Our Journey - Emunah (Faith) Fortitude
1Now faith is the conviction concerning those things that are in hope, as if it were these things in action, and the revelation of those things that are unseen; 2And by this there was a testimony concerning the ancients. 8By faith, Abraham, when he was called, obeyed to go out to the place that he was going to receive for an inheritance, and he went out when he did not know where he was going. 9By faith he became an inhabitant in that land which was promised to him, as in a foreign land, and he dwelt in tents with Isaac and Jacob, his heirs of The Promise. 10For he was looking for The City which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. 11By faith also Sarah, who was sterile, received power to conceive seed, and she who was not in the time of her years gave birth, for she was sure that he who promised her was faithful. 12Because of this, from one who was failing in old age* were born as many as the stars in the Heavens, and as the sand which is upon the seashore, which has no measure.
(Aramaic in Plain English ~ Ibrim/Hebrews 11:1-2; 9-12)
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In the Christopagan church system we use to sing songs about how "all of the promises of Abraham are mine!" .. "we are possessing, we're taking back what's ours!", and yes those songs are based on the promises written in the Torah -- possessing the land, expanding our territories, eating the good of the land -- another much-quoted portion of scripture in Debarym/Deuteronomy 28. Yet the problem with that is not the confessions of those truths, it's the position of the heart, of the mind of the confessors. Western Christianity has given itself poetic license to take the literal promises given to Israel and spiritualize to the level that it fits neatly within our own comfortable, self-made lifestyles within the lap of Babylon, of Sodom. We erroneously believe that we don't have to do anything, that its all been done for us. And yet again, although within the nature of the covenants of Israel, the Giver, YHWH Himself, the One who cuts and therefore initiates the covenant does bequeth and promises all to the Beneficiary, upon condition that certain terms be met, those terms requiring action, or the promises become null and void. We were and are in the land of our captors, spiritual Babylon and Egypt, and we were told to build, to plant, to marry, and to seek the peace of the city in which we dwelt. Yet our stay in the highly populated areas is temporary. Looking at scripture and teachings from scriptural scholars, we see that those very people were told to flee Babylon at a later time:
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(8) Remove out of the midst of Babylon . . .—The prophet re-echoes almost the very words of Isaiah 48:20; Isaiah 52:11. It is obviously in marked contrast with the counsels in Jeremiah 29:5-7 that the exiles should build houses and plant gardens, and seek the peace of the city of their conquerors. That was a wise and right counsel for the time, but it was for a time only; and when the hour of the fall of Babylon came they were to be as the he-goats (better, rams) of the flock, leading the captives of other nations in the work of liberation and of flight. That was their only way of escape from being involved in the destruction of the doomed city.
Benson Commentary
Jeremiah 50:8. Remove out of the midst of Babylon — All exhortation often used by the prophets on this subject: see the margin. Some learned men suppose that this exhortation relates to the siege of Babylon carried on by Darius Hystaspes in the fifth and sixth years of his reign. Before which time God had warned the Jews, by the Prophet Zechariah, (Zechariah 2:6-7,) to flee out of Babylon, and to deliver themselves from the miseries that should befall that city during the siege: see Dr. Prideaux. And be as the he-goats before the flocks — “Let every one strive to lead the way to others, and give them an example of speedily obeying God’s call, without showing any fondness to the place, or the idolatries there practised.”
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
50:8-20 The desolation that shall be brought upon Babylon is set forth in a variety of expressions. The cause of this destruction is the wrath of the Lord. Babylon shall be wholly desolated; for she hath sinned against the Lord. Sin makes men a mark for the arrows of God's judgments. The mercy promised to the Israel of God, shall not only accompany, but arise from the destruction of Babylon. These sheep shall be gathered from the deserts, and put again into good pasture. All who return to God and their duty, shall find satisfaction of soul in so doing. Deliverances out of trouble are comforts indeed, when fruits of the forgiveness of sin.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
So firmly did the Jews settle themselves in Babylon under Jeremiah's counsels, that they were the last to abandon the place.
He goats - See Isaiah 14:9 note.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
8. (Jer 51:6, 45; Isa 48:20; Zec 2:6, 7; Re 18:4). Immediately avail yourselves of the opportunity of escape.
be as … he-goats before … flocks—Let each try to be foremost in returning, animating the weak, as he-goats lead the flock; such were the companions of Ezra (Ezr 1:5, 6).
Matthew Poole's Commentary
These words immediately following the other, confirm Mr. Calvin’s notion. God by his prophet commanding his people to remove out of Babylon, and to go forth cheerfully, and skipping like the he-goats of the flock leading the way, and setting an example unto others. We find much such a call Isaiah 48:20 Jeremiah 51:6, which is applied to spiritual Babylon, Revelation 18:4, where the coming out is to be understood of a separation from them as to any religious communion, which also was their duty as to old Babylon; but that is not the coming out here spoken of.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
Remove out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans,.... This, in the literal sense, is a call to the Jews in Babylon, and in other parts of Chaldea, to go out from thence upon the proclamation of Cyrus; and especially to the chief of them, to animate the rest, and set them an example; such as Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Ezra, and others: and, in the mystical sense, is a call to the people of God in Rome, and the antichristian states, to come out from thence, a little before the destruction thereof, as in Revelation 18:4; which seems to refer to this passage:
and be as the he goats before the flocks; which walk stately and nimbly, cheerfully and readily, without fear and dread, boldly and confidently, and encourage others to follow them. The Targum is,
"as princes at the head of their people.''
Geneva Study Bible
{i} Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth from the land of the Chaldeans, and be as the male goats {k} before the flocks.
(i) When God will deliver you by Cyrus.
(k) That is, most forward and without fear.
