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Prophets and Kings
came to Jeremiah, saying, “Make thee bonds and yokes, and put them
upon thy neck, and send them to the king of Edom, and to the king
of Moab, and to the king of the Ammonites, and to the king of Tyrus,
and to the king of Zidon, by the hand of the messengers which come
to Jerusalem unto Zedekiah king of Judah.”
Jeremiah 27:2, 3
.
Jeremiah was commanded to instruct the ambassadors to inform
their rulers that God had given them all into the hand of Nebuchad-
nezzar, the king of Babylon, and that they were to “serve him, and his
son, and his son’s son, until the very time of his land come.”
Verse 7
.
The ambassadors were further instructed to declare to their rulers
that if they refused to serve the Babylonian king they should be pun-
ished “with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence”
till they were consumed. Especially were they to turn from the teach-
ing of false prophets who might counsel otherwise. “Hearken not ye
to your prophets,” the Lord declared, “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
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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.”
Verses 8-11
. The lightest punishment that
a merciful God could inflict upon so rebellious a people was submis-
sion to the rule of Babylon, but if they warred against this decree of
servitude they were to feel the full vigor of His chastisement.
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.
Against determined opposition Jeremiah stood firmly for the policy
of submission. Prominent among those who presumed to gainsay the
counsel of the Lord was Hananiah, one of the false prophets against
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whom the people had been warned. Thinking to gain the favor of the
king and of the royal court, he lifted his voice in protest, declaring
that God had given him words of encouragement for the Jews. Said
he: “Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, I
have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. 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