28:6-9Hananiah had just come up with a prophecy everyone liked. He declared that God would soon bring relief from all their Problems and oppressors. Jeremiah had to admit that Hananiah’s words echoed his own wishes. He sincerely hoped Hananiah was right. But unfortunately, Hananiah’s words were not from God. Positive or negative, God’s words are exactly true. We, like Jeremiah, may honestly wish for results or benefits outside God’s plans. But if we are going to be faithful to God, there will be times when we must disagree with our own wishes in order to speak the truth and be obedient to God.
Life Application Study BibleJeremiahChapter 28
Jeremiah 28
New Living Translation · Life Application Study Bible · Original page: 1249
A few verse numbers on this page were hard to read in the scan and are marked with a dotted underline — compare with the original page image if in doubt.
28Jeremiah 28
Jeremiah Condemns Hananiah
128 One day in late summer* of that same year—the fourth year of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah—Hananiah son of Azzur, a prophet from Gibeon, addressed me publicly in the Temple while all the priests and people listened. He said, 2“ This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will remove the yoke of the king of Babylon from your necks. 3Within two years I will bring back all the Temple treasures that King Nebuchadnezzar carried off to Babylon. 4And I will bring back Jehoiachin* son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the other captives that were taken to Babylon. I will surely break the yoke that the king of Babylon has put on your necks. I, the LORD, have spoken!’” 5Jeremiah responded to Hananiah as they stood in front of all the priests and people at the Temple. 6He said, “Amen! May your prophecies come true! I hope the LORD does everything you say. I hope he does bring back from Babylon the treasures of this Temple and all the captives. 7But listen now to the solemn words I speak to you in the presence of all these people. 8The ancient prophets who preceded you and me spoke against many nations, always warning of war, disaster, and disease. 9So a prophet who predicts peace must show he is right. Only when his predictions come true can we know that he is really from the LORD.” 10Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoke off Jeremiah’s neck and broke it in pieces. 11And Hananiah said again to the crowd that had gathered, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Just as this yoke has been broken, within two years I will break the yoke of oppression from all the nations now subject to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.’” With that, Jeremiah left the Temple area. 12Soon after this confrontation with Hananiah, the LORD gave this message to Jeremiah: 13“Go and tell Hananiah, ‘This is what the LORD says: You have broken a wooden yoke, but you have replaced it with a yoke of iron. The LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: I have put a yoke of iron on the necks of all these nations, forcing them into slavery under King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. I have put everything, even the wild animals, under his control.” 15Then Jeremiah the prophet said to Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah! The LORD has not sent you, but the people believe your lies. 16Therefore, this is what the LORD says: ‘You must die. Your life will end this very year because you have rebelled against the LORD.’” 17Two months later* the prophet Hananiah died.
Textual footnotes
- 28:1 Hebrew /n the fifth month, of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar. The fifth month in the fourth year of Zedekiah’s
- 28:17 Hebrew in the seventh month of that same year. See 28:1 and the note there.
Life Application Notes 2 notes
28:8-17Jeremiah spoke the truth, but it was unpopular; Hananiah spoke lies, but his deceitful words brought false hope and Comfort to the people. God had already outlined the marks of a true prophet (Deuteronomy 13; 18:20-22): A true prophet’s Predictions always come true, and his words never contradict Previous revelation. Jeremiah’s predictions were already coming true, from Hananiah’s death to the Babylonian invasions. But the people still preferred to listen to comforting lies rather than painful truth.