Zinzendorf.
19. On Jer 51:9. We heal Babylon, but she will not be healed. Babylon is an outwardly beautiful but inwardly worm-eaten apple. Hence sooner or later the foulness must become noticeable. So is it with all whose heart and centre is not God. All is inwardly hollow and vain. When this internal vacuity begins to render itself externally palpable, when here and there a rent or foul spot becomes visible, then certainly come the friends and admirers of the unholy form and would improve, cover up, sew up, heal. But it does not avail. When once there is death in the body no physician can effect a cure.
20. On Jer 51:17; Jer 51:19-20. The children of God have three causes why they may venture on Him. 1. All men are fools, their treasure is it not; 2. The Lord is their hammer; He breaks through everything, and 3, they are an instrument in His hand, a heritage; in this there is happiness. Zinzendorf.
21. On Jer 51:41-44. How was Sheshach thus won, the city renowned in all the world thus taken? No one would have thought it possible, but God does it. He rules with wonders and with wonders He makes His church free. Babylon is a wonder no longer for its power, but for its weakness. We are to know the worlds weakness even where it still appears strong. A sea of hostile nations has covered Babylon. Her land is now a desolation. God takes Bel, the principal idol of Babylon, symbolizing its whole civil powers in hand, and snatches his prey from his teeth. Our God is stronger than all worldly forces, and never leaves us to them. Diedrich.
22. On Jer 51:58. Yea, so it is with all walls and towers, in which Gods word is not the vital force, even though they be entitled churches and cathedrals Gods church alone possesses permanence through His pure word. Diedrich.
23. On Jer 51:60-64. When we wish to preserve an archive safely, we deposit it in a record-office where it is kept in a dry place that no moisture may get to it. Seraiah throws his book-roll into the waters of the Euphrates, which must wash it away, dissolve and destroy it. But this was of no account. The main point was that he, Seraiah, as representative of the holy nation had taken solemn stock of the word of God against Babylon, and as it were taken God at His word, and reminded Him of it. In this manner the matter was laid up in the most enduring and safest archive that could be imagined; it was made a case of honor with the omniscient and omnipotent God. Such matters can, however, neither be forgotten, nor remain in dead silence, nor be neglected. They must be brought to such an end as the honor of God requires.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
1. On Jer 50:2. This text may be used on the feast of the Reformation, or any other occasion with reference to a rem bene gestam. The Triumph of the Good Cause, 1. over what enemies it is gained; 2. to what it should impel us; (a) to the avoidance of that over which we new triumph; (b) to the grateful proclamation of what the Lord has done for us, by word and by deed.
2. On Jer 50:4-8. The deliverance of Israel from the Babylonian captivity a type of the deliverance of the Church. 1. The Church must humbly acknowledge the captivity suffered as a judgment of God. 2. She must turn like Israel inwardly with an upright heart unto the Lord; 3. She must become like Israel to all men a pattern and leader to freedom.
3. On Jer 50:5. A confirmation sermon. What is the hour of confirmation? 1. An hour which calls to separation; 2. an hour which leads to new connections; 3. an hour which fixes forever the old covenant with the souls friend. Florey, 1853.
4. On Jer 50:18-20. Assyria and Babylon the types of all the spiritual enemies of the church as of individual Christians. Every one has his Assyria and his Babylon. Sin is the destruction of men. Forgiveness of sins is the condition of life, for only where forgiveness of sins is, is there life and blessedness. In Christ we find the forgiveness of sins. He destroys the handwriting. He washes us clean. He is also the good shepherd who leads our souls into green pastures, to the spiritual Carmel.
5. On Jer 50:31-32. Warning against pride. Babylon was very strong and powerful, rich and splendid. It seemed invincible by nature and by art. Had it not then a certain justification in being proud, at least towards men? No; for no one has to contend only with men. Every one who contends has the Lord either for his friend or his enemy. It is the Lord from whom cometh victory (Pro 21:31). He it is who teacheth our hands to fight (Psa 18:35; Psa 144:1). His strength is made perfect in weakness (2Co 12:9). He can make the lame (Isa 33:23; Mic 4:7) and mortally wounded (Jer 37:10) so strong that they overmaster the sound (comp. Jer 51:45). He can make one man put to flight a thousand (Deu 32:30; Isa 30:17). With him can one dash in pieces a troop and leap over a wall (Psa 18:29). No one accordingly should be proud. The word of the Lord, I am against thee, thou proud one! is a terrible word which no one should conjure up against himself.
6. On Jer 50:33-34. The consolation of the Church in persecution. 1. It suffers violence and injustice. 2. Its redeemer is strong.
7. On Jer 51:5. God the Lord manifests such favor to Israel as to declare Himself her husband (Jer 2:2; Jer 3:1). But now that Israel and Judah are in exile, it seems as if they were rejected or widowed women. This, however, is only appearance. Israels husband does not die. He may well bring a period of chastisement, of purification and trial on His people, but when this period is over, the Lord turns the handle, and smites those through whom He chastised Israel, when they had forgotten that they were not to satisfy their own desire, but only to accomplish the Lords will on Israel.
