Jer 28:11 | KingComments | STEP | Hananiah should be willing to wait for the LORD whether his prophecy would come true. However, he knows that he is making up his prophecy. What Jeremiah says scares him. He is too proud to admit that he is prophesying lies. His response consists of an act and an explanation of it. To impress the people, he underscores his words with a violent action. He takes the yoke from the neck of the prophet Jeremiah and breaks it ( ). He can no longer stand it. This yoke, this symbol of submission and oppression, is a thorn in his side. It must be broken. As if by doing so its meaning would also be nullified. The people stand and watch ( ). Hananiah adds to his act the statement that will have sounded pleasant to the people’s ears. When he explains the meaning of his act, he again begins his words with the formula that true prophets use. Again he misuses the Name of the LORD. We hear no reaction from the priests or the people. They will have nodded in agreement at the words Hananiah speaks. At least this is language of hope, they think. Redemption in the near future. Jeremiah does not respond either, but goes “his way”. He does not enter into a war of words. Sometimes it is better to keep quiet and go away, than to continue to fight a lying prophet. He knows that he has the LORD on his side. In this Jeremiah is an example for every servant of the Lord. He has testified powerfully against evil before kings and princes, before priests and people. Here he no longer does that. He is done talking to Hananiah and does not begin a war of words “which is useless [and leads] to the ruin of the hearers” ( ). At some point, it is good to stop responding to the claims of those who oppose God and His Word. Jeremiah leaves it to the LORD to judge between a prophet and a prophet.

‏ Jeremiah 28:11

The Answer of Hananiah

Hananiah should be willing to wait for the LORD whether his prophecy would come true. However, he knows that he is making up his prophecy. What Jeremiah says scares him. He is too proud to admit that he is prophesying lies. His response consists of an act and an explanation of it. To impress the people, he underscores his words with a violent action. He takes the yoke from the neck of the prophet Jeremiah and breaks it (Jer 28:10). He can no longer stand it. This yoke, this symbol of submission and oppression, is a thorn in his side. It must be broken. As if by doing so its meaning would also be nullified.

The people stand and watch (Jer 28:11). Hananiah adds to his act the statement that will have sounded pleasant to the people’s ears. When he explains the meaning of his act, he again begins his words with the formula that true prophets use. Again he misuses the Name of the LORD.

We hear no reaction from the priests or the people. They will have nodded in agreement at the words Hananiah speaks. At least this is language of hope, they think. Redemption in the near future. Jeremiah does not respond either, but goes “his way”. He does not enter into a war of words. Sometimes it is better to keep quiet and go away, than to continue to fight a lying prophet. He knows that he has the LORD on his side.

In this Jeremiah is an example for every servant of the Lord. He has testified powerfully against evil before kings and princes, before priests and people. Here he no longer does that. He is done talking to Hananiah and does not begin a war of words “which is useless [and leads] to the ruin of the hearers” (2Tim 2:14). At some point, it is good to stop responding to the claims of those who oppose God and His Word. Jeremiah leaves it to the LORD to judge between a prophet and a prophet.