Should This Matter?

Anyone reading this who has read any of my recent blog posts knows that I have been working my way through studying Jeremiah. I have now come to chapter 27 and 28. Yet again, I feel compelled to write about what I have learned. I am certainly not a scholar, but that is ok. I do feel like God is, however, teaching me what I need to know as I read through Jeremiah and at times, I feel like I should share what I learn.

Unlike those who feel like the Old Testament is out-dated to us now, I believe that the Old Testament contains a wealth of information and revelation that is vital to our current lives as Christians. I feel bad for those who discount the Old Testament, because they are really limiting themselves and their knowledge of God.

In Jeremiah 27, we see Jeremiah come before the current king of Judah, Zedekiah, who was meeting with the ambassadors from neighboring nations, namely, Edom, Moab, Ammonites, Tyrus, and Zidon. He was certainly quite the spectacle. He doesn’t jut approach these men with a message from God, he does so wearing an oxen yoke to make his point clear.

Jeremiah’s message is simple: Judah and all the nations present needed to accept the fact that God has given Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, dominion over their nations for a season and therefore, they needed to submit to his rule. Just as he was wearing the oxen yoke, so too must Judah wear the yoke of submission to Babylon. This message would be very hard to receive. None of these nations wanted to be under Babylon’s thumb.

Current events at this time was tumultuous to say the least for Judah. Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had already seized Jerusalem once and taken Jeconiah, the king of Judah, captive along with most of the nobles and craftsmen (Daniel was one of the people taken to Babylon at that time). Nebuchadnezzar had also taken many of the temple treasures to Babylon and set them in his own temple. He set Zedekiah up as the king in Judah to oversee tribute to Babylon. However, Zedekiah was tempted to ally with other nations to rebel against Babylon. He rules for 11 years but does eventually rebel which leads to Nebuchadnezzar’s final and terrible siege of Jerusalem. This siege resulted in the death of many of the people including Zedekiah’s own sons as well as the destruction of the city and temple. Zedekiah was caught, blinded, and taken to Babylon after watching his sons die.

So, at the time of Jeremiah’s message, Zedekiah was likely exploring the idea of rebelling against Nebuchadnezzar with the nations visiting Jerusalem. God wanted to give a clear message to the king not to do so.

In chapter 27, we see that God, through Jeremiah, not only told Zedekiah not to fight Judah’s submission to Babylon, but to remember that God is in control of all things including who is king and who has dominion. He, God Himself, has set up Nebuchadnezzar in the position. So, to fight God’s will is not only foolish but self-destructive. To fight against Babylon would lead to a much harsher punishment: “…the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar…and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith the Lord, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand” (27:8). However, for the nation that listens to God, “those will I let remain still in their own land, saith the Lord; and they shall till it, and dwell therein” (27:11). So, Zedekiah is left with a choice.

Unfortunately, false prophets came bearing the opposite message. They promised peace. In chapter 28, we see that Hananiah, a false prophet, confidently steps up to combat Jeremiah’s message. He boldly issues a prophecy in the name of the Lord saying that Babylon’s yoke is broken and therefore the captives and the temple treasures will be returned to Jerusalem within 2 years. He even breaks the yoke Jeremiah is using. Interestingly, at this time, Nebuchadnezzar was busy quenching rebellions close to home and to someone watching political goings on, they may be tempted to think that Nebuchadnezzar’s time as king may be up. This is likely what Hananiah was relying on when he makes this prophecy.

Today, we have the ability to look back and see that Jeremiah was indeed correct and Hananiah was horribly wrong! But I tried to put myself in Zedekiah’s shoes. Zedekiah was being presented with two directly opposing prophecies, both issued in the “name of the Lord”. So, what was he supposed to do? Can we blame him for choosing the wrong prophecy? How was he supposed to know which one was right?

We face this same dilemma today as Christians. We are constantly bombarded with opposing views regarding God and Biblical doctrines. Often these views are so opposite that only one view could possibly be true! The messengers that bring these views will even claim to do so based on God’s Word! What are we to do? How can God hold us accountable for the lies that others present to us when we choose to follow the wrong advice?

First of all, Jesus warned us that false teachers would enter into the house of God. He warns that they may even appear truthful. Matthew 7:15 “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” So, their existence should not surprise us. Many of the apostles and New Testament writers spend considerable time confronting false teaching.

Secondly, the Bible tells us exactly what to do in these situations. Zedekiah ignored scripture and was deeply involved in sin himself (Jeremiah 29:22-23). This is what clouded his judgement.

