Jeremiah 27:1-7
Bad or Worse
Outline:
I. \\#Jer 1:1-19\\ Jeremiah’s Calling
II. \\#2:1-37\\ God’s Case Against Judah
III. \\#3:1-25\\ Israel’s Three Time Zones
IV. \\#4:1-6:30\\ Sins and Judgments
V. \\#7:1-\\ Some Specific Messages
A. \\#Jer 7:1-34\\ A Message to the Religious
B. \\#Jer 8:1-22\\ A Message to the Continuous Backslider
C. \\#Jer 9:1-10:25\\ A Message to the Believer
D. \\#Jer 11:1-12:6\\ A Message About Jeremiah
E. \\#Jer 12:7-17\\ A Message to the Pastors
1. \\#Jer 12:7-9\\ An Astonishing Statement
2. \\#Jer 12:10-13\\ A Horrendous Failure
3. \\#Jer 12:14-17\\ A Strange Invitation
F. \\#Jer 13:1-7\\ A Message of Ruin
G. \\#Jer 15:15-21\\ Message to Self - Feet of Clay
H. \\#Jer 21:1-7\\ A Message to Zedekiah - The News
I. \\#Jer 22:1-2, Jer 24:1-3\\ A Message to the People -
Don’t Miss the Ride Out
J. \\#Jeremiah 25:1-3\\ A Message about Nebuchadnezzer -
The King Is Coming
H. \\#Jer 27:1-7\\ A Message to the Nations - Bad to Worse
Sometimes the options that life gives you are not very good.
Sometimes it is because of our sin. Tonight we will see such a
situation.
Since chapter 21, Jeremiah has tied his messages to the kings of
Judah. Tonight’s chapters is slightly different in that Jeremiah
now expands his ministry to the kings which surround Judah as well.
Let’s study in with four thoughts.
I. \\#Jer 27:1-7\\ The Message
A. God gave a unique message in that it came with a visual
aid.
1. \\#1\\ Jeremiah was commanded to make a series of
wooden yokes, apparently one for each of the kings
mentioned in \\#3\\, including Zedekiah.
a. A yoke a collar placed on the neck of a plowing
animal.
b. It symbolized defeat, slavery, subjugation.
c. By sending these yokes to these kings, God was
telling each of the kings that they would be
defeated by Nebuchadnezzar \\#6\\.
(1) Neb was declared to be God’s scourge on the
nations \\#Jer 25:1\\.
(2) \\#6\\ As God describes what Neb will do, He
refers to him as "His servant.
(3) \\#7\\ And God also tells us that the power
of Babylon will last approximately to three
generations.
2. \\#8\\ With those yokes came a very tough message.
a. If you will submit to Neb, you will live.
b. If you do not submit to Neb, you will perish.
c. This was the same message that Jeremiah gave to
Judah \\#Jer 21:8-9\\.
d. This is the message that sin always brings.
(1) It is the message of bad or worse.
(2) That means that the only choice sin gives to
is to choose between something bad or
something even worse.
(3) These nations, including Judah, had offended
God and how they could submit to the
judgment God had brought (Nebuchadnezzar) or
they could face extinction.
(4) The choice was theirs but the truth is both
choices stink!
B. So are choices that sin gives to us.
1. Either bad or worse.
a. You can confess you were wrong and do what you can
to make it right or you can get caught in it.
b. That scenario plays out with every sin.
(1) You can break off that wrong relationship
or you can lose your family.
(2) You can make amends for what you stole or you
can go to jail.
(3) You can apologize for losing your temper
or you can lose your reputation.
(4) You can keep trying to make payments on
things you didn’t need and can’t afford
or you can file bankruptcy.
(5) You can go to a drug/alcohol rehab or
you can die from continued use.
(6) You can have a miserable marriage or you
can get help.
2. Someone asks, "Where is this mercy of God I hear
so much about?"
a. It was that mercy which told you to stay away
from sin to start with.
b. It was that mercy that did not expose your sin
immediately and it was that mercy you abused to
dig yourself deeper and deeper into sin.
c. It is that mercy that is giving you a choice
right now. As unpleasant as the choices may
be, it is still your choice!
3. Someone says, "What should I do?"
a. Get alone with God and confess your sin.
b. Break it off right now!
c. Determine that you are going to do as right by God
everyone else as you can.
d. Ask God and others for mercy.
e. Face whatever judgment is yours.
II. Confusion
A. In this message is a confusing statement.
1. A smart preacher would not bring it up.
2. This is our Bible study time and Christians do need to
study the Bible.
B. \\#1-3\\ Notice that it appears two dates are given for
the same event.
1. \\#1\\ Jeremiah is told to do something at the
beginning of Jehoiakim’s reign.
2. \\#3\\ Jeremiah is told to do something at the
beginning of Zedekiah’s reign.
