Even the gospel is called, ‘the good news’. No-one wants to hear bad news. Sometimes to alleviate the pain we might be tempted to tell folk good news, when the news is actually not good at all. As we go back to the book of Jeremiah this is what confronted Jeremiah’s ministry.
Jeremiah 27: The Yoke of Nebuchadnezzar
1 In the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD.
2 Thus the LORD said to me: "Make yourself straps and yoke-bars, and put them on your neck.
3 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.
4 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:
5 "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.
6 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.
7 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.
8 "'"But if any nation or kingdom will not serve this Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I will punish that nation with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence, declares the LORD, until I have consumed it by his hand.
9 So do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your dreamers, your fortune-tellers, or your sorcerers, who are saying to you, "You shall not serve the king of Babylon."
10 For it is a lie that they are prophesying to you, with the result that you will be removed far from your land, and I will drive you out, and you will perish.
11 But any nation that will bring its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will leave on its own land, to work it and dwell there, declares the LORD."'"
12 To Zedekiah king of Judah I spoke in like manner: "Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people and live.
13 Why will you and your people die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, as the LORD has spoken concerning any nation that will not serve the king of Babylon?
14 Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are saying to you, 'You shall not serve the king of Babylon,' for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you.
15 I have not sent them, declares the LORD, but they are prophesying falsely in my name, with the result that I will drive you out and you will perish, you and the prophets who are prophesying to you."
16 Then 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 are prophesying to you, saying, 'Behold, the vessels of the LORD's house will now shortly be brought back from Babylon,' for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you.
17 Do not listen to them; serve the king of Babylon and live. Why should this city become a desolation?
18 If they are prophets, and if the word of the LORD is with them, then let them intercede with the LORD of hosts, that the vessels that are left in the house of the LORD, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem may not go to Babylon.
19 For thus says the LORD of hosts concerning the pillars, the sea, the stands, and the rest of the vessels that are left in this city,
20 which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take away, when he took into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem---
21 thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that are left in the house of the LORD, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem:
22 They shall be carried to Babylon and remain there until the day when I visit them, declares the LORD. Then I will bring them back and restore them to this place."
Jeremiah 28: Hananiah the False Prophet
1 In that same year, at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fifth month of the fourth year, Hananiah the son of Azzur, the prophet from Gibeon, spoke to me in the house of the LORD, in the presence of the priests and all the people, saying,
2 "Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon.
3 Within two years I will bring back to this place all the vessels of the LORD's house, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place and carried to Babylon.
4 I will also bring back to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the exiles from Judah who went to Babylon, declares the LORD, for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon."
5 Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke to Hananiah the prophet in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the LORD,
6 and the prophet Jeremiah said, "Amen! May the LORD do so; may the LORD make the words that you have prophesied come true, and bring back to this place from Babylon the vessels of the house of the LORD, and all the exiles.
7 Yet hear now this word that I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people.
8 The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, famine, and pestilence against many countries and great kingdoms.
9 As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes to pass, then it will be known that the LORD has truly sent the prophet."
10 Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke-bars from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke them.
11 And Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, "Thus says the LORD: Even so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all the nations within two years." But Jeremiah the prophet went his way.
12 Sometime after the prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke-bars from off the neck of Jeremiah the prophet, the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah:
13 "Go, tell Hananiah, 'Thus says the LORD: You have broken wooden bars, but you have made in their place bars of iron.
14 For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: I have put upon the neck of all these nations an iron yoke to serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and they shall serve him, for I have given to him even the beasts of the field.'"
15 And Jeremiah the prophet said to the prophet Hananiah, "Listen, Hananiah, the LORD has not sent you, and you have made this people trust in a lie.
16 Therefore thus says the LORD: 'Behold, I will remove you from the face of the earth. This year you shall die, because you have uttered rebellion against the LORD.'"
17 In that same year, in the seventh month, the prophet Hananiah died.
Things to think about…
1. Jer 27 is all about Babylon having the rule and coming as conquerors not only over Judah, but the lands of Moab, Ammon and Syria. Jeremiah makes a wooden yoke of bars and straps, vs 2. The people of Judah never enjoyed being under the yoke of anyone, who does? Yet Jeremiah was saying this was going to be the case. How do you feel when you are told news that limits you in some way? IE Financial constraints because an interest rate goes up, or inflation. You can’t go on that holiday, didn’t get that promotion, etc, etc. Perhaps limited physically due to sickness. What is your response to being under a yoke, as it were? The Lord is in control and there are lessons though it all, even though they are painful.
