Coffee & Devotions

Jeremiah 27

Jeremiah 27

With Bryan Schneider · Sharon RP Church

Published August 29, 2025

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Opening Prayer

Lord, thank you for time together in your Word. By your Holy Spirit help us understand, lead us into truth, sanctify us, and change our lives, through Jesus. Amen.

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Scripture Passage

Symbol of the Bonds and Yokes

27 In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 2 “Thus says the Lord to me: ‘Make for yourselves bonds and yokes, and put them on your neck, 3 and send them to the king of Edom, the king of Moab, the king of the Ammonites, the king of Tyre, and the king of Sidon, by the hand of the messengers who come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. 4 And command them to say to their masters, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel—thus you shall say to your masters: 5 ‘I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are on the ground, by My great power and by My outstretched arm, and have given it to whom it seemed proper to Me. 6 And now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant; and the beasts of the field I have also given him to serve him. 7 So all nations shall serve him and his son and his son’s son, until the time of his land comes; and then many nations and great kings shall make him serve them. 8 And it shall be, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and which will not put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation I will punish,’ says the Lord, ‘with the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand. 9 Therefore do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your dreamers, your soothsayers, or your sorcerers, who speak to you, saying, “You shall not serve the king of Babylon.” 10 For they prophesy a lie to you, to remove you far from your land; and I will drive you out, and you will perish. 11 But the nations that bring their necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will let them remain in their own land,’ says the Lord, ‘and they shall till it and dwell in it.’ ” ’ ”

12 I also spoke 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! 13 Why will you die, you and your people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as the Lord has spoken against the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? 14 Therefore do not listen to the words of the prophets who speak to you, saying, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babylon,’ for they prophesy a lie to you; 15 for I have not sent them,” says the Lord, “yet they prophesy a lie in My name, that I may drive you out, and that you may perish, you and the prophets who prophesy to you.”

16 Also I spoke to the priests and to all this people, saying, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Do not listen to the words of your prophets who prophesy to you, saying, “Behold, the vessels of the Lord’s house will now shortly be brought back from Babylon”; for they prophesy a lie to you. 17 Do not listen to them; serve the king of Babylon, and live! Why should this city be laid waste? 18 But if they are prophets, and if the word of the Lord is with them, let them now make intercession to the Lord of hosts, that the vessels which are left in the house of the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem, do not go to Babylon.’

19 “For thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the pillars, concerning the Sea, concerning the carts, and concerning the remainder of the vessels that remain in this city, 20 which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take, 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— 21 yes, thus says 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: 22 ‘They shall be carried to Babylon, and there they shall be until the day that I visit them,’ says the Lord. ‘Then I will bring them up and restore them to this place.’ ”

The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Jeremiah 27.

A — About

What Is This Passage About?

God places Judah and neighboring nations under Babylon's yoke and commands them to submit rather than believe prophets who promise a quick reversal. The temple vessels and exiles will remain in Babylon until God himself chooses to restore them.

B — Best Verse

A Verse That Summarizes the Passage

Jeremiah 27:17

Distilled from the devotional exposition; the speaker did not explicitly name a best verse.

Do not listen to them. Serve the king of Babylon and live. Why should this city be laid waste?

The surviving transcript contains no explicit verse choice. Verse 17 distills Bryan's repeated emphasis that God's true word calls Judah to submit and live rather than trust comforting lies.

C — Called or Christ

C — Called to Do & Christ Connection

Speak and obey God's truth even when it is unpopular, resisting lies that promise an easier path. Come under Jesus' good kingship: his yoke is easy, his burden light, and he perfectly carried the law for his people.

Additional Notes

Discover Jeremiah 27’s call to submit to God’s will, even when it is hard. False prophets denied Babylon’s rule, but God had ordained it. Learn how this passage warns us against lies, calls us to obedience, and points us to Christ’s easy yoke and true rest.

Devotional Study

Transcript of the devotion. Minor transcription errors may remain.

