Read Jeremiah 25-28 as we share these thoughts…
GOD’S PROPHET OF JUDGMENT TO THE NATIONS – chapter 25:
For God to judge the nations implies that the nations are accountable to God. There were expectations God had of the nations. We do not know the details of those expectations. He did not expect the nations to keep the Law of Moses but when we examine the sermons against the nations in chapters 46-51, we’ll see some of the expectations God had of the Gentiles.
This chapter occurs in the 4th year of King Jehoiakim. In 25:1-3, Jeremiah affirms that the word of God had been revealed to him, which he had revealed to Israel, for twenty-three years! But the summary of the response to Jeremiah’s preaching is in verses 3, 4, 7, and 8: “Yet you have not listened to me…”
In 25:9, God says that He is going to bring Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and “utterly destroy” all the nations, not just Israel, which have devoted themselves to idolatry and the immoral lifestyle that that behavior allows. Verse 11 is the first time that Jeremiah has told Israel that their exile was going to last 70 years. The time period is mentioned again in verse 12 and again in 29:10.
Babylon will not get off “scot-free” (25:12-14). That nation will be punished as well. A coalition of Medes and Persians would conquer Babylon under the leadership of King Cyrus in 539 B. C.
In this paragraph (25:17-26), Jeremiah mentions nearly all the nations around Israel for several hundred miles. In chapters 46-51, Jeremiah will get specific with several of them. Sin will be punished in every body.
GOD’S PROPHET ON TRIAL – chapter 26:
Here is another sermon, like chapter 7, that Jeremiah gives in the courtyard of the temple to all those who were coming to worship. Israel was not listening despite all the prophets God was sending to them so He was going to do to them what had happened in Shiloh (1 Sam. 7).
The people decide they are going to kill Jeremiah (26:8-11). Notice at the beginning of this account, in verse 8, the text says it was after Jeremiah had spoken what the Lord had commanded (!) that the people want to kill Jeremiah. They weren’t mad at Jeremiah; they were mad at God.
Jeremiah stands tall and strong in the face of these death threats (26:12-15). There was a group of Israelites who come to Jeremiah’s defense (26:16-19). They quote a passage from Micah the prophet from 100 years before. King Hezekiah repented at Micah’s preaching and Micah was not killed for his sermons. This is the only place in the OT where one passage is quoted exactly from another passage.
Uriah (26:20-23) and Zechariah (2 Chron. 24:20-22) are the only two prophets whose deaths are specifically recorded in the Scriptures. Clearly, Jeremiah was in danger of his life; yet, he was spared on this occasion (26:24).
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God has sovereignty over all the nations (27:1-2) and Jeremiah was called to preach to all the nations (1:5). All these nations will serve Nebuchadnezzar so they need to submit to Babylon. Jeremiah will mention Nebuchadnezzar 37 times in chapters 21-52. He is God’s “servant” (vs 6; 25:9).
“Yokes” were bars of wood, strapped together with leather and used to lead oxen. While Jeremiah has mentioned “yokes” back in 2:20 and 5:5, the theme of “yokes” runs heavily through chapters 27 and 28 as we will see. The yoke is obviously a metaphor for submission and, apparently, Jeremiah wore this yoke for a few days. It certainly drew attention.
Warnings to Zedekiah, King of Judah – 27:12-15:
Jeremiah reiterates a basic theme (27:12-15): subjugate yourself to the yoke of Babylon. Otherwise, you will die by famine, sword, or pestilence. Jeremiah was a broken record.
Among the messages of the false prophets was the message (27:16-22) that the exile would be short and the temple furnishings would be soon brought back to Israel. Jeremiah says, that is a lie. Jeremiah will accuse the false prophets of lying thirteen times.
Jehovah God would return the furnishings to the temple (Ezra 1:7-11) by the order of King Cyrus. Cyrus gave the Jewish people 5,400 articles of gold and silver that Nebuchadnezzar had taken.
FALSE AND TRUE PROPHETS – chapter 28:
Notice that the prophet Hananiah’s message is stated as if it were from God (28:1-4). He is falsely quoting Jehovah God. How ungodly is it to put words in God’s mouth? It is just as wicked to twist God’s words to make them say something God did not say.
Jeremiah says (28:5-9), “Yes, may the Lord do as Hananiah has said!” Hananiah took that yoke of wood from Jeremiah’s neck and broke it (28:10-11). Then, Jeremiah left Hananiah’s presence. Jeremiah did not have a word from God, so Jeremiah said nothing. A false prophet can say what’s on his mind; a true prophet has to seek a word from God.
But God wasn’t finished with Hananiah. He was not going to let him lie for God and get away with it (28:12-17). Jeremiah tells Hananiah that he would, himself, die within two months. It was authentication that Jeremiah was a true prophet of God. You don’t mess with God’s word!
Paul Holland
