Jeremiah 51:58-64: a reflection

58The LORD of Armies says: “The wide walls of Babylon will be utterly overthrown. Her high gates will be burned with fire. The peoples will labor for vanity, and the nations for the fire; and they will be weary.” 59The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. Now Seraiah was chief quartermaster. 60Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should come on Babylon, even all these words that are written concerning Babylon. 61Jeremiah said to Seraiah, “When you come to Babylon, then see that you read all these words, 62and say, ‘LORD, you have spoken concerning this place, to cut it off, that no one will dwell in it, neither man nor animal, but that it will be desolate forever.’ 63It will be, when you have finished reading this book, that you shall bind a stone to it, and cast it into the middle of the Euphrates. 64Then you shall say, ‘Thus will Babylon sink, and will not rise again because of the evil that I will bring on her; and they will be weary.’” Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.

Jeremiah pronounces the certain fall of Babylon, the great oppressor, and seals it with a dramatic sign. He has the words of judgment written in a scroll, and instructs that when it is read in Babylon, a stone be tied to it, and the scroll be thrown into the Euphrates, with the words: Thus shall Babylon sink, to rise no more. The sinking of the weighted scroll enacts the certain, final fall of the proud city that had oppressed God's people.

Notice the certainty the sign declares: Babylon will sink, and will not rise again. The great oppressor, that seemed so permanent and unassailable, would come to a certain and final end, sinking like the stone-weighted scroll into the river, never to rise. However strong and enduring the oppressor seemed, its end was sure; God had spoken it, and the sign sealed it. The proud power that oppressed would sink and not rise.

That certainty speaks hope into situations where oppressive powers seem permanent and unassailable. The forces that oppress, that seem so strong and enduring, are not beyond God's judgment; like Babylon, they will come to their end in God's time, sinking like the weighted scroll, however permanent they seem now. When you are troubled by oppressive powers that seem unassailable, that seem they will never fall, remember Babylon: God declared its certain end, and it sank. The proud oppressor is not as permanent as it seems; God is able to bring it down. Do not despair before the seeming permanence of what oppresses; the God who sank Babylon judges the oppressor in his time. What seems unassailable now will, like Babylon, sink and not rise, when God's word against it is fulfilled; hold to the certainty of that, and do not lose hope before the seeming permanence of the oppressor.

Lord, Jeremiah pronounced the certain fall of Babylon, the great oppressor, and sealed it with a sign: a scroll of judgment tied to a stone and thrown into the Euphrates, with the words, thus shall Babylon sink, to rise no more. Let that certainty speak hope into situations where oppressive powers seem permanent and unassailable. The forces that oppress, that seem so strong and enduring, are not beyond your judgment; like Babylon, they will come to their end in your time, sinking like the weighted scroll, however permanent they seem now. When I am troubled by oppressive powers that seem unassailable, that seem they will never fall, help me remember Babylon: you declared its certain end, and it sank. The proud oppressor is not as permanent as it seems; you are able to bring it down. Keep me from despairing before the seeming permanence of what oppresses; you, who sank Babylon, judge the oppressor in your time. What seems unassailable now will, like Babylon, sink and not rise, when your word against it is fulfilled; help me hold to that certainty, Lord, and not lose hope before the seeming permanence of the oppressor.