The theme of Babylon’s mistreatment of Judah comes into focus again. The complaint against Nebuchadnezzar is heard from the people of Jerusalem. The Babylonian king is described as a gluttonous man who has devoured Jerusalem and thrown her aside like an empty bowl or plate. He is like a monster who feeds on the riches of Jerusalem till his stomach is full.1 He rinsed
Jerusalem out like a jar. The plunder was total. The word monster
probably refers to Canaanite and Babylonian beliefs about the creation of the world. Their myths spoke of the world beginning with a battle against forces of chaos, pictured as sea monsters, with Leviathan thought of as one of them (see Psalm 74:13–14; Isaiah 27:1). In Israel’s literature, these monsters were symbols of evil and the opponents of the Lord’s purposes (Isaiah 51:9).2
The tables, however, begin to turn as there is a call for retribution. The violence done to Jerusalem must be done to Babylon.
34 “Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon has devoured me; he has crushed me; he has made me an empty vessel; he has swallowed me like a monster; he has filled his stomach with my delicacies; he has rinsed me out.