1 - 11 The Message for the Envoys
1 In the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying— 2 thus says the LORD to me—“Make for yourself bonds and yokes and put them on your neck, 3 and send word to the king of Edom, to the king of Moab, to the king of the sons of Ammon, to the king of Tyre and to the king of Sidon by the messengers who come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. 4 Command them [to go] to their masters, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, thus you shall say to your masters, 5 “I have made the earth, the men and the beasts which are on the face of the earth by My great power and by My outstretched arm, and I will give it to the one who is pleasing in My sight. 6 Now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, My servant, and I have given him also the wild animals 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 will make him their servant. 8 “It will be, [that] the nation or the kingdom which will not serve him, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and which will not 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 destroyed it by his hand. 9 But as for you, do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your dreamers, your soothsayers or your sorcerers who speak to you, saying, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon.’ 10 For they prophesy a lie to you in order to remove you far from your land; and I will drive you out and you will perish. 11 But the nation which will bring its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will let remain on its land,” declares the LORD, “and they will till it and dwell in it.”‘“
The word of the LORD comes to Jeremiah in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah (verse 1). Jeremiah tells what the LORD has instructed him to do (verse 2). He is to portray something, making the message all the more clear. What is portrayed enlivens the message. Jeremiah is to walk around with bonds and yokes on his neck. The yokes and bonds are symbols of subjection, slavery and exile.
Thereby he shows the state of miserable bondage that will surely come if his message is rejected. He is to take his message not only to God’s people, but also to five other nations (verse 3). He is also the prophet of the nations (Jer 1:10). That this message also goes to the nations is a testimony to God’s grace.
It seems that these nations want to make a covenant with Judah. The fact that these nations were hostile to Israel until recently, seems to have been forgotten because they now have the same enemy as Israel. They seek the support of Israel to stand together against the king of Babylon and thus escape God’s discipline. For this purpose they have sent envoys to Zedekiah. But this, probably secret, consultation is not hidden from the LORD. He has a word for all these envoys that He has His servant proclaim openly.
Jeremiah is to speak to those envoys the words of the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel (verse 4). God is the almighty God and specifically the God of Israel, but He is also the God of the nations (Rom 3:29). He introduces Himself to the nations as the Creator of the earth, men and beasts (verse 5). He also points to His great power by which He gives every nation and person on earth a place as it is right in His sight.
He, Who is great in power, has given dominion over the earth, man and beast, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, whom He calls “My servant” (verse 6). The wild animals are mentioned to indicate how far-reaching Nebuchadnezzar’s authority is (Jer 28:14; Dan 2:38). The LORD has also determined the length of time Nebuchadnezzar will reign (verse 7). He will yet be succeeded by his son Evil Medorach (Jer 52:31) and his grandson Belshazzar (Dan 5:2).
Although his reign will not be short-lived, the time will also come for him when his reign will be taken away from him (Dan 5:30) and he himself will serve other nations. It proves that God has all nations in His hand. He gives them into Nebuchadnezzar’s hand, but He also puts an end to Nebuchadnezzar’s empire.
When we look at the history of the nations, it seems that God does not interfere with them. Here we see that the nations are just as much under His rule as His own people. It is not the rulers of the world who rule, but God Who rules. We have to be in God’s sanctuary, the sanctuary of His Word, to see that.
God does not let disobedience to His command go unpunished (verse 8). Anyone who does not submit to Nebuchadnezzar is resisting His will. The punishment for this is that He will give that people or kingdom over to sword, famine and pestilence. As a result, He will break its power and He will bring it down by His hand. Whoever throws off the yoke of Babylon from his neck will bring even greater misery upon himself.
Jeremiah warns the envoys not to listen to all those people who tell them not to serve the king of Babylon (verse 9). They are not servants of God, but “your prophets, your diviners” and so on, all people from these five kingdoms who are under demonic influence. That makes all the difference. The false prophets are an international evil. In times of crisis, all kinds of fortune tellers come forward and say how things will go. They find a good outlet for their message, because people do want to be informed about the future, as long as it is not by the truth.