3. The difference between these two dates would be 11
years.
C. I don’t think it is complicated.
1. God told Jeremiah to start making the yokes in the
first year of Jehoiakim’s reign.
2. God told Jeremiah how he was to deliver the yokes and
that would be done in the first year of Zedekiah’s
reign.
a. Most likely, it took Jeremiah awhile to make all
six yokes.
b. \\#2\\ When Jeremiah got them made, HE started
wearing. Jeremiah represented all the captive
nations.
c. Of course, he could only wear one at a time.
d. I would imagine that Jeremiah made each yoke a
little different so that the people could tell
them apart.
e. After all, God wanted the people to know that
judgment was coming to ALL the kingdoms.
f. And I imagine that Jeremiah wore them on a regular
basis from the time he finished them until
Zedekiah came to throne, then he gave each to the
ambassador of that county when they came to
recognize Judah’s new king.
g. The fact that the first day of both kings is
mentioned in the same sentence might be confusing
but it is hardly difficult to reconcile.
III. (Chapter 28) Reactions
A. Not only had Jeremiah made yokes for the kings of the
nations that surrounded Judah, but he made one for Judah
as well.
B. \\#Jer 28:1\\ The same year that Jeremiah sent the
yokes to the other nations, he also bumped into
Hananiah, a prophet, who was in the Lord’s house.
C. Hananiah rebelled against the Lord.
1. I get the impression that the priests, Levities,
and prophets hung out at the temple. (That makes
sense considering that the people offered sacrifices
daily.)
2. \\#Jer 28:2-4\\ Hananiah’s message:
(a) Nebuchadnezzar will be defeated.
(b) Within two years, all the things he had taken
would be returned.
(1) We need to remember that by Zedekiah’s
reign, Judah had been subdued by Babylon
twice, once to replace Jehoiakim and once
to replace Jehoiachin.
(2) Each time, they took some spoils.
2Chron 35:5 Jehoiakim was twenty and five years
old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven
years in Jerusalem: and he did that which was
evil in the sight of the LORD his God.
6 Against him came up Nebuchadnezzar king of
Babylon, and bound him in fetters, to carry him
to Babylon.
7 Nebuchadnezzar also carried of the vessels of
the house of the LORD to Babylon, and put them
in his temple at Babylon.
8 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and his
abominations which he did, and that which was
found in him, behold, they are written in the
book of the kings of Israel and Judah: and
Jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead.
9 Jehoiachin was eight years old when he began
to reign, and he reigned three months and ten
days in Jerusalem: and he did that which was evil
in the sight of the LORD.
10 And when the year was expired, king
Nebuchadnezzar sent, and brought him to Babylon,
with the goodly vessels of the house of the LORD,
and made Zedekiah his brother king over Judah
and Jerusalem.
(3) The false prophets might even lead some to
think that Israel would be the nation that
would defeat Babylon.
3. \\#Jer 28:5-9\\ Jeremiah’s response.
(a) Basically, Jeremiah said, "Amen." Who would not
want a national enemy defeated?
(b) But Jeremiah also said that others beside him had
prophesied Judah’s fall.
(c) Then he said, "We will just wait and see."
4. \\#Jer 28:10-11\\ That angered Hananiah and he broke
the yoke.
5. \\#Jer 28:16-17\\ For all of his rebellion, God killed
him.
D. Chapter 26 - The people and religious leaders generally
rejected Jeremiah’s messages.
1. \\#Jer 26:1\\ Time
a. At the beginning of Jehoiakim’s reign.
b. So this actually happened BEFORE the last message.
c. But it is Jeremiah preaching and he was probably
preaching the same type of sermon.
2. Reaction of…
a. The people, priests, and prophets.
Jer 26:8 Now it came to pass, when Jeremiah had
made an end of speaking all that the LORD had
commanded him to speak unto all the people, that
the priests and the prophets and all the people
took him, saying, Thou shalt surely die.
3. \\#Jer 26:10\\ Then the princes arrive, hear what was
going on, and give their verdict.
Jer 26:16 Then said the princes and all the
people unto the priests and to the prophets;
This man is not worthy to die: for he hath
spoken to us in the name of the LORD our God.
a. This is interesting as it looks like some of the
leaders in the land might still have some common
sense.
b. In actuality, it was probably not a unanimous
decision, but the work of one or two rulers.
Jer 26:24 Nevertheless the hand of Ahikam the
son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, that they
should not give him into the hand of the people
to put him to death.
4. Here we see the power and influence of one.
a. No doubt, it is always easier with two but God can
and often does use the ONE.
1. Abraham was one.
2. Joseph was one.
3. Moses was one.
4. Stephen was one.
5. Paul was one.
b. For the most part, Jeremiah was alone, but he was
kept alive because of the actions of one who
stood with him.
c. Let us be that one!
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