(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)
““Declare among the nations and publish,
and set up a standard;
publish, and don’t conceal;
say, ‘Babylon has been taken,
Bel is disappointed,
Merodach is dismayed!
Her images are disappointed.
Her idols are dismayed.’
For a nation comes up out of the north against her,
which will make her land desolate,
and no one will dwell in it.
They have fled.
They are gone,
both man and animal.”
(Jeremiah 50:2-3)
“By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down.
Yes, we wept, when we remembered Zion.
On the willows in that land,
we hung up our harps.
For there, those who led us captive asked us for songs.
Those who tormented us demanded songs of joy:
“Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
How can we sing Yahweh’s song in a foreign land?
If I forget you, Jerusalem,
let my right hand forget its skill.
Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth if I don’t remember you,
if I don’t prefer Jerusalem above my chief joy.”
(Psalm 137:1-6)
Babylon was the last of the prophesied judgments because they were the tool God used to judge all the nations around Israel. But when they were done being that tool, they had to stand for their own violations against God. Instead of taking the opportunity to repent and turn to Him while they were His instrument, they revelled in their role as a hammer. They rejoiced in the power of their own might and the might of their idols – which they insisted on giving the credit to. But that very idolatry was heading them in the wrong direction. They were an instrument of judgment, but since they didn’t take the lesson to heart, they would have their own turn as the judged.
The Babylonians didn’t just cart off the people of the Lord. They mocked them. They derided them. They laughed at them and caused them to suffer. But the remnant who lived through the judgment on the nation did not forget the Lord. They were more likely to cut off their own dominant hand than to forget Him. In their captivity, they began to see the words He had spoken to them in another light. They began to see the truth of what He had said. They began to see where they had stepped wrong, and they began to repent. They turned back to Him. And so they got another word. They would be redeemed. They would be saved. They would return. The judgement coming on their tormentors would be the start of their return.
Summary
There is no way for a human being to see how everything connects. We get so worked up about where we find ourselves and what’s happening to us – which makes sense. We are experiencing it. And it is not always positive. It’s hard to look past that. But the truth is that God sees everything and He is the only one who is aware of how it will all play out. Our role is to trust in Him no matter where we find ourselves. Sometimes the negative thing is what enables a positive thing to happen later. We’re not to worry about the hows or the whys. Our role is to trust in Him. To believe what He says and obey. What He says always comes to pass. If He says it, we can believe it. We can trust in it. We can depend on it. No matter what anything else tells us, His Word is true and good. We can depend on Him.
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