The Book of the Prophet Jeremiah
Jeremiah 28
Chapter XXVIII · Vol. III, pp. 1265–1266
1 Hananiah prophesieth falsely the return of the vessels, and of Jeconiah. 5 Jeremiah, wishing it to be true, showeth that the event will declare who are true prophets. 10 Hananiah breaketh Jeremiah's yoke. 12 Jeremiah telleth of an iron yoke, 15 and foretelleth Hananiah's death.
1 And ita came to pass the same year,1 in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth 2year,3 and in the fifth month, that Hananiah the son of Azur bthe prophet, which was of Gibeon, spake unto me in the house of the LORD, in the presence of the priests, and of all the people, saying,
a ch.27.1.
1 This chapter is closely connected in time with the preceding. Both prophecies were given in the first year of the reign of Zedekiah.—P.
A.M. cir. 3408. B.C. cir. 596.
2 Perhaps after the release, Le.25.4.
3 From what year was it the fourth? Some think from the jubilee; but of this there is no intimation. May it not be estimated thus? Nebuchadnezzar conquered Judea, and rendered Jehoiakim tributary, from which period the principal computation of the seventy years' captivity commences. At the end of three years, however, Jehoiakim rebelled, when the invasion was renewed; and on the death of Jehoiakim, which occurred soon after, Jehoiachin succeeded, and reigned three months, and was succeeded by Zedekiah in the fourth year since the first subjugation of Judea, and of the first captivity.—C.
2 Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, I have broken the cyoke of the king of Babylon:
c ch.27.2-12; 14.14; 23.31,32.
3 Within two full years4 willd I bring again into this place eall the vessels of the LORD's house, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place, and carried them to Babylon:
4 Heb. years of days.
d ch.27.16-20. Eze.13.21. 2 Pe.2.19. Mi.2.11;3.11.
e 2 Ki.24.13; ch.27.16. 2 Ch.36.10. Da.1.2.
4 And I will bring again to this place Jeconiah5 the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, with all the captives6 of Judah, that went into Babylon, saith the LORD: for I will gbreak the yoke of the king of Babylon.
5 Or, Jehoiachin, 2 Ki.24.10-16. ch.24.1,5; 29.1,2, with ch.22.26,27.
6 Heb. captivity.
g Ge.27.40. ver.2.
5 Then the prophet Jeremiah said unto the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests, and in the presence of all the people that stood hin the house of the LORD,
h ver.1; ch.26.2; 19.14.
6 Even the prophet Jeremiah said, 7Amen:8 the LORD do so; the LORD perform thy words which thou hast prophesied, to bring again the vessels of the LORD's house, and all that is carried away captive, from Babylon into this place.
7 1 Ki.1.36. ch.11.5; 17.16,19; 18.20, i.e. so let it be.
8 Amen. The word is not a prayer, but a simple affirmation of the truth. The prayer that follows, it is to be noted, only seeks the fact of the restoration, and makes no mention of the time; for the prophet knowing the mind of the Lord respecting the seventy years' captivity, could not pray, in faith, for Hananiah's period of two years, which he knew to be an unauthorized and false prediction.—C.
7 Nevertheless,i hear thou now this word that I speak in thine ears, and in the ears of all the people;
i 1 Ki.22.28.
8 The prophets that have been before me and before thee of old, jprophesied both against many countries, kand against great kingdoms, of war, and of evil, and of pestilence.
9 The prophet which prophesieth of peace,9 when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, lthen shall the prophet be known, that the LORD hath truly sent him.
9 Peace here includes all the blessings of restoration from captivity—of which Jeremiah had prophesied at the end of seventy years, Hananiah at the end of two. The faith of believers was long tried, but the event established Jeremiah as the true prophet of the LORD.—C.
10 Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoken from off the prophet Jeremiah's neck, and brake it.
n ch.27.2. 1 Ki.22.11,24. Ps.10.13. Mal.3.13.
11 And Hananiah spake in the presence of all the people, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Even so owill I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all nations within the space of two full years. And the prophet Jeremiah pwent his way.1
o 1 Ki.22.11. ch.27.2,7,11;25.11;29.10; ver.2-4. Eze.13.22.
p Is.36.20. Pr.14.7;26.4;9.8. Mat.7.6. Hab.2.1. Eze.3.17.
1 He stayed not to argue with the enthusiast, who, like many of his class, having begun with imposture, at last, through temporary and apparent success, became persuaded of the reality of his imaginations. Neither does he stand to argue with a people who have first loved, and then believed, a lie, ver. 15; but he quietly retires from the conflict, till again commissioned farther to reveal the mind of the LORD.—C.
12 Then the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah the prophet, after that Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke from off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, saying,
13 Go and tell Hananiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Thou hast broken the yokes of wood, but thou shalt make for them yokes of iron.2
14 For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, I have put a yoke of iron upon the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they shall serve him: qand I have given him the beasts of the field also.
q Da.2.38.
15 Then said the prophet Jeremiah unto Hananiah the prophet, Hear now, Hananiah, rThe LORD hath not sent thee; but thou makest this people to trust in a lie.
16 Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will cast thee from off the face of the earth: this year sthou shalt die, because thou hast taught 3rebellion4 against the LORD.
s De.13.5,15. ch.29.21,32;20.6.
3 Heb. revolt.
4 The LORD reigneth, therefore his every word is a law; and every resistance is not merely an act of unbelief, attempting to 'make God a liar,' but an act of rebellion, attempting to dethrone him from his kingdom.—C.
17 Sot Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month.
t ver.16. Zec.1.6. Is.44.25,26. ver.9.
Notes
Reflections.—False teachers impudently dare to preach their other gospel, and speak lies in God's name. But what is the chaff to the wheat? Not majesty of style, not the inculcating of faith or repentance, but flattering hints of prosperity in sin, mark their discourses. Alas! how strangely were the Jews besotted, who, contrary to manifold warnings, believed such impostors as flattered them to their ruin! But falsehood, advanced with solemnity and confidence, often gains regard. And many dare to affirm that to be God's truth which shortly will be found a lie, to their own damnation. But the faithful servants of God must not strive; and if they are reviled, they must not revile again. God will, in his due time, vindicate their honour, and disgrace and punish their opposers. And none may expect heavier judgments than they who hinder the success of God's Word, and seek to prejudice men's minds against the faithful ministers of it. At last every one who ran into sacred offices unsent, or who preached his own inventions instead of the truths of Christ, shall reap the due reward of his wickedness.