Submitting to God’s will or not? (Jeremiah 27)

Despite modernity’s conviction that religion and belief in God would eventually disappear, many today seek to reconnect with a spiritual reality. However, spirituality seems mostly to be a desire to have some personal experience of the divine or the supernatural world and through it to improve or take control of one’s life. In other words, there is a seeking after something beyond this material world that gives people an anchor but lets them live as they please. This mentality has seeped into our Christian contexts as well. Many come to Sunday worship with the desire to experience emotional closeness to God and hope that God’s grace will give them fulfilment and happiness in the lives they lead. But what happens when suffering and difficulties come?

Judah’s planned rebellion

Judah was in a similar position. Convinced that God had chosen them in His faithful love and would never abandon them, they lived the way they pleased, oblivious to God’s demands. Our reading opens some 13 or more years after the previous chapter, at the beginning of the reign of Judah’s last king, Zedekiah, brother to Jehoiakim (Jer 27:1; 26:1), in his fourth year (594 BC; Jer 28:1). Jerusalem experienced the Babylonian siege shortly before, and the first wave of deportees were taken to Babylon along with most of the temple vessels.[1] However, many of the prophets said that this was only a temporary setback (Jer 27:16) and, given the people’s conviction that God was surely on their side, Judah hosted a conference with the representative of five neighbouring nations (Jer 27:3),[2] presumably in the hopes of organising a rebellion against Babylon.

Resisting God or submission?

God sends Jeremiah with a message and a practical demonstration to the representatives of these nations, as well as to Judah (Jer 27:2-11, 12-22). Wooden yokes had a crossbar with a pair of leather straps or ropes that were tied around the neck of two oxen, one at each end of the crossbar. The image indicates submission to the rule of Babylon, a visual reminder of the message the prophet brings. Since asking prophets for the will of God or the gods was common before political decisions or going to war, this is not surprising. However, the message feels counter-intuitive. Would God really want His people to serve a pagan and oppressive power? Would He say that Babylon was pleasing in His sight (Jer 27:5-6)?? Yet, God says that serving this chosen instrument is His will though there will be a time when Babylon itself will be judged (Jer 27:7). The choice between submission to God’s will or not is between life and death (Jer 27:12-13, 17). In Judah’s case, God’s will is His discipline to bring them to their senses from sinful living. Their submission would be a form of repentance, an acknowledgement that God is right. Resisting His will and rebelling against Babylon indicates their pride and their unwillingness to consider what God requires of them.

Suffering and God’s ways

Today, those who believe that God owes them a good life, or who cannot see suffering as part of God’s plan will respond to difficulties with anger and resentment. Sadly, even when we accept in theory that suffering may come to us, it can be a shock when it happens. Sometimes, things go awry because of our sin and suffering is a wake-up call. If so, God is able to make this clear to us. Even then though, as in the case of Judah, this need not be the end because God wants to bring us back to Himself. However, not all grief and misery we experience are God’s discipline for sin and unless God convicts us, we should not torture ourselves that this is His punishment. Suffering comes to all of us in some form. It is also understandable if our initial reaction is shock. How could God allow this in our lives? Why us? Why now? Yet, if we persist in bitterness, we miss the opportunity to grow. When we are able to submit to God’s will and His wisdom in what He gives us, then God can help us through them and so often, He gives surprising grace in the midst of pain.

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[1] Jehoiakim died and his son, Jehoiachin, took over for three months. When the Babylonians besieged Jerusalem, he surrendered to their forces. He was taken in chains to Babylon and his uncle, Zedekiah, was made king by the Babylonians (2 Kings 24:6-20). Most of the temple vessels and treasures were taken at this time, the rest was removed after the second siege (2 Kings 25:13-17).

[2] Going from south to north, Edom, Moab and Ammon are in the Transjordan region. Tyre and Sidon are in Phoenicia, on the north-west coastline neighbouring what used to be the kingdom of Israel.

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