Jeremiah issues a rebuttal to Hananiah which may seem anti-climatic, but it is a perfectly scriptural response. First, Jeremiah acknowledges that it would be nice if what Hananiah said were true but he emphatically states that it is not true. Second, Jeremiah contends that what Hananiah says is unlike what the past prophets have proclaimed. And third, Jeremiah says time will tell who is correct. So, let us take the second and third points and use Old Testament scripture to show that what Jeremiah says is sound advice based on God’s Word which Zedekiah did have access to if he cared to check and see.

1. Time will reveal who is corrects

The Mosaic Law issues a few statements regarding false prophets, but here is one that directly relates to the message here:

Deuteronomy 18:22

When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.

When God says something is going to happen, it will happen. God doesn’t make mistakes! So, if someone tells us something and it proves untrue, don’t follow them. Do not even give them another chance!

Hananiah was very wrong. In fact, his advice led to the death of many of the people of Judah. Had Zedekiah listened to Jeremiah, the people would have stayed in their land and avoided death and destruction.

This sounds nice, but waiting for a prophecy to actually come to pass could take a long time, and we must make choices now! For example, Hananiah’s prophecy would take 2 years to come to pass. Well, this is why Jeremiah’s other point is so important.

2. Hananiah’s claim is different than God’s Word and the prophets of the past.

The immediate way to know to follow a teacher or prophet is to compare their message to Scripture. Does the prophecy fall in line with the rest of God’s Word? Is the prophet/teacher also teaching doctrines that are contrary to God’s word? This principle holds true even if the prophecy does come true! Sure, maybe they got lucky this time, but don’t follow this teacher/prophet!

Deuteronomy 13:1-5

1 If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder,

2 And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them;

3 Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the Lord your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

4 Ye shall walk after the Lord your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.

5 And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the Lord your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the Lord thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee.

Jeremiah contends that Hananiah’s prophecy is contrary to what other prophets have claimed in the past. And this is true! Isaiah prophesied Judah’s destruction 100 years prior! Most of the Old Testament prophets did NOT promise peace but judgement, many by Babylon exactly! Their message is essentially the same: Israel and Judah’s sin will result in judgement. How would their punishment be peace?

Back in the Mosaic Law, there were tons of warnings about what would happen if the Hebrews continued to sin and reject God once God established them in the promised land. They would be cursed and judged. In fact, the curses mentioned are so specific, that the fact that the prophecies of Deuteronomy were speaking of the Babylonian captivity is undeniable! There is punishment for sin!

Deuteronomy 11:8-9

8 Therefore shall ye keep all the commandments which I command you this day, that ye may be strong, and go in and possess the land, whither ye go to possess it;

9 And that ye may prolong your days in the land, which the Lord sware unto your fathers to give unto them and to their seed, a land that floweth with milk and honey.

Deuteronomy 28:58-64

58 If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, The Lord Thy God;

59 Then the Lord will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, even great plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long continuance.

60 Moreover he will bring upon thee all the diseases of Egypt, which thou wast afraid of; and they shall cleave unto thee.

61 Also every sickness, and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law, them will the Lord bring upon thee, until thou be destroyed.

62 And ye shall be left few in number, whereas ye were as the stars of heaven for multitude; because thou wouldest not obey the voice of the Lord thy God.

63 And it shall come to pass, that as the Lord rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you; so the Lord will rejoice over you to destroy you, and to bring you to nought; and ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess it.

64 And the Lord shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other: and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone.

Leviticus 26:21-22

21 And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins.

22 I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, and destroy your cattle, and make you few in number; and your high ways shall be desolate.

These are just a few of the examples of the curses pronounced upon God’s people should they abandon God and commit idolatry and sin in the promised land. Zedekiah should have known this! If Israel lives in sin, they will be punished. Everything that Jeremiah prophesied is very similar or almost exactly what these curses of the Law promised. It is Hananiah’s message that doesn’t match what God had said. As it turns out, Zedekiah went with the message that he liked best. It was the patriotic prophecy. It sounded better and likely was bolstered by current events in respect to the rebellions that were cropping up against Babylon. But it was wrong and it had devastating consequences!

We are tempted to do the same thing! We want to follow the easy message or the one that sounds nice. Perhaps it is the confidence of the speaker that attracts us. But that is not the test we should be using to decide doctrines or prophecies! Is the message being given contrary to God’s Word?

As a final note, it is hard to know if something is contrary to God’s Word if we don’t know God’s Word! We must study it and keep it in our heart in order to allow God’s Word to guide our life!

Psalm 119:103-106

103 How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

104 Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.

105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

106 I have sworn, and I will perform it, that I will keep thy righteous judgments.

Is God’s Word this sweet to you? Does it act as the light for your journey through life?