What happensPermalink
In Jehoiakim’s fourth year, Jeremiah recalls twenty-three years of warnings that Judah has refused to hear. God therefore summons Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon against Judah and the surrounding nations, which will serve Babylon for seventy years. Then God will judge Babylon itself for its evil. Jeremiah portrays this worldwide judgment as a cup of God’s wrath passed from Jerusalem through nation after nation until all must drink. As disaster spreads, rulers and shepherds can only lament; none can escape.
Why it mattersPermalink
Judah’s judgment comes after decades of rejected opportunities to repent. Yet Babylon’s victory does not make Babylon righteous: God sovereignly uses it as His instrument and then judges it in turn. The cup of wrath expands Jeremiah’s ministry “to the nations” from chapter 1: Jerusalem is judged first, but every nation remains accountable to the same God.
Key versePermalink
Thus the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from my hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it.”