As Judah was taken captive to ancient Babylon, are we also yoked as slaves to this world? Is there a light yoke that will give us a true Sabbath rest for our souls? Let’s begin in Jeremiah 27.
Would the nations surrounding Judah come under the yoke of slavery to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon? Would Babylon then also become a slave?
In the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord. Thus the Lord said to me: “Make yourself straps and yoke-bars, and put them on your neck. Send word to the king of Edom, the king of Moab, the king of the sons of Ammon, the king of Tyre, and the king of Sidon by the hand of the envoys who have come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. Give them this charge for their masters: ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: This is what you shall say to your masters: “It is I who by my great power and my outstretched arm have made the earth, with the men and animals that are on the earth, and I give it to whomever it seems right to me. Now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, my servant, and I have given him also the beasts of the field to serve him. All the nations shall serve him and his son and his grandson, until the time of his own land comes. Then many nations and great kings shall make him their slave. (Jer 27:1-7 ESV)
Should the people of Judah submit to the king of Babylon or rebel? What was God’s declaration?
“As for the nation or kingdom that does not serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and does not place its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation I will punish by sword, famine, and plague”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“until through him I have destroyed it. But as for you, do not listen to your prophets, diviners, dreamers, fortune-tellers, or sorcerers who say to you, ‘Don’t serve the king of Babylon!’ for they prophesy a lie to you so that you will be removed from your land. I will banish you, and you will perish. But as for the nation that will put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will leave it in its own land, and that nation will cultivate it and reside in it.” This is the Lord’s declaration. (Jer 27:8-11 HCSB)
What did Jeremiah report to Zedekiah, king of Judah, about false prophets and the consequences of rebelling against Babylon?
I spoke to Zedekiah king of Judah using words like these: “Bring your neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon. Serve him and his people, and you will live! Why should you and your people die by the sword, by famine, and by plague as the Lord has decreed about the nation that does not serve the king of Babylon? Don’t listen to the words of the prophets who say to you, ‘You won’t serve the king of Babylon.’ Indeed, they’re prophesying a lie to you. For I didn’t send them,” declares the Lord, “and they’re falsely prophesying in my name, so I will drive both you and the prophets who prophesy to you out of the land.” (Jer 27:12-15 ISV)
Should the people listen to false prophets? Should we?
Also 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. Hearken not unto them; serve the king of Babylon, and live: wherefore should this city be laid waste? But 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. (Jer 27:16-18 KJV)
Would God eventually cause people to bring back the vessels of the temple sanctuary to Jerusalem?
For thus says Yahweh of hosts concerning the pillars, concerning the sea, concerning the stands, and concerning the rest of the vessels that are left in this city, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take when he carried away into exile Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem. Indeed, thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that are left in the house of Yahweh and in the house of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem, ‘They will be brought to Babylon, and they will be there until the day I visit them,’ declares Yahweh. ‘Then I will bring them up and return them to this place.’” (Jer 27:19-22 LSB)
What did Jesus say about the yoke of worldly ways imposed upon people, and His own yoke of true rest for our souls?
“Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is comfortable, and My burden is light.” (Mat 11:28-30 NASB)
As Judah was taken captive to ancient Babylon, are we also yoked as slaves to this world? Is there a light yoke that will give us a true Sabbath rest for our souls? You decide!
