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.

Jeremiah 27:1

 Jeremiah 27:1 says, In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah came this word unto Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,  Verse two adds, Thus saith the LORD to me; Make thee bonds and yokes, and put them upon thy neck,  During the reign of Jehoiakim, the word of God came to Jeremiah and told him to make bonds and a yoke and put it on his neck.  This might have many people questioning whether they actually had heard God correctly or not.  Verse three states, And send them to the king of Edom, and to the king of Moab, and to the king of the Ammonites, and to the king of Tyrus, and to the king of Zidon, by the hand of the messengers which come to Jerusalem unto Zedekiah king of Judah;  At some point in time, Jeremiah was to send these yokes and bonds with a message to the kings that Judah evidently had an alliance with.  Verse four adds, And command them to say unto their masters, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Thus shall ye say unto your masters;  Those sent were to be made aware that the message came from God and not just from Jeremiah himself.  When we share God's word today, we need to make sure that people realize that what we say is God's word and not just our own opinion.  Verse five continues, I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me.  God also made it clear who He was.  He was the God that created everything, and therefore the only God that their is.  Verse six declares,  And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him.  God said that He had given all these kings over to the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon.  Their alliance was not going to save them, and neither was God, because they, His people, had turned away from Him.  Verse seven adds,  And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son’s son, until the very time of his land come: and then many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of him.  God told them that they would serve Nebuchadnezzar and his son, so the servitude would not be a short one.  Verse eight continues, And it shall come to pass, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith the LORD, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand.  God said that those who would not serve Nebuchadnezzar would fall under the sword and pestilence.  Their priests and prophets may have been telling them otherwise, but God said that resistance would be futile.  There are people today who claim in the name of some god, if not the God, that everything is going to be okay, no matter what, but God has already given His word that if we do not accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord that we are doomed forever.  Verse nine declares, Therefore hearken not ye to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your dreamers, nor to your enchanters, nor to your sorcerers, which speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon:  God told them to not listen to all those who told them that they would not serve the king of Babylon.  Verse ten adds, For they prophesy a lie unto you, to remove you far from your land; and that I should drive you out, and ye should perish.  God said that these other diviners, dreamers, enchanters and sorcerers were wrong.  It doesn't matter how many people may tell us something that is against the word of God, they will always be wrong.  Verse eleven says, But the nations that bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, those will I let remain still in their own land, saith the LORD; and they shall till it, and dwell therein.  God said that those that willing served Nebuchadnezzar would be allowed to remain in their land.  The only way to remain in the land was to listen to God.  The only way we can find security in the world today is to listen to the word of God and obey His commands.

