Jeremiah 27:16-22 – In God our hope is sure

In Jeremiah 27:16-22 God turned to address the priests of Jerusalem. They were listening to the self-proclaimed prophets who prophesied lies saying that the treasure that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the house of the Lord would be returned to them shortly. These treasures were made for the temple during the reign of Solomon. Second Kings 24:13 reveals that when Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem during the reign of Jehoiachin, he did not only take him, his family, and official to Babylon, but he also took treasures from the Lord’s house back with him. What the false prophets were essentially saying was that Babylon would be overthrown and the treasures would be returned to Jerusalem shortly. So here Jeremiah called off their bluff and exposed their lies.

Here God through Jeremiah instructed the priests to stop listening to those prophets’ lies. They should instead counsel the people to submit and serve Nebuchadnezzar to avoid needless bloodshed and destruction of the city. He even taunted the false prophets saying if they were genuine, they should entreat the Lord to prevent Nebuchadnezzar from taking the remaining articles from Jerusalem to Babylon. Here God was referring to the bronze pillars, bronze seas, and all the bronze stands Solomon had made (these were described in 1 Kings 7). These were the articles that Nebuchadnezzar did not take with him during his siege.  God then made known that He was going to let the Babylonians carry these articles to Babylon. And they would remain there until the distant future when God visit them again. These articles would then be returned home and restored to Jerusalem.   

The passage here clearly shows us that even in wrath, God still shows mercy. Even in discipline God still talks about His visitation to restore the people in the future.  When the yoke we are experiencing is God’s yoke, our suffering won’t be long. Psalm 30:5 assures us that “His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime; weeping may last for the night, but a shout of joy comes in the morning.” In Matthew 10:28-30 Jesus asked us to come to Him if we are heavy with burden. He invites us to His yoke upon ourselves and learns from Him. For He is gentle and humble in heart, and we will find rest to our souls. The yoke of Jesus is easy and His burden is light. He is our surest hope in life.