Just Yoking
- God tells Jeremiah to put a yoke around his neck and to send a message to all the kingdoms that Nebuchadnezzar's about to conquer (Edom, Moab, Tyre, Sidon, and the Ammonites).
- Jeremiah explains that God's giving their land to the Babylonians, but that the Babylonians will eventually become the slaves of other powers.
- But for now, they should all submit and serve Babylon. They should ignore the words of the false prophets and anyone else who tells them to resist.
- If they fight back, they're done for.
- Jeremiah sends the same message to King Zedekiah.
- No one needs to die by war, disease, or famine, says Jeremiah, and Zedekiah should ignore the false prophets who are urging him to fight.
- He tells the people and priests the same thing. The false prophets are lying when they say that the holy vessels the Babylonians have stolen will be returned to the temple.