Jeremiah 50:39-46--Judgment on Babylon (Part 5)

Jeremiah 50:39-46
English Standard Version
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39 “Therefore wild beasts shall dwell with hyenas in Babylon, and ostriches shall dwell in her. She shall never again have people, nor be inhabited for all generations. 40 As when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring cities, declares the LORD, so no man shall dwell there, and no son of man shall sojourn in her.

41 “Behold, a people comes from the north;
    a mighty nation and many kings
    are stirring from the farthest parts of the earth.
42 They lay hold of bow and spear;
    they are cruel and have no mercy.
The sound of them is like the roaring of the sea;
    they ride on horses,
arrayed as a man for battle
    against you, O daughter of Babylon!

43 “The king of Babylon heard the report of them,
    and his hands fell helpless;
anguish seized him,
    pain as of a woman in labor.

44 “Behold, like a lion coming up from the thicket of the Jordan against a perennial pasture, I will suddenly make them run away from her, and I will appoint over her whomever I choose. For who is like me? Who will summon me? What shepherd can stand before me? 45 Therefore hear the plan that the LORD has made against Babylon, and the purposes that he has formed against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely the little ones of their flock shall be dragged away; surely their fold shall be appalled at their fate. 46 At the sound of the capture of Babylon the earth shall tremble, and her cry shall be heard among the nations.”

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Hyenas and ostriches were animals that lived in accursed places.  They were both unclean animals and their presence is used symbolically to represent places that were unclean and judged by God for their sin.  The city of Babylon would be destroyed and never again rebuilt or inhabited in any future generations (this is true to this day).  Babylon would be like Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighboring cities which the LORD destroyed and were never rebuilt.  No one lives there and no one takes a trip there to visit or vacation.  It is a place to be avoided.

The Medes, the Persians, the Greeks and the Romans will all replace the Babylonian Empire.  These invaders that the LORD will send from the North from the uttermost parts of the earth will utterly destroy the city of Babylon and her people.  The king of Babylon will hear of their approach and he will fear them.  The LORD will join the battle like a lion that comes out from the thicket making the strong scatter and leaving the weak to be picked off.

The LORD wants His people--His sheep--to understand that He is their Shepherd and no one will guide and protect them like He will.  Though He has allowed Babylon to have victory over Judah for a short time, He has plans to punish them.  They will not escape the arm or hand of the LORD.  The LORD will once again gather His flock back in the Land and they will once again be the sheep of His pasture.  Then the earth will tremble and fear the LORD because He has destroyed Babylon and saved His people from them.