Jeremiah (1-31) 28:5 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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Jeremiah (1-31) 28:5

Comments

The building is crowded. They have all heard what Hananiah has said and it is just what they want to hear, so they are inclined to believe it. What will Jeremiah say, the prophet who always seems to come with bad news? Will he dare to oppose this popular message? But what does Jeremiah care about what is popular or not? He cares about what God has told him to say. ‘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 in the house of the LORD,⁶ Even the prophet Jeremiah said, Amen: the LORD do so: the LORD perform thy words which thou hast prophesied.’ Jeremiah is a man of great courage, who is not afraid to be in the minority, even a minority of one. ‘May it be so’, he says. From the people’s point of view that would be wonderful, astonishing, and highly desirable, but Jeremiah seems to be speaking ironically. Not for a moment does he think Hananiah has said anything true, or worth paying attention to. ‘May it be that the Lord, after all, performs the words which you have prophesied, to bring again all the vessels of the Lord's house. But the fact that it is highly desirable does not mean that you are a true prophet Hananiah. You are not. Prophecy is not about telling people what they want to hear.’‘Nevertheless,’ – ominous word – ‘hear thou now this word that I speak in thine ears, and in the ears of all the people.’ What is Jeremiah going to say? Is he going to flatly contradict the false prophet? No. He is going to be remarkably courteous, but what he says will cut to the bone. I speak in your ears, says Jeremiah, and you better listen very carefully, because what I say to you is from the Lord. You have opposed his true prophet, and what you have said has all the marks of false prophecy. Here we have one prophet judging another prophet. They contradict each other and the word of only one of them can stand.^‘The prophets that have been before me and before thee of old prophesied both against many countries, and against great kingdoms, of war, and of evil, and of pestilence.’ The prophets that God has sent previously, and who have been verified by the fulfilment of their words, have been sent to say hard things to the people. They have had a ministry of warning, a sifting ministry. You have given a very different sort of prophecy. ‘The prophet which prophesieth of peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then shall the prophet be known, that the LORD hath truly sent him.’He effectively says to Hananiah, All right: when it happens as you say it will within two years, then we must all acknowledge that you are the true prophet. Hananiah was furious; we read that in.

Application

Neither is preaching about telling people only what they want to hear. The preacher has many comforting things to say to those who love God, and he gives words of encouragement in all the trials they face in this world. But he is unafraid to expose the sin and the deceitfulness and stubbornness of the heart. He is ready to pronounce God’s judgment on sin, and he takes God’s side against all human rebellion. Those who refuse to acknowledge the Lord or walk according to his commandments must hear a word from the preacher as if it was the oracle of God to him individually.

Questions

Prophecy speaks of the future, which no one knows but God. How then can anyone test the truth claims of a prophet before his prophecy comes to pass, and how can they detect a false prophet? Jeremiah’s answer is, listen to what they say. The word of God can never be inconsistent with itself. God can never contradict himself. Does that prophet commend those whose lives are disorderly, disobedient? Does that prophet flatter the people, and fail to warn them when he should? Do his prophecies fail to come to pass. God never fails and when he speaks through a prophet, his word will always without fail come to pass. Now we do not have prophets. The gift of prophecy has been withdrawn because the New Testament is complete. We have the Scriptures which are sufficient for all our needs, and their giving belongs to the foundation stage of the building of Christ’s church, not to the superstructure stage. Authoritative instruction comes through Scripture alone, and not through private revelation.

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Jeremiah (1-31) 28:5 Commentary and Bible Study