Chapter 27
This chapter starts message 13 with these words:
1 In the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD. [Jer 27:1 ESV] We also get another fix on chronology. Some time is passed. Zedekiah is now king. (2021 - Zedekiah and Jehoiakim are the same person.)
This message is unlike any that went before. There are envoys from many kings in Jerusalem for discussions with Zedekiah. Apparently, the topic is whether or not to submit to Babylon or to oppose them. As a visual, Jeremiah puts "straps and yoke bars" on his own neck, and then delivers his message to these envoys.
The message is that God made everything, so He owns everything, and He gives it to whomever seems right to Him. This message is sent to Kings, used to being the "owners" of their kingdoms. Then God says He has given all this land to Nebuchadnezzar, his son, and his grandson. Those who accept this from God, and surrender to Neb, will live, will stay in their own land. Those who oppose God's will in this will die of sword, famine, and pestilence. This is the first time the message was specifically intended for those outside Judah. God is telling foreign Kings to submit to His will that they submit to Nebuchadnezzar. These are Gentile Kings, foreign kings, pagan kings. Yet God gives them a look at the future and a chance to parallel the will of the creator God. He offers salvation to these foreign kingdoms. A type for the church? For the age of the Gentiles? We saw earlier that great desolation was prophesied for this entire region, including Egypt, and north into Babylon itself Here, the message is put to these other kings also, not just prophesied in Jerusalem. This verse:
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. [Jer 27:6 ESV]
Nebuchadnezzar is called the servant of God. I think this is the second time he's been called that. And what does it mean that the beasts of the field will serve Nebuchadnezzar? MSB is silent on this one. The prophecy goes on to say that Neb, his son and grandson will rule, and then the time will come for them also, and many kings will come and make Babylon their slave.
2025 - This prophecy is so unusual. Imagine going to a foreign land, where you know prophets abound and are always giving messages/sermons/reprimands. And you get there and a prophet seeks you out and gives you a message to take back to your king. Not an official spokesman for the King you came to see, but something completely outside the normal channels. And there in Jerusalem, the prophet says Neb is the Great King and that he will conquer them all. For three generations, and then Neb will fall. Imagine being that ambassador and trying to decide whether or not it is even wise to deliver such a message from some old prophet in Jerusalem.
2023 - Another verse about sword, famine and pestilence...but NOT beasts:
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. [Jer 27:8 ESV]. Same phrase spoken to Zedekiah in vs 13.
2021 - This is really a continuation of what was already an unprecedented prophecy. There is no place prior to this where God wanted Israel to go peacefully into captivity to a foreign nation. I don't even remember a time when a King of Israel or Judah was told to let a "piece" of the promised land go to a foreign King. And now, God through Jeremiah is not only giving this very order to Judah, but to the surrounding pagan kingdoms as well. It is no wonder Jeremiah wasn't believed. His prophecy was unprecedented.
The message next warns these foreign kings that their prophets are telling them lies when they say to oppose Babylon. God has not sent them, and listening to the false prophets will end in their destruction. How do we know when prophets are telling the truth? We can't even tell when the media is telling the truth. There needs to be a good long study of this. NT says know them by their works I think. Should that have worked in ancient Jerusalem? We don't have prophets today - not like they did in Jeremiah's time. We have God's word, and we have the Holy Spirit within us. The Spirit testifies with our spirit as to what is God's word and what is not. I don't think we are being given specifics like the Kings around Judah were given in this chapter. We have Revelation, and we know what leads up to that time from other books - even from Isaiah and Jeremiah. Those are the "prophecies" we should be judging others by. Any prediction that contradicts what we already have is false. And the confirmation of that is the fruit that the prophets of today bear. They will be witnesses against themselves.
These false prophets are saying the Temple vessels Neb took away with him when he sacked Jerusalem before - and when he took Jeconiah and the nobles of Jerusalem as captives to Babylon - will be returned. Jeremiah challenges that if they knew anything at all, they'd be interceding to keep the rest of the Temple items from being taken next time. God says Neb is returning, and he will basically empty the temple when he comes.
2023 - This would have been a terrible time. The best and brightest of Jerusalem had already been taken into Babylonian captivity. Likely the most grounded priests and prophets also. So you have a sort of rabble without leadership left in the land, the secondary guys who find themselves in charge. Of course they want things to stay as they are. They don't have the foresight and ambition of those already taken and so they have no idea of defending themselves from Babylon, so they do nothing - pro OR con. But the secondary priests and prophets, realizing that their livelihood depends on how well the please their hearers, spout the lies that will keep them in position. So rather than be proactive in any way, they all just stick their heads in the sand and say "nothing bad is gonna happen because we are God's chosen and this is his city", and they keep doing whatever they please. All except Jeremiah. He truly stood alone, telling the King to surrender and calling the priests and the prophets liars. How would that look today? One true preacher in the whole area let's say, and 500 false preachers...No....that's not it. This was about false prophecy, and we don't have that these days anyway. But in that day, when they did look to the prophets for guidance (so long as it was what they wanted to do anyway) this would have been a confusing time.