Jeremiah 27 FSI - HEAR, O EARTH

> [!title|noicon] **Jeremiah 27 Notes** > [[Jeremiah 26 FSI|<Prev]]   [[Jeremiah 28 FSI|Next>]] > [[Jeremiah 27|Verse list view]] > [Jeremiah 27:1](Jeremiah%2027.md#^1) note > > Jehoiakim, also known as Eliakim, remember, was the second king that came after King Josiah. After Josiah was killed in battle in 609 BC the people put up his son, Jehoahaz, as king. Then after 3 months the king of Egypt deposed Jehoahaz and made Jehoiakim king ([2 Chr 36:1](2%20Chronicles%2036.md#^1), [2](2%20Chronicles%2036.md#^2), [3](2%20Chronicles%2036.md#^3), [4](2%20Chronicles%2036.md#^4)). Interestingly, Eliakim, his original name, means *God raises up*. But then the king of Egypt changed his name to Jehoiakim, which means *Jehovah raises up*. > > Now Jehoiakim reigned for 11 years before he was deposed by the king of Babylon. And he was followed by his son, Jehoiachin (aka Jeconiah), who reigned for 3 months and 10 days until he was taken into Babylon and king Nebuchadnezzar made Zedekiah, the brother of Jehoiakim, king. Then Zedekiah reigned for an additional 11 years and was the final king who was reigning when Jerusalem was destroyed in 587 BC. > > So in verse 1, God came to Jeremiah with this word in the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim. So this would have been around 609, 608, or maybe 607 BC. But then notice when we get to [verses 2](Jeremiah%2027.md#^2), [3](Jeremiah%2027.md#^3), God speaks of an action to perform with the messengers that come to Jerusalem to *Zedekiah* king of Judah. And Zedekiah wasn't going to reign for another 10-11 years yet. And if we just read this casually we might easily miss that God has shifted from King Jehoiakim to Zedekiah here. ^jer27-1 > [Jeremiah 27:2](Jeremiah%2027.md#^2) note > > As noted under [verse 1](Jeremiah%2027.md#^1), this word of the LORD came to Jeremiah at the beginning of the reign of *Jehoiakim* (around 609-607 BC), to put on these bonds and yokes upon his neck ([v2](Jeremiah%2027.md#^2)). But it wasn't until the reign of King *Zedekiah*, which began about 10-11 years later, that he was to send these yokes to the kings of a few other nations as we'll see in [verse 3](Jeremiah%2027.md#^3). > > The implication here is that Jeremiah had to wear these bonds and yokes for a period of about 11 or more years. He went around in his prophetic duties wearing these yokes, wooden yokes like an ox pulling a cart, and that's how he had to live for that period of time until he sent them to these other nations as a message to them. > > When we get to the next chapter, Jeremiah 28, we'll find that in the *fourth* year of Zedekiah there was a false prophet named Hananiah ([Jer 28:1](Jeremiah%2028.md#^1)). And he removed the yoke Jeremiah bore from his neck and broke it ([v10](Jeremiah%2028.md#^10)). There, it says that it was in the *beginning* of Zedekiah's reign, and yet it was his *fourth* year. So from the time that Jeremiah put on these yokes (in the *beginning* of Jehoiakim's reign - [vv1](Jeremiah%2027.md#^1), [2](Jeremiah%2027.md#^2)) until Hananiah removed one of them from his neck and broke it ([Jer 28:1](Jeremiah%2028.md#^1), [10](Jeremiah%2028.md#^10)) was a time of about 11-15 years to the fourth year of Zedekiah. > > So in this way, Jeremiah was made a walking illustration of the message God was giving them. And this was not unusual, as we see also with Isaiah in [Isaiah 20:2](Isaiah%2020.md#^2), [3](Isaiah%2020.md#^3), [4](Isaiah%2020.md#^4), [5](Isaiah%2020.md#^5) where he was commanded of God to walk around naked and barefoot for 3 years to illustrate the spiritual nakedness and shame of Egypt and Ethiopia. So people would see him and ask, "What is going on?" and he would give answer about how God's judgment was coming in this manner. Hosea, too, was commanded of God to marry a harlot to illustrate how God was married to Israel while they were engaging in spiritual harlotry, living in rebellion against God ([Hos 1:2](Hosea%201.md#^2)). And again, Ezekiel had to be bound and to lay on one side and then the other for over a year, eating food that was cooked over dung, as a picture of God's judgment upon the people (see [Eze chapter 4:4-17](Ezekiel%204.md)). > > So God made demands of these prophets. They didn't have an easy time from the standpoint of what God called them to do nor from those to whom they were declaring