“Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoke from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke it. Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Even so will I break within two full years the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all the nations.’” (vv.10-11)
God told Jeremiah to wear a wooden yoke on his shoulders to symbolize that Judah would be servants to Babylon. After about a year of wearing it, Hananiah, the son of a prophet from the priestly city of Gibeon, came with a very different message from the one God had given Jeremiah. He said, “God’s going to rescue us and all is well, and the breaking of this yoke symbolizes what’s going to happen to Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom.” He then physically broke the wooden yoke off Jeremiah. That was exactly what the people wanted to hear, so they accepted the “positive message.”
Jeremiah then came back with a new message. Since they were ignoring God, it was going to be even worse than they had first heard; the wooden yoke was going to be replaced with an iron one (v.13), and Hananiah would die within the year for counseling rebellion against the LORD (v.16).
Never a good idea to lead God’s people astray, nor claim you are speaking in His name when you’re not.
The Truth: “But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.” (Deuteronomy 18:20)
God told Jeremiah to wear a wooden yoke on his shoulders to symbolize that Judah would be servants to Babylon. After about a year of wearing it, Hananiah, the son of a prophet from the priestly city of Gibeon, came with a very different message from the one God had given Jeremiah. He said, “God’s going to rescue us and all is well, and the breaking of this yoke symbolizes what’s going to happen to Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom.” He then physically broke the wooden yoke off Jeremiah. That was exactly what the people wanted to hear, so they accepted the “positive message.”
Jeremiah then came back with a new message. Since they were ignoring God, it was going to be even worse than they had first heard; the wooden yoke was going to be replaced with an iron one (v.13), and Hananiah would die within the year for counseling rebellion against the LORD (v.16).
Never a good idea to lead God’s people astray, nor claim you are speaking in His name when you’re not.
The Truth: “But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.” (Deuteronomy 18:20)
