In the midst of all the prophecies of God's judgments against Israel and Judah, Jeremiah now turns to prophecies against the enemies of Israel and Judah.  It is obvious that God will not forsake Israel and will "stir up the spirit of a destroyer" against her enemies.  The exiles must have taken great comfort in that even though many of them will never live to see it themselves.

There references in today's reading concerning gold cups that are prophetic of the banquet recorded in Daniel 5 in which a hand appears and writes on the wall. Also in the reading for today are several references to Babylon being a heap of ruins, sinking to rise no more, and being desolate forever.  This prophecy has in fact come true.  The word destroyer comes up again and again as well in reference to Babylon.

Jeremiah gives us a glimpse of God's creative powers in chapter 51.
Jeremiah 51:15-16
“He made the earth by his power; he founded the world by his wisdom and stretched out the heavens by his understanding. When he thunders, the waters in the heavens roar; he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth. He sends lightning with the rain and brings out the wind from his storehouses. 

These verses remind us of a couple of others that are similar concerning God's creativity.  
Proverbs 30:4
Who has gone up to heaven and come down? Who has gathered up the wind in the hollow of his hands? Who has wrapped up the waters in his cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and the name of his son? Tell me if you know!
 (Did you get that last line - what is the name of his son????)  Guess the writer of Proverbs knew about the Son of God who came down from heaven!

Isaiah 40:12
Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance?
The amazing thing is this - the Lord who holds the waters in the hollow of his hand, holds the dust of the earth and weighs the mountains and hills - lives within us.  Unbelievable!

Jeremiah 51:51
“We are disgraced, for we have been insulted and shame covers our faces,because foreigners have entered the holy places of the Lord’s house.” 
Application for today:  "Foreigners" are those who are not in the Kingdom of God and who enter and influence churches, Christian organizations, book publishers, etc.

Concerning Babylon, Jeremiah 51 mentions "he will silence her noisy din."
This made us think of the writing, Too BUSY.  Because of all the noise in our world today, we miss the still, small voice of God.  Email if you would like a copy of this writing.