the Word of God. > > So now we have Jeremiah, walking around and wearing this yoke for years as an illustration of what God was declaring. And this, of course, called attention to himself as he declared the Word of God to them. > > Now, we must be careful about this because God does not call us to do these things today because the Bible is complete. We now have the entire Word of God. But in that day God called the prophets to be visible representations of His Word, particularly as He brought them warning. ^jer27-2 > [Jeremiah 27:3](Jeremiah%2027.md#^3) note > > So now Jeremiah was to send these yokes to the kings of these 5 other nations: Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyrus and Zidon. And they are all being included in the same message that was being told to Jerusalem and Judah during the past 11-15 years while Jeremiah wore these yokes. And all 5 of these nations in the Bible represent the broader visible kingdom of God, the local congregations during the church age (see Edom, for example, in [Lam 4:22](Lamentations%204.md#^22)). Then Ezekiel 26-27 speaks of Tyre having been in Eden and so on. They were the ones who sent out the ships of Tarshish to bring in the gold and silver, and then the ships were broken. They were the merchantmen (like we read that the Gospel is like merchandise: [Is 55:1](Isaiah%2055.md#^1), [2](Isaiah%2055.md#^2)). Note also the parallels between [Ezekiel 27](Ezekiel%2027.md) with [Revelation 18](Revelation%2018.md). > > So God is sending forth the message to these 5 kings that they are going to be under the yoke of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, and this points to the time in which we are now living when Satan is ruling singularly over the world and over the churches in order to prepare them for judgment. God uses Satan to make the world and the churches far more sinful so that they, in turn, will be prepared for judgment. But thankfully, in spite of all this there is a remnant who nevertheless become saved out of the kingdom of Babylon. ^jer27-3 > [Jeremiah 27:4](Jeremiah%2027.md#^4) note > > So God is commanding Jeremiah to tell the messengers he is sending with the yokes to relay this message to these kings and to their nations. And through this God commands us to bring this message to the local congregations today. They are going to be under the yoke of Satan, it is going to happen as it has happened. ^jer27-4 > [Jeremiah 27:5](Jeremiah%2027.md#^5) note > > Here God expresses His infinite Authority, that He is the Creator Who brings this message and to Whom all are subject. He does with this world as He pleases, *no one* can argue against God. He raises up kings and puts down kings, even if they are in complete rebellion against God. And we are to be obedient to those who rule over us in all things lawful. He gives it to whomever He wills. And when He assigns the rulership of the local congregations to Satan as represented by king Nebuchadnezzar here, He does not have to explain or alibi to anyone why He did so ([v6](Jeremiah%2027.md#^6)). It is His plan and we are simply to listen and obey. ^jer27-5 > [Jeremiah 27:6](Jeremiah%2027.md#^6) note > > God has, according to His own Will, given all the lands to king Nebuchadnezzar, *His servant*. Now, just because God calls him *My servant* here does not mean he was a believer or a picture of Christ in any sense. Everyone is *ultimately* a servant of God's will, everyone is under His Authority. God has the final rule. Nothing is ever out of His control. And as we see the wickedness that has multiplied in the world, God is still completely in charge. Nothing happens except that God has ordained it. And all these lands that God has given over to King Nebuchadnezzar represent the local congregations as we've seen throughout the book of Jeremiah -- as He declares the end from the beginning that He will prepare them for judgment. But as God calls Nebuchadnezzar, who represents Satan, His servant, it is only in the sense he has served God's purpose (see also [Eze 29:18](Ezekiel%2029.md#^18), [19](Ezekiel%2029.md#^19), [20](Ezekiel%2029.md#^20) where God speaks of Nebuchadrezzar and his army serving this service which was wrought *for Him*). So in Ezekiel 29:18-20 God is using language that He has *employed* him as His servant. (This is seen also in [Revelation 17:17](Revelation%2017.md#^17) where