Jeremiah 51-52 "Babylon Has Fallen II" 10/9/24

Chapter 51 is a carryover from Chapter 50 and the judgment that would come against Babylon.
God tells them He will send winnowers to winnow Babylon.
Winnowing is when the farmer separates the wheat from the chaff.
But it is also used as a statement of judgment…as we see with John the Baptist in Matthew's gospel.
His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” (Matthew 3:12 ESV)
This analogy is something that someone from the 21st century would not understand.
But those in Jesus’ day…would have completely understood the analogy.
Farmers of the day would use pitchforks to toss grains of wheat or barley into the air, causing the wind to catch the chaff and blow it away.
These pitchforks were called winnowing forks.