Daily Devotions
Jeremiah
"I will send winnowers to Babylon"
Text: Jeremiah 51:2
A CONTINUING WORD AGAINST BABYLON
Jeremiah continues to receive instruction from the LORD concerning Babylon. Each word confirms the destruction of Babylon. The capital represents the entire Babylonian empire.
“Thus says the LORD:
‘Behold, I will raise up against Babylon,
Against those who dwell in Leb Kamai,
A destroying wind.
And I will send winnowers to Babylon,
Who shall winnow her and empty her land.
For in the day of doom
They shall be against her all around.'”
Jeremiah 51:1-2
1. “Thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will raise up against Babylon,
against those who dwell in Leb Kamai, a destroying wind'”
a) This was a continuing word from the LORD to Jeremiah.
b) A destroying wind will be raised up against Babylon.
c) The phrase “Leb Kamai”:
i) It may mean “A heart that is elevated, or raised up in defiance”.
ii) Meaning: This is a cryptic phrase to describe the Babylonians.
iii) Their success in the past had caused them to be arrogant.
iv) They would be destroyed for all the wicked things they had done
against many nations.
v) This judgment came from the LORD Himself.
2. “And I will send winnowers to Babylon, who shall winnow her and empty her land.
For in the day of doom they shall be against her all around”
a) Winnowers are workers who separate the grain from the chaff.
b) It is a harvest imagery.
c) Babylon would be sifted thoroughly.
d) In the day of her doom, Babylon would be the chaff that the wind will drive away.
e) The land would be winnowed and purged of chaff!