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This chapter contains three parts: Jeremiah's warning to the foreign messengers (vv. 1-11), his appeal to King Zedekiah (vv. 12-15), and his appeal to the priests and people of Jerusalem (vv. 16-22).
27:1 Jeremiah received a message from the Lord toward the beginning of King Zedekiah's reign.361The first verse of chapter 28 locates the time of this prophecy more exactly, namely, in the king's fourth year (594 or 593 B.C.).
27:2 The prophet was to make fetters, specifically yokes, and to put one set of them on his neck. Evidently Jeremiah walked around wearing this half-filled yoke as a lopsided burden to illustrate his message. This was another of his symbolic acts (cf. 13:1-11; 19:1-13; 1 Kings 22:11; Isa. 20). The animal yoke, of course, represented submission, servitude, and captivity (cf. 1 Kings 22:11; Ezek. 7:23).
27:3-4 Jeremiah was then to send word to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon through the envoys that had come from those places to visit King Zedekiah (cf. 25:21-22).362These ambassadors were to take a message from Yahweh back to their masters. He apparently made one set of the object lessons for each of the ambassadors to take back home with him.363
The Babylonian Chronicles illuminate the historical background of this situation. Two years earlier an unnamed enemy had attacked Nebuchadnezzar, and the following year he had to deal with a revolt within his borders. Smaller nations in the west saw this as an opportunity to throw off Babylon's authority. The same nations had formed a confederacy to revolt against Assyria years earlier, so the purpose of these messengers seems to have been to form another treaty but this time against Babylon.364The recent accession of Psammetik II as Pharaoh of Egypt may have been another inducement to revolt.365
27:5 Yahweh announced that He was the creator of all things and would give His creation to whomever was pleasing in His sight.
"Marduk of Babylon might claim authority over nations by right of conquest, but the LORD claims the right to rule as creator."366
27:6-7 The Lord had determined to give their lands to Nebuchadnezzar, His servant (cf. 25:9; 43:10), until the time came when He would turn over Nebuchadnezzar's lands to another master (i.e., Cyrus the Persian). This would not be until Nebuchadnezzar's son and grandson had ruled, however, namely, Evil-Merodach and Belshazzar (52:31; Dan. 5:1, 30).
27:8 If any of the nations Jeremiah was addressing failed to submit to Nebuchadnezzar, the Lord would destroy that nation using Nebuchadnezzar as His instrument. War, famine, and disease would follow resistance to the Babylonian invader.
"To resist the known will of God is always spiritual suicide."367
27:9-10 These foreign kings should not listen to their counselors and prophets who advocated resistance to Nebuchadnezzar. If they did, they would only experience greater destruction, deportation, and death.
27:11 However, if those kings surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar, their people would be able to remain in their own land and live in it.
"To be able to discern the signs of the times (Mt. 16:3) and know what the will of the Lord is (Eph. 5:17) demands close fellowship with God and an obedient, perceptive spirit."368
27:12-13 Jeremiah also counseled Zedekiah to surrender to Nebuchadnezzar. If he did, the Judahites could continue to live. But if he resisted, the people of Judah would die by the sword, starvation, and plague.
27:14-15 Jeremiah told Zedekiah not to listen to the false prophets who were advocating resistance because Yahweh had not sent them. Listening to their advice would result in exile and death for the king and the false prophets.
"To underestimate the power of a lie in times of national distress is sheer folly."369
27:16 Jeremiah also prophesied to the priests and the people assuring them that the prophecies of the speedy end of the captivity and the soon return of the people that had already gone into exile were lies.
27:17 The priests and people should not listen to these false prophets. They should submit to Nebuchadnezzar and live rather than resisting and seeing Jerusalem destroyed.
27:18 If the false prophets were true, they should ask Yahweh to keep the remaining furnishings and accessories still in Jerusalem from being taken captive to Babylon (cf. 2 Kings 25:13-17; Dan. 1:1-2). The granting of their petition would validate them as authentic prophets.
27:19-22 The Lord's word concerning these treasures of the temple, palace, and city was that Nebuchadnezzar would take them to Babylon where they would remain until the Lord restored His people to their land (cf. Ezra 1:7-11).