Jeremiah 26:12

 Jeremiah 26:12 says, Then spake Jeremiah unto all the princes and to all the people, saying, The LORD sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that ye have heard.  Jeremiah said that God had sent him to prophesy against the house, or temple, and the city.  Jeremiah said that it was God's word that he spoke.  We as follower of Christ should always make sure that it is God's word that we speak, especially when we say that we are speaking for Him.  Verse thirteen adds, Therefore now amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the LORD your God; and the LORD will repent him of the evil that he hath pronounced against you.  Jeremiah called on the people to mend their ways and to return to God.  We must do likewise if we ae out of  the will of God.  Verse fourteen declares, As for me, behold, I am in your hand: do with me as seemeth good and meet unto you.  Jeremiah said that he was in their hand and to do with him as they thought good, but God's word was still God's word.  They were ready to kill Jeremiah, and he told them to do so if the must.  We need that same kind of faith today.  Verse fifteen adds, But know ye for certain, that if ye put me to death, ye shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves, and upon this city, and upon the inhabitants thereof: for of a truth the LORD hath sent me unto you to speak all these words in your ears.  Jeremiah also warned them that if the killed him that they would have innocent blood on their hands, because he had only spoken the truth of God as God had commanded him to.  Verse sixteen states, Then said the princes and all the people unto the priests and to the prophets; This man is not worthy to die: for he hath spoken to us in the name of the LORD our God.  The princes and the people told the priests and prophets who claimed to represent God that Jeremiah had done nothing to deserve to be put to death.  They said that he had only spoken to them in the name of God.  We are not called on to put anyone to death who speaks in God's name if we do not agree with what they are saying.  We instead need to point out why we disagree with them under the leadership of the Holy Spirit.  Verse seventeen declares, Then rose up certain of the elders of the land, and spake to all the assembly of the people, saying, Then verse eighteen adds, Micah the Morasthite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and spake to all the people of Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Zion shall be plowed like a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest.  Certain of the elders reminded the people of another man, Micah, who had spoken against the people in God's name during the reign of Hezekiah, saying that Jerusalem would be destroyed.  Verse nineteen asks, Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him at all to death? did he not fear the LORD, and besought the LORD, and the LORD repented him of the evil which he had pronounced against them? Thus might we procure great evil against our souls.  They asked if Hezekiah put this Micah to death or listened to him and repented, and asked God's forgiveness.  If a man of God speaks out against something we are doing today and calls on us to repent, when he is truly speaking the word of God, we do not need to be angry with him.  We simply need to repent of our sins and ask God to forgive us.  Verse twenty adds, And there was also a man that prophesied in the name of the LORD, Urijah the son of Shemaiah of Kirjathjearim, who prophesied against this city and against this land according to all the words of Jeremiah:  These elders reminded the priests and prophets of another man, Urijah, who did the same thing.  Jeremiah was not the first prophet to prophesy that Jerusalem was going to be destroyed if the people did not repent.  Verse twenty-one says, And when Jehoiakim the king, with all his mighty men, and all the princes, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death: but when Urijah heard it, he was afraid, and fled, and went into Egypt;  These elders said that when Jehoiakim and the elders heard the words of Urijah that they sought to kill him, but that he fled to Egypt.  Urijah failed to stand by his faith in God.  Even if we are put to death for our faith, we cannot afford to falter in it.  Verse twenty-two adds, And Jehoiakim the king sent men into Egypt, namely, Elnathan the son of Achbor, and certain men with him into Egypt.  Verse twenty-three continues, And they fetched forth Urijah out of Egypt, and brought him unto Jehoiakim the king; who slew him with the sword, and cast his dead body into the graves of the common people.  Jehoiakim sent men to Egypt to bring Urijah back and killed him. Jehoiakim may have silenced God's prophet, but he did not alter God's word.  Verse twenty-four concludes, Nevertheless the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, that they should not give him into the hand of the people to put him to death.  Jeremiah stood firm in his commitment to God, and he was delivered from being put to death.  If we stand firm in our fait to God, we are already delivered from spiritual death and into everlasting life with God. no matter what happens to us in this life.

Jeremiah 26:1

Jeremiah 26:1 says, In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah came this word from the LORD, saying,  Verse two adds, Thus saith the LORD; Stand in the court of the LORD’s house, and speak unto all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the LORD’s house, all the words that I command thee to speak unto them; diminish not a word:  During the reign of Jehoiakim, God's word came once more to Jeremiah.  He was told to stand in the temple and declare God's word to all that came to worship, and to not diminish His word.  We today as followers if Christ need to stand and proclaim His word wherever He directs us to, and we certainly should never diminish His word.  Verse three declares, If so be they will hearken, and turn every man from his evil way, that I may repent me of the evil, which I purpose to do unto them because of the evil of their doings.  God said that if they repented of their evil that He might not do the things that He had proposed to do to them.  The only hope that sinners have is to listen to God's call to salvation and repent of their evil ways and accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.  Verse four states,  And thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD; If ye will not hearken to me, to walk in my law, which I have set before you,  Verse five adds, To hearken to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I sent unto you, both rising up early, and sending them, but ye have not hearkened;  God said that He had sent prophets to them, who rose up early to speak to them, and was about to give them a warning if they did not listen to them.  God will send us plenty of people to call us to Him, and it is up to us if we listen or not.  Verse six continues, Then will I make this house like Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth.  This would be the result of not listen to God's prophets and obeying His word.  The temple would be destroyed.  If we do not listen to God's word today and do not accept His salvation, then our fate will be even worse.  We will go away to everlasting punishment.  Verse seven states, So the priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the LORD.  All the priests and the people heard Jeremiah speak these words.  Jeremiah did what God told him to do, then it was up to the people to do what God called on them to do, beginning with the priests.  Today, we who are followers of Christ need to listen to God's word and do what He calls us to do, especially the preachers who are to proclaim His word.  Not that any Christian is less responsible, but the preachers are called for the specific purpose of proclaiming God's word to the congregation of believers and those that need to come to Christ as well.  Verse eight says, Now it came to pass, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the LORD had commanded him to speak unto all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people took him, saying, Thou shalt surely die.  After speaking God's word, Jeremiah had the people declare that he should die.  No matter what people may threaten to do to us today, we must faithfully declare God's word.  Verse nine asks, Why hast thou prophesied in the name of the LORD, saying, This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate without an inhabitant? And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the LORD.  These priests and those gathered together in God's house in His name asked Jeremiah why he prophesied the things that he did.  They should have known if they were truly listening to God.  They then gathered at Jeremiah's house.  Verse ten adds, When the princes of Judah heard these things, then they came up from the king’s house unto the house of the LORD, and sat down in the entry of the new gate of the LORD’s house.  Then verse eleven concludes, Then spake the priests and the prophets unto the princes and to all the people, saying, This man is worthy to die; for he hath prophesied against this city, as ye have heard with your ears.  All the priests and prophets said that Jeremiah was worthy of death.  They claimed to represent God, but they didn't.  We need to make sure that what we proclaim to the people today in the name of God is indeed His word.

