EGW WritingsJeremiah 27

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 4 (1883 - 1886)

Ms 16a, 1885

4LtMs, Ms 16a, 1885, par. 39

It is a beautiful morning. We have no seasickness as yet. Last evening we enjoyed a beautiful sunset. The broad ocean was all that we could see surrounding us, and the sun went out of sight in the broad waters. We went into the dining room to attend services. Under the Episcopalian services, prayers were read, and chapters in the Old and New Testaments that were very appropriate for the occasion. The hymns sung were excellent in sentiment. The chapter read first was in Jeremiah. The second was in the New Testament in regard to the shipwreck of Paul. I wrote eight pages and prepared a reported article for the press. We were on deck most of the time.

From Splendor to Shadow

Why Submission Was So Important

SS 230.5

Jeremiah had followed a consistent course in counseling submission to the Babylonians. Ambassadors from Edom, Moab, Tyre, and other nations visited Zedekiah to learn whether he would join them in a united revolt against Babylon. While these ambassadors were awaiting a response, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: “Make yourself thongs and yoke-bars, and put them on your neck. Send word to the [neighboring kings] ... by the hand of the envoys who have come to Jerusalem.” Jeremiah 27:2, 3, RSV. God had given them all into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, and they were to “serve him, and his son, and his son’s son, until the very time of his land come.” Verse 7.

Prophets and Kings

Chapter 36—The Last King of Judah

PK 442.3

From the first, Jeremiah had followed a consistent course in counseling submission to the Babylonians. This counsel was given not only to Judah, but to many of the surrounding nations. In the earlier portion of Zedekiah’s reign, ambassadors from the rulers of Edom, Moab, Tyre, and other nations visited the king of Judah to learn whether in his judgment the time was opportune for a united revolt and whether he would join them in battling against the king of Babylon. While these ambassadors were awaiting a response, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, “Make thee bonds and yokes, and put them upon thy neck, 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.” Jeremiah 27:2, 3.

PK 443.1

Jeremiah was commanded to instruct the ambassadors to inform their rulers that God had given them all into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and that they were to “serve him, and his son, and his son’s son, until the very time of his land come.” Verse 7.

PK 443.2

The ambassadors were further instructed to declare to their rulers that if they refused to serve the Babylonian king they should be punished “with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence” till they were consumed. Especially were they to turn from the teaching of false prophets who might counsel otherwise. “Hearken not ye to your prophets,” the Lord declared, “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: 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. 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.” Verses 8-11. The lightest punishment that a merciful God could inflict upon so rebellious a people was submission to the rule of Babylon, but if they warred against this decree of servitude they were to feel the full vigor of His chastisement.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 11 (1896)

Ms 32, 1896

11LtMs, Ms 32, 1896, par. 18

After the great disappointment there were few who set themselves to seek the Word with all their heart. But some souls would not settle down in discouragement and deny that the Lord had led them. To these the truth was opened point by point, and entwined with their most hallowed recollections and sympathies. The searchers after truth felt that the identification of Christ with their nature and interest was complete. Truth was made to shine forth, beautiful in its simplicity, dignified with a power and invested with an assurance unknown before the disappointment. We could then proclaim the message in unity. But among those who had not held fast their faith and experience, there was great confusion. Every conceivable opinion was presented as the message of truth; but the Lord’s voice was, “Believe them not; for I have not sent them.” [See Jeremiah 12:6; 27:15.]