Jer 49:23-50:46
What goes around comes around… or perhaps you can not reject the Lord forever.
Babylon, the vessel which God had been using to exercise his judgment, now comes into the firing line of that same righteous judgment.
The guilty verdict is read:
24 I set a trap for you, O Babylon,
and you were caught before you knew it;
you were found and captured
because you opposed the LORD. 50:24
Repay her for her deeds;
do to her as she has done.
For she has defied the LORD,
the Holy One of Israel. 50:29
The Lord is clear on his plan for the people of Babylon, judgment is planned, but glimmers of hope also emerge:
18 Therefore this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says:
“I will punish the king of Babylon and his land
as I punished the king of Assyria.
19 But I will bring Israel back to his own pasture
and he will graze on Carmel and Bashan;
his appetite will be satisfied
on the hills of Ephraim and Gilead.
20 In those days, at that time,”
declares the LORD,
“search will be made for Israel’s guilt,
but there will be none,
and for the sins of Judah,
but none will be found,
for I will forgive the remnant I spare. 50-18-20
Hope begins to emerge for Israel:
33 This is what the LORD Almighty says:
“The people of Israel are oppressed,
and the people of Judah as well.
All their captors hold them fast,
refusing to let them go.
34 Yet their Redeemer is strong;
the LORD Almighty is his name.
He will vigorously defend their cause
so that he may bring rest to their land,
but unrest to those who live in Babylon.
Babylon will face judgement.
The people of God will not be rejected forever, they will wait for their strong redeemer.
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