Jeremiah, Sarah Barry
GOD IS OUR STRONG REDEEMER
Passage: Jeremiah 50:21~46  
Key verse: 34
21 “Attack the land of Merathaim
and those who live in Pekod.(A)
Pursue, kill and completely destroy[a] them,”
declares the Lord.
“Do everything I have commanded you.
22 The noise(B) of battle is in the land,
the noise of great destruction!
23 How broken and shattered
is the hammer(C) of the whole earth!(D)
How desolate(E) is Babylon
among the nations!
24 I set a trap(F) for you, Babylon,
and you were caught before you knew it;
you were found and captured(G)
because you opposed(H) the Lord.
25 The Lord has opened his arsenal
and brought out the weapons(I) of his wrath,
for the Sovereign Lord Almighty has work to do
in the land of the Babylonians.(J)
26 Come against her from afar.(K)
Break open her granaries;
pile her up like heaps of grain.(L)
Completely destroy(M) her
and leave her no remnant.
27 Kill all her young bulls;(N)
let them go down to the slaughter!(O)
Woe to them! For their day(P) has come,
the time(Q) for them to be punished.
28 Listen to the fugitives(R) and refugees from Babylon
declaring in Zion(S)
how the Lord our God has taken vengeance,(T)
vengeance for his temple.(U)
29 “Summon archers against Babylon,
all those who draw the bow.(V)
Encamp all around her;
let no one escape.(W)
Repay(X) her for her deeds;(Y)
do to her as she has done.
For she has defied(Z) the Lord,
the Holy One(AA) of Israel.
30 Therefore, her young men(AB) will fall in the streets;
all her soldiers will be silenced in that day,”
declares the Lord.
31 “See, I am against(AC) you, you arrogant one,”
declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty,
“for your day(AD) has come,
the time for you to be punished.
32 The arrogant(AE) one will stumble and fall(AF)
and no one will help her up;(AG)
I will kindle a fire(AH) in her towns
that will consume all who are around her.”
33 This is what the Lord Almighty says:
“The people of Israel are oppressed,(AI)
and the people of Judah as well.
All their captors hold them fast,
refusing to let them go.(AJ)
34 Yet their Redeemer(AK) is strong;
the Lord Almighty(AL) is his name.
He will vigorously defend their cause(AM)
so that he may bring rest(AN) to their land,
but unrest to those who live in Babylon.
35 “A sword(AO) against the Babylonians!”(AP)
declares the Lord—
“against those who live in Babylon
and against her officials and wise(AQ) men!
36 A sword against her false prophets!
They will become fools.
A sword against her warriors!(AR)
They will be filled with terror.(AS)
37 A sword against her horses and chariots(AT)
and all the foreigners in her ranks!
They will become weaklings.(AU)
A sword against her treasures!(AV)
They will be plundered.
38 A drought on[b] her waters!(AW)
They will dry(AX) up.
For it is a land of idols,(AY)
idols that will go mad with terror.
39 “So desert creatures(AZ) and hyenas will live there,
and there the owl will dwell.
It will never again be inhabited
or lived in from generation to generation.(BA)
40 As I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah(BB)
along with their neighboring towns,”
declares the Lord,
“so no one will live there;
no people will dwell in it.(BC)
41 “Look! An army is coming from the north;(BD)
a great nation and many kings
are being stirred(BE) up from the ends of the earth.(BF)
42 They are armed with bows(BG) and spears;
they are cruel(BH) and without mercy.(BI)
They sound like the roaring sea(BJ)
as they ride on their horses;
they come like men in battle formation
to attack you, Daughter Babylon.(BK)
43 The king of Babylon has heard reports about them,
and his hands hang limp.(BL)
Anguish has gripped him,
pain like that of a woman in labor.(BM)
44 Like a lion coming up from Jordan’s thickets(BN)
to a rich pastureland,
I will chase Babylon from its land in an instant.
Who is the chosen(BO) one I will appoint for this?
Who is like me and who can challenge me?(BP)
And what shepherd can stand against me?”
45 Therefore, hear what the Lord has planned against Babylon,
what he has purposed(BQ) against the land of the Babylonians:(BR)
The young of the flock will be dragged away;
their pasture will be appalled at their fate.
46 At the sound of Babylon’s capture the earth will tremble;(BS)
its cry(BT) will resound among the nations.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 50:21 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them; also in verse 26.
