Jeremiah 27:14

Therefore hearken not unto the words of the prophets that speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon: for they prophesy a lie unto you. THEY PROPHESY A LIE - ()....

He repeats the same words which we have met with before; there is therefore no need of dwelling long on them here. Yet the repetition was not superfluous; for he had a hard contest with the false prophets, who had attained great authority. As Jeremiah alone made an onset on the whole multitude, the greater part of them might have objected and said, that in matters of such perplexity there was nothing certain or clear. As therefore it was not easy to convince the Jews who were disposed to believe the false prophets, it was necessary to say the same thing often, as we shall also see hereafter. He adds, —...

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....

Zedekiah was restless under the Babylonian yoke, and the false prophets found only too ready a hearing from him. He is addressed in the plural because his feelings were fully shared by the mass of the officers of state and by the people....

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;

THEREFORE HEARKEN NOT UNTO THE WORDS OF THE PROPHETS,.... The false prophets, as the Targum; such bad kings always had about them, to whom they listened, and which often proved of bad consequence to them: THAT SPEAK UNTO YOU, SAYING; as follows: YE SHALL NOT SERVE THE KING OF BABYLON; ye ought not to do it, but cast off his yoke; to which if ye do not willingly submit, he will never be able to force you to it: FOR THEY PROPHESY A LIE UNTO YOU; and therefore should not be hearkened to, particularly when they promise safety from the king of Babylon....

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....

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