Jeremiah 25:27

Jeremiah 25:27 says, Therefore thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Drink ye, and be drunken, and spue, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you.  God's judgment called on the people of Judah to fall, because they had turned from Him.  Verse twenty-eight states, And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ye shall certainly drink.  Jeremiah was to offer the cup of wine to all the rulers, and if they refused to drink it, he was to tell them that God said that they would indeed drink it.  The cup represented the coming judgment, and even if the rulers did not want to accept the fact that it was coming, it was coming nonetheless.  Whether we believe it or not, God's word will always be fulfilled.  Verse twenty-nine declares, For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by my name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the LORD of hosts.  God said that He was bringing judgment on Jerusalem, and asked if the rest of the people of Judah thought that they would escape His judgment.  If those who follow idolatry are punished, those who teach them to do so should not expect to escape it.  Verse thirty proclaims, Therefore prophesy thou against them all these words, and say unto them, The LORD shall roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation; he shall mightily roar upon his habitation; he shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth.  God had been patient with His people as they turned away from Him, but now His judgment was at hand.  God may not immediately deal with us if we stray away from His word, but we will ultimately be held accountable.  Even if we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we are not free to do whatever we desire to do, but must look to the Holy Spirit for guidance.  Verse thirty-one adds, A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the LORD hath a controversy with the nations, he will plead with all flesh; he will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the LORD.  God said this judgment was going to come on all the nations who were ruled by wickedness.  Verse thirty-two declares, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth.  God said that the coming judgment would be like a great whirlwind, which destroys everything in its path even if you do not hear it coming.  Verse thirty-three adds, And the slain of the LORD shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground.  God said that those killed during this time would not be mourned nor buried.  When Christ returns, those who have not accepted Him as Savior and Lord will likewise find themselves without any hope.  Verse thirty-four states, Howl, ye shepherds, and cry; and wallow yourselves in the ashes, ye principal of the flock: for the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are accomplished; and ye shall fall like a pleasant vessel.  God warned that even those who were looked on with the greatest honor would fall.  How we are viewed by the world is not important, but how we are viewed by God is the all important question.  Verse thirty-five adds, And the shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor the principal of the flock to escape.  God said that there would be no way of escape for the shepherds or the flock.  Those who were supposed to be the spiritual leaders of the people of Judah would fall with the rest of the people.  Verse thirty-six continues, A voice of the cry of the shepherds, and an howling of the principal of the flock, shall be heard: for the LORD hath spoiled their pasture.  God said the cry of the shepherds would be heard, because He had spoiled their pasture.  Verse thirty-seven states, And the peaceable habitations are cut down because of the fierce anger of the LORD.  God said there would be no place of peace for them.  We may declare everything good in life today, but if we are not living in accordance with God's word, then we will find no place of real peace.  Verse thirty-eight concludes, He hath forsaken his covert, as the lion: for their land is desolate because of the fierceness of the oppressor, and because of his fierce anger.  God said that He was no longer going to protect the people of Judah because they had turned away from Him.  God's judgment will always be based on our failing to live up to our relationship with Him, and not be just because God has tuned His back on us while we were being obedient to Him. 

