“O Israel, I will bring a distant nation against you,” says the Lord. “It is a mighty nation, an ancient nation, a people whose language you do not know, whose speech you cannot understand.” Jeremiah 5:15
Jeremiah repeated the promise that God would bring a mighty army of judgment against Judah and Jerusalem, later fulfilled by the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar. This was prophecy that was in the Book of Daniel. It was part of the dream of Nebuchadnezzar. Babylon is represented as God’s instrument of judgment against the nations, many of which are described in Jeremiah 46-49. The cup is depicted as a golden cup because of Babylon’s great wealth. God used Nebuchadnezzar in His judgement again Israel.
This dream reveals that God is in control of history. He knows the future because He plans the future. This doesn’t mean that God is to blame for the evil things that leaders and nations do, but that He can overrule even their wickedness to accomplish His divine purposes. The God of heaven gave Nebuchadnezzar his throne and enabled him to defeat his enemies and expand his empire, Jeremiah 27. But the God who gave Nebuchadnezzar his authority could also take it away, and He did in Jeremiah 50—51. The king didn’t know how long his empire would last, but he knew it would end someday. In fact, Babylon was conquered by what Daniel called an “inferior” kingdom.
We look at our world today and we see it falling apart and we wonder just who is in control. We need to realize that God uses things that we don’t understand to make things happen. He loves us and wants the best for us and sometimes that means using things that we think are wrong. “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” (Romans 8:28)