What is the meaning of Jeremiah 27:17? Do not listen to them. “Do not listen to them.” (Jeremiah 27:17a) • Jeremiah is warning Judah not to heed the “prophets, diviners, dreamers, soothsayers, or sorcerers” who promised quick deliverance (Jeremiah 27:9-10). • Earlier, the Lord had already exposed such voices as speaking “visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD” (Jeremiah 23:16). • False hope always sounds attractive, yet Scripture repeatedly urges discernment: “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits” (1 John 4:1). • Refusing to listen to the true word of God invites disaster (Proverbs 1:24-27). Serve the king of Babylon and live! “Serve the king of Babylon and live!” (Jeremiah 27:17b) • God had decreed seventy years of Babylonian rule as judgment for Judah’s persistent rebellion (Jeremiah 25:8-11). • Submission to Nebuchadnezzar was, paradoxically, submission to God’s sovereign plan; resisting him meant resisting God (Romans 13:1-2, though written later, reflects the same principle). • Historical examples confirmed this path: King Jehoiachin surrendered and was spared (2 Kings 24:12), while Zedekiah’s refusal led to blindness and chains (Jeremiah 39:6-7). • Even in exile, God promised preservation and future hope (Jeremiah 29:4-14). Obedience now was the doorway to life later. Why should this city become a ruin? “Why should this city become a ruin?” (Jeremiah 27:17c) • The question is both rhetorical and compassionate. God takes no pleasure in judgment (Ezekiel 18:23) and urges the people to choose life (Deuteronomy 30:19). • Jeremiah had already laid out the stark alternatives: “If you indeed surrender… you will live… but if you do not surrender… this city will be given over to the Chaldeans and burned with fire” (Jeremiah 38:17-18). • The ruined city of Jerusalem, later mourned in Lamentations 2, would stand as a solemn monument to stubborn pride. • God’s invitation shows His character: justice demands discipline, yet mercy longs to avert destruction (Joel 2:13). summary Jeremiah 27:17 calls Judah to reject deceptive voices, accept God-ordained discipline under Babylon, and thus preserve life and city. The verse underscores three timeless truths: discernment against false teaching, humble submission to God’s sovereign means—even when uncomfortable—and recognition that obedience spares us from needless ruin. |
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