Jeremiah Reproves Israel
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deliver them. They were to declare that if these nations refused to serve
the king of Babylon, they should be punished with famine, with the
sword, and with pestilence, till they should be consumed. “Therefore,”
said the Lord, “hearken not ye to your prophets, nor to your diviners,
nor to your dreamers, nor to your enchanters, nor to your sorcerers,
which speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon:
for they prophesy a lie unto you, to remove you far from your land;
and that I should drive you out, and ye should perish. But the nations
that bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve
him, those will I let remain still in their own land, saith the Lord; and
they shall till it, and dwell therein.”
Jeremiah declared that they were to wear the yoke of servitude
for seventy years; and the captives that were already in the hands of
the king of Babylon, and the vessels of the Lord’s house which had
been taken, were also to remain in Babylon till that time had elapsed.
But at the end of the seventy years God would deliver them from their
captivity and would punish their oppressors and bring into subjection
the proud king of Babylon.
Ambassadors came from the various nations named to consult with
the king of Judah as to the matter of engaging in battle with the king of
Babylon. But the prophet of God, bearing the symbols of subjection,
delivered the message of the Lord to these nations, commanding them
to bear it to their several kings. This was the lightest punishment that
a merciful God could inflict upon so rebellious a people, but if they
warred against this decree of servitude they were to feel the full rigor
of His chastisement. They were faithfully warned not to listen to their
false teachers, who prophesied lies.
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The amazement of the assembled council of nations knew no
bounds when Jeremiah, carrying the yoke of subjection about his
neck, made known to them the will of God. But Hananiah, one of
the false prophets against whom God had warned His people through
Jeremiah, lifted up his voice in opposition to the prophecy declared.
Wishing to gain the favor of the king and his court, he affirmed that
God had given him words of encouragement for the Jews. Said he:
“Within two full years will I bring again into this place all the vessels
of the Lord’s house, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away
from this place, and carried them to Babylon: and I will bring again to
this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, with all the