2. Imagine the feeling of these kings from Jer 27:2, “the king of Edom, the king of Moab, the king of the sons of Ammon, the king of Tyre, and the king of Sidon” when they were given the yokes from Jeremiah. No doubt Zedekiah, the king of Jerusalem, was embarrassed with Jeremiah’s message. These kings were united against Babylon and Jeremiah is telling them they will all be under Nebuchadnezzar’s subjugation. Jeremiah is saying they will all be under the same judgement, Nebuchadnezzar will enslave (yoke) them to Babylon.
3. If these kings did not receive the yoke, they would be under punishment from Babylon, vs 8. This happened when Babylon marched on Jerusalem in 587BC. Babylon had already marched against Jerusalem in 605BC and 597BC and had taken some vessels of worship and the best of the land, including the best and brightest people, Daniel and Ezekiel were taken at these times. Jeremiah here says that the false prophets were saying those vessels would not stay in Babylon but would be returned soon, Jer 27:16. Not only would this not happen until the right time, 70 years were to be fulfilled, but in a few short years Jeremiah says Nebuchadnezzar would return and take the things that remained “the pillars, the sea, the stands, and the rest of the vessels that are left in this city”, vs 19. These also would be taken from the city, Jer 27:20-22. Sometimes warning messages from the Lord are sent to us. This can take many forms including the loss of finances or health. If these have been as a result of sin (though this is not always the case, 2 Tim 4:20) and sin has not been repented of, the life of the believer can take a turn for the worst. We saw this even with Alexander and Hymenaeus whom Paul handed over to Satan to mortify the flesh, 2 Tim 2:17.
4. Jeremiah in Jer 28:6 agrees with Hananiah’s prophecy, but he is being sarcastic because he knows the prophecy is false. When God has been telling you something for years on end, it is better to be obedient than think God has all of a sudden changed his mind. Everyone wanted peace, prosperity and blessing. But this was the time for judgement. Judah had reaped what they had sown. Jeremiah was not about to give a false message of peace.
5. Jer 28 - Hananiah was the guy who wanted to bring good news. Jeremiah brought bad news. Hananiah breaks Jeremiah’s wooden yoke and straps. Jeremiah responds by saying they will be replaced with unbreakable iron yokes – Jer 28:14. What is your response when the Lord doesn’t answer your prayers – things not only don’t go your way – and things actually get worse. What is your yoke of iron at the moment? Jesus breaks our iron yoke of sin. We are free in Christ. In weakness, Christ’s strength is shown.
6. Have a look at what happened to Hananiah for his false prophecy, Jer 28:16, 17. He dies later that year. Very sobering. What should our response be in our modern context with what happened to this man? Do not trust a preacher that tells you all is well. We live in the light of the gospel. Jesus gives us light and life, but challenged his disciples that wanted to be first – he said they would be last.
Vision statement for CBC
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Life groups Wednesday – 6:30pm at church. 5:30om for prayer. We will be discussing how Jesus is the King in your life. New Life group starting in Karana Downs.
Prayer Points
1. Easter services – pray for messages and visitors
2. Pray for Israel/Gaza, Ukraine wars. May Yeshua, the Prince of Peace still the storms
3. New people as they settle in
4. New Life group in Karana Downs
5. Those that haven’t come to church for a while to return.
6. Revival over our city.
7. Finances to cover our needs
8. Pray for Kids church and Kids Hope at Karalee State school.
9. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to increase.
Praise Points
1. Praise God for response to Hs word on Sunday.
2. PlayPatch keeps seeing new people every week.
3. The Lord’s grace over our lives and country
4. Café, music, kids church, admin, sound and technical team every week
5. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. Ministries this week. Life group, Kids@Church, Kids Hope - Karalee.
2. PlayPatch 1-5yos, Fridays 9:30am at church.
3. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
4. Tune in again this week on our YouTube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism questions for March...
Q. 30. What does every sin deserve? A. The anger and judgement of God.