Jeremiah 25:12

 Jeremiah 25:12 says,  And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the LORD, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations.  God said that after seventy years that He would punish the king of Babylon.  Matthew Henry says there is some debate when the seventy years actually began, but there is no doubt that the time of captivity was limited.  We do not know when Christ will return, but we know that the time of Satan ruling over the world is limited.  Verse thirteen states, And I will bring upon that land all my words which I have pronounced against it, even all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah hath prophesied against all the nations.  God said after the seventy years had passed, that what Jeremiah had prophesied and even written down would come to pass.  We can depend on God's word being fulfilled.  Verse fourteen adds, For many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of them also: and I will recompense them according to their deeds, and according to the works of their own hands.  God said that He would recompense, or pay, those who had oppressed Judah for their sins.  There is coming a day when every person will be judged for his or her sins, and the only hope that anyone can have is by forgiveness through faith in Jesus Christ.  Verse fifteen declares, For thus saith the LORD God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it.  God again used a common thing, the wine cup, to represent His point.  Verse sixteen adds, And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them.  God said that these rulers would drink of the wine and become mad because God was going to move among them.  This wine cup represented the wrath of God.  Verse seventeen states, Then took I the cup at the LORD’s hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom the LORD had sent me:  Jeremiah said he took the cup and made all the nations that God sent Him to drink from it.  Jeremiah may have been viewed as a poor prophet, but he was to go to the kings and pronounce God's judgment.  No matter how the world views us, if God sends us to declare His word, we have all the authority and power of God behind us.  Verse eighteen adds, To wit, Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and the kings thereof, and the princes thereof, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, an hissing, and a curse; as it is this day;  God said that He would make a desolation of Judah, Jerusalem and the surrounding nations.  Verse nineteen continues, Pharaoh king of Egypt, and his servants, and his princes, and all his people;   God begins to list some of the other nations that were going to fall, starting with Judah.  Verse twenty states, And all the mingled people, and all the kings of the land of Uz, and all the kings of the land of the Philistines, and Ashkelon, and Azzah, and Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod,  Verse twenty-one says, Edom, and Moab, and the children of Ammon,  Then verse twenty-two adds, And all the kings of Tyrus, and all the kings of Zidon, and the kings of the isles which are beyond the sea,  Verse twenty-three adds, Dedan, and Tema, and Buz, and all that are in the utmost corners,  Verse twenty-four states, And all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the mingled people that dwell in the desert,  Verse twenty-five adds, And all the kings of Zimri, and all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the Medes,  Verse twenty-six concludes, And all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another, and all the kingdoms of the world, which are upon the face of the earth: and the king of Sheshach shall drink after them.  These nations would be cut down like a drunk man falls.  They would be helpless to stop the fall, because God had pronounced His judgment on them.  

Jeremiah 25:1

 Jeremiah 25:1 says, The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, that was the first year of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon;  Durig the fourth year of the reign of Jehoiakin, Nebuchadrezzar began his first year of reigning alone.  God's word came to Jeremiah at this time concerning the people of Judah.  No matter who is in power, God's word will still come to His people.  Verse two adds, The which Jeremiah the prophet spake unto all the people of Judah, and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying,  Jeremiah spoke God's word to the people of Judah and Jerusalem, just as we must speak God's word to the world today.  Verse three declares, From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, even unto this day, that is the three and twentieth year, the word of the LORD hath come unto me, and I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking; but ye have not hearkened.  Jeremiah said that he had been proclaiming God's word for years and that the people had not listened to him.  We may proclaim God's word all of our life and still have most of the people not listen to us, but that does not relieve us of the responsibility of proclaiming it.  Verse four adds, And the LORD hath sent unto you all his servants the prophets, rising early and sending them; but ye have not hearkened, nor inclined your ear to hear.  Jeremiah said that he wasn't alone in proclaiming God's word, but that God had sent other prophets that they did not listen to as well.  God works through all His people who will obey Him to get His message of redemption out.  Verse five continues, They said, Turn ye again now every one from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that the LORD hath given unto you and to your fathers for ever and ever:  Jeremiah said that all these prophets called on the people of Judah to turn from their evil ways and to follow God once more.  We must proclaim the same message today, calling on people to turn from their evil life and come to salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.  Verse six states, And go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands; and I will do you no hurt.  Jeremiah said that the people of Judah had been warned for years to quit following after other gods, just as we must today, especially if we claim to be God's people.  Verse seven declares, Yet ye have not hearkened unto me, saith the LORD; that ye might provoke me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt.  Jeremiah said that God said that they would not listen to Him, even though they were called His people.  We cannot be God's people if we do not listen to Him and expect everything to continue to be okay as many who were called God's prophets were proclaiming in that day.  Verse eight proclaims, Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Because ye have not heard my words,  Verse nine adds, Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the LORD, and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and an hissing, and perpetual desolations.  When God says therefore, we need to beware.  God said that because of the disobedience that He was going to use the king of Babylon to punish them, and that they would become a people who were an astonishment to the world because of their failure.  Verse ten continues, Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the candle.  God said that He was going to remove from the people of Judah all the things that normally brought joy, and when God's judgment comes one day, we can be certain that those who have not accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord will find no joy in their everlasting destination.  Verse eleven concludes, And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.  God said that the people of Judah would serve the king of Babylon for seventy years.  Those who do not accept God's word today will have a much longer time of suffering.  It will be an everlasting punishment.