The hammers in the hand of God

 Jeremiah 50:21-27

The invasion of Babylon has begun, and in verses 21-22, we see this directive from God to the armies coming against Babylon.  “Go against the land of Merathaim, and against those living in Pekod.  Put them to the sword; completely destroy them—this is the Lord’s declaration—do everything I have commanded you.  The sound of war is in the land—a great destruction.”  The footnotes tell us that Merathaim was probably the district of Marratim at the head of the Persian Gulf and that Pekod was probably a people of eastern Babylonia the Puqudu people.  Why they were first on the hit list, we can only wonder, but God has commanded them to destroy completely.

As I was reading verses 23-24, they refer to Babylon as “the hammer of the whole earth.”   So let's be clear, when God calls a nation the hammer of the whole earth, those are some bad dudes, a war machine, they break things and kill people, and subdue nations. 

In verses 23-24, “How the hammer of the whole earth is cut down and smashed!  What a horror Babylon has become among the nations!  Babylon, I laid a trap for you, and you were caught, but you did not even know it.  You were found and captured because you fought against the Lord.”  At the name of Babylon, nations trembled and armies turned and ran, but now the hammer does not even know God has laid a trap and these nations from the North have been sent by God to bring judgment on Babylon. 

Do you recall in 2 Chronicles 20:15 the Lord speaking to Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat these words:  “Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God’s.”  Those words were spoken at another time in history, but hold the same meaning for the battle you are facing at this time.  So as we explore verse 25, “The Lord opened His armory and brought out His weapons of wrath, because it is a task of the Lord God of Hosts in the land of the Chaldeans.” 

The Babylonians no longer had Nebuchadnezzar as God’s servant and Isaiah 47 gives us insight into why judgment has come on them.  They showed no mercy to His people; they were the lover of pleasure; they worshipped gods that had no life, no voice, and could not hear.  They felt secure in their wickedness and in their hearts they said, “I am, and there is no one beside me.”

But God, how I enjoy that term, God has a new servant a new hammer, and he is King Cyrus.  In Isaiah 44:28, “who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd, and he shall fulfill all my purpose’; saying of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be built,’ and of the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid.’”  In chapter 45:1, Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed.”  And now turn to 2 Chronicles 36:22-23, “Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing: “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may the Lord his God be with him. Let him go up.’”

Remember this, to the Babylonians it looked as if the Persians were coming and they were, but they were just the hammers in the hand of God.  So it is important to understand whom we are engaging in our battles; being on the wrong side can get us smashed.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice