Reflections on Jeremiah 28

Jeremiah 28 (Contemporary English Version)
1. Later that same year, in the fifth month of the fourth year that Zedekiah was king, the prophet Hananiah son of Azzur from Gibeon came up to me in the temple. And while the priests and others in the temple were listening,
   
2. he told me that the LORD had said: I am the LORD All-Powerful, the God of Israel, and I will smash the yoke that Nebuchadnezzar put on the necks of the nations to make them his slaves.
   
3. And within two years, I will bring back to Jerusalem everything that he took from my temple and carried off to Babylonia.
   
4. King Jehoiachin and the other people who were taken from Judah to Babylonia will be allowed to come back here as well. All this will happen because I will smash the power of the king of Babylonia!
   
5. The priests and the others were still standing there, so I said:
   
6. Hananiah, I hope the LORD will do exactly what you said. I hope he does bring back everything the Babylonians took from the temple, and that our people who were taken to Babylonia will be allowed to return home.
   
7. But let me remind you and everyone else
   
8. that long before we were born, prophets were saying powerful kingdoms would be struck by war, disaster, and disease.
   
9. Now you are saying we will have peace. We will just have to wait and see if that is really what the LORD has said.
   
10. Hananiah grabbed the wooden yoke from my neck and smashed it.
    
11. Then he said, "The LORD says this is the way he will smash the power Nebuchadnezzar has over the nations, and it will happen in less than two years." I left the temple,
    
12. and a little while later, the LORD told me
    
13. to go back and say to Hananiah: I am the LORD All-Powerful, the God of Israel. You smashed a wooden yoke, but I will replace it with one made of iron. I will put iron yokes on all the nations, and they will have to do what King Nebuchadnezzar commands. I will even let him rule the wild animals.
    
14. (SEE 28:13)
    
15. Hananiah, I have never sent you to speak for me. And yet you have talked my people into believing your lies and rebelling against me. So now I will send you--I'll send you right off the face of the earth! You will die before this year is over.
    
16. (SEE 28:15)
    
17. Two months later, Hananiah died.

---

Has there ever been a true prophet of peace? That is a question raised in this chapter. God sent many prophets throughout Israel's history to warn them of their need to repent and change their ways and avoid judgment. What purpose, then, would be served by a prophet of peace?

In the previous chapter Jeremiah told the leaders of Judah, along with the emissaries of five other countries, that they should submit to Babylon's rule or they would be totally evicted from their countries and destroyed. In this chapter another prophet, Hananiah, speaks out in contradiction to his message. Hananiah said they didn't need to worry about Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon any more for the Lord had broken his yoke and "Within two years I will restore to this place all the articles of the LORD's temple that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took from here and transported to Babylon. And I will restore to this place Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the exiles from Judah who went to Babylon." (28:3-4) Hananiah then took the yoke bar from Jeremiah's neck and broke it.

Jeremiah didn't argue with Hananiah, but he told him, in the hearing of everyone gathered at the temple, "The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, disaster, and plague against many lands and great kingdoms. As for the prophet who prophesies peace--only when the word of the prophet comes true will the prophet be recognized as one whom the LORD has truly sent." (28:8-9) The test of the prophet of peace, as to whether he is a true prophet of God, is that his prophecy must come to pass. The same test is true of the prophet of doom, but the people hearing this exchange between prophets needed to hear this challenge against Hananiah. His was the message they wanted to hear, but they should not be too quick to accept it.

If we are to know God and see His activity in our lives we must be willing to wait on Him. Impulsiveness and impatience will not serve us well in our relationship with God. I would guess that the people of Judah at that time were not nearly as concerned about their relationship with God as they were with breaking free from the rule of Babylon. But the two could not be separated. Nor can we separate life and its circumstances from our relationship with God. And this relationship requires waiting upon the Lord. Jeremiah was sent back to Hananiah to tell him, "The LORD did not send you, but you have led these people to trust in a lie. Therefore, this is what the LORD says: 'I am about to send you off the face of the earth. You will die this year because you have spoken rebellion against the LORD.'" (28:15-16) It would have been impressive had Hananiah dropped dead on the spot, but it was a couple of months before this happened. Only by waiting on the Lord was the truth to be revealed.