Bible Commentaries
Jeremiah 27

Verses 1-11

JEREMIAH - CHAPTER 27

JEHOVAH COUNSELS JUDAH’S NEIGHBORS.

"SUBMIT TO NEBUCHADNEZZAR, AND PROSPER!"

Vs. 1-11: A PROPHET WITH A YOKE ON

1. There has been considerable controversy over whether this prophecy was received by Jeremiah during the reign of Jehoiakim or Zedekiah; whenever it came to him, it was clearly FOR the days of Zedekiah.

2. Jeremiah is commanded to make yokes for use as an Object­lesson directed at the nations surrounding Judah.

a. Envoys from these nations were assembling in Jerusalem in the hope of effecting an alliance against Babylon.

b. The yoke of wooden bars laced together by thongs, and worn around the prophet’s neck, symbolically depicted the hopeless folly of any attempt to throw off the yoke of Babylon.

c. Having arrested the attention of the ambassadors of the nations, Jeremiah was then instructed to send a message by them to their respective kings, (vs. 3-4).

3. Jehovah, the God of Israel, has created the earth and everything upon it, (Jeremiah 10:12; Jeremiah 51:15; Psalms 146:5-6).

a. He is absolutely sovereign over His creation, (Jeremiah 32:17; Ephesians 1:11).

b. By the power of His outstretched arm He gives the rule of it to whoever it seems right to Him, (Acts 17:25-26).

4. It now pleases Him to give dominion into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon -who will serve His divine purpose, (vs 6-7).

a. For an appointed time all those nations are delivered into his hand, and must serve him, (Jeremiah 21:7; Jeremiah 22:25; comp. Ezekiel 29:18-20).

b. The beasts of the earth will also be placed under his dominion, (Jeremiah 28:14).

c. They will serve Nebuchadnezzar, his son and grandson, (comp. Jeremiah 44:30; Jeremiah 46:13).

d. Then, when they have run their appointed course, they will become the servants of "nations and kings" - the Medes and Persians, under Darius and Cyrus, (Jeremiah 25:12; Zechariah 2:7-9; Isaiah 14:4-6).

5. In the meantime, any nation that refuses to place itself under the authority of Nebuchadnezzar will be punished with sword, famine and disease until it is destroyed, (vs. 8; Jeremiah 38:17-19; Jeremiah 42:15-16; Ezekiel 17:19-21).

6. These kings are warned against listening to their own lying prophets, diviners, dreamers, soothsayers and sorcerers who assure them that they will NEVER serve the king of Babylon, (vs. 9-10).

7. The nation that voluntarily accepts the yoke, and serves the king of Babylon, will not be uprooted, but will be permitted to remain and cultivate its own land, (vs. 11; comp. Jeremiah 2:19; Jeremiah 38:2; Jeremiah 40:9-12; Jeremiah 42:10-11).

Verses 12-15

Vs. 12-15: A WARNING TO ZEDEKIAH

1. Jeremiah then speaks boldly in urging Zedekiah, king of Judah, to accept the yoke of Babylon - that both he and his people may live, (vs. 12).

2. It really does not make sense to commit suicide by insisting on having one’s own way, (vs. 13; comp. Jeremiah 38:23; Proverbs 8:36; Ezekiel 18:31).

3. Nor is Zedekiah to listen to the lying prophets who are telling him that he will never serve the King of Babylon, (vs. 14; comp. Ezekiel 13:22; 2 Corinthians 11:13-15).

4. The Lord has not sent these prophets, who claim to speak in His name: yet, because Zedekiah prefers their smooth promises to the truth, he and his prophets will perish together, (vs. 15; comp. Jeremiah 34:2-3).

Verses 16-22

Vs. 16-22: PRIESTS AND PEOPLE ALSO WARNED

1. Finally, the Lord commands Jeremiah to warn the priests and the people against the lying prophets who declare that the vessels of the temple will shortly be returned from Babylon, (vs. 16-17; comp. 1 Kings 7:15-39; 2 Kings 24:13).

a. These promises were designed to support the steadily­increasing class of reactionaries under Zedekiah:

b. Jeremiah warns that priests and people must not be moved, by such false promises, to resist the inevitable triumph of Babylon, (vs. 17a).

c. If they would spare the utter desolation of Jerusalem; yea, if they would LIVE, they MUST serve the king of Babylon, (vs. 17b).

2. Jeremiah then issues a challenge to the professional, lying prophets in Judah: if they want to prove themselves TRUE prophets of Jehovah, let them so intercede with Him that NO MORE of the vessels left in the temple and in the king’s house be taken away to Babylon, (vs. 18; comp. 1 Kings 18:24).

3. Through Jeremiah the Lord declares that all the vessels not already taken, along with Jeconiah and the nobles, will surely be transported to Babylon, (vs. 19-22; comp. Jeremiah 52:17; Jeremiah 52:20-21).

a. And they will remain in Babylon until the Lord visits judgment upon the Chaldeans, (vs. 22a; Jeremiah 29:10-14; comp. vs. 7; Jeremiah 25:11 -­12).

b. In that day He will Himself arrange the return and restoration of Judah’s sacred vessels, (Ezra 1:7-11; Ezra 5:13-15; Ezra 7:9; Ezra 7:19).

c. Jeremiah is prepared to await God’s own time, and the outworking of God’s own plan, to vindicate the validity of his message and ministry!