Jeremiah 25:1-14
Summary for Jer 25:1-14: 25:1-14 a The Lord had long been patient with Jerusalem’s rebellion and refusal to listen, but now the time for judgment was at hand. 25:1 b One of the first acts of Babylon’s king Nebuchadnezzar was to force Judah’s king Jehoiakim to confess loyalty to him.25:3 c Jeremiah’s ministry began in 627 BC.
25:4 d For many generations, God had sent prophets to the people, but they had not paid attention to the Lord’s warnings.
Summary for Jer 25:5-6: 25:5-6 e The Lord appealed to his people to turn from ... the evil things they were doing that provoked his anger. Then he would not harm them, but instead pour out his covenant blessings.
Summary for Jer 25:7-9: 25:7-9 f The people had not listened to the Lord’s decrees to turn from their evil ways; instead, they kept worshiping idols. So the Lord would completely destroy them.
25:10 g All forms of festivity, even simple pleasures such as singing and laughter, would cease.
• millstones ... lights: After the destruction of Judah, no one would remain to do the work or to enjoy its fruits.
25:11 h seventy years: This is the first instance of a specific time period assigned to the Exile. The prediction was fulfilled either from 605 BC (the first exile to Babylon) to around 538 BC (when Cyrus allowed the exiles to return to Judea), or from 586 BC (the destruction of the Temple) to 515 BC (the dedication of the Second Temple). Or, the number can be seen as symbolic: God’s judgment on Jerusalem would last a perfect lifetime, and for the exact length of time that God had determined.
Summary for Jer 25:12-14: 25:12-14 i Although the Lord used them to carry out judgment on Judah, the Babylonians would be held accountable for their sins, for their brutality, and for their abuse of those they defeated. In 539 BC, Babylon was conquered by Cyrus the Persian, and the people were taken into captivity. For centuries, many nations and great kings reduced the Babylonians to slavery, and the territory did not become independent again until 1932, as modern Iraq.
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