Jeremiah 27

Debra Isenbletter

In this chapter Jeremiah gives three addresses to three groups. Within those three addresses, there are three warnings, but there is just one admonition and it is submission.

Jeremiah becomes a Sign (vs. 1-2)

"...Make thee bonds and yokes and put them upon thy neck." These verses show the Symbols of Submission and Submission made Visible. The symbols of submission are the yokes and submission is made visible when Jeremiah wears those yokes. Jeremiah becomes a picture of submission when he obeys the Lord and puts on the yokes. What a visual impact this must have been to those watching Jeremiah when he walked about the city wearing that yoke.

Whether he made one yoke and wore it and then went on to make the next yoke and wore it or whether he finished all the yokes and then wore one we don't know. It is possible that until he addresses each of the individual groups the Lord singles out that he said absolutely nothing during the time he wore the yokes. It could be that the Lord didn't give Jeremiah the rest of the message we are reading until after he first wore the yokes. What is seen is his willing obedience to whatever the Lord asked of him.

The purpose of "bonds" and "yokes" was to teach a lesson in submission, subjection and service. There was to be a submission to man, a subjection to God and they were to serve both. When the yoke was placed upon an animal it became a restraint, the animal was held in check by the yoke. For God's people the yoke also restrains so that they can't go their own way, they are held in check by their captivity. How many times have circumstances in our lives restrained us and forced us into a position where we could not do what we wanted. They held us still long enough for us to hear the voice of the Lord and learn what His will was for us.

A yoke is also a piece of equipment that is necessary for service, without it an animal could not pull a plow, he could not serve in the way that benefitted his master. A yoke also joins two animals together, they have to learn to work together, the yoke teaches a unity because both must learn to go the same pace and in the same direction. One of the lessons the Lord would have His people learn is they need to pull with Him and not against Him, and to do this their will needs to be joined to or in agreement with His will. For Israel this yoke spoke of chastisement and discipline. It restrained them yet was a necessary piece of equipment the Lord used to teach them how to serve and how to submit.

Jeremiah's lesson is submission to the yoke that God gives, if the Lord gives the yoke there is no use struggling against it. Jeremiah wears this yoke first, submission begins with him and is made practical in his life, he becomes their example. He does not ask them to do what he is not willing to do himself, he practices what he preaches. His submission is seen in that he does not question, does not argue, he just does what the Lord asks, he is a man of faith. Jeremiah is restrained and bound by the word of God and the Will of God and so are we.

The Apostle Paul is another who learned to willingly wear the yoke the Lord gave him for he said, "I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased and to abound...I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry." (Phil. 4:11-12). He viewed all his afflictions and suffering and losses as a necessary part of his service, he did not complain or struggle against whatever the Lord asked of Him. Whatever that yoke is in our lives, faith sees a purpose in wearing it and wears it willingly, the result is service that is well pleasing and fruit is brought forth that satisfies the heart of the Lord.

After Jeremiah wears the yokes he then gives them to others: to the representatives of the five kings mentioned who have come to Jerusalem and to King Zedekiah. When Jeremiah wears these yokes, they picture Babylon's dominion over God's people, of which Jeremiah is a representation. What is not yet seen is that the yoke he wears also points forward in time to each successive Gentile nation that will have dominion over the people of the Lord. It is a picture of the beginning of Gentile times which begins with Babylon and Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar is the First World Ruler, and each Gentile nation that follows will have a ruler that will force God's people into submission and they will continue to wear a yoke.

When Jeremiah gives these yokes to the five kings, he is showing that they too will have to learn the same lesson of service and submission. These men picture Babylon's dominion over these nations. In the last days every nation on earth will have to learn a lesson in submission to the King of kings and Lord of lords, it is a lesson that has still not been learned by the world, but for those who know the Lord and serve the Lord it is a daily lesson. We willingly pick up and yoke He gives and put it on and wear it and the result is our lives are changed, we are restrained, we walk with Him, not apart from Him and we are able to really serve the Lord in ways that would not otherwise be possible.