Hey, hey, good morning. Good morning. Welcome to coffee and devotions. This morning we are at Joshua chapter 20. Not Joshua, Jeremiah. Jeremiah 27, we're going to be talking about yolks and stuff. Yoke. Do you know what a yoke is? So if you go to different countries even so day or maybe if we go to like old threshers where it's showing like how they used to farm uh long ago it will show that you have an animal and they have something that comes across their neck and it would go around their neck and they would pull this or carry a load underneath their shoulders. So, as they walk, they could pull a plow or pull a cart or something like that. >> Oh, but then the cat or the dog would die. >> Well, it's not about cats or dogs. Yeah, you wouldn't put it on. Although, some dogs have something like a yolk if they're like sled dogs. >> What sled dog? >> Oh, I'll have to show you someday. There's like doggies that will cool people on on sleds in places like Alaska. >> Why? >> Because they're bred for that. That's bread. >> Bred means like their uh the owners will try to find certain doggies that do really well with running long distances and are able to pull weight and so that's their job. And so they get fed and they get cared for and they do their job. Yep. Just like a cow or an ox, right? You ready to pray? All right. Lord, thank you so much for the blessing it is to get to spend time together and to spend time in your word. We pray God that you would please help us to understand your word, that your Holy Spirit would teach us and lead us. Lord, we need you to sanctify us, to lead us into all truth, and to change our lives because of the truth of your word. In Jesus's name, amen. >> I can't have coffee. >> Well, you don't have coffee, but you have some tea. Did mommy make you tea? >> No. >> Did you make it yourself? >> I put the cup down. I got this this out. I put in Well, mama put it in, but I got out and mama turned on this thing. She opened the thing and then I put it down and it >> Oh, cool. All right. So, is it like you and mom did it? Okay. All right. Here we go. Jer Jeremiah chapter 27. In the beginning of the reign of Jehoakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, "All right, here's what God says. You ready? Thus says the Lord to me, "Make for yourselves bonds and yolks, and put them on your neck, and send them to the king of Edom, to the king of Moab, and to the king of Ammonites, the king of Ty, the king of Siden, by the hand of the messenger who come from Jerusalem to Zedekiah, king of Judah." Oh, please don't do that. and command them to say to their masters, "Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, thus you shall say to your masters, I have made the earth, the man and the me beast that are on the ground by my great power and by my outstretched arm and have given it to whom it seems proper to me." >> Where are we? Uh we are at now verse sorry verse six. Uh so we're on this page now as it's proper to me. And now I have given all these >> all right here. >> And now I have >> given >> Mhm. >> my >> Nope. all these >> and >> lands >> lands and >> into >> the >> hand >> hand >> of >> Nebuchadnezzar >> the right underneath my finger. The >> king fall. Oh, of >> of >> Babylon. My servant and the beast of the field I have also given him to serve him. So all nations shall serve him and his son and his son's son until the time of his land comes. And then many nations and great kings shall make him serve them. And it shall come that the nation and kingdom which will not serve Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and which will not put it its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation I will per will will perish, says the Lord. And with the sword, the famine and the pestilence until I have consumed them by his hand. Therefore, do not listen to your prophets, your divers, your dreamers, your susers, or your sorcerers who speak to you, saying, "You shall not serve the king of Babylon, for they prophesy a lie to you." >> What? >> To remove you of what lie? >> Yeah. >> They're saying that King Nebuchadnezzar isn't going to rule over them. That the yoke, the weight, the burden of his kingship, they said, "We're not going to have him." He says, "They're lying to you." The prophets, they're saying lies. For they all prophesy a lie to you to remove you far from the land, and I will drive you out, and you will perish. But the nations that bring their necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will let them remain in their own land, says the Lord, and they shall till it dwell in it. So he's saying, "King Babylon's coming. If you hold on." So he says, he says, "King Babylon's coming. He's going to be king. And if you'll say, "Okay, king, you're king. You'll get to stay in your land. But if not, guess what's going to happen?" >> That's scary. >> Yeah. They're going to rip you out of it. >> Rip you out of what? >> Rip you out of your houses. Rip you out of your land. Yeah. All right. So now we're here at verse 12. You going to read that? >> I don't know what that is. >> That's the letter I. You know that. >> Oh, what? Oh, I thought you would >> right here. I >> also spoke to Zedekiah, king of Judah. >> Judah. >> Mhm. >> Judah was in the room. He was >> Judas. Mhm. Yep. Okay. I also spoke to Zedekiah, king of J 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." Why would you die, you and your people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as the Lord has spoken against the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon. Therefore, do