Everybody, what is going on? You know what time it is. You're listening to Join the Journey podcast with your host, Emma, daughter.

Thanks for joining. Today, we are reading Jeremiah 25 through 27, and I am back in the podcast studio with one of our Join the Journey editors. It's Will Gellett.

Hey, Emma. How are you?

I'm doing so well. It is good to have you back. Good to be here. I figured since you've been on the podcast a few times before, that we should just jump right in, and we gave you a very specific prompt. Is that cool? That's great. Can we go there? All right. So we said, hey, what is the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar in chapter 27?

That's a great question.

I have to ask Emma, did you play Oregon Trail as a kid? You know, I did. I preferred playing Monopoly. That was my favorite, like, CD-ROM computer game. CD-ROMs, wow. Yeah, but Oregon Trail, I did play a little in my day. So I have to say that's the first thing that I thought about when I was reading this chapter about the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar. For those of you did not grow up in the 90s, when you started out on your journey on the Oregon Trail, you had to get a yoke for your wagon. Yes. Yes. That was going to be on top of your oxen and get you to your destination in Oregon. But if you lost your yoke or if your yoke broke, you had to stay put and you couldn't go anywhere. Right. And you were pretty much dead. You were stuck. Yeah. You were stuck. So let's jump into the yoke in Nebuchadnezzar. So in chapter 27, God tells Jeremiah, I want you to build a yoke. Maybe let's just talk about what a yoke is for those who maybe don't know what that is or can't picture it in your head. A yoke is a wooden bar or frame that's fastened over the neck of two animals so that they can pull a plow or a cart together. There's a practical function of the yoke that helps synchronize the actions of the two animals. This is why Deuteronomy 22's 10 says, don't plow with an ox or donkey together.

Those animals are not the same. It's not going to work well under a yoke. Or why Paul says in 2 Corinthians 614 not to be yoked with unbelievers. You're not on the same mission. You're not heading in the same direction. But the yoke is also a symbol of burden and submission. When a farmer would put a yoke on a beast of burden, it was very clear that the animal was under the authority of another. It was time to work, and the animal was no longer in control of the direction it was going.

So as part of God's judgment against Judah, God tells Jeremiah to build a yoke and go to Zatakaya the king, as well as to the representatives

of other nations that surround Judah, who are likely in Jerusalem for kind of a European Union

of the day. They're gathering to talk about the... That's a good comparison. Yeah, they're gathering to

talk about what to do about Babylon. And Jeremiah tells the leaders, they are to submit to the yoke of

Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon.

This means they are to live under his control without resistance.

This is part of God's punishment for Judah for their sin, which is a tough pill to swallow

because God is purposely sending his chosen people to be ruled by a foreign nation that serves

other gods.

And it's got to have been confusing, frustrating, disappointing for the people.

And I can't help but think they were wondering, why is God doing this?

God also says, through Jeremiah, that whoever does not serve under the yoke of Babylon

will be punished with the sword, famine, and pestilence.

But if they serve under the yoke and obey the Lord, they would be permitted to live in their own land despite being occupied and ruled by an enemy nation. So I think just a quick pause here, I think this is God's provision and grace in the midst of his judgment, a theme we see throughout the Old Testament where God is holy and just, but he also loves to show grace and loving kindness to his people, even when they don't deserve it. So even in the midst of his judgment, he says, if you obey, there's a benefit to that, and I will give grace to you. We also see Jeremiah being really faithful to the job God has called him to, and faithful to God's message without watering it down.

So what do we take away from the yoke and the message that God wanted to send to Judah?

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