King James Bible Study – [And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. – Mark 8:34]
Date: Monday, August 24, 2026
Chapters: Jeremiah 51-52
Lesson: Jeremiah: Babylon’s Fall
Hello My Friend,
My husband and I just learned that the building we are temporarily staying in has serious structural damage, and we need to find a new place to live quickly. Yet even in the upheaval, God has gone before us. We are already in the process of renting a small home and hope to sign the contract this week. It is fitting that all of this is unfolding as we are reading Jeremiah, where we see something similar on a far greater scale. When God sent most of Judah and Jerusalem into Babylon for seventy years, it was not only judgment, it was preservation. Just as He used Egypt to protect His people many times, He used Babylon to shelter them while they were outside the promised land. But Babylon’s protection was temporary. The day of its destruction would come for them as well, and we learn this as we come to the end of the reading of Jeremiah.
[Jeremiah 51:1-2,5-6 Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against them that dwell in the midst of them that rise up against me, a destroying wind; 2 And will send unto Babylon fanners, that shall fan her, and shall empty her land: for in the day of trouble they shall be against her round about. 5 For Israel hath not been forsaken, nor Judah of his God, of the LORD of hosts; though their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel. 6 Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the LORD’S vengeance; he will render unto her a recompence.]
Today, Babylon, is modern day Iraq and parts of Syria, so that tells you something as to what we are dealing with in the Middle East. Notice that God points out that He has not forsaken the people of Judah. As I was praying this morning I was humbly praising God in that for some reason He always has His hedge of protection around every place that I go. There have just been to many instances to prove otherwise. And I believe that He does the same thing with all of His faithful, [Hebrews 13:5-6 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. 6 So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.]
At one time Babylon was one of, if not the, most powerful nations in the world. It ruled over hundreds of provinces, was feared by many, and prospered greatly. And the reason behind its rise was God. When He sends His people into the world, He not only preserves them; He often preserves the nations He uses, making Himself known among them. But even that protection is temporary. No nation, no matter how mighty, remains exalted once God’s purpose for it is complete, that is unless they too repent, which God goes on to say.
[Jeremiah 51:8-11 Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed. 9 We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country: for her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies. 10 The LORD hath brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us declare in Zion the work of the LORD our God. 11 Make bright the arrows; gather the shields: the LORD hath raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes: for his device is against Babylon, to destroy it; because it is the vengeance of the LORD, the vengeance of his temple.]
This is actually foretelling of the day that the Medes and Persians would invade Babylon while the Jews were still in captivity. Wherever God’s people are found, as long as they remain faithful to Him, they will be preserved, protected, and even prosperous, and often the world around them benefits from that same mercy. God, may chasten His people, and He may remove them from their comforts to bring them to repentance, but they still belong to Him. And He makes that clear to Babylon, reminding them that He is not finished with Israel, calling them the portion of Jacob. Aa title that declares ownership, covenant, and unbreakable commitment.
[Jeremiah 51:13-14,17-20 O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, and the measure of thy covetousness. 14 The LORD of hosts hath sworn by himself, saying, Surely I will fill thee with men, as with caterpillers; and they shall lift up a shout against thee. 17 Every man is brutish by his knowledge; every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them. 18 They are vanity, the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish. 19 The portion of Jacob is not like them; for he is the former of all things: and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: the LORD of hosts is his name.
God, is not against anyone, He will save all, but if you reject Him, fight with Him, are against Him, you can expect the same. You reap what you sow, but that does not stop Him from having hope that they will turn to Him. All who receive Christ as their Saviour are joined to the people of God; we are made one with Israel, the rod of His inheritance. He will never leave nor forsake us, and one day there will be an end to all suffering. The world may think that they are the ones with control, but it is clearly broken into pieces it is. God, goes on to say how He will break Babylon into pieces.
