Moses declared that Israel’s status as head or tail among the nations depends on their obedience to God’s covenant (Deuteronomy 28:13, Deuteronomy 28:44). That is what happened: Judah’s enemies became its masters. After Judah was taken and Jerusalem destroyed (586 B.C.), the land was incorporated into the Babylonian empire as a province, thus placed under foreign military and administrative control. The king of Judah was replaced with a governor named Gedaliah. Babylon was now at ease, knowing that no one could stand up against them.1
The irony of this situation is that those who hate God’s people received the blessing usually reserved for those who love them (Psalm 122:6). The bitter lot of Jerusalem is sharpened by the contrasting description of Babylon’s prosperity and rule.2
5 Her foes have become the head; her enemies prosper, because the LORD has afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions; her children have gone away, captives before the foe.