Jeremiah 51:17-23: in context

In his prophecy against Babylon, Jeremiah contrasts the worthless idols with the living God. Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols, he says; they are falsehood, with no breath in them, vanity, a work of delusion. But then he turns to God: the portion of Jacob is not like these, for he is the Maker of all things; the LORD of Armies is his name. And God declares his sovereignty over the nations: you are my hammer and weapons of war; with you I break nations in pieces and destroy kingdoms. God wields the instruments he chooses to accomplish his purposes.

The image worth dwelling on is God's declaration, you are my hammer and weapons of war; with you I break nations in pieces. God speaks of an instrument he wields, a tool in his hand, through which he accomplishes his purposes among the nations. The instrument does not act on its own; it is wielded by God, used by him to work his will. Whether nations, rulers, or events, God employs instruments to carry out his purposes, so that what happens in the world is not outside his control but often the working of his will through the instruments he wields. History is in his hand. This reveals God's sovereignty over the events and powers of the world. We can look at the rise and fall of nations, the movements of history, the actions of rulers and powers, and see only human forces, chance, or chaos. But Scripture reveals God at work behind and through these, wielding instruments to accomplish his purposes. He called Assyria the rod of his anger, the staff in his hand. He called Cyrus, a pagan king, his anointed, whose right hand he held to subdue nations. God works his purposes through the instruments he wields, even nations and rulers who do not know they serve him. The events of history are not outside his control but often the working of his will through his chosen instruments. This gives us confidence in God's sovereignty over a world that can seem chaotic. The nations rage, the powers rise and fall, history seems to lurch without direction; and yet God is at work, wielding instruments to accomplish his purposes, so that even the great movements of the world serve his will. This does not mean every human action is God's doing, or that the instruments he uses are innocent; Babylon, God's hammer against the nations, was itself judged for its own wickedness. But it means that God is sovereign over the events and powers of the world, working his purposes through the instruments he wields, so that history is finally in his hand. This steadies us when the world seems out of control. The powers and events that seem to move without direction are not outside God's control; he wields instruments to accomplish his purposes, as he wielded his hammer against the nations. And we may trust that the God who is the Maker of all things, unlike the worthless idols, is sovereign over the world, working his will through the instruments he chooses, so that history, for all its apparent chaos, is in the hand of the God who accomplishes his purposes through the instruments he wields.

When I look at the rise and fall of nations, the movements of history, and the actions of powers, and see only human forces, chance, or chaos, can God's declaration, you are my hammer, with you I break nations, along with his use of Assyria and Cyrus as instruments, assure me that God is sovereign over the events and powers of the world, wielding the instruments he chooses to accomplish his purposes, so that I trust that history, for all its apparent chaos, is finally in the hand of the God who is the Maker of all things?