God put into the hearts of the world to fulfill His will in fully serving the beast.) So as God prepares the local congregations ([2 Thes 2:1-12](2%20Thessalonians%202.md)), and the world ([Ro 1:18-32](Romans%201.md)), for the judgment throne by giving them over to Satan, He has employed Satan to plunder them as part of God's program that sin would be magnified before Judgment Day. And this is why there has been such a falling away from fidelity to the Word of God to a more calloused, more superficial lip-service insofar as the Bible is concerned. They are further away from Truth than they have ever been, they are losing what they have. > > "...and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him." -- God is making sure that we understand that everyone and everything will (and now has) come under the spiritual rulership of Nebuchadnezzar, representing Satan, during this time. The beasts of the field (think of the unclean beasts, Acts 10:11-14) spiritually represent that *all* the unsaved of the world (of the field - [Mt 13:38](Matthew%2013.md#^38)) will serve him. To put it another way, when God looses Satan for a little season near the end of the world, Satan goes forth to deceive the nations and to compass the camp of the saints about ([Rev 20:7](Revelation%2020.md#^7), [8](Revelation%2020.md#^8), [9](Revelation%2020.md#^9)). God has purposefully given up the world to sin and has employed Satan (again, typified by Nebuchadnezzar) as His servant not only to prepare the churches for judgment day, but to prepare the entire world for judgment day. > > We can see how God's plan has been worked out right in our day as sin has increased to the most gross, wicked sins imaginable. It's like a most aggressive virus that's out to kill, you just can't stop it. It's because God has given this world up to Satan. He has employed him to assist in the preparation of this world for Judgment Day. ^jer27-6 > [Jeremiah 27:7](Jeremiah%2027.md#^7) note > > This verse would be better translated, "And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son's son, until the very time of his land come: and then many nations and great kings shall serve themselves *against* him." > > This is parallel to Revelation 20 where Satan gathers Gog and Magog -- all the nations of the world -- to come against the camp of the saints, and then God will send fire from Heaven to destroy them ([Rev 20:7](Revelation%2020.md#^7), [8](Revelation%2020.md#^8), [9](Revelation%2020.md#^9), [10](Revelation%2020.md#^10)). This is when Christ comes with all of the true believers against Satan in final victory to bring judgment, they will be fighting against him. > > This is also parallel to what we read in [Jeremiah 25:26](Jeremiah%2025.md#^26) when Satan himself (represented by the king of Sheshach) will be under the wrath of God after ruling over the world and the congregations as a judgment upon them. > > But before God finally destroys Satan and spiritual Babylon, it is God's plan that Satan rule over the whole world, including the churches and congregations. This is God's plan and we are to accept this from the Bible. And whether everyone else accepts it or not, it is the case, it is happening whether they like it or not because God has so decreed it. And God emphasizes this again in verses 8-10. ^jer27-7 > [Jeremiah 27:8](Jeremiah%2027.md#^8), [9](Jeremiah%2027.md#^9) note > > Unless we are carefully listening the Word of God and are ready to be obedient to it, we're going to be in rebellion for certain -- particularly here as God is talking about this ugly idea that Satan is ruling in all of the churches and that we are to come out. And if you speak to any devout member or pastor of any congregation today, they will absolutely refuse to believe this and claim to be under the Authority of Christ and of the Bible. And yet each church and each denomination has its own set of doctrines and practices that they have come up with, along with their own method of interpretation and Bible analysis that does not come from the Bible itself. A vast, vast majority of churches have long been given over to a do-it-yourself gospel based upon what they do and what they believe that is altogether foreign to the Bible itself. > > Remember, Satan and his ministers come as an angel of light, as an antichrist, as a pseudo-christ, as a counterfeit christ. He comes