Jeremiah 27:12

 Jeremiah 27:12 says, I spake also 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.  Jeremiah told Zedekiah to bring his neck under the king of Babylon and live.  Sometimes, God may call on us to submit to authorities that we do not agree with.  Verse thirteen asks, Why will ye die, thou and thy people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as the LORD hath spoken against the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon?  Jeremiah asked why Zedekiah would fight against the king of Babylon in defiance of God's word.  Verse fourteen declares, Therefore hearken not unto the words of the prophets that speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon: for they prophesy a lie unto you.  God through Jeremiah then warned Zedekiah to not listen to the prophets who told him that he would not serve the king of Babylon.  We are likewise called on to submit to the yoke of Christ, that we may have everlasting life, and we should never listen to those who declare anything different.  Verse fifteen adds, For I have not sent them, saith the LORD, yet they prophesy a lie in my name; that I might drive you out, and that ye might perish, ye, and the prophets that prophesy unto you.  God said that He had not sent the prophets and that they prophesied lies.  Some people today claim to be preachers or prophets of God, but what they proclaim is not consistent with His written word, the Bible.  Verse sixteen states, 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.  Jeremiah said that he warned the priests and all the people to not listen to the prophets that were telling them that their time in Babylon would be short and they would soon return the vessels of the temple from Babylon, where they had already been carried.  Verse seventeen declares, Hearken not unto them; serve the king of Babylon, and live: wherefore should this city be laid waste?  Jeremiah said God called on them to serve the king of Babylon and live and not have the city of Jerusalem laid waste. This was the opposite of what the false prophets were proclaiming and what the people wanted to hear.  People today may claim that there is another way to salvation other than faith in Jesus Christ and taking up His cross daily, but that is not what God's word says.  Verse eighteen adds, 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.  Jeremiah said if they were prophets to make intercession to God that the remaining vessels of the temple might not be carried away.  These prophets needed to actually talk to God instead of just claiming to prophesy in His name.  Verse nineteen states, For thus saith the LORD of hosts concerning the pillars, and concerning the sea, and concerning the bases, and concerning the residue of the vessels that remain in this city,  God said that not all was lost out of the temple and that they should be concerned with preserving what was left.  Verse twenty adds, Which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took not, 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;  Verse twenty-one continues, Yea, thus saith 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;  Verse twenty-two concludes, They shall be carried to Babylon, and there shall they be until the day that I visit them, saith the LORD; then will I bring them up, and restore them to this place.  God said that these remaining vessels would be carried into Babylon and remain there until He returned them.  Had the people, starting with the prophets and priests, truly repented, this might have been avoided, but they refused to.  We, as followers of Christ, may suffer for our faith in Him in this lifetime, but we have His assurance that one day we will be restored to the best life possible.