Jeremiah 27:12

I spake also to Zedekiah king of Judah according to all these words, saying, Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live. IKL I SPAKE ALSO - translate, 'and I spake,' etc. Special application of the subject to Zedekiah....

This verse proves with sufficient clearness that what we have hitherto explained was spoken especially to the chosen people; for Jeremiah tells us here, that he spoke to the King Zedekiah, and in the sixteenth verse he adds that he spoke to the priests and to the people. He was not then sent as a teacher to the Moabites, the Tyrians, and other foreign nations; but God had prescribed to him his limits, within which he was to keep. He therefore says, that he _spoke to the king _ We hence learn what he had before said, that he was set over kingdoms and nations; for the doctrine taught by the prophets is higher than all earthly elevations. Jeremiah was, indeed, one of the people, and did not exempt himself from the authority of the king, nor did he pretend that he was released from the laws, because he possessed that high dignity by which he was superior to kings, as the Papal clergy do, who...

12-18 Jeremiah persuades the king of Judah to surrender to the king of Babylon. Is it their wisdom to submit to the heavy iron yoke of a cruel tyrant, that they may secure their lives; and is it not much more our wisdom to submit to the pleasant and easy yoke of our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, that we may secure our souls? It were well if sinners would be afraid of the destruction threatened against all who will not have Christ to reign over them. Why should they die the second death, infinitely worse than that by sword and famine, when they may submit and live? And those who encourage sinners to go on in sinful ways, will perish with them....

EXPOSITION This and the two following chapters are closely connected. They all relate to the early part of the reign of Zedekiah, and con-rain warnings arising out of the deepening gloom of the political horizon. It must, however, be noted that there is evidently some mistake in the first verse of Jeremiah 27:1, and also that the contents of Jeremiah 29:1 point to a somewhat earlier time than Jeremiah 27:1; Jeremiah 28:1 (viz. the first or second year of King Zedekiah). To understand the circumstances of Jeremiah 27:1;

I SPAKE ALSO TO ZEDEKIAH KING OF JUDAH,.... At the same time that he delivered the above message from the Lord to the ambassadors of several nations, who were then residents in Zedekiah's court, or however in Jerusalem: ACCORDING TO ALL THESE WORDS; the same things, and much in the same language, he said to the king of Judah, as to the messengers of the nations: SAYING; as follows: BRING YOUR NECKS UNDER THE YOKE OF THE KING OF BABYLON; you, O king, your nobles, and your people. Zedekiah was set upon the throne by the king of Babylon, was a tributary to him, and had took an oath to be faithful to him; and yet was now meditating rebellion against him; and was consulting and entering into a confederacy with the neighbouring nations to throw off the yoke, and be independent on him: wherefore the sense of this advice must be to bring themselves, he and his people, to a cheerful submission...

CHAPTER 27 The Optimism of the False Prophets Contradicted _ 1. The call of Nebuchadnezzar to be the servant of God (Jeremiah 27:1) _ 2. The call to submit and to serve the king of Babylon (Jeremiah 27:12) Jeremiah 27:1. It was in the earlier part of the reign of Zedekiah (Jehoiakim in Jeremiah 27:1 is a clerical error, see Jeremiah 27:3 and Jeremiah 27:12) that Jeremiah is commanded to make bonds and yokes to put them

THE WARNING TO ZEDEKIAH. Jeremiah also warns Zedekiah to the same effect (Jeremiah 27:12), and tells priests and people not to believe the prophets who promise an early return of the Temple vessels. Let the prophets rather pray that the vessels left by the Babylonians be not also carried off; for Yahweh intends to remove these also, that they may remain in Babylon until His appointed time. This warning was apparently successful; Zedekiah did not revolt until four or five years later. In order to quell the suspicions excited by the embassies of Jeremiah 27:3, he may have made the journey to Babylon mentioned in Jeremiah 51:59....

I SPAKE: i.e. thirteen years after this prophecy came to him. See note on Jeremiah 27:1. TO ZEDEKIAH. It is not stated whether he ever addressed the two other kings. Jehoahaz and Zedekiah were the sons of Hamutal; Jehoiakim was the son of the proud Zebudah (2 Kings 23:36). Compare Jeremiah 13:18....

Speedy deliverance from Babylon is not to be hoped for These three Chapter s belong to the time of Zedekiah. The power of Babylon had already been demonstrated as to Judah. Some of the people had been carried captive, and the present king existed as such only upon sufferance. Under these circumstances the neighbouring nations were willing to make common cause with the Jews against their foe, while in Palestine there were still many who would not believe that the danger from Babylon was anything more than a passing one. In these three chs. therefore Jeremiah sets himself to correct the most pressing evil, namely this notion of the possibility of getting rid of the power which had become paramount in the Eastern world. In this ch. he addresses on the subject (Jeremiah 27:1) the neighbouring nations; (12 15) Zedekiah; (16 22) the priests and people concerning the false prophets; (in ch. 28...

C. A Warning to Zedekiah Jeremiah 27:12-15 TRANSLATION (12) And unto Zedekiah king of Judah I spoke in a similar manner, saying, (13) Why will you die, you and your people, by sword, famine and pestilence, as the LORD has spoken concerning the nation which does not serve the king of Babylon? (14) Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are saying to you, Do not serve the king of Babylon, for they are prophesying falsehood to you; (15) For I have not sent them (oracle of the LORD), but they keep on 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 unto you. COMMENTS In Jeremiah 27:12-15 Jeremiah moves from the general warning which embraces all the small natio