Jeremiah 27

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Jeremiah 27:1-22 (KJV) 1 In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah came this word unto Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 

Jeremiah started began speaking during the time that Jehoiakim became king.  He spoke the words God gave him to tell the people during this time.

2 Thus saith the LORD to me; Make thee bonds and yokes, and put them upon thy neck,

God gave Jeremiah the orders of dressing himself in a way that would illustrate His message to His people as a warning.

 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 and Jehoiakim was the first king of Judah since Josiah's reign.  

Some commentators say that there was a mistake in calling Jehoiakim names first, and it should have been Zedekiah's name instead; what if it was meant to be Jehoiakim and they traveled as long as it took to get the message to the kings and by the time they completed the assignment Zedekiah was king?  I will leave the comment by saying the names are as written and if I find that I am incorrect, I will note it at the time I discover I am incorrect.

Since Jehoiakim was only king for 3 months and a few days, it could have been just enough time to get the message to a few of the kings, and finally, it got to king Zedekiah to fulfill what God wanted to be carried out.

Take this message to the places I have listed.  The message from the Lord went to the kings.  The kings were the highest authority in the lands God wanted the messages to be sent.  Zedekiah is the last king of Judah.

4 And command them to say unto their masters, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Thus shall ye say unto your masters; 

The messengers were commanded to speak the Words to those in charge.

5 I have made the earth, the man and the beast that [are] upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me.

Tell them I made the earth and all that is in it.  I will use anyone I choose to carry out what I will.

 6 And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him. 

I have chosen Nebuchadnezzar as the person who will carry out my will.  I have even given charge of the beast I created to serve him.

7 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 of him. 

All nations will be under his control even his son's sons:  they will be in charge until other nations defeat him.

8 And it shall come to pass, [that] the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith the LORD, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand. 

God told the messengers sent by Jeremiah to tell the people unless you submit to Nebuchadnezzar as a slave, I will destroy you by the sword, famine, and disease of pestilence.

9 Therefore hearken not ye to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your dreamers, nor to your enchanters, nor to your sorcerers, which speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon: 

God clearly said, do not listen to the lying and deceiving leaders who are telling you that all will be well and the Words I have spoken will not come to pass.

10 For they prophesy a lie unto you, to remove you far from your land; and that I should drive you out, and ye should perish. 

These leaders are lying to you and they will have you removed from the land I gave you into a place far away and in that land you will die.

11 But the nations that bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, those will I let remain still in their own land, saith the LORD; and they shall till it, and dwell therein. 

But those who submit to Nebuchadnezzar will live until I bring you back to this land.

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. 

I told the last king of Judah, to do what the Lord said and live.

13 Why will ye die, thou and thy people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as the LORD hath spoken against the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? 

Why will you die and the people you lead die also?  You will die and all you lead will die if you do not submit as God has instructed.

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. 

Do not listen to the lying prophets who speak to you against the prophecy God is telling me to tell you.

15 For I have not sent them, saith the LORD, yet they prophesy a lie in my name; that I might drive you out, and that ye might perish, ye, and the prophets that prophesy unto you. 

Those lying prophets were not sent by God.  They are setting you up to be found in the wrath of God to destroy you.  They care nothing about your lives and so they say what God has not given them to say.

16 Also I spake to the priests and to all this people, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Hearken not to the words of your prophets that prophesy unto you, saying, Behold, the vessels of the LORD'S house shall now shortly be brought again from Babylon: for they prophesy a lie unto you. 

Jeremiah told the people the things taken from the temple will not be brought back in a short amount of time.

17 Hearken not unto them; serve the king of Babylon, and live: wherefore should this city be laid waste? 

Submit yourselves to the king God has appointed for your punishment and live.

18 But if they [be] prophets, and if the word of the LORD be with them, let them now make intercession to the LORD of hosts, that the vessels which are left in the house of the LORD, and [in] the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem, go not to Babylon. 

If they are true prophets tell them to pray and tell God to stop the taking the vessels in the temple to Babylon.  If their prayers are heard then you will know they are sent by God.

19 For thus saith the LORD of hosts concerning the pillars, and concerning the sea, and concerning the bases, and concerning the residue of the vessels that remain in this city, 

Jeremiah said let me tell you what is going to happen to the rest of the vessels left in the temple,

20 Which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took not, when he carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem; 

The things Nebuchadnezzar did not take when he took the first captives away,

21 Yea, thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that remain [in] the house of the LORD, and [in] the house of the king of Judah and of Jerusalem; 

Yes the listed items that are still left in the house of the Lord:

22 They shall be carried to Babylon, and there shall they be until the day that I visit them, saith the LORD; then will I bring them up, and restore them to this place.

Everything left will be carried to Babylon and those same vessels will be brought back to this place in 70 years.