Chapter Summary

Sign of the yokes, to surrounding Gentile kings. Warning of great calamity.

Discussion Questions for Jeremiah, Chapter 27

1. What is a yoke? What does the yoke represent in chapter 27? How is a yoke for an animal like yoke for the people according to verse 11? How is this merciful?
2. Who is the audience for verses 1-11? Why do you think these messengers have "come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah" (v.3, NASB) during this time when Babylon is invading? Has there been a time in your life when you have tried to power through a situation without considering what the Lord would have you to do?
3. Why would the Lord appeal to the messengers from other nations as the God of all Creation (v. 5)? How is this appeal similar to the one Paul gives in Acts 17:16-34 in Athens? How are the messages different? What might believers take from this approach when sharing the gospel with those unfamiliar with a Biblical worldview?
4. How is submitting to Nebuchadnezzar in this situation also in line with submitting to God, even though Nebuchadnezzar himself does not worship God? Who are some people or institutions that God tells us to submit to? Why do you think that submission, whether under God or under another entity, is such an offensive, difficult concept for many people?
5. Why does it say in verse 10, "I will drive you away and you will perish" (NASB), but in verse 11 the Lord declares that these nations "will cultivate it and live in it" (NASB)? Is this a contradiction? How can the prophecy concerning the 70 years in Jeremiah 25 offer clarity to what is being said in these verses?
6. Reading verses 12-13, how is the yoke that Jeremiah speaks of like the yoke that Jesus speaks of in Matthew 11:28-30? Why do you think that we often perceive submission to God in one area or another as a burden? Where are you having trouble submitting to the Lord and why? What do you think can be done to overcome this?
7. Why are "the vessels of the Lord's house" (v.16, NASB) important to the people of God? What would it mean for them to be taken away for a time?
8. How many times does God refer to himself as "the Lord of armies" (NASB) in chapter 27? Why is He emphasizing this title? Since the Lord is sovereign over war, how can we view God as being just when injustices are carried out by armies here in Jeremiah's day and in other wars in history?
9. What is Jeremiah referring to when he says, "All the nations shall serve [Nebuchadnezzar]…until the time of his own land comes" (v.7, NASB)? In verse 22, when it says Babylon will carry away the Temple vessels "until the day I visit them" (NASB), what does this "visit" mean for Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon? How can we trust the Lord to carry out justice even in times when it looks like those who are doing evil are getting away with their deeds?
10. When is the promise of verse 22 fulfilled, when it says, "Then I will bring them back and restore them to this place" (NASB)? What does it mean for the people of God that the Temple in Jerusalem will be restored? What does it mean for their relationship with God?

Key Words/Phrase

Yoke of Babylon, v. 11.

Characters

God, Jehoiakim, Nebuchadnezzar, Zedekiah, Jeconiah.

Strong Verse(s)

5