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The Scriptorium

The Book and the Stone

God's Word would not fail. Jeremiah 51.59-64

Judgment on Babylon (2): Jeremiah 51

Pray Psalm 83.1-3.
Do not keep silent, O God!
Do not hold Your peace,
And do not be still, O God!
For behold, Your enemies make a tumult;
And those who hate You have lifted up their head.
They have taken crafty counsel against Your people,
And consulted together against Your sheltered ones.

Sing Psalm 83.1-3.
(St. Chrysostom: We Have Not Known Thee As We Ought)
O God, do not be quiet now; do not be silent, nor be still!
See how Your foes erupt in a row and those who hate You chafe at Your will.
Shrewdly they plan, conspiring as one, against Your daughters and Your sons.

Read and meditate on Jeremiah
51.59-64.

Prepare.
1. What was Seraiah supposed to do with Jeremiah’s book?

2. What did throwing the book in the river symbolize?

Meditate.
This seems a strange way for Jeremiah to wrap up his book: Have it read in Babylon, then tie a stone to it and throw it in the Euphrates (vv. 61, 63).

This a flashback, since it occurred four years into Zedekiah’s reign, perhaps when he made some official trip to Babylon (v. 59). Zedekiah was taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar in the eleventh year of his reign; nut there were already captives in Babylon when Zedekiah made this trip in the fourth year, so perhaps he had gone to check out their wellbeing.

At any rate, Seraiah was with him as quartermaster (v. 62), which means he was in charge of disbursing the food and other material resources needed for those on the journey. It seems a strange thing to commit the reading of Jeremiah’s book to a quartermaster, rather than to a priest. But the quartermaster knew how to keep things safe and secure, so he was perhaps the right choice for the task.

He was to read the book aloud – perhaps only what we have as chapters 50 and 51, since what he was to read was “all the evil that would come upon Babylon, all these words that are written against Babylon” (v. 60). Undoubtedly, he was to read this to the captives already in Babylon, and probably in the hearing of King Zedekiah.

Then, he was to tie a stone to the book – which would have been a scroll – and heave it into the Euphrates. This would symbolize the sinking of Babylon, according to the Word of the Lord (v. 64). I can’t help but wonder though, if when the Persians diverted the waters of the Euphrates, this book might have been exposed, thus jogging the memories of those who had heard it concerning the judgment of God against Babylon.

The Word of God, as it sinks deep within us, works out the purposes for which God sent it. And those purposes are for our good, not for evil, to give us a future and a hope.

Reflect.
1. What does it mean to let the Word of God dwell richly within us?

2. The scroll was hidden in the river, but the Word of God was working nonetheless. How should this encourage us as we feed on the Word of God (Jer. 15.16)?

3. When Babylon fell, that scroll may have been revealed. When the Babylon of this age falls, the Word of God will definitely be revealed. What should we do with His Word until then?

Jeremiah, then, not only consulted the benefit of Seraiah alone, but that of all the godly; for though this was unknown for a long time, yet the messenger afterwards acknowledged that this command had been given him by Jeremiah, and that he took the book and cast it into the Euphrates. This, then, was given as a confirmation to all the godly. John Calvin (1509-1564), Commentary on Jeremiah 51.60-64

Let Your Word dwell richly in me, O Lord, so that I…

Pray Psalm 83.4-18.

Pray for those who are enemies of God and His Church today, that the Lord might shame them into repentance, and sustain His people who are subject to their oppressions.

Sing Psalm 83.4-18.
Psalm 83.4-18 (St. Chrysostom: We Have Not Known Thee As We Ought)
“Come, let us wipe them out,” they say. “Let Israel’s name no more be heard!”
Bold they conspire to do us away, and covenant against You, O Lord.
Peoples and nations cast in their lot for this ambitious, wicked plot.

Deal with them, Lord, and bring them down, as You against old foes prevailed,
When You Midian cast to the ground and all her kings and princes assailed –
all who Your pastures sought to possess You brought to ruin and deep distress.

Make them like whirling dust, O God!  Scatter them like the windblown chaff!
Rage like a fire consuming a wood, like flames that burn a mountain pass!
Blow like a tempest, bring them to harm, and terrify them with Your storm!

Fill with dishonor every face that they may seek Your Name, O Lord.
Bring them to shame, dismay, and disgrace, and let them perish under Your Word,
that they may learn Your infinite worth, O God Most High of all the earth!

T. M. Moore

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All quotations from Church Fathers from
Ancient Christian Commentary Series, General Editor Thomas C. Oden (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006). All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter (available by clicking here).

T.M. Moore

T. M. Moore is principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He and his wife, Susie, make their home in the Champlain Valley of Vermont.
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