Jer 25:15-38 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Jer 25:15-38: 25:15-38 The Lord is the sovereign king of all the nations , and their rebellion was about to result in judgment. • to whom I send you: Jeremiah did not physically travel to each nation. The message he delivered from the Lord spread mostly through written material, much of it in the book of Jeremiah, which has been read throughout the world. 25:15 The messages of wrath that the Lord gave to Jeremiah were represented as a cup full of the wine of the Lord’s anger (Rev 14:10 ). Jeremiah was to make the nations drink from it ; God wanted them to hear the messages of condemnation and to experience the promised judgment.

Summary for Jer 25:15-38: 25:15-38 ^a The Lord is the sovereign king of all the nations, and their rebellion was about to result in judgment.

• to whom I send you: Jeremiah did not physically travel to each nation. The message he delivered from the Lord spread mostly through written material, much of it in the book of Jeremiah, which has been read throughout the world. 25:15 ^b The messages of wrath that the Lord gave to Jeremiah were represented as a cup full of the wine of the Lord’s anger (Rev 14:10 ^c). Jeremiah was to make the nations drink from it; God wanted them to hear the messages of condemnation and to experience the promised judgment.
25:16 ^d Upon drinking from the cup (25:15 ^e), the nations would stagger as though drunken. They would be crazed by the warfare and would thus be unable to protect themselves. They would feel hopeless and helpless, and in their confusion, they would panic.
25:17 ^f So I ... made all the nations drink from it: Jeremiah accomplished this by announcing God’s judgment.
25:18 ^g Everyone drank from the cup, meaning that the leaders heard the words of judgment.

• From that day until this: Jeremiah probably delivered the Lord’s messages at the time of the siege and fall of Jerusalem (588–586 BC).
Summary for Jer 25:19-20: 25:19-20 ^h The foreigners who heard the prophet’s message included many refugees who fled from Judah and neighboring countries to Egypt when the Babylonians invaded.

• Uz was a region on the northern border of Arabia; Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and Ashdod were Philistine cities near the Mediterranean Sea.
Summary for Jer 25:21-22: 25:21-22 ⁱ The small nations of Edom, Moab, and Ammon were east and southeast of the Dead Sea. The Phoenician cities of Tyre and Sidon were to the northwest, along the Mediterranean Sea. The regions across the sea were probably the islands of Cyprus and Crete.
Summary for Jer 25:23-26: 25:23-26 ^j Dedan, Tema, ... Buz, and Zimri were located in the desert area east of the Jordan Valley, north of Arabia. Elam and Media, located in the highlands to the east of Babylon, made up the core of the Persian Empire, which conquered Babylon in 539 BC.
Summary for Jer 25:27-29: 25:27-29 ^k These kingdoms had to drink from this cup of the Lord’s anger (see study note on 25:15). They would be unable to escape the disaster that would overwhelm them. Jerusalem experienced God’s judgment, and so would the surrounding nations.
Summary for Jer 25:30-31: 25:30-31 ^l First, the Lord spoke through Jeremiah against his own land, Judah; then Jeremiah delivered the messages of God’s judgment against everyone on earth.
Summary for Jer 25:32-33: 25:32-33 ^m Disaster ... great whirlwind of fury: These words emphasize the awful nature of the wars that tore many nations apart during the 500s BC.
Summary for Jer 25:34-35: 25:34-35 ⁿ The earth’s evil shepherds were vicious tyrants who ruled the nations.

• Roll in the dust: A sign of distress.
25:36 ^o ruining their pastures: The nations led by evil shepherds (25:34 ^p) would be destroyed because the Lord would enforce his sentence.
Summary for Jer 25:37-38: 25:37-38 ^q The Lord’s judgment would be so terrifying that it would be like a strong lion seeking its prey. As the object of the Lord’s fierce anger, the nations would be helpless.
25:38 ^r Following this verse, the Greek translation of the Old Testament (the Septuagint) attaches chs 46–51 ^s, which deal primarily with the nations listed in ch 25 ^t.