I. Summary
Jeremiah sends yokes to the kings of Judah, Ammon, Moab, Edom, Sidon, and Tyre as an augury for their servitude to Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Jeremiah belittles the false prophets and warns that the Temple’s vessels will be brought to Babylon.
II. Photo
Jeremiah speaks in metaphors: “Put your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon; serve him and his people, and live!” (v. 12)
III. Select Verses
2-7: Thus said the LORD to me: Make for yourself thongs and bars of a yoke, and put them on your neck. And send them to the king of Edom, the king of Moab, the king of the Ammonites, the king of Tyre, and the king of Sidon, by envoys who have come to King Zedekiah of Judah in Jerusalem; and give them this charge to their masters: Thus said the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel: Say this to your masters: “It is I who made the earth, and the men and beasts who are on the earth, by My great might and My outstretched arm; and I give it to whomever I deem proper. I herewith deliver all these lands to My servant, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon; I even give him the wild beasts to serve him. All nations shall serve him, his son and his grandson — until the turn of his own land comes, when many nations and great kings shall subjugate him.
9-10: As for you, give no heed to your prophets, augurs, dreamers, diviners, and sorcerers, who say to you, ‘Do not serve the king of Babylon.’ For they prophesy falsely to you — with the result that you shall be banished from your land; I will drive you out and you shall perish.
19-22: “For thus said the LORD of Hosts concerning the columns, the tank, the stands, and the rest of the vessels remaining in this city, which King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon did not take when he exiled King Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon, with all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem; for thus said the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels remaining in the House of the LORD, in the royal palace of Judah, and in Jerusalem: They shall be brought to Babylon, and there they shall remain, until I take note of them — declares the LORD of Hosts — and bring them up and restore them to this place.”
IV. Outline
1. Introduction: Prophecy in Jehoiakim’s first year
2-3. Performance prophecy: yokes for Israel’s neighbors
4-8. Meaning: the kings will serve Nebuchadnezzar, his son, and his grandson
9-10. Those who disagree are false prophets
11. Serving Nebuchadnezzar leads to life
12-15. The same prophecy for Zedekiah; warning against false prophets
16-17. Jeremiah warns the people of the false prophets
18. The false prophets should pray for the Temple’s vessels
19-22. The Temple’s vessels will be brought to Babylon until Yahweh returns them
V. Comment
No comment today. Stay tuned.
VI. Works Used
(see “Commentaries” page)
Photo copied from https:// solumevangelium.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/nepal-ox-plow.jpg