Chapter Twenty-Eight

1–11. The prediction and symbolic action performed by the prophet Hananiah. 12–17. Jeremiah’s response to this prediction.

Jer 28:1-11. In contrast to Jeremiah, who affirmed that the Babylonian captivity would last seventy years, a certain Hananiah from Gibeon began to say that he had supposedly been revealed by God something different – namely, that this captivity would last only two years, and that after two years King Jeconiah would return from captivity. Jeremiah responded to this by saying that Hananiah could be recognized as a true prophet only when his prophecy comes to pass. Then, angered, Hananiah broke the yoke which Jeremiah was wearing.

Jeremiah 28:1. In that same year, at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah, in the fourth year, in the fifth month, Hananiah, son of Azzur, a prophet from Gibeon, spoke to me in the house of the Lord before the eyes of the priests and all the people, saying: Hananiah, as coming from the priestly city of Gibeon, was probably himself a priest.

Jeremiah 28:6. and the prophet Jeremiah said: Amen! May the Lord do so! May the Lord make your words come true, the words you have spoken about the return of the vessels of the house of the Lord from Babylon and all the captives to this place! Jeremiah wishes to say: “It would be good if your prediction were actually fulfilled!” It was painful for Jeremiah himself to predict a seventy-year captivity for his people.

Jeremiah 28:8. The prophets who were before me and before you from ancient times predicted to many lands and great kingdoms war and disaster and plague. Here Jeremiah proves the authenticity of his call as a prophet by the fact that the prophet speaks what is unpleasant to the listeners and thereby exposes himself to danger. This shows that the power of God’s Spirit was great, driving the prophets to speak in such a manner, even though they still spoke! From this one can conclude that they were true messengers of God.

Jeremiah 28:9. If a prophet predicted peace, then he was recognized as truly sent by the Lord only when the word of that prophet came to pass. Moses (Deut 18:22) commanded to recognize a person as a prophet only when some prophecy of his comes to pass. Jer 28:12-17. Jeremiah receives a command from God to declare to Hananiah that instead of the broken wooden yoke, he will have to wear an iron one. Those nations that will heed Hananiah and rise up against Nebuchadnezzar will suffer even more heavily from his hand. Hananiah himself, for his lie, must soon die. This prophecy concerning Hananiah was fulfilled in the same year.

Jeremiah 28:13. Go and tell Hananiah: Thus the Lord says: You have broken the wooden yoke, but you will make in its place an iron yoke. Hananiah’s breaking of the yoke was an indirect call to rebellion against Nebuchadnezzar. It was for this rebellion that Nebuchadnezzar would impose an even heavier yoke on the Judahites and the other peoples allied with them.

Jeremiah 28:16. Therefore thus the Lord says: Behold, I will send you away from the face of the earth; you will die in this very year, because you have spoken rebellion against the Lord. He who spoke falsely in the name of Jehovah, Hananiah, is rightfully condemned to death (Deut 13:1-5).