- Jeremiah 50:38 Or A sword against
Cross references
- Jeremiah 50:21 : Eze 23:23
- Jeremiah 50:22 : Jer 4:19-21; 51:54
- Jeremiah 50:23 : S Isa 10:5
- Jeremiah 50:23 : Jer 51:25
- Jeremiah 50:23 : S Isa 14:16
- Jeremiah 50:24 : Jer 51:12
- Jeremiah 50:24 : Jer 51:31
- Jeremiah 50:24 : Job 9:4
- Jeremiah 50:25 : S Isa 13:5
- Jeremiah 50:25 : Jer 51:25, 55
- Jeremiah 50:26 : ver 3, 41; Jer 51:11
- Jeremiah 50:26 : S Ru 3:7
- Jeremiah 50:26 : S Isa 14:22-23
- Jeremiah 50:27 : S Ps 68:30; Jer 48:15
- Jeremiah 50:27 : S Isa 30:25; S Jer 25:34
- Jeremiah 50:27 : S Job 18:20
- Jeremiah 50:27 : Jer 51:6
- Jeremiah 50:28 : ver 8
- Jeremiah 50:28 : Isa 48:20; Jer 51:10
- Jeremiah 50:28 : S ver 15
- Jeremiah 50:28 : 2Ki 24:13; Jer 51:11; 52:13
- Jeremiah 50:29 : S ver 14
- Jeremiah 50:29 : S Isa 13:18; Jer 51:3
- Jeremiah 50:29 : S Dt 32:41; S Job 21:19; S Jer 51:6; Rev 18:6
- Jeremiah 50:29 : Eze 35:11; Ob 1:15
- Jeremiah 50:29 : S Isa 14:13-14; 47:10; Da 5:23
- Jeremiah 50:29 : Ps 78:41; Isa 41:20; Jer 51:5
- Jeremiah 50:30 : S Isa 13:18
- Jeremiah 50:31 : S Jer 21:13
- Jeremiah 50:31 : S Job 18:20; Rev 18:7-8
- Jeremiah 50:32 : S Ps 119:21
- Jeremiah 50:32 : S Ps 20:8
- Jeremiah 50:32 : Am 5:2
- Jeremiah 50:32 : S Jer 49:27
- Jeremiah 50:33 : Isa 58:6
- Jeremiah 50:33 : S Isa 14:17
- Jeremiah 50:34 : S Ex 6:6; S Job 19:25
- Jeremiah 50:34 : Jer 31:35; 51:19
- Jeremiah 50:34 : S Ps 119:154; S Isa 49:25; Jer 15:21; 51:36; La 3:58
- Jeremiah 50:34 : S Isa 14:7
- Jeremiah 50:35 : S Jer 47:6
- Jeremiah 50:35 : S Isa 45:1
- Jeremiah 50:35 : Da 5:7
- Jeremiah 50:36 : S Jer 49:22
- Jeremiah 50:36 : Jer 51:30, 32
- Jeremiah 50:37 : S 2Ki 19:23; Jer 51:21
- Jeremiah 50:37 : S Isa 19:16
- Jeremiah 50:37 : S Isa 45:3
- Jeremiah 50:38 : Ps 137:1; Jer 51:13
- Jeremiah 50:38 : S Isa 11:15; Jer 51:36
- Jeremiah 50:38 : S ver 2
- Jeremiah 50:39 : S Ps 74:14
- Jeremiah 50:39 : Isa 13:19-22; 34:13-15; Jer 51:37; Rev 18:2
- Jeremiah 50:40 : S Ge 19:24; S Mt 10:15
- Jeremiah 50:40 : Jer 51:62
- Jeremiah 50:41 : S ver 26; S Isa 41:25
- Jeremiah 50:41 : S Isa 13:17
- Jeremiah 50:41 : S Isa 13:4; Jer 51:22-28
- Jeremiah 50:42 : S ver 14
- Jeremiah 50:42 : S Job 30:21
- Jeremiah 50:42 : S Isa 13:18
- Jeremiah 50:42 : S Isa 5:30
- Jeremiah 50:42 : S Isa 47:1
- Jeremiah 50:43 : S Jer 47:3
- Jeremiah 50:43 : Jer 6:22-24
- Jeremiah 50:44 : S Jer 12:5
- Jeremiah 50:44 : S Nu 16:5
- Jeremiah 50:44 : S Job 41:10; Isa 46:9; S Jer 49:19
- Jeremiah 50:45 : Ps 33:11; Jer 51:11
- Jeremiah 50:45 : S Isa 48:14
- Jeremiah 50:46 : S Jdg 5:4; S Jer 49:21
- Jeremiah 50:46 : S Job 24:12; Rev 18:9-10
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source:  BibleGateway
1. Those who defy God will answer to him (21-32)
The Babylonians felt that they were invincible. But God would catch them in a trap. They would be captured because of their arrogance, opposition and defiance of the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. They would face a harsh judgment at the hands of the Medo-Persians, whom God also chose to work through to free his people and bring them back from their exile.
2. God, the strong Redeemer for his people (33-46)
God had his eyes on his people. He cared about them. He knew they were oppressed and held captive and helpless to set themselves free. That is why God was their Redeemer. A redeemer sets prisoners free. God can be their redeemer because he is strong and Almighty. He forgives them of their sins, defends the cause of his people and brings them to a place of rest in their own land.
Prayer: Lord, when I was oppressed and held captive by the power of sin, you redeemed me. Thank you.
One Word: God redeems his people