Jeremiah 28:10-17: a reflection

10Then Hananiah the prophet took the bar from off the prophet Jeremiah’s neck, and broke it. 11Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, “The LORD says: ‘Even so I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from off the neck of all the nations within two full years.’” Then the prophet Jeremiah went his way. 12Then the LORD’s word came to Jeremiah, after Hananiah the prophet had broken the bar from off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, saying, 13“Go, and tell Hananiah, saying, ‘The LORD says, “You have broken the bars of wood, but you have made in their place bars of iron.” 14For the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel says, “I have put a yoke of iron on the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they will serve him. I have also given him the animals of the field.”’” 15Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, “Listen, Hananiah! The LORD has not sent you, but you make this people trust in a lie. 16Therefore the LORD says, ‘Behold, I will send you away from off the surface of the earth. This year you will die, because you have spoken rebellion against the LORD.’” 17So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month.

When the false prophet Hananiah contradicts Jeremiah with a comforting message the people wanted to hear, God exposes it as a lie, a warning against preferring flattering falsehood to the hard truth. The LORD has not sent you, Jeremiah tells Hananiah, but you make this people trust in a lie. Hananiah had promised the people that the yoke of their oppressor would soon be broken, a message far more pleasant than Jeremiah's hard word of coming judgment. The people would have preferred Hananiah's comforting message; it was what they wanted to hear. But it was a lie, and God had not sent it. The comforting falsehood was worthless; the hard truth was from God. This shows the danger of preferring flattering falsehood to the hard truth. Beware the comforting lie; do not prefer flattering falsehood to the hard truth. What we want to hear is not always true. A pleasant message is worth nothing if it is false. Prefer the hard truth from God to a comforting lie.

Notice the contrast between the two messages. Jeremiah brought a hard word: the yoke of the oppressor would not soon be broken, but would remain; judgment was coming. Hananiah brought a comforting word: the yoke would be broken within two years; deliverance was near. The people naturally preferred Hananiah's message; it was pleasant, hopeful, what they wanted to hear. But God exposed it: the LORD has not sent you, but you make this people trust in a lie. Hananiah's comforting message was false, and God had not sent it; Jeremiah's hard word was the truth. This holds a searching warning for us. We are naturally drawn to messages that comfort us, that tell us what we want to hear, that promise the pleasant and easy; and we can be tempted to prefer such messages to the hard truth, and to trust those who flatter us with them. But a message is not true because it is pleasant, nor false because it is hard; and to prefer a comforting lie to the hard truth is to be led astray, to trust in a lie. We do well to prefer the truth, even when it is hard, to a comforting falsehood, however much we would rather hear the flattering message. We do well to seek and receive the hard truth from God rather than being led astray by the comforting lie we would prefer to hear. Prefer the hard truth from God to the comforting lie you would rather hear. A message is not true because it is pleasant, nor false because it is hard. Beware those who flatter you with what you want to hear. Do not trust in a comforting falsehood; seek the truth.

That is worth taking to heart, for a comforting message is worthless if it is false, and we do well to prefer the hard truth from God to the flattering lie we would rather hear, as God exposed Hananiah's comforting falsehood. We are drawn to messages that tell us what we want to hear; but Hananiah's pleasant message was a lie God had not sent, while Jeremiah's hard word was the truth. Prefer the truth. Do not prefer a comforting falsehood to the hard truth, or trust those who flatter you with what you want to hear; seek the truth from God, even when it is hard. Prefer the hard truth from God to the comforting falsehood you would rather hear, and beware those who flatter you with pleasant lies, as when the false prophet Hananiah contradicted Jeremiah with a comforting message the people wanted to hear, God exposed it as a lie, telling Hananiah that the LORD had not sent him but he made the people trust in a lie; for Hananiah had promised that the yoke of their oppressor would soon be broken, a message far more pleasant than Jeremiah's hard word of coming judgment, and the people would have preferred it since it was what they wanted to hear, but it was a lie God had not sent, so that the comforting falsehood was worthless and the hard truth was from God, which holds a searching warning for us, since we are naturally drawn to messages that comfort us and tell us what we want to hear and promise the pleasant and easy, and can be tempted to prefer such messages to the hard truth and to trust those who flatter us with them, but a message is not true because it is pleasant nor false because it is hard, and to prefer a comforting lie to the hard truth is to be led astray and to trust in a lie, so that we do well to prefer the truth even when it is hard to a comforting falsehood, however much we would rather hear the flattering message.

Lord, when the false prophet Hananiah contradicts Jeremiah with a comforting message the people wanted to hear, you expose it as a lie, a warning to me against preferring flattering falsehood to the hard truth. The LORD has not sent you, Jeremiah tells Hananiah, but you make this people trust in a lie. Hananiah had promised the people that the yoke of their oppressor would soon be broken, a message far more pleasant than Jeremiah's hard word of coming judgment. The people would have preferred Hananiah's comforting message; it was what they wanted to hear. But it was a lie, and you had not sent it. The comforting falsehood was worthless; the hard truth was from you. Show me the contrast between the two messages. Jeremiah brought a hard word: the yoke would remain; judgment was coming. Hananiah brought a comforting word: deliverance was near. The people naturally preferred Hananiah's message; it was pleasant, what they wanted to hear. But you exposed it: the LORD has not sent you, but you make this people trust in a lie. Hananiah's comforting message was false; Jeremiah's hard word was the truth. This holds a searching warning for me. I am naturally drawn to messages that comfort me, that tell me what I want to hear, that promise the pleasant and easy; and I can be tempted to prefer such messages to the hard truth, and to trust those who flatter me with them. But a message is not true because it is pleasant, nor false because it is hard; and to prefer a comforting lie to the hard truth is to be led astray. Take that to my heart. Keep me from preferring a comforting falsehood to the hard truth, or trusting those who flatter me with what I want to hear; help me seek and receive the truth from you, Lord, even when it is hard, rather than being led astray by the comforting lie I would rather hear.