appearing just like Christ and is able to deceive as though he believes in the infallibility of the Word of God and so on. They aren't openly mocking the Word of God there, they have established their credentials as faithful servants of God while their adherents are completely unsuspecting. And that's a far worse deception than when someone comes with a totally different religion that doesn't even claim to follow the Bible at all. > > So at this time, as we see in [verses 9](Jeremiah%2027.md#^9) and [10](Jeremiah%2027.md#^10), God is warning us not to listen to the prophets, diviners, dreamers, enchanters and sorcerers who prophesy a lie to us that they are not to serve the king of Babylon, lest we be forcibly *driven* out of the land and destroyed. In other words, they are setting their hearers up for eternal death through their deceptions that all is well when all is not well ([Ro 3:13](Romans%203.md#^13), [14](Romans%203.md#^14), [15](Romans%203.md#^15)). > > So what does it mean in the spiritual sense that we, as believers, are to come out and serve the king of Babylon who represents Satan? If the churches and congregations are given over to the rulership of Satan, are they not serving him? One thing we must remember is that, as believers, we are never never to serve Satan *spiritually*, which is what is happening there. God is not commanding us to worship Satan as is what is happening in the churches today. Rather, He is commanding us to come *out* of those fallen churches, which puts us into the world outside of that environment. We are effectively acknowledging that God has brought Satan into that arena as a judgment but have come out of that spiritual institution, much like when Daniel and his companions were called to serve the king of Babylon but not to worship him in any sense when commanded to do something contrary to God's Word. > > In the same way, we read that Joseph was second in command under Pharoah in Egypt in his time, and Mordecai and Esther ruled with King Ahasuerus in Persia. They remained true believers as they served in this *secular* capacity within those pagan countries but continued to serve God *spiritually*. And it is only in this sense that we are to come out and serve the king of Babylon as we come out from the local congregations today. But it places us outside of the setting where he is being served or worshiped in the spiritual sense unto their destruction. So God is not contradicting Himself when He says that we are to *serve* the king of Babylon -- He is teaching us to come out from where Satan is destroying them to where we will not be destroyed, from out of the land targeted by God for destruction. > > So those in the local churches, by continuing to insist that they are serving God by remaining there, are effectively denying that God has brought Satan into their midst to serve him spiritually as a judgment upon them (see [2 Thess 2:1-12](2%20Thessalonians%202.md)). They refuse to disband and come out into the secular world outside of that context. They are effectively saying that they know better than God, which is indicative of the fact they are no longer following the Bible but are now following their own false gospels. ^jer27-8-9 > [Jeremiah 27:10](Jeremiah%2027.md#^10), [11](Jeremiah%2027.md#^11) note > > God is not contradicting what He has declared in [Jeremiah 21:8](Jeremiah%2021.md#^8), [9](Jeremiah%2021.md#^9), [24:5](Jeremiah%2024.md#^5) and [38:2](Jeremiah%2038.md#^2) where He has plainly commanded them to fall out and go forth to the king of Babylon, to *not* remain in their land. Yet in verses 10-11 God speaks in such a way to indicate that if we don't serve the king of Babylon He will drive us out of the land and perish. And then in verse 11, God says, "...those will I let remain still in their own land, saith the LORD; and they shall till it, and dwell therein." > > This indicates just how complex the Bible is and how God has hidden Truth and made the Bible easy to *misunderstand*. Anyone looking at the other verses compared to this one might quickly say that this is an untrustworthy contradiction in the Bible. But that's how God wrote the Bible where there are apparent contradictions, because God speaks to us in a spiritual way. It's the same principle that we read about in [Matthew 13:10-17](Matthew%2013.md), that Christ spoke in parables to purposely