The Lord would use Babylon to judge the nations, including Israel and Judah, but Babylon itself would be captured. A nation from the north, the Medo-Persian Empire, would conquer Babylon. God promised a day when his people would return to him with tears of repentance. They were lost sheep, but when Babylon was plundered, they would flee out of Babylon.

Babylon was God's instrument of judgment, but Babylon was evil. Her people worshiped Bel and Marduk. They rejoiced in their conquest of God’s people. God would punish them in his own time. In his anger he would bring them down, but he would remember his people. He would bring them back to their land. More than that, he promised to remove their guilt and forgive their sins. His judgment looks forward to the gospel.
Application: Lord, thank you for judging sin and forgiving sinners. Help me to trust fully in you.
One Word: “I will forgive”