Jeremiah 27:5–7 (ESV)
5“It is I who by my great power and my outstretched arm have made the earth, with the men and animals that are on the earth, and I give it to whomever it seems right to me.
6Now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, my servant, and I have given him also the beasts of the field to serve him.
7All the nations shall serve him and his son and his grandson, until the time of his own land comes. Then many nations and great kings shall make him their slave.
Jeremiah declared the sovereignty of God over all the nations and everything he created. He is the one who put Nebuchadnezzar as king of Babylon and used him to execute his will over the nation of Judah as well as the surrounding nations. God is in control and the king of Judah, Zedekiah was to submit to the king of Babylon to avert even greater disaster upon the people and land. The people of Judah could have been spared greater punishment through obeying God and obeying king Nebuchadnezzar. The length of their captivity was measured by God and in his timing he would make a way for the people to return to Jerusalem. They needed to learn submission to the foreign king to teach them they needed to be in submission to God and follow his ways. God in his timing would remove Nebuchadnezzar from his position of power and hubris. God’s love for his people even in their times of rebellion and disobedience is demonstrated by his acts of mercy and and opportunities for the people to change their ways and not receive what was prophesied.
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