8. On Jer 51:6. A time may come when it is well to separate ones self. For although it is said in Pro 18:1; he who separateth himself, seeketh that which pleaseth him and opposeth all that is goodand therefore separation, as the antipodes of churchliness, i.e., of churchly communion and humble subjection to the law of the co-operation of members (1Co 12:25 sqq.) is to be repudiated, yet there may come moments in the life of the church, when it will be a duty to leave the community and separate ones self. Such a moment is come when the community has become a Babylon. It should, however, be noted that one should not be too ready with such a decision. For even the life of the church is subject to many vacillations. There are periods of decay, obscurations, as it were, comparable to eclipses of the stars, but to these, so long as the foundations only subsist, must always follow a restoration and return to the original brightness. No one is to consider the church a Babylon on account of such a passing state of disease. It is this only when it has withheld the objective divine foundations, the means of grace, the word and sacrament, altogether and permanently in their saving efficacy. Then, when the soul can no longer find in the church the pure and divine bread of life; it is well to deliver the soul that it perish not in the iniquity of the church. From this separation from the church is, however, to be carefully distinguished the separation within the church, from all that which is opposed to the healthy life of the church, and is therefore to be regarded as a diseased part of the ecclesiastical body. Such separation is the daily duty of the Christian. He has to perform it with respect to his private life in all the manifold relations, indicated to us in Mat 18:17; Rom 16:17; 1Co 5:9 sqq.; 2Th 3:6; Tit 3:10; 2Jn 1:10-11.Comp. the article on Sects, by Palmer in Herzog, R.-Enc., XXI., S. 21, 22.
9. On Jer 51:10. The righteousness which avails before God. 1. Its origin (not our work or merit, but Gods grace in Christ); 2. Its fruit, praise of that which the Lord has wrought in us (a) by words, (b) by works.
10. On Jer 51:50. This text may be used at the sending out of missionaries or the departure of emigrants. Occasion may be taken to speak 1, of the gracious help and deliverance, which the Lord has hitherto shown to the departing; 2, they may be admonished to remain united in their distant land with their brethren at home by (a) remembering the Lord, i.e., ever remaining sincerely devoted to the Lord as the common shield of salvation; (b) faithfuly serving Jerusalem, i.e., the common mother of us all (Gal 4:26), the church, with all our powers in the proper place and measure, and ever keeping her in our hearts.
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
Jer 51:25 Behold, I [am] against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the LORD, which destroyest all the earth: and I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain.
Ver. 25. O destroying mountain. ] O Babylon, thou that art amplitudine et altitudine instar montis; for thy large command and lofty buildings like a mountain, and that dost abuse thy power to other men’s destruction.
And will make thee a burnt mountain.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
O destroying mountain
See note 2 on Babylon, Isa 13:1; Zec 4:7, (See Scofield “Isa 13:1”).
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
I am: Jer 50:31
O destroying: Jer 51:53, Jer 51:58, Gen 11:4, Isa 13:2, Dan 4:30, Zec 4:7
which destroyest: Jer 51:7, Jer 51:20-23, Jer 25:9, Jer 25:18-27, Rev 8:8, Rev 17:1-6
and will: 2Pe 3:10, Rev 8:8, Rev 18:9, Rev 18:10
Reciprocal: Psa 9:6 – thou hast Isa 13:20 – General Isa 14:23 – I will sweep Isa 26:5 – the lofty Isa 47:14 – there shall Jer 21:13 – I am Jer 25:12 – perpetual Jer 50:12 – a wilderness Jer 50:15 – her foundations Jer 50:25 – this Jer 50:26 – destroy Jer 51:37 – become Jer 51:62 – to cut Eze 13:8 – behold Eze 21:3 – Behold Eze 35:3 – and I will stretch Mic 1:6 – and I will pour Nah 2:13 – I am Rev 6:14 – and every
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jer 51:25. Mountain in symbolic language means a government, and in this place it means the government of Babylon. God was against this mountain because of the destruction that it had wrought in the earth. If a rocky mountain should be burnt into lava it would roll down and be flattened out and cease to exist as a mountain. Hence this mountain of Babylon is threatened with being dissolved by the fire of God’s anger and be brought to nothing as a kingdom.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Jer 51:25-26. Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain Babylon was situate in a plain, but is called a mountain here, by reason of its superiority and eminence above all other places; and perhaps also on account of its lofty walls, palaces, and other edifices; and it has the epithet of destroying, on account of its being the cause of the destruction of many nations. Or, the words may properly be rendered, mountain of corruption, a name given by way of reproach to the mount of Olives, after it was defiled by idolatry, 2Ki 23:13, where see the note. The same appellation is here given to Babylon, because it was the seat of idolatry; which was derived from thence into other countries under its government and jurisdiction. This is remarkably true of mystical Babylon. I will roll thee down from the rocks That is, from thy strong holds. I will dismantle all thy walls and forts, and then set thee on fire, (see Jer 51:58-59,) so that thou shalt appear like a great mountain burning. Earthquakes were frequent in Palestine, and the sacred writers have embellished their writings with repeated allusions to this terrible phenomenon. The prophet here compares a powerful nation, doomed to destruction, to a ruinous mountain, or rather a volcano, which would soon be consumed, and involve other mountains in its ruins. And they shall not take of thee a stone There shall not be left, in thee a stone fit to be used in any principal part of a building, either for a foundation or for a corner-stone. This seems to be spoken figuratively, and to signify that they should no longer have kings and governors taken from among themselves, but should be under the dominion of foreigners.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
51:25 Behold, I [am] against thee, O destroying {o} mountain, saith the LORD, which destroyest all the earth: and I will stretch out my hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the {p} rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain.
(o) Not that Babylon stood on a mountain but because it was strong and seemed invincible.
(p) From your strongholds and fortresses.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The Lord described His antagonism against Babylon, which He likened to a mountain that towered over the other nations (cf. Dan 2:35; Dan 2:44-45). He would break down Babylon, which had destroyed the whole earth, as He might burn down a mountain. It would become like an extinct volcano that had spewed out destruction but then blew itself to bits. Yahweh would do this with His own powerful hand.