Monday 02 August 2010

Background

This confrontation between the prophets Hananiah and Jeremiahtakes place in 593 BC. Both are referred to as prophets, althoughHananiah emerges as a false prophet. Hananiah comes from Gibeon,which is a few miles north-west of Jerusalem, and Jeremiah comesfrom Anathoth, about four miles from Gibeon. So both are local toJerusalem.

Babylon was a city state of Mesopotamia (now in Iraq) just over 50miles south of Baghdad, and in 597 BC began the first deportationof large numbers of Jews from the southern kingdom of Judah toBabylon under the Babylonian leader Nebuchadnezzar. Thisdeportation included the royal court of Judah, the prominentcitizens and the craftsmen, as well as a significant proportion ofthe population. Nebuchadnezzar made Zedekiah king of Judah in theplace of King Jehoiakin.

Hananiah, in contradiction to the prophecy of Jeremiah, said thatNebuchadnezzar's hold will be broken, and that the religiousvessels from the Temple, King Jehoiakin and all the exiles will bebrought back within two years.

Jeremiah's response is initially quite gentle, almost saying "Ihope you are right", but he goes on to challenge Hananiah'sprophecy. Hananiah then, as is common among prophets (see previouschapter where Jeremiah actually puts on a yoke - Jeremiah 27), engages in an action toillustrate his prophecy and takes the yoke from around Jeremiah'sneck and breaks it to demonstrate that the hold of Nebuchadnezzarwill likewise be broken. Jeremiah leaves the scene only to returnto bring a word from God that challenges Hananiah. He calls him aliar and speaks of his death.

Hananiah had prophesied that within two years the exiles wouldreturn, yet within two months he was dead. The forced exile lasteduntil 538 BC when Babylon fell to the Persians, but even then mostof the Jews did not return.

This passage presents us with a difficulty. How do we tell truefrom false prophets? There appears no easy way other than timeitself, but that is no answer to the dilemma because the challengeis to live in the light of the true prophet. The true prophet isnot necessarily the one with the most palatable message to thehearers, but the one whose message calls for the characteristics ofa proper relationship with God.

To Ponder

Who are the prophets of our age? What makes youthink they are true rather than false prophets?

What prophetic action might you be called to taketo identify with a truth and challenge the prevailing wisdom?

When is it right to walk away, as Jeremiahinitially did, and when is it right to confront and challenge?