keep people in blindness that He does not plan to save, but to open the eyes of those who do become saved. This is also why [1 Corinthians 2:13](1%20Corinthians%202.md#^13), [14](1%20Corinthians%202.md#^14) instructs us to compare *spiritual things with spiritual* (that is, to compare Scripture with Scripture). When God wrote His Word we must understand that every word was carefully chosen. > > So how do we understand this? First, we must understand that God is warning, "Come out now, even though you will be under the yoke of the king of Babylon (Satan) in a secular sense, before I bring him into your midst and destroy you spiritually." It is, effectively, surrendering for a time in order to prevent destruction, like we saw with Daniel and his companions and others. > > Moreover, when we read, "...those will I let remain still in their own land, saith the LORD; and they shall till it, and dwell therein" -- we must understand that God uses the word *land* in two different ways. God is teaching here that if we fall out and serve the king of Babylon (in a secular sense), *outside* of Judah and Jerusalem, then we will ultimately remain in the kingdom of God, the heavenly or the new Jerusalem. If we follow God's direction here to fall out to the king of Babylon then He will not drive us out of the land (the heavenly land) that we should not perish spiritually ([v10](Jeremiah%2027.md#^10)) because we will not be under the delusion and judgment of Satan coming into the fallen land (Judah and Jerusalem) to spiritually destroy those who remain in rebellion against God. > > Now, at this point you might think, wait, this just can't be. But you must remember that in the full context here God is indeed and without question commanding them to come out of Judah and Jerusalem, not to remain there, lest they be destroyed by the king of Babylon. ^jer27-10-11 > [Jeremiah 27:12](Jeremiah%2027.md#^12), [13](Jeremiah%2027.md#^13) note > > Remember, we saw earlier in this chapter that Jeremiah has been walking around for about 11-15 years with a wood yoke around his neck and proclaiming this, demonstrating how they were to be under the yoke of and to serve the king of Babylon, who represents Satan. God was finished with using Judah and Jerusalem as a spiritual institution and He was about to destroy them through that same King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, just as has happened with the churches and congregations today. Spiritually speaking, it represents how salvation is now a matter between God and ourselves without any spiritual institution to lead us into their other gospels which they have elevated to the place of God ([Dan 11:39](Daniel%2011.md#^39)). We are to come out from their spiritual rule and into the world where we will be subject to it on a non-spiritual, secular basis. > > So Jeremiah is telling King Zedekiah to surrender to the king of Babylon. Let him rule Jerusalem as a spiritual institution while you go into Babylon and serve in a secular fashion (again, as with Daniel and his companions), and yet continue to serve God spiritually from there because this is His very commandment that you do this. Conversely, you will not be serving God spiritually if you do not do this. ^jer27-12-13 > [Jeremiah 27:14](Jeremiah%2027.md#^14), [15](Jeremiah%2027.md#^15) note > > This is effectively a repetition of [verses 9](Jeremiah%2027.md#^9) and [10](Jeremiah%2027.md#^10) as Jeremiah declares the words that God has told him to declare. And this is a terrible indictment of the prophets that they are prophesying lies in the Name of the LORD, God has not sent them. And this is what happens when false prophets prophesy lies in the Name of Christ. It emphasizes the most terrible situation that exists in the entire world because they are distorting God's very Word. The supreme deception and terror that has developed is when people rightly declare that the Bible is the infallible Word of God, and they have some knowledge of the truths of the Bible, sounding like they are very acquainted with the Bible -- they come in the Name of the Lord, representing themselves as those that have been named and anointed by God to bring the Gospel -- and yet they bring another, false gospel altogether to entrap others and to lead them astray. They are claiming to come under the very Authority of Christ and His Word, yet they are