In Jeremiah 25 how can God call the evil king of Babylon “my servant?”

Because “my servant” in Jeremiah 25:9 does not mean Nebuchadnezzar was godly, saved, or approved in character. It means God was using him as an instrument to carry out His judgment on Judah.

In the KJV, the verse says:

“Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the LORD, and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land…”

The idea is this:

1. God is sovereign over even wicked rulers.
The Lord can use a pagan king to accomplish His purpose. Nebuchadnezzar was evil, but he was still under God’s control. He was not acting independently of God’s authority, even though he was responsible for his own sin.

2. “Servant” here means tool or instrument, not faithful believer.
In Scripture, God sometimes uses men who do not know Him rightly to fulfill His plan. In that sense they “serve” His purpose, even if they do not intend to honor Him.

3. Babylon was being used to chasten Judah.
Judah had refused repeated warnings from Jeremiah and the other prophets. So God raised up Babylon as the rod of correction. Nebuchadnezzar was God’s servant in the sense that he was the appointed agent of judgment.

4. God still judged Babylon afterward.
This is the key safeguard against misunderstanding. God used Babylon, but He did not excuse Babylon’s pride, cruelty, or idolatry. In the same chapter, after the seventy years, God says He will punish the king of Babylon and that nation. So Nebuchadnezzar was useful to God’s plan, but not innocent before God.

A good way to put it is:

Nebuchadnezzar was God’s servant by providential use, not by spiritual obedience.

That same pattern appears elsewhere in Scripture. For example, God used:

• Assyria as the rod of His anger in Isaiah 10, yet later judged Assyria.
• Cyrus in Isaiah 44–45 to help fulfill His purposes, though Cyrus was a Gentile ruler.

So Jeremiah 25 is teaching God’s absolute rule over nations, not Nebuchadnezzar’s righteousness.

The practical lesson is serious:
God can use even wicked powers to discipline His people. That should make us fear the Lord, not men. It also reminds us that no ruler is beyond His control.

If you want, I can also show how this fits with Romans 13 and Daniel 4.

But that needs to be stated very carefully.

No, Hitler was not God’s servant in the sense of being righteous, godly, obedient, or spiritually approved. He was evil, murderous, and fully guilty before God.

Yes, if we are speaking the way Jeremiah 25 speaks of Nebuchadnezzar, then no ruler operates outside God’s sovereignty. A wicked ruler can become an instrument within God’s providence, even while acting from his own sinful heart.

That distinction matters:

• God’s sovereignty means evil men cannot act outside His ultimate rule.
• Human responsibility means those evil men are still accountable for every wicked deed they commit.

So with Hitler, the safe biblical way to say it is:

God permitted and overruled Hitler’s actions within His sovereign plan, but God did not approve Hitler’s wickedness.

That is a better and more careful statement than simply saying “Hitler was God’s servant,” because that phrase can easily sound like moral approval when applied in modern conversation.

Scripture gives this pattern repeatedly:

• God used Assyria, then judged Assyria.
• God used Babylon, then judged Babylon.
• Men crucified Christ through wicked hands, yet God overruled it for redemption.

So the biblical principle is:
God may use evil men, but He never becomes the author of their evil.

A concise way to put it:

Nebuchadnezzar was called “my servant” because God explicitly named him that in Jeremiah 25.
We should not casually apply that title to every wicked ruler in the same wording, but the principle of divine sovereignty still applies.

So my answer would be:

Under God’s providence, Hitler could be used in history without being approved by God at all. He was not a good servant of God, but an evil man whom God allowed and would judge.