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Jeremiah 28 (ESV)
1 In that same year, at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fifth month of the fourth year, Hananiah the son of Azzur, the prophet from Gibeon, spoke to me in the house of the Lord, in the presence of the priests and all the people, saying, 2 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. 3 Within two years I will bring back to this place all the vessels of the Lord’s house, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place and carried to Babylon. 4 I will also bring back to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the exiles from Judah who went to Babylon, declares the Lord, for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.”…
10 Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke-bars from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke them. 11 And Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, “Thus says the Lord: Even so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all the nations within two years.” But Jeremiah the prophet went his way.
12 Sometime after the prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke-bars from off the neck of Jeremiah the prophet, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 13 “Go, tell Hananiah, ‘Thus says the Lord: You have broken wooden bars, but you have made in their place bars of iron. 14 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I have put upon the neck of all these nations an iron yoke to serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and they shall serve him, for I have given to him even the beasts of the field.’” 15 And Jeremiah the prophet said to the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah, the Lord has not sent you, and you have made this people trust in a lie. 16 Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will remove you from the face of the earth. This year you shall die, because you have uttered rebellion against the Lord.’”
17 In that same year, in the seventh month, the prophet Hananiah died.
REFLECTION:
No one likes to listen to the truths told by Jeremiah, but Hananiah’s lies give people illusory hope and comfort. God has clearly stated that the characteristics of a true prophet are that his prophecies will be fulfilled and will not be inconsistent. Although Hananiah’s death and Babylon’s repeated invasions fulfilled Jeremiah’s prophecy, the people preferred to believe sweet lies rather than listen to truths that caused them pain. Today we often say that God’s will be done. Once God’s will is not in line with our expectations, we are not willing to see God’s will be done. We will not find out the reasons from ourselves, and we don’t want to know why God’s will is inconsistent with our expectation. We should be wise and willing to listen to unpleasant but kind-hearted advices. These advices are usually given to us by God through people around us. They can make us see our own sins more clearly and enable us to confess and repent more humbly. In addition, we should also have integrity, especially as leaders in the church. We should speak directly what God has moved us to say without covering up or embellishing it. It may be unacceptable for a while or even cause trouble for ourselves, but ultimately it can edify people and is acceptable to God.
PRAYER:
Pray for God to enlighten you and make you understand how much of your inner peace and joy is based on false lies. Pray that God will remove these lies and open your spiritual ears and eyes so that you can hear God’s truth and see God’s glory, receive the true peace and joy that God bestows.
HYMN:
God Of All My Days – youtu.be/ZYkZE8AogDE