robbers coming in to steal and to kill ([John 10:8](John%2010.md#^8), [10a](John%2010.md#^10)). And so, of course, they are not about to give up their position nor to consider that they are under the judgment of God. They are setting people up so that they will perish along with them as they prophesy lies in the Name of God. ^jer27-14-15 > [Jeremiah 27:16](Jeremiah%2027.md#^16), [17](Jeremiah%2027.md#^17) note > > These false prophets are prophesying lies of peace from God when there is no peace coming, but judgment. They are declaring a false hope that is not from God. As we saw in [verse 15](Jeremiah%2027.md#^15), God has not sent them, they are prophesying out of their own hearts. And what lies are they declaring? They are saying, "Behold, the vessels of the LORD's house shall now shortly be brought again from Babylon?" That is, by this time during Zedekiah's reign, some of the vessels of the temple had already been plundered and carried into Babylon. And these false prophets are declaring that they will be returned shortly, or soon. They were effectively saying, "God is on our side -- we can't lose! He is for us!" > > We'll see one such false prophet, Hananiah, declaring this very lie when we get to the next chapter, [Jeremiah 28:1](Jeremiah%2028.md#^1), [2](Jeremiah%2028.md#^2), [3](Jeremiah%2028.md#^3) and [4](Jeremiah%2028.md#^4). > > But God responds here in Jeremiah 27:17 with, "...they prophesy a lie unto you." That is, what they are declaring is not going to happen. Rather, as we see in [verses 21](Jeremiah%2027.md#^21) and [22](Jeremiah%2027.md#^22), even the vessels that remain will yet be carried into Babylon. Then, at a later time that *God* has determined, He will bring them back and restore them to their place. > > So, once again, God commands them not to listen to these false prophets but to serve the king of Babylon, saying, "Hearken not unto them; serve the king of Babylon, and live: wherefore should this city be laid waste?" That is, why should this city be destroyed? And, so, we'll see what happens with Hananiah when we get to chapter 28. ^jer27-16-17 > [Jeremiah 27:18](Jeremiah%2027.md#^18), [19](Jeremiah%2027.md#^19), [20](Jeremiah%2027.md#^20), [21](Jeremiah%2027.md#^21), [22](Jeremiah%2027.md#^22) note > > Now God focuses on the vessels that *remain* in the house of the LORD, in the house of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem. These vessels spiritually point to people, like what we read concerning the potter and the clay ([Jer 18:3](Jeremiah%2018.md#^3), [4](Jeremiah%2018.md#^4), [5](Jeremiah%2018.md#^5), [6](Jeremiah%2018.md#^6)). Likewise, the vessels that were used in the service of the temple were a picture of the believers as we are used in the service of God. And quite a number of them had already been brought out of Jerusalem and taken to Babylon, so now these false prophets are declaring that they'll shortly be returned ([v16](Jeremiah%2027.md#^16)). So here in verses 18-22, God through Jeremiah is effectively saying, "Ok, you can say that, but the fact is, even the vessels that remain will be carried into Babylon. And they will remain there until God has decided to bring them back." And this is a picture of the fact that not everyone will come out from the churches and congregations at the same time, there are still those that are yet to come out until there is none left that is a child of God as judgment is falling. ^jer27-18-22 > [Jeremiah 27:22](Jeremiah%2027.md#^22) note > > The day of God's visitation ultimately points to the time or the day when God brings the finality of salvation to all of His people and judgment upon the unsaved. In that day, God will bring up His people and restore them to *this place*, a reference to eternal salvation in the new or heavenly Jerusalem, as we read in [Jeremiah 7:7](Jeremiah%207.md#^7). It is a great time of harvest that occurs at the edge of the final tribulation as judgment has fallen. It does not refer to the physical or historical land of Judah representing the churches and congregations, the visible kingdom of God as it exists on this earth -- that is not going to last forever and ever, as we read concerning "this place" there. The only place were we will dwell forever and ever, if we have become saved, is in the eternal kingdom of God. ^jer27-22 Tags: #Old_Testament #Jeremiah #Gods_judgment_on_His_people #FSI