Jeremiah 28: Dueling Prophets

As bad as occupational hazards may be for true prophets of the Lord, they can sometimes be even worse for false prophets!

A man named Hananiah discovered this the hard way.  A contemporary of Jeremiah, Hananiah proclaimed the exact opposite message.  According to this false prophet, the power of Nebuchadnezzar would come to an end within two years, and his yoke of oppression would be broken.  To demonstrate this, Hananiah took the yoke off Jeremiah that he had been wearing since chapter 27 and broke it.  "And he said before all the people, 'This is what the Lord says: "In the same way will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon off the neck of all nations within two years"'" (vs. 11).

Unfortunately, Hananiah did not know what he was talking about.  God had not sent him.  Instead, God spoke again to Jeremiah and said that the wooden yoke Hananiah had broken would be replaced with an iron one (vs. 14).  Moreover, the Lord had a specific word for the false prophet proclaiming lying messages in God's name.  "Listen, Hananiah!  The Lord has not sent you, yet you have persuaded this nation to trust in lies.  Therefore, this is what the Lord says: 'I am about to remove you from the face of the earth.  This very year you are going to die, because you have preached rebellion against the Lord'" (vs. 15-16).

The difference between Jeremiah, a true prophet, and Hananiah, a false one?  "In the seventh month of that same year, Hananiah the prophet died" (vs. 17).  And Nebuchadnezzar's armies would not be done in two years.