Ark of Empire

Jeremiah’s message to Judah is that the Lord has given the earth into hands of his “servant,” Nebuchadnezzar: “I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, My servant, and I have given him also the wild animals of the field to serve him” (27:6). After Hananiah breaks the wooden yoke that Jeremiah wears, Jeremiah repeats the message: “I have put a yoke of iron on the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they shall serve him. And I have also given him the beasts of the field” (28:14).

As the ruler of the beasts, Nebuchadnezzar is an Adamic figure, taking dominion over every living thing. But he is also a new Noah, who gathers not only nations but animals into the ark of the Babylonian empire. According to Jeremiah, that’s the only safe place – entering Nebuchadnezzar’s ark. Outside, it’s a flood of fire, sword, pestilence that will kill every living thing and turn the land to formless waste (cf. 4:23-26). But those who take Nebuchadnezzar’s yoke are safe from the storm. (Daniel 4 offers a variation on this; Nebuchadnezzar is an imperial tree in which all the beasts and birds find a place to rest.)