King James Version, with Nii Okai's journal notes · 9 notes
1In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah came this word unto Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
2Thus saith the LORD to me; Make thee bonds and yokes, and put them upon thy neck,
3And send them to the king of Edom, and to the king of Moab, and to the king of the Ammonites, and to the king of Tyrus, and to the king of Zidon, by the hand of the messengers which come to Jerusalem unto Zedekiah king of Judah;
So Jeremiah indeed prophesied to nations and to kingdoms.
4And command them to say unto their masters, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Thus shall ye say unto your masters;
5I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me.
6And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him.
There are times when a man seems invincible and almost godlike.
I mean, God was so with Nebuchadnezzar that even the beasts of the field serve him.
Literally everything was at his beck and call, and things fell in place and worked out for him.
No wonder he thought he was a god.
When we come to that point in life where things work for our good and it's like we have the touch of Midas... Let's remember heaven is smiling at us, and we ought to give God the glory.
7And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son’s son, until the very time of his land come: and then many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of him.
8And it shall come to pass, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith the LORD, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand.
9Therefore hearken not ye to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your dreamers, nor to your enchanters, nor to your sorcerers, which speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon:
This Jeremiah had just barely escaped death threats, and indeed he himself was ready to die 🎲 if that was his end.
Now here he goes again. I can imagine the difficulty in having to face the prospects of death and not knowing when next God was going to come up with another life-threatening message.
No wonder God told him to set his face like a flint and be strong 💪.
These death threats here were very real, because other prophets before him had prophesied such and died.
Even the one who sought asylum in another country was tracked down and brought back to die.
This was how determined King Jehoiakim was to bring down any opposition to his throne.
He did not want any negative news to dampen the spirit of his people.
So everyone has their prophets; the heathen nations also have their prophets and fortune tellers.
Therefore, the demonstration of power is not the only proof of GOD, lest anyone also who shows power will be misconstrued as coming from GOD.
10For they prophesy a lie unto you, to remove you far from your land; and that I should drive you out, and ye should perish.
11But the nations that bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, those will I let remain still in their own land, saith the LORD; and they shall till it, and dwell therein.
So God did not just out of the blue bring the nations under bondage to Nebuchadnezzar; he forewarned them.
He even gave them the opportunity for self-preservation.
12I spake also to Zedekiah king of Judah according to all these words, saying, Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live.
13Why will ye die, thou and thy people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as the LORD hath spoken against the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon?
14Therefore hearken not unto the words of the prophets that speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon: for they prophesy a lie unto you.
15For I have not sent them, saith the LORD, yet they prophesy a lie in my name; that I might drive you out, and that ye might perish, ye, and the prophets that prophesy unto you.
16Also I spake to the priests and to all this people, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Hearken not to the words of your prophets that prophesy unto you, saying, Behold, the vessels of the LORD’s house shall now shortly be brought again from Babylon: for they prophesy a lie unto you.
Virtually every strategic leader was given the message. Jeremiah was using all possible means to get his message across and save his people.
17Hearken not unto them; serve the king of Babylon, and live: wherefore should this city be laid waste?
18But if they be prophets, and if the word of the LORD be with them, let them now make intercession to the LORD of hosts, that the vessels which are left in the house of the LORD, and in the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem, go not to Babylon.
19For thus saith the LORD of hosts concerning the pillars, and concerning the sea, and concerning the bases, and concerning the residue of the vessels that remain in this city,
20Which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took not, when he carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem;
21Yea, thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that remain in the house of the LORD, and in the house of the king of Judah and of Jerusalem;
22They shall be carried to Babylon, and there shall they be until the day that I visit them, saith the LORD; then will I bring them up, and restore them to this place.
Oh Lord God, who is praying for Africa 🌍 and our nations, for restoration of that which the nations have looted and plundered from us?
Send help, Lord; help, you send help 😣
The temple was such a rich source of wealth for Israel.
It was such a strong 💪 national symbol for them.
Little wonder when the nation was being built the gold and other treasures were returned.
Now I am wondering, since there were so many prophets, some prophesying the safety of Judah and others its exile, how were the ruling class supposed to determine who was really speaking for GOD? Just wondering.