Today’s
Scripture Reading (May 15, 2017): Jeremiah 50
In
ancient times, the war on earth was really a battle between the gods. The belief was
that if your god is strong enough, then he (or she, but in ancient times
most often he) will not allow your forces to be defeated. The people fought and
died in the wars between nations, but it was the strength of the gods that was
on trial.
So the plea Judah was often a cry for the God
of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to stand up
and defend his honor by helping his people to win their battles with the
nations. Often, God responded. It was God who divided the Red Sea in the time
of Moses, allowing the people of Israel to escape across dry land while drowning the Egyptian army that
trailed behind. Yahweh won over the gods of Egypt. God stood beside David
throughout his reign, maintaining the secure
borders of the King in spite of David’s weaknesses, and winning a victory over
the gods of the nations who surrounded Israel. During the reign of Hezekiah,
God miraculously defended the city of Jerusalem against the Assyrian Empire’s siege
of the city and the power of the gods of Assyria. All of this was evidence of
the strength of Yahweh, the God of Israel and Judah.
But, by the same measure, the loss of
Jerusalem at the hand of Babylonians would have been interpreted as a weakness
of God. Yahweh did not measure up to Marduk, the national God of Babylon. Therefore,
it was Marduk’s strength that allowed for the victory of Babylon over the
forces of Yahweh. This was definitely the belief of Nebuchadnezzar as he advanced
his empire. He even named his son Amel-Marduk in honor of Babylon’s god. The Marduk
and Bel mentioned in this passage are actually
different names for the same god. Marduk was identified with Jupiter among the
planets and was addressed as the King of
heaven and earth.”
In Judah, the loss of Jerusalem forced the
people, and the prophets, to begin to search for another answer. The most
common response was that Yahweh had
temporarily relinquished control of Judah and Jerusalem in an attempt to get
the attention of his people. Nebuchadnezzar had been a tool of God used for
that purpose. But there was no doubt that the situation that Judah was experiencing
was temporary. Yahweh had a plan, even if the exiles did not understand that plan.
Jeremiah’s prophecy is simple. Yahweh may have
allowed for the defeat of Judah, but it was not because of the vast power of Marduk (or Bel). The god of
Babylon had no power over the God of Judah. The time was coming, and it was not
far off, when the house of Nebuchadnezzar
would fall. To make his point, according to James Burton Coffman, Jeremiah uses
a word here for an idol that is a
favorite of Jeremiah’s contemporary, Ezekiel. Literally,
Jeremiah calls the idols of Marduk
“balls of dung.” The implication is obvious. Don’t depend on excrement with
your destiny. Excrement will always fail you in the end.
Nebuchadnezzar’s Empire did not last long
after the King’s death. Nabopolassar took
Babylon away from the Assyrians. Nebuchadnezzar II, the son of Nabopolassar,
made the city-state into an empire. Amel- Marduk, the son of Nebuchadnezzar II,
reigned two short years after the death of his father before he was murdered,
and then kingship went to those who were not descended from Nabopolassar and
Nebuchadnezzar. And by 539 B.C.E, just under fifty years after the fall
of Jerusalem, the Babylonian Empire came to a halt – Bel was put to shame,
and Marduk was filled with terror.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Jeremiah
51
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