Jer 28:5 | KingComments | STEP | Jeremiah addresses the prophet Hananiah while the priests and people stand by ( ). Here we have prophet versus prophet. Hananiah is seemingly standing strong. He has a powerful, pleasant message, which goes down well with the people. Jeremiah has a weak appearance. He stands with a yoke on his neck and has an unpleasant message. But we see in Jeremiah how God’s power works in weakness. Jeremiah speaks in their “presence”. They stand by and watch. With an “amen” Jeremiah agrees with what Hananiah has said ( ). By this he means that he would like Hananiah to be right. He knows, however, that it is not so. The exile will not last two years, but seventy years. That is what the LORD has spoken. Time will tell that Hananiah’s prophecy is a lie prophecy ( ). Then he addresses the ears of Hananiah and the ears of the people ( ). He points out that Hananiah and he are not the first prophets ( ). There have been many prophets before them. We can think of Isaiah, Amos, Micah. To whom and what did they prophesy? They have prophesied against many nations and great kingdoms “of war and of calamity and of pestilence”. They have not brought a pleasant message. That these are true prophets, they can all know. After all, they have seen that their prophecies have come true. Of the prophet who prophesies of peace, that is Hananiah, this is yet to be seen. When the prophesied peace comes true, that prophet will be acknowledged to have been sent by the LORD in truth ( ; ). Jeremiah can speak in this way because he knows that Hananiah is a lying prophet. The characteristic of a lying prophet is that he always predicts prosperity without any condition attached to it and without the need for repentance.

‏ Jeremiah 28:5

Jeremiah’s Appeal to the Past

Jeremiah addresses the prophet Hananiah while the priests and people stand by (Jer 28:5). Here we have prophet versus prophet. Hananiah is seemingly standing strong. He has a powerful, pleasant message, which goes down well with the people. Jeremiah has a weak appearance. He stands with a yoke on his neck and has an unpleasant message. But we see in Jeremiah how God’s power works in weakness.

Jeremiah speaks in their “presence”. They stand by and watch. With an “amen” Jeremiah agrees with what Hananiah has said (Jer 28:6). By this he means that he would like Hananiah to be right. He knows, however, that it is not so. The exile will not last two years, but seventy years. That is what the LORD has spoken. Time will tell that Hananiah’s prophecy is a lie prophecy (Deu 13:1-5).

Then he addresses the ears of Hananiah and the ears of the people (Jer 28:7). He points out that Hananiah and he are not the first prophets (Jer 28:8). There have been many prophets before them. We can think of Isaiah, Amos, Micah. To whom and what did they prophesy? They have prophesied against many nations and great kingdoms “of war and of calamity and of pestilence”. They have not brought a pleasant message. That these are true prophets, they can all know. After all, they have seen that their prophecies have come true.

Of the prophet who prophesies of peace, that is Hananiah, this is yet to be seen. When the prophesied peace comes true, that prophet will be acknowledged to have been sent by the LORD in truth (Jer 28:9; Deu 18:20-22). Jeremiah can speak in this way because he knows that Hananiah is a lying prophet. The characteristic of a lying prophet is that he always predicts prosperity without any condition attached to it and without the need for repentance.