Grasp the Gospel — Bible Comprehension Quizzes

Jeremiah 28 Devotional

Truth Over Welcome News

“As for the prophet who prophesies peace, only if the word of the prophet comes true will the prophet be recognized as one the LORD has truly sent.””Jeremiah 28:9 (BSB)

Hananiah stands in the temple and announces exactly what everyone wants to hear. Within two years, he says, the LORD will break Babylon's yoke and bring back the exiles and the temple articles (28:2-4). Jeremiah's first response is a surprise. He says amen and wishes the LORD would do it (28:6). He wants his people home as much as anyone. But wanting something is not the same as hearing it from God. A prophet who promises peace is shown to be sent by the LORD only when his word comes true (28:8-9), the same test the law had given (Deuteronomy 18:21-22).

Hananiah breaks the wooden yoke off Jeremiah's neck, and Jeremiah simply walks away (28:10-11). Later God sends him back with a reply. Breaking a yoke of wood has only forged one of iron (28:13), and Hananiah dies that same year (28:17). God's word is not changed by a dramatic gesture or a hopeful crowd. Because it holds, you can weigh every comforting message against it and find the comfort that lasts.

To think about: Which comforting message have you been accepting without asking whether it matches what God has actually said?

About Jeremiah 28: Hananiah the False Prophet

The prophet Hananiah predicts that Babylon’s power will end within two years and breaks the yoke from Jeremiah’s neck. God answers that an iron yoke will replace the wooden one, and Hananiah dies within the year, as Jeremiah foretold.

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