Topical Bible: Covetousness: Babylon

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Covetousness, often understood as an intense desire for wealth or possessions, is a theme that runs throughout the Bible, and its connection to Babylon is particularly significant. Babylon, both as a historical empire and a symbolic representation of worldly corruption, serves as a backdrop for understanding the dangers and consequences of covetousness.

Babylon in Scripture

Babylon first appears in the Bible in Genesis 11, where the people, driven by pride and ambition, attempt to build the Tower of Babel. This act of defiance against God is rooted in a desire for self-glorification and power, which are forms of covetousness. The Lord's response is to confuse their language and scatter them across the earth (Genesis 11:1-9).

The city of Babylon later becomes the capital of the Babylonian Empire, known for its wealth, luxury, and idolatry. The prophet Isaiah prophesies against Babylon, highlighting its arrogance and greed: "You said, 'I will be queen forever.' You did not take these things to heart or consider their outcome" (Isaiah 47:7). Babylon's covetousness leads to its downfall, serving as a warning to those who place their trust in material wealth and power.

Covetousness and Judgment

The book of Jeremiah also addresses the covetousness of Babylon, predicting its destruction due to its insatiable greed and oppression of other nations. "Babylon has been a golden cup in the hand of the LORD, intoxicating the whole earth. The nations drank her wine; therefore the nations have gone mad" (Jeremiah 51:7). This imagery underscores the corrupting influence of Babylon's wealth and the divine judgment that follows.

In the New Testament, the Book of Revelation uses Babylon as a symbol of the world's sinful allure and the ultimate judgment that awaits it. Revelation 18 describes the fall of "Babylon the Great," lamenting the loss of its riches and splendor: "The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, because there is no one left to buy their cargo" (Revelation 18:11). This passage highlights the transient nature of material wealth and the futility of covetousness.

Lessons from Babylon

The biblical portrayal of Babylon serves as a powerful reminder of the dangers of covetousness. It warns against the pursuit of wealth and power at the expense of righteousness and obedience to God. The account of Babylon illustrates that covetousness leads to moral decay, spiritual blindness, and ultimately, divine judgment.

Throughout Scripture, believers are admonished to guard against covetousness and to seek contentment in God's provision. The Apostle Paul writes, "But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and neither can we carry anything out of it" (1 Timothy 6:6-7). This teaching encourages Christians to focus on eternal values rather than the fleeting allure of worldly riches, echoing the lessons learned from the rise and fall of Babylon.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Jeremiah 51:13
O you that dwell on many waters, abundant in treasures, your end is come, and the measure of your covetousness.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

Whether Pride is the Beginning of Every Sin?
... Dei xiv), "builds up the city of Babylon." Therefore self-love and not ... the beginning
of every sin, and that it differs from covetousness, because covetousness ...
/.../aquinas/summa theologica/whether pride is the beginning.htm

In Our Last Chapter we Sought to Show that in Rev. . .
... Babylon of Old Testament prophecy, namely, a literal, re-built city in "the land
of Nimrod" (Micah 5:6), a city which shall be the production of covetousness (" ...
//christianbookshelf.org/pink/the antichrist/in our last chapter we.htm

The Judgment of the Harlot.
... Ancient Babylon was thus addressed: "O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant
in treasures, thine end is come, and the measure of thy covetousness," Jer ...
/.../bliss/a brief commentary on the apocalypse/the judgment of the harlot.htm

Aron, Brother of Moses, 486, 487.
... See Covetousness. Babes, to be fed with milk, [92]217; afterwards with bread,
[93]615. Babylon, means "confusion," [94]268, [95]604; type of captivity of ...
/.../augustine/exposition on the book of psalms/aron brother of moses 486.htm

The Catholic Epistles.
... to good works of faith, warns them against dead orthodoxy, covetousness, pride,
and ... The First Epistle of Peter, dated from Babylon, [1125] belongs to the later ...
/.../history of the christian church volume i/section 87 the catholic epistles.htm

Antichrist.
... And great Babylon came into remembrance before God: "To give unto her the cup of
the wine ... Antichrist must he destroyed, because of his exceeding covetousness. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/bunyan/the riches of bunyan/xxiii antichrist.htm

Approaching Doom
... companions, with others specially chosen for service in the court of Babylon, the
faith of ... thine eyes and thine heart are not but for thy covetousness, and for ...
/.../white/the story of prophets and kings/chapter 35 approaching doom.htm

Sermons on Selected Lessons of the Gospels.
... 512. Avarice. See [535]Covetousness. Babylon, carrying into, type of the
passing of the Apostles to the Gentiles, [536]250. Banquets ...
/.../sermons on selected lessons of.htm

False Civilization
... They were, it seems, carried away captive to Babylon with the rest of the ... money,
and becoming what is now-a-days called civilized, in luxury and covetousness. ...
/.../kingsley/discipline and other sermons/sermon vi false civilization.htm

The Preachings on the Lake.
... Luke 10:7, 8, full of the same simple sentiment, and Talmud of Babylon, Sota, 48
b ... goods was for some time the rule in the new society.[1] Covetousness was the ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/renan/the life of jesus/chapter x the preachings on.htm