Jeremiah 27

A Lesson In Submission - Part 6

Debra Isenbletter

Vs 15: “For I have not sent them...” In this day that Jeremiah ministers and in the last days the voices of others will be heard but the voice of the Lord will not. How sad but how true, and how little things have changed. God defends Himself and His Word when He says, “I have not sent them...” Their lie brings reproach to His Name and His Word. When they speak their lies in His Name, and call it truth, and it fails, then they make God to be a liar. This statement is a repetition of what the Lord has been telling Jeremiah and the people (Jer 14:14-15). The Lord is reassuring Jeremiah who stood all alone because his message was in direct opposition to their messages and the Lord is warning those who listen to these men. To both He says, “I have not sent them.” Jesus tells us that in the last days there will rise up false Christs and false prophets and they shall deceive. Deception is always Satan’s great tool for he is the father of lies.

There are two terrible consequences for believing this lie, their dispersion or their death. God says, He will drive them out which speaks of Dispersion and that they will perish which speaks of Death. When God says “I,” He shows that He and His servant have become One. Though Nebuchadnezzar carries out this judgment, he does so because the Lord has enabled him and allowed him. When this comes to pass the people will learn a new name for Jehovah, it will be The Lord that Smiteth. When they are dispersed, they are taken from their land and scattered among the nations. What is so ironic is that God’s People will experience what the nations did when Joshua first brought them into the land of promise. When they came into the land they drove the nations out, and they did so because the Lord fought for them. (Josh 23:9-10), but the consequences of their disobedience bring them to a place where the Lord must drive them out. (Deut 33:56). How terrible when He must treat His people like the ungodly nations. There are two groups judged here: “ye” are those who “hearken” to these men and “the prophets” are those who “lie.” The Lord will judge both those who speak lies and those who believe the lies. The reason they will be judged is that they are without excuse, Jeremiah has been a witness for the truth. There is a big difference between not knowing the truth and not believing the truth.

Jeremiah addresses the Priests and people: (vs 16-22) “Hearken not...” The Third Group is seen that Jeremiah speaks to. He gives the same command and he speaks the same Word to this third group. The message doesn’t change just because the audience has. The Word of God never changes. Some would alter their message to satisfy their listeners, but Jeremiah never does. His message goes to the king, the political leaders, to the priests, the religious leaders and to the people who are influenced by both. All will hear the Word. The warning he gives is the same as given previously, “Hearken not...” Behind this admonition is the real warning, it is to hear God’s prophet, Jeremiah.

The lie they speak is that the vessels that have been taken from the Lord’s house will shortly be returned. At the time Jeremiah is speaking Nebuchadnezzar has come to Jerusalem twice in judgment and in each instance he has taken away vessels from the house of the Lord. He came the first time during Jehoiakim’s reign because of their rebellion (II Chron 36:5-7). When he left he carried vessels from the house of the Lord. Dan 1:1-2 and Dan 5:1-2 tell us that these were gold and silver vessels and that he placed them in the house of his god. The second time Nebuchadnezzar came it was during the reign of Jehoiachin and again it was for rebellion (II Ki 24:8-14). When he left he carried away more treasures from the house of the Lord but these he had to cut in pieces because he had already taken the smaller vessels.

The vessels that he took then were those of gold and silver and they also represent a precious perception of the Lord that the people lost at the same time. The gold represents Divinity and the silver Redemption. They lost these vessels through judgment but they had already lost their comprehension of the Lord’s Divinity and His provision for Redemption. They still went to the temple and went through all the motions of worship but their heart wasn’t in it. The Lord therefore takes away these vessels for He is no longer satisfied with their worship. They had already been worshiping other gods and the temple had already been defiled with abominations, yet they mourn their loss. What is it that they mourn? It is the loss of their National Pride and their Religious Pride. They mourned the loss, but not the sin that caused the loss. Remember how Esau despised and sold his birthright, and when Jacob received his blessing, Esau “cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry.” But his sorrow was for the loss of his inheritance but not for the sin that brought about that loss. There can be a great show of sorrow but for all the wrong reasons. This is what we see and it is what these false prophets satisfy with their lies. More damage is done to God’s people by not telling them all the truth and letting them go on in deception or self-deception. The lies of these prophets will keep the people from letting God’s judgment turn their hearts back to Him. Until they accept their loss and this judgment, there can be no real repentance.

Vs 17: “Hearken not unto them; serve the king of Babylon and live...”Jeremiah gives his fourth cry of “Hearken not unto them” (vs 9,14,16,17). Along with this cry is another, and it is that they serve the king of Babylon and the promise is that they will live. This is a final cry for submission, it is a cry repeated (vs 12,17) and with it is a promise repeated (vs 12,17). There is a blessing promised for obedience to the Lord. The promise is they will live, and all the previous meanings of the word are the same here (to keep alive, to revive, to recover, to be whole). The Lord will “keep alive” a remnant though all this judgment, and He will “revive” them after they have been subdued. Their continued blessing is seen in that they will “recover” and multiply and that remnant that returns will again fill the land. Ultimately they will be “made whole” but not until they have learned to serve and not until they have received their Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jeremiah finally ends this verse by asking a second question: “Wherefore should this city be laid waste?” This is similar to his question is verse 12: “Why will ye die?” The Lord takes no pleasure in judgment and the very asking of this questions forces those who listen to see the consequences of their actions. The answer to both questions, their destruction and the city’s destruction is their disobedience and refusal to wear the yoke. Jeremiah reminds them that just as the Lord can bless, He can judge. They need to see that they are responsible for their own actions and there will be a price for disobedience. There is a great need to accept responsibility for our actions, to admit to sin and not try to put the blame on others. The Lord’s people would not believe that these vessels would be gone for long and would not accept their loss. To do so would be to accept why they were taken.