Jeremiah 28
How valuable is good news from a false prophet? This chapter presents us with an intense conflict between Jeremiah and a man by the name of Hananiah. This man was very bold to speak good news from the Lord, however the words that he spoke were a direct contradiction of God’s revelation through Jeremiah. They could not both be right.
Jeremiah indicated that there would be no quick release from the danger of the Babylonians. Hananiah said that all the people and property that were already in the land of captivity would be returned to
Jeremiah wanted to hear good news, just as all the people of
Jeremiah suggests that the answer is no. He mentions that the prophesy of Hananiah is inconsistent with the existing revelations of God from prior prophets. These earlier men have spoken of war, famine, and sickness, just as Jeremiah has also prophesied. Hananiah speaks of peace in our day, and prosperity for the people of
Hananiah apparently did not appreciate these words of challenge. You may recall that Jeremiah was wearing a wooden yoke as a visual prophesy to the people regarding the pathway of submission for them in surrender to the Babylonians. Hananiah responds to Jeremiah by removing this wooden yoke from his neck and by breaking that yoke, claiming in this visual prophetic action that God would break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar within two years.
As long as everyone is just playing prophet, I suppose that this action might not be so dangerous. Of course Jeremiah is a real prophet from God, and it was God who commanded Jeremiah to wear this yoke for God’s own purposes. What a brash action to go against the Lord’s true prophet by removing this symbol from his neck and breaking it!
Jeremiah just went away at the time that this happened, but he later confronted Hananiah concerning this action and his false words. It is easy enough to take off a yoke of wood and to break that, but can the false prophet break a yoke of iron? What if God has made the service of
The final words of Jeremiah in this incident are directed at Hananiah himself. He gives a new prophesy with a very short time horizon – less than one year. What will happen in one year? Hananiah will die. Why? He has uttered rebellion against the Lord. How has he done this? He has directly challenged the faithful speech of the true prophet of God. In doing this he has rebelled against the Lord.
Seven months later, Hananiah was dead. Can there be any doubt about which of these two men was the true prophet of God. The false prophet was dead by the accurate word of Jeremiah. Two years would pass by and the captives would not be home yet.
When Jesus Christ came, he taught as one who had authority. He spoke of things from the past and of his present day. He was also bold to speak of the future. Some of His prophesies were of things that were far off from the time of His speaking, but some were very near. He told His disciples three times that He was going to meet His death soon in
These were extremely bold predictions. If Jesus had been a false prophet, that would have been very evident within just a few months or years. But Jesus did face mocking and scourging. Jesus was crucified. Especially important, Jesus did rise from the dead. He has proven the reliability of His words through His willing death for sinners, and by the power of His resurrection He testified to the success of His substitutionary work for us. This is a most exciting situation. Christ has been perfectly vindicated as the greatest of all prophets, and the lover of His beloved bride the church. His message is very good news, and He is a true prophet with the power of an indestructible life.
posted by Pastor Magee @ 7:00 AM
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