FRAMEWORKS:
Jeremiah 27: Submit to Nebuchadnezzar
[Preliminary
Comment: Jeremiah was to convey the truth to all the
kings of the area that God wanted them to submit to Nebuchadnezzar.
if they did, they would survive in their own land; if they didn't
they would die. This applied as much to Zedekiah as all the others.]
v.1,2
Jeremiah to create a prophetic picture using a yoke
v.1
Early
in the reign of Zedekiah son of Josiah king
of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord:
v.2
this
is what the Lord said to me: ‘Make a yoke out of straps and crossbars
and put it on your neck.
v.3
He is to speak to envoys of local kings who visit Zedekiah
v.3
Then
send word to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre and
Sidon through the envoys who have come to Jerusalem
to Zedekiah king of Judah.
v.4-7
The Lord is putting the whole area under the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar
v.4
Give
them a message for their masters and say, “This is what the Lord
Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Tell this to your masters:
v.5
with
my great power and outstretched arm I made the earth and its people
and the animals that are on it, and I give it to anyone I please.
v.6
Now
I will give all your countries into the hands of my servant Nebuchadnezzar
king of Babylon; I will make even the wild animals subject to
him.
v.7
All
nations will serve him and his son and his grandson until the
time for his land comes; then many nations and great kings will
subjugate him.
v.8
Submitting to Nebuchadnezzar is your only means of survival
v.8
‘“‘If,
however, any nation or kingdom will not serve Nebuchadnezzar king
of Babylon or bow its neck under his yoke, I will punish that
nation with the sword, famine and plague, declares the Lord, until
I destroy it by his hand.
v.9,10
Your prophets are deceiving you
v.9
So
do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your interpreters
of dreams, your mediums or your sorcerers who tell you, “You will
not serve the king of Babylon.”
v.10
They
prophesy lies to you that will only serve to remove you far from
your lands; I will banish you and you will perish.
v.11
Bow to Nebuchadnezzar and you can live in your own land
v.11
But
if any nation will bow its neck under the yoke of the king of
Babylon and serve him, I will let that nation remain in its own
land to till it and to live there, declares the Lord.'”'
v.12
I've told Zedekiah the same thing
v.12
I
gave the same message to Zedekiah king of Judah.
I said, ‘Bow your neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon;
serve him and his people, and you will live.
v.13-15
Don't lose out by listening to your false prophets
v.13
Why
will you and your people die by the sword, famine and plague with
which the Lord has threatened any nation that will not serve the
king of Babylon?
v.14
Do
not listen to the words of the prophets who say to you, “You will
not serve the king of Babylon,” for they are prophesying lies
to you.
v.15
“I
have not sent them,” declares the Lord. “They are prophesying
lies in my name. Therefore, I will banish you and you will perish,
both you and the prophets who prophesy to you.”'
v.16,17
Jeremiah warned the people & priests not to listen to the
lying prophets
v.16
Then
I said to the priests and all these people, ‘This is what the
Lord says: do not listen to the prophets who say, “Very soon now
the articles from the Lord's house will be brought back from Babylon.”
They are prophesying lies to you.
v.17
Do
not listen to them. Serve the king of Babylon, and you will live.
Why should this city become a ruin?
v.18
If they think they are real prophets, intercede for the temple
v.18
If
they are prophets and have the word of the Lord, let them plead
with the Lord Almighty that the articles which remain in the house
of the Lord and in the palace of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem
will not be taken to Babylon.
v.19-21
Why? Because at the moment its contents are destined to be taken
v.19
For
this is what the Lord Almighty says about the pillars, the bronze
Sea, the movable stands and the other articles that are left in
this city,
v.20
which
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take away when he carried
Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah into exile from Jerusalem
to Babylon, along with all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem –
v.21
yes,
this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says about
the things that are left in the house of the Lord and in the palace
of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem:
v.21
They will remain in Babylon until the Lord brings them back
v.22
“They
will be taken to Babylon and there they will remain until the
day I come for them,” declares the Lord. “Then I will bring them
back and restore them to this place.”'
[Note:
this of course happened under Cyrus]
Continue
to Chapter 28