Jeremiah 26-27

“With my great power and outstretched arm I made the earth ... and I give it to anyone I please” (27:5). The Babylonian empire had already taken Jerusalem’s nobles into exile, along with the Temple’s gold (27:20). False prophets said that Judah should defy Babylon and the gold would return (27:16). But Jeremiah had a different, strange message: “Bow your neck under ... the king of Babylon; serve him and his people, and you will live” (27:12). Listening to God meant – surprisingly – accepting Babylon’s temporary reign.

“He has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God” (26:16). Messages from God elevate His authority, not our desires. Like Judah, we find real security in God’s care, even when we “lose.”