Jeremiah 27:3

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; SEND THEM TO THE KING OF EDOM ... BY THE HAND OF THE MESSENGERS WHICH COME ... UNTO ZEDEKIAH - appropriate symbol, as these ambassadors had come to Jerusalem to consult as to shaking off the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar. According to Pherecydes in Clemens Alexandrinus 'Stromata,' 567, Idanthura, king of the Scythians, intimated to Darius, who had crossed the Danube, that he would lead an army against him, by sending him, instead of a letter, a mouse, a frog, a bird, an arrow, and a plow. The task assigned to Jeremiah required great faith, as it was sure to provoke alike his own countrymen and the foreign ambassadors and their kings, by a seeming insult, at the very...

The Prophet seems to have addressed the ambassadors who were sent by neighboring kings to King Zedekiah; and he was bidden to command them to declare each to his master, that they were all to come under the yoke of the king of Babylon. There is, moreover, no doubt but that God designed especially and chiefly to give a lesson to Zedekiah and to the Jews; for these legations mentioned here might have so emboldened them as to despise all prophecies, and to think themselves beyond all danger. For the purpose for which these legations were sent by the king of Sidon, by the king of Tyrus, by the king of Moab and Ammon, ought to be particularly observed: when they saw that the king of Babylon would not spare them, they began to join their forces. Every one at first consulted his own advantage, and saw no need of mutual help; and so it was that the Chaldeans easily overcame them while they were...

1-11 Jeremiah is to prepare a sign that all the neighbouring countries would be made subject to the king of Babylon. God asserts his right to dispose of kingdoms as he pleases. Whatever any have of the good things of this world, it is what God sees fit to give; we should therefore be content. The things of this world are not the best things, for the Lord often gives the largest share to bad men. Dominion is not founded in grace. Those who will not serve the God who made them, shall justly be made to serve their enemies that seek to ruin them. Jeremiah urges them to prevent their destruction, by submission. A meek spirit, by quiet submission to the hardest turns of providence, makes the best of what is bad. Many persons may escape destroying providences, by submitting to humbling providences. It is better to take up a light cross in our way, than to pull a heavier on our own heads. The p...

COME - Or, are come. The ambassadors of these five kings had probably come to Jerusalem to consult about forming a league to throw off the Babylonian supremacy. The attempt failed....

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;

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,.... All neighbouring kings and states, to whom the wine cup of God's wrath was to be sent, and they made to drink of it, Jeremiah 25:21; and against whom Jeremiah afterwards prophesies: BY THE HAND OF THE MESSENGERS WHICH COME TO JERUSALEM UNTO ZEDEKIAH KING OF JUDAH; who were sent by their masters, either to congratulate Zedekiah upon his accession to the throne; or to enter into a league with him against the king of Babylon, and shake off his yoke; or to reside at his court, as ambassadors of nations at peace and in alliance usually do; and it may be for all those purposes. The yokes therefore are ordered to be sent to them, as being the most proper and easy way and method of conveying them

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

JEREMIAH 27-29. Certain linguistic peculiarities (_e.g._ the incorrect spelling, Nebuchadnezzar) suggest that these three Chapter s may have circulated as a separate pamphlet, _e.g._ in Babylon. They deal with the rebuke of false hopes concerning a speedy return from exile. JEREMIAH 27:1. THE CONSPIRACY AGAINST BABYLON. Probably in 593 (note correction by _mg._ of Jeremiah 27:1; the more definite date of Jeremiah 28:1 seems to belong here) Jeremiah is told to make and wear a yoke (as symbol of submission to Babylon; _cf._ 1 Kings 22:11, and the note on...

AND. Note the Figure of speech _Polysyndeton_ to emphasize each respectively. WHICH come. that are coming. Part. _Poel,_ as in Genesis 37:19; Genesis 41:29; Genesis 41:35.Genesis 4:16; Genesis 6:22. Gen 7:32. Genesis 9:25; Genesis 16:14; Genesis 23:5;...

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...