not listen to the words of the prophets who speak to you, saying, "You shall not serve the king of Babylon, for they prophesy a lie to you, for I have not sent them, says the Lord. Yet they prophesy a lie in my name, that I may drive you out, and that you may perish, you and the prophets who prophesy to you." So, he says, I'm not just talking to all the neighboring people, right? Egypt and Edom and all them. I'm talking to Judah, too. The tribe of Judah, Israel, they need to submit to the king of Babylon. >> But Judah is my brother. >> Yeah. Not your baby brother. We're talking about Judah, the tribe of Israel. Yeah. Well, also I spoke to the priests and to all the people, saying, "Thus says the Lord, do not listen to the words of your prophets who prophesy to you, saying, Behold, the vessels of the Lord's house will now shortly be brought back from Babylon. for they prophesy a lie to you. Do not listen to them. Serve the king of Babylon and live. Why should this city be laid waste? But if they are prophets, and if the word of the Lord is with them, let them now make intercession to the Lord of hosts, that the vessels which are left in the house of the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem, do not go to Babylon. So see Nebuchadnezzar had come >> Babylon right here. >> Right here. So Nebuchadnezzar had come this this king of Babylon. He had come and he had not only taken one of the kings into exile but he had even taken the articles out of the temple. >> What's >> articles? So like the stuff like so the there were gold plates and gold cups and all sorts of stuff like that. Gold utensils and he had taken all of that and taken it to his temple. >> Why? And well, because he was plundering the temple, saying, "Well, see, my god's better than your god." Yep. So, he had already done all that and people were saying, "Oh, this is the the stuff is going to come back. It's going to come back too soon." No, it's not, guys. It's gone. It's gone for a long time. >> Why? >> So, don't because God's disciplining his people because they wouldn't follow him. He says, "So, repent now. Submit. Why? Why do you want to keep provoking the king, King Nebuchadnezzar? He's just going to come and destroy the city. For thus says the Lord of hosts, verse 19, for thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the pillars, concerning the sea, concerning the carts, and concerning the remainder of the vessels that remain in this city. King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, did not take when he carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoakim, king of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon. And all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem. Yes, thus says 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, that they shall be carried to Babylon, and there they shall be until the day I visit them, says the Lord, then I will bring them up and restore them to this place. So the stuff has been taken away. People have been taken away. And God says they're going to stay there until I decide to bring them back. So this is what do you think this whole section was about then? >> Bad. >> You think it was about bad? >> Mhm. >> You think it was about like lying prophets? >> Yep. >> And lying priests. Who had given King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, victory over Judah? >> God. >> God did. Um, do you think this was a popular thing for Jeremiah to say? >> No. >> Mm- No. Sometimes is it hard to say things that people don't like? >> Yep. But if God says them and they're true, do we have to say them? Yeah. So, what types of hard things do you think God has said to you? Maybe you don't like them, but they're true. What do you think? Can you think of any Maybe children obey your parents in the Lord for this is right. That's a super easy one, right? No. What about uh for the wages of sin is death? Do you think that's an easy one? Now, I think there's all sorts of sins and problems we have that may not be easy to tell people about, but yet God is true. It may not be easy for me to tell people who really really want to think that they're able to change the whole world to become Christians and and the whole world will always love God and the and and we can be without sin. And I have to tell them, I don't think that's the case. I think we're going to continue to struggle and some of my friends may we disagree on this and I have to say I I just don't think that God says what you're trying to say he says and sometimes it means that some of our friends don't even want to be friends with us anymore. >> I'm glad that um Kennedy and Oakley believe me. Yeah. You're glad you have friends. All right. Are you ready to pray? Okay. God, we know that there is even an offense in the cross of Jesus Christ. But we know that he is the king who reigns supreme. And so we pray that we would come to Jesus whose yoke is easy and whose burden is light. Lord, we pray that we would take up his name upon our on our shoulders. For the government is upon his shoulders. the law was carried by him perfectly. And so God, we pray that we would not strive for we know that you have given us rest in your son. And so, Father, we thank you for the good work you've given us in Jesus. We thank you for giving us a wonderful king in Jesus's name. Amen. May God bless you. May you walk in the Lord Jesus Christ's king Jesus Christ's kingdom. And we'll see you next time. Want to say bye-bye.

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