[Jeremiah 51:20-24 Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms; 21 And with thee will I break in pieces the horse and his rider; and with thee will I break in pieces the chariot and his rider; 22 With thee also will I break in pieces man and woman; and with thee will I break in pieces old and young; and with thee will I break in pieces the young man and the maid; 23 I will also break in pieces with thee the shepherd and his flock; and with thee will I break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen; and with thee will I break in pieces captains and rulers. 24 And I will render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight, saith the LORD.]
One by one, God, will break every nation that goes against Him as well as His people. America, mirrors Israel in many ways, especially since much of it was founded on biblical principles. When a nation drifts from God, it grieves His heart just it does with Israel. God, is often referred to as tyrant to the world because He stands against everything they believe and trust in. Many forming their opinions from unlearned voices who have no clue who God is (who also think they evolved from apes). Yet God continues to show mercy as His desire is restoration, not ruin. I for one believe that the only reason why America has not been invaded yet is because of His faithful few who have not backed down in their faith. However, we are being warned just as God did with Babylon that we need to be prepared and ready to escape when God gives the call.
[Jeremiah 51:33-36 For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; The daughter of Babylon is like a threshingfloor, it is time to thresh her: yet a little while, and the time of her harvest shall come. 34 Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me, he hath crushed me, he hath made me an empty vessel, he hath swallowed me up like a dragon, he hath filled his belly with my delicates, he hath cast me out. 35 The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon, shall the inhabitant of Zion say; and my blood upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, shall Jerusalem say. 36 Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will plead thy cause, and take vengeance for thee; and I will dry up her sea, and make her springs dry.]
The inhabitants of Israel and Judah are now introduced with a lament that explains why God will punish Babylon. Their ruin is not far off, for those who lie under the guilt of wrong done to God’s people never remain secure for long. God, goes on to tell His people to go out into the world and compel others to come with them when the time comes to leave Babylon. Even in judgment, His heart is for rescue. He calls His people to be a witness, to gather, to invite, to warn, and to lead others toward the salvation He freely offers.
[Jeremiah 51:45-48 My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye every man his soul from the fierce anger of the LORD. 46 And lest your heart faint, and ye fear for the rumour that shall be heard in the land; a rumour shall both come one year, and after that in another year shall come a rumour, and violence in the land, ruler against ruler. 47 Therefore, behold, the days come, that I will do judgment upon the graven images of Babylon: and her whole land shall be confounded, and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her. 48 Then the heaven and the earth, and all that is therein, shall sing for Babylon: for the spoilers shall come unto her from the north, saith the LORD.]
The same God who judged Babylon is the God who longs to bring multitudes out of darkness and into His marvelous light. It is His desire that none should perish. He will save any soul who comes to Him through His Son, but unless they come, He cannot and will not save them, [Matthew 10:32-33 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. 33 But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.]
One word explains all this: freewill. God, grants every person the freedom to choose what they believe. If someone chooses to believe that humanity evolved over millions of years, that is their decision, but they must not blame God when they stand before His Son in judgment. No one escapes judgment without Christ, and God goes on to explain this with unmistakable clarity.
[Jeremiah 51:49-50,56-57 As Babylon hath caused the slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon shall fall the slain of all the earth. 50 Ye that have escaped the sword, go away, stand not still: remember the LORD afar off, and let Jerusalem come into your mind. 56 Because the spoiler is come upon her, even upon Babylon, and her mighty men are taken, every one of their bows is broken: for the LORD God of recompences shall surely requite. 57 And I will make drunk her princes, and her wise men, her captains, and her rulers, and her mighty men: and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts.]
The faint heart is the one that once trusted God but lost its confidence because of some painful event. Yet I am convinced that those who have truly received Christ as their Saviour will never remain faint‑hearted. They may grow weary, they may break under pressure, they may even backslide for a season, but they will always find their way back. They belong to Jesus, and He never lets His own slip from His hand, [John 10:27-29 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.]
To every saved, born‑again Christian, this world is not their home. We are merely exiles in this modern‑day Babylon, passing through a land that is not our final inheritance. And even if our bodies rest in the grave when Jesus returns, He will raise us up from them and we will live with Him forever. Our exile is temporary; our redemption is unbreakable, and our victory is nigh, [I Corinthians 15:52-54 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.]
