Hananiah posed as a prophet in the last days of Jerusalem before its fall. His name means “the Lord is gracious.” He defied the Word of the Lord through God’s servant Jeremiah by saying that God would bring back the Jerusalemites that Babylon had taken captive within two years. [2]
How does a servant of the Lord respond to a people pleaser like Hananiah? Say nothing? Express anger? Jeremiah’s first response was, “Amen! May the Lord do so. May the Lord perform your words which you have prophesied, to bring again the vessels of the Lord’s house, and all those who are captives, from Babylon to this place” [3]
How does a servant of the Lord respond to a people pleaser like Hananiah? Say nothing? Express anger? Jeremiah’s first response was, “Amen! May the Lord do so. May the Lord perform your words which you have prophesied, to bring again the vessels of the Lord’s house, and all those who are captives, from Babylon to this place” [3]
But wait! Hananiah lied. Jeremiah’s second response was…
“Nevertheless, listen now to this word that I speak in your ears, and in the ears of all the people: The prophets who have been before me and before you of old prophesied against many countries, and against great kingdoms, of war, of evil, and of pestilence. The prophet who prophesies of peace, when the word of the prophet happens, then the prophet will be known, that the Lord has truly sent him.” [4]
Jeremiah had worn a yoke to the service. The yoke symbolized submission to Babylon. Hananiah took the yoke off Jeremiah’s neck and broke it. Then, he prophesied falsely that the Lord would break the yoke of Babylon from off the neck of all the nations within two full years. [5]
Jeremiah did not respond to Hananiah’s theatrics. He walked away, but then, the Word of the Lord came to him, saying, “Go, and tell Hananiah, saying, the Lord says, you have broken the bars of wood, but you have made in their place bars of iron.” [6]
Jeremiah continued, “Listen, Hananiah! The Lord has not sent you, but you make this people trust in a lie. Therefore, the Lord says, ‘Behold, I will send you away from off the surface of the earth. This year you will die because you have spoken rebellion against the Lord.’” Hananiah died that same year. [7]
Hananiah did not want to wear that yoke that symbolizes the consequences of sin. There were many like Hananiah in the last days of Jerusalem. Sin was all around. Horrible things were happening! Kind of like today where babies are slain in the mother’s wombs. Empires are defending sexual perversity, and criminalizing purity.
The Lord declared, “From their least even to their greatest, everyone is given to covetousness. From the prophet even to the priest, everyone deals falsely. They have also healed the hurt of my people superficially, saying, ‘Peace, peace!’ when there is no peace.” [8]
Jesus said, “When He [the Holy Spirit] has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment… of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.” The Apostle Paul wrote, “For when they are saying, ‘Peace and safety,’ then sudden destruction will come on them, like birth pains on a pregnant woman. Then they will in no way escape.” [9]
Jeremiah’s yoke symbolized God’s judgment on their apostasy. The price of their departure from God was losing control of their nation and being ruled by a foreign nation.
Sin always has consequences. We see this with our first parents. When they doubted God and believed the serpent, they lost paradise. When we doubt God and believe the devil’s lie, loss follows.
Conviction of sin is the gracious work of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, “The Holy Spirit will convict the world of sin, because they do not believe in Me.” [10]
Jesus told His disciples that rejection of the Gospel yields severe judgment: “And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them. Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!” [11]
God has done everything necessary for our salvation and for our sanctification by sending His Son into the world to become a sacrifice for our sin, and by giving us His Holy Spirit to dwell in us and to help us live a new life. We have so much more light and truth available to us than the people of Sodom and Gomorrah had. We need to repent of taking such a great salvation so lightly and embrace it humbly and gratefully. What’s more, we need to present both Law and Gospel to our listeners so that they understand that they are sinners in desperate need of the Savior Jesus Christ.
[1] 2 Chronicles 24:19
[2] Jeremiah 28:2-4
[3] Jeremiah 28:6
[4] Jeremiah 28:7-9
[5] Jeremiah 28:11
[6] Jeremiah 28:13
[7] Jeremiah 28:15-17
[8] Jeremiah 6:13-14
[9] Matthew 11:29; Galatians 2:9
[10] John 16:8-9
[11] Mark 6:11
“Nevertheless, listen now to this word that I speak in your ears, and in the ears of all the people: The prophets who have been before me and before you of old prophesied against many countries, and against great kingdoms, of war, of evil, and of pestilence. The prophet who prophesies of peace, when the word of the prophet happens, then the prophet will be known, that the Lord has truly sent him.” [4]
Jeremiah had worn a yoke to the service. The yoke symbolized submission to Babylon. Hananiah took the yoke off Jeremiah’s neck and broke it. Then, he prophesied falsely that the Lord would break the yoke of Babylon from off the neck of all the nations within two full years. [5]
Jeremiah did not respond to Hananiah’s theatrics. He walked away, but then, the Word of the Lord came to him, saying, “Go, and tell Hananiah, saying, the Lord says, you have broken the bars of wood, but you have made in their place bars of iron.” [6]
Jeremiah continued, “Listen, Hananiah! The Lord has not sent you, but you make this people trust in a lie. Therefore, the Lord says, ‘Behold, I will send you away from off the surface of the earth. This year you will die because you have spoken rebellion against the Lord.’” Hananiah died that same year. [7]
Hananiah did not want to wear that yoke that symbolizes the consequences of sin. There were many like Hananiah in the last days of Jerusalem. Sin was all around. Horrible things were happening! Kind of like today where babies are slain in the mother’s wombs. Empires are defending sexual perversity, and criminalizing purity.
The Lord declared, “From their least even to their greatest, everyone is given to covetousness. From the prophet even to the priest, everyone deals falsely. They have also healed the hurt of my people superficially, saying, ‘Peace, peace!’ when there is no peace.” [8]
Jesus said, “When He [the Holy Spirit] has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment… of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.” The Apostle Paul wrote, “For when they are saying, ‘Peace and safety,’ then sudden destruction will come on them, like birth pains on a pregnant woman. Then they will in no way escape.” [9]
Jeremiah’s yoke symbolized God’s judgment on their apostasy. The price of their departure from God was losing control of their nation and being ruled by a foreign nation.
Sin always has consequences. We see this with our first parents. When they doubted God and believed the serpent, they lost paradise. When we doubt God and believe the devil’s lie, loss follows.
Conviction of sin is the gracious work of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, “The Holy Spirit will convict the world of sin, because they do not believe in Me.” [10]
Jesus told His disciples that rejection of the Gospel yields severe judgment: “And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them. Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!” [11]
God has done everything necessary for our salvation and for our sanctification by sending His Son into the world to become a sacrifice for our sin, and by giving us His Holy Spirit to dwell in us and to help us live a new life. We have so much more light and truth available to us than the people of Sodom and Gomorrah had. We need to repent of taking such a great salvation so lightly and embrace it humbly and gratefully. What’s more, we need to present both Law and Gospel to our listeners so that they understand that they are sinners in desperate need of the Savior Jesus Christ.
[1] 2 Chronicles 24:19
[2] Jeremiah 28:2-4
[3] Jeremiah 28:6
[4] Jeremiah 28:7-9
[5] Jeremiah 28:11
[6] Jeremiah 28:13
[7] Jeremiah 28:15-17
[8] Jeremiah 6:13-14
[9] Matthew 11:29; Galatians 2:9
[10] John 16:8-9
[11] Mark 6:11
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