The word therefore
at the start of Jeremiah 25:8 introduces the Lord’s words of judgment. Because you have not obeyed my words, behold I will send for all the tribes of the north, declares the Lord, and for Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants, and against all these surrounding nations.
This is probably the first time in his ministry that Jeremiah specifically identifies Babylon as the enemy from the north that will come against Judah (see Jeremiah 1:13–14). The mention of Babylon in Jeremiah 21:2, Jeremiah 21:7 and Jeremiah 24:1 came after this instance, during the reign of Zedekiah, and the one in Jeremiah 20:4, Jeremiah 20:6 was probably also after the naming in Jeremiah 25:9.1
The Lord is going to send
for Nebuchadnezzar, which reflects the language of the prophets in Jeremiah 25:4, that the Lord sent
to his people. They refused to listen to his prophets and so now the Lord is sending a different kind of messenger. In a similar way the Lord refers to Nebuchadnezzar as his servant.
His prophets had also been sent as his servants
(Jeremiah 25:4), but they were ignored by the people, so now the Lord is sending a very different type of servant, one that could not be ignored.2 The term servant
does not imply that Nebuchadnezzar was a worshipper of the Lord, but that he is the instrument the Lord will use to bring judgment.3 The words, thus says the Lord
or declares the Lord
occur three times in Jeremiah 25:7–9. It is clear that it is the Lord who is the main actor.4
9 behold, I will send for all the tribes of the north, declares the LORD, and for Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants, and against all these surrounding nations. I will devote them to destruction, and make them a horror, a hissing, and an everlasting desolation.