These people all speak lies by which they will be taken far from their land, from which the LORD will drive them out and they will perish (verse 10). However, whoever listens to the LORD and submits to the king of Babylon will be left in his land (verse 11). He will live in it and till it for his livelihood, so that he will dwell there.
12 - 15 Speech to Zedekiah
12 I spoke words like all these to Zedekiah king of Judah, saying, “Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him and his people, and live! 13 Why will you die, you and your people, by the sword, famine and pestilence, as the LORD has spoken to that nation which will not serve the king of Babylon? 14 So do not listen to the words of the prophets who speak to you, saying, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon,’ for they prophesy a lie to you; 15 for I have not sent them,” declares the LORD, “but they prophesy falsely in My name, in order that I may drive you out and that you may perish, you and the prophets who prophesy to you.”
After his words to the five nations, Jeremiah now addresses Zedekiah and calls on him to surrender to the king of Babylon (verse 12). He appeals to his sober mind (verse 13). Why will they die? No one wants to die, right? But that is what awaits him and his people if they will not serve the king of Babylon, in disobedience to what God has said.
He should not listen to the lying prophets who claim otherwise by saying not to serve the king of Babylon (verse 14). Jeremiah clearly states that those prophets are not sent by the LORD and that they prophesy lies in His name (verse 15). The result is that Zedekiah will perish along with his prophets.
It is the same today. People would rather believe anyone than a true prophet of the LORD. The reason is obvious. A true prophet calls for repentance, for a breaking with sin. A human being does not want that. He wants to continue living his own life. To do this, the false prophets urge with their false promises of peace.
16 - 22 Warning for Priests and People
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 prophesy to you, saying, ‘Behold, the vessels of the LORD’s house will now shortly be brought again from Babylon’; for they are prophesying a lie to you. 17 Do not listen to them; serve the king of Babylon, and live! Why should this city become a ruin? 18 But if they are prophets, and if the word of the LORD is with them, let them now entreat the LORD of hosts that the vessels which 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, concerning the sea, concerning the stands and concerning the rest of the vessels that are left in this city, 20 which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take when he carried into exile Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem. 21 Yes, thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that are left in the house of the LORD and in the house of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem, 22 ‘They will be carried to Babylon and they will be there until the day I visit them,’ declares the LORD. ‘Then I will bring them back and restore them to this place.’”
Jeremiah, after his words to the five nations and to King Zedekiah, also has a word for the priests and for the people (verse 16). He speaks to them about the vessels of the house of the LORD. It is about their service to God. The vessels necessary to serve God will soon be brought back from Babylon, at least so the false prophets prophesy. False prophets tell political and religious lies. Politics and religion are conveniently linked together. False prophets always go against God’s Word, both in serving the government and in serving God. They do not give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, nor do they give to God what is God’s (Lk 20:22-26).
Jeremiah refutes the lying prophets without equivocation. The priests and the people should not listen to them (verse 17). If they listen to the LORD and serve the king of Babylon, they will live. Let them at least recognize that! Why should the city become a ruin? If those prophets are true prophets, they can prove it by urging the LORD that the vessels which are left in the temple not end up in Babylon (verse 18). True prophets are praying prophets. Prayer is having fellowship with God. It is better to pray for what is left than to think about what has been lost.
If we bow down to God’s discipline, we will urge God not to let everything be taken away to Babylon. The vessels that are left to us will be able to be used by us in worship. We no longer have everything that the first church had, but what we have, we must hold on to and glorify the Lord with it. He will then also bring back certain aspects that have been lost, just as happened in the days of the return from Babylon. Then the temple utensils were brought back with them (Ezra 1:7-11).
What remained in the temple were some large vessels and a few more vessels (verse 19). These Nebuchadnezzar did not take with him in his second deportation, when he carried Jeconiah and all the nobles into exile (verse 20). The LORD does have a word to say about those vessels left behind (verse 21). They are for His attention, just as they are for the attention of the false prophets. But while the false prophets do not want to hear of their being taken away, on the contrary, saying that the vessels taken away will soon return, the LORD says that those vessels will also be taken to Babylon.
However, a day is coming when the LORD will look after them. This is a great word of comfort for all who want to be faithful to Him. The LORD will bring the vessels which are carried to Babylon back to Jerusalem. He will do this Personally, of course through the returned exiles.