September 3, 2026, Jeremiah 27:1-22
September 3, 2026, Jeremiah 27:1-22
27 In the beginning of the
reign of Zedekiah[a]
the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord. 2 Thus the Lord said to me: “Make yourself straps
and yoke-bars, and put them on your neck. 3 Send word[b]
to the king of Edom, the king of Moab, the king of the sons of Ammon, the king
of Tyre, and the king of Sidon by the hand of the envoys who have come to
Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. 4 Give them this charge
for their masters: ‘Thus says the Lord
of hosts, the God of Israel: This is what you shall say to your masters: 5
“It is I who by my great power and my outstretched arm have made the
earth, with the men and animals that are on the earth, and I give it to
whomever it seems right to me. 6 Now I have given all these
lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, my servant, and I
have given him also the beasts of the field to serve him. 7 All
the nations shall serve him and his son and his grandson, until the time of his
own land comes. Then many nations and great kings shall make him their slave.
8 “‘“But if any nation or
kingdom will not serve this Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and put its neck
under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I will punish that nation with the
sword, with famine, and with pestilence, declares the Lord, until I have consumed it by his hand. 9 So
do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your dreamers, your
fortune-tellers, or your sorcerers, who are saying to you, ‘You shall not serve
the king of Babylon.’ 10 For it is a lie that they are
prophesying to you, with the result that you will be removed far from your
land, and I will drive you out, and you will perish. 11 But
any nation that will bring its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and
serve him, I will leave on its own land, to work it and dwell there, declares
the Lord.”’”
12 To Zedekiah king of Judah
I spoke in like manner: “Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of
Babylon, and serve him and his people and live. 13 Why will
you and your people die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, as the Lord has spoken concerning any nation
that will not serve the king of Babylon? 14 Do not listen to
the words of the prophets who are saying to you, ‘You shall not serve the king
of Babylon,’ for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you. 15 I
have not sent them, declares the Lord,
but they are prophesying falsely in my name, with the result that I will drive
you out and you will perish, you and the prophets who are prophesying to you.”
16 Then I spoke to the
priests and to all this people, saying, “Thus says the Lord: Do not listen to the words of your prophets who are
prophesying to you, saying, ‘Behold, the vessels of the Lord's house will now shortly be brought back from Babylon,’
for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you. 17 Do not
listen to them; serve the king of Babylon and live. Why should this city become
a desolation? 18 If they are prophets, and if the word of the
Lord is with them, then let them
intercede with the Lord of hosts,
that the vessels that are left in the house of the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem
may not go to Babylon. 19 For thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the pillars,
the sea, the stands, and the rest of the vessels that are left in this city, 20
which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take away, when he took
into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of
Judah, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem— 21 thus
says the Lord of hosts, the God of
Israel, concerning the vessels that are left in the house of the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah,
and in Jerusalem: 22 They shall be carried to Babylon and
remain there until the day when I visit them, declares the Lord. Then I will bring them back and
restore them to this place.”
Jeremiah 27:1-22 uses
the dramatic, symbolic imagery of an ox yoke to deliver a message about divine
sovereignty, political submission, and the danger of listening to false
prophets.
● God commanded the nations to
submit to a pagan conqueror because it was His tool for discipline. When you find yourself in a challenging or
uncomfortable season, do you immediately fight against it, or do you pause to
ask what God might be trying to teach you through it?
●
The chapter notes that
restoration will eventually happen, but only on God’s appointed long-term
schedule, not an instant one. How can
you stay anchored in hope and remain faithful when the answers or relief you
are praying for take years or generations rather than days?
Robin Adams
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