And God may allow suffering, and He may chasten His people should they fall into trouble for a season, He never stops loving them. And if you look carefully, you will see that He never fails those who place their faith and trust in Him. After God finished speaking, He instructed Jeremiah to write down everything He told him in a book. Then Jeremiah sent it to Babylon with Seraiah, who was to read it to his countrymen in captivity.
[Jeremiah 51:60-64 So Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should come upon Babylon, even all these words that are written against Babylon. 61 And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, When thou comest to Babylon, and shalt see, and shalt read all these words; 62 Then shalt thou say, O LORD, thou hast spoken against this place, to cut it off, that none shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be desolate for ever. 63 And it shall be, when thou hast made an end of reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of Euphrates: 64 And thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring upon her: and they shall be weary. Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.]
This is symbolic of the complete fulfillment of God’s prophecy against Babylon. They would become so overwhelmed by judgment that recovering their strength would be impossible. And from this comes a mark of every true servant of God: to proclaim the Word of God to friend and foe alike, regardless of the consequences. Jesus expressed this same truth when He said this, [John 15:15-16 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. 16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.]
The final chapter of Jeremiah recalls the account of why and when Nebuchadnezzar was permitted by God to bring judgment upon Judah. It is the historical anchor that explains the long warnings, repeated calls to repent, and the grief that Jeremiah went through. Judah’s fall was not random, nor was Babylon’s rise accidental. Both unfolded under the sovereign hand of God, discipline for His people, and the temporary exaltation of a nation He would later judge.
[Jeremiah 52:1,3-5 Zedekiah was one and twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 3 For through the anger of the LORD it came to pass in Jerusalem and Judah, till he had cast them out from his presence, that Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. 4 And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it, and built forts against it round about. 5 So the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah.]
During their seventy‑year captivity, something remarkable began to unfold. Many of the people turned back to God, seeking forgiveness for their sins and placing their faith and trust in Him. And the result was unmistakable: God’s mercy and grace rested upon them, and they began to prosper even while living under a foreign empire.
Jehoiachin is a vivid example. Once captured and imprisoned, he was later released and given a place of honor, sitting beneath the throne of the king of Babylon.
[Jeremiah 52:29-31 In the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar he carried away captive from Jerusalem eight hundred thirty and two persons: 30 In the three and twentieth year of Nebuchadrezzar Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard carried away captive of the Jews seven hundred forty and five persons: all the persons were four thousand and six hundred. 31 And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, in the five and twentieth day of the month, that Evil-merodach king of Babylon in the first year of his reign lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah, and brought him forth out of prison,]
I tell my husband often that God has always taken care of my needs, and many times has given me things I did not even need, all because I devote myself to His work. Now that my husband is serving the Lord as well, he is beginning to see that truth unfold. Yes, there will be seasons of famine, but He never fails to give us our daily bread. Yes, there will be moments as we are facing right now when the only place we can turn is to God Himself, but those moments are designed to show us that He is faithful.
[Titus 3:8-11 This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men. 9 But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain. 10 A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject; 11 Knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself.]
Many Christians struggle and wonder why God does not provide for them, but the reality is that something in their lives is hindering His blessing. God, never lacks to supply what His people need while they are exiles in this world. His provision may come through trials, pruning, or some unexpected means, but He never abandons those who walk with Him, [Haggai 1:5-8 Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways. 6 Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes. 7 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways. 8 Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the LORD.]
Today’s Prayer: God, There is no amount of words that can describe just how merciful and forgiving You are no matter what we have done. To think of the things we have allowed in our lives or been caught up is astounding, but You are always there to catch us, to pick us up, to mend the wounds, and to heal everything from a broken heart to a broken ego. Lord, while we are exiles here on the earth, give us your power and strength to set free anything that we have brought into our lives that hinders You. Lead us and guide us, give us Your mercy and grace, keep us looking to You through all of our trials and suffering as we await the joyful day that Your Son comes to get us and bring us into the place that He is preparing for us. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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