Who Do You Believe?

Jeremiah responded to Hananiah as they stood in front of all the priests and people at the Temple. He said, “Amen! May your prophecies come true! I hope the LORD does everything you say. I hope he does bring back from Babylon the treasures of this Temple and all the captives. But listen now to the solemn words I speak to you in the presence of all these people. The ancient prophets who preceded you and me spoke against many nations, always warning of war, disaster, and disease. So a prophet who predicts peace must show he is right. Only when his predictions come true can we know that he is really from the LORD.” [Jeremiah 28.5-9]

There's a lot going on here between Hananiah and Jeremiah. Two "prophets of God" are at odds. Which one should the people believe?

As the story goes, Jeremiah concedes to Hananiah as if it seems just to stop the bickering. Perhaps he took the high road? But Hananiah couldn't leave it alone, and proceeded to destroy the wooden yoke Jeremiah was using to demonstrate a point.

I guess at this point, Jeremiah had had enough. He acknowledged Hananiah's removal of the wooden yoke and prophesied a yoke of iron in its place. But, it didn't stop there. Jeremiah went on to call out Hananiah's deception by declaring he (Hananiah) would die within the year. Two months later, Hananiah was dead.

In Jeremiah's own words: Only when his predictions come true can we know that he is really from the LORD. Jeremiah lived up to this standard and proved himself as the true prophet of God.

The point we should all see is this: God's Word is true and will always be proven true. Naturally then, those who genuinely speak for God will be proven on the side of truth and therefore, God. 

The outlook for those who do not speak for truth is not so positive. As Jeremiah demonstrated in his initial encounter with Hananiah, we find encouragement to simply speak truth and leave it up to the truth to prove itself. We can trust God then, when confrontations escalate, to take care of the opposition.

We must not forget that Israel's captivity to Babylon was all about idolatry. Hananiah's prophecy, as a "man of God" proves just how deeply idolatry can infiltrate even our religious systems! It was an idolatrous decision really that led to Hananiah's demise. Instead of speaking for God, he spoke for himself - perhaps his or others' reasoning and logic - and the rest is history. The voice (idol) of self stands ready on a moment's notice to interject its opinion or will where there is a lack of God's Word. Only God's Word can silence the screaming idolatrous voice of self.

Every work of man's hands and reasoning of man's mind presents itself as an idol to displace God's work and usurp God's authority in man's life. And, without God's Word as the standard, man is easily swept into idolatry (trusting someone or something instead of God).

Do we dare consider how this affects us today?

I believe, had Hananiah been more disciplined in knowing the voice of God as spoken in His Word, he would not have been Jeremiah's nemesis and the story would have been entirely different.

Father, help us to be highly disciplined to know You as revealed by Your Word so that we might quickly and efficiently identify and avoid idolatry and remain forever on the side of truth - Your Truth.