Jeremiah 28 (HCSB)
Hananiah’s False Prophecy
1 In that same year, at the beginning of the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah, in the fifth month of the fourth year, the prophet Hananiah son of Azzur from Gibeon said to me in the temple of the Lord in the presence of the priests and all the people, 2 “This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. 3 Within two years I will restore to this place all the articles of the Lord’s temple that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon took from here and transported to Babylon. 4 And I will restore to this place Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the exiles from Judah who went to Babylon’—this is the Lord’s declaration—‘for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.’”
Jeremiah’s Response to Hananiah
5 The prophet Jeremiah replied to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the temple of the Lord. 6 The prophet Jeremiah said, “Amen! May the Lord do so. May the Lord make the words you have prophesied come true and may He restore the articles of the Lord’s temple and all the exiles from Babylon to this place! 7 Only listen to this message I am speaking in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people. 8 The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, disaster, and plague against many lands and great kingdoms. 9 As for the prophet who prophesies peace—only when the word of the prophet comes true will the prophet be recognized as one the Lord has truly sent.”
Hananiah Breaks Jeremiah’s Yoke
10 The prophet Hananiah then took the yoke bar from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke it. 11 In the presence of all the people Hananiah proclaimed, “This is what the Lord says: ‘In this way, within two years I will break the yoke of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon from the neck of all the nations.’” Jeremiah the prophet then went on his way.
The Lord’s Word against Hananiah
12 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah after Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke bar from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet: 13 “Go say to Hananiah: This is what the Lord says, ‘You broke a wooden yoke bar, but in its place you will make an iron yoke bar.’ 14 For this is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says, ‘I have put an iron yoke on the neck of all these nations that they might serve King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, and they will serve him. I have also put the wild animals under him.’”
15 The prophet Jeremiah said to the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah! The Lord did not send you, but you have led these people to trust in a lie. 16 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.’” 17 And the prophet Hananiah died that year in the seventh month.
PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN (verse 13): Ever since coming to faith, I have not felt confident in most situations, especially until recently, in speaking Your words and Your truths to others, Father. Please forgive me for this lack of confidence in my faith knowledge, Father. Forgive me for often leaning to silence or passive agreement instead of being vocal about the wisdom You have given me over the years. Help me to be more confident in the wisdom I have from Your word, so that I may speak Your truths to others more freely just as Jeremiah has in this verse and many others.
PROMISE (verses 15-16): In this set of verses, You make a promise about those who falsely prophesize in Your name. These people often lead many in the world to believe in their lies, or as some may call them “exaggerated truths.” Regardless, if it is not from You and they claim it is, You promise us that those false prophets will be dealt with according to Your hand and Your will. Thank You for being on guard for our well-being and being protective over Your people, so that these false prophets reap the punishments they sow for using Your name in vain, often for their own personal benefit.
ATTITUDE (verses 6, 9, 12): Jeremiah shows such a powerful attitude of discernment, confidence, and timing in these verses, Father. He praises Hananiah in the moment as he seems to feel Hananiah could be prophesizing Your truths, but he stamps a caveat at the end of his statement just to make sure they know he isn’t fully confident that Hananiah is or is not a true, Godly prophet, yet. Then when Your word does come to him after Hananiah has spoken for a bit, he speaks clearly to Hananiah that You have proclaimed Hananiah to be a liar and not speaking Your truths. This attitude of discernment, patience, confidence, and timing is pivotal for me to understand so that I may glorify You just as Jeremiah did. Please help me to be better at discernment and Your timing, Father, so that I may glorify You appropriately in moments like what Jeremiah experienced here.
COMMAND (verse 16): This command is quite simple to me, Father. You command us not to speak in a rebellious way against You. Yes, there may be times where we pray towards You while upset or sad, but that is all part of our relationship with You. You will use that to build us up in our confidence in You if we allow You to do so. In this particular command, however, You are speaking of us spewing rebellious and false words in Your name to others. You say that great suffering will come to those who perform acts like this and claim those lies to be in Your name. Help me to always follow this command, Father, so that I do not become one who falsely proclaims You are at the center of what I am speaking in the moment if what I am speaking is of this world or my own selfishness instead of from You.
EXAMPLE (verse 9): There are many people that claim to speak Your truths in this world and throughout history as you have given us many examples of, to include in Jeremiah 28. You assure us that those who proclaim peace on a large scale from You will be tested to determine if they are speaking Your truths or not. You tell us that if their words of peace come true, then it is quite obvious they are a prophet sent from You. If their words of peace do not come true, however, then they are a false prophet making claims likely for their own selfish gains. Help me to live in discernment like Jeremiah does in this Scripture so that I may be able to tell when lies are being spoken about You, but also to know when I should speak up against it or not. Give me confidence, like Jeremiah, in being able to know when to speak with or against these “prophets” in the moment, so that I glorify You through all that I say and do, Father.
*DAILY NOTE: I am easily persuaded by those who appear to be speaking Your truths, Father. I often give into things or believe things that I really shouldn’t be in this life. Please help me with my righteous discernment, Father. Help me to know when You are speaking through others versus when it is their flesh, the enemy, or the world speaking through them. Help me to discern and understand those messages being relayed when they are from You, so that I can accept them and apply them to my life. Thank You for persistently sending messengers in my path, Father, even though I have far too often failed at properly listening and accepting their messages.
*GENERAL NOTE: I always "sandwich" my quiet time with God in prayer and do it in a location that I will not have any distractions so that I can be focused on my quiet time with God. Do not worry about how short or long your journal entries are for that day's quiet time. Just focus on the actual quiet time and relational conversation with God through the Holy Spirit and His Word. The journaling is an enhancement to your quiet time conversation with God, but also to allow you to reflect on things later as you can look back on your journal entries later when you do the chapters again in the future to see how you have grown. See the FAQ for more detail on how I do my quiet time.
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