Jeremiah 28

Chapters 27–29 of Jeremiah deal with the conflict between the message to submit to Babylon and prophecies that contradict it. This chapter continues directly from Jeremiah 27, in which Jeremiah wears a yoke on his neck and declares that the people must serve the king of Babylon.

Outline

• Verses 1–4: In the fifth month of the fourth year of Zedekiah, Hananiah the son of Azur, of Gibeon, prophesies in the house of the LORD before the priests and the people. He declares that God has broken the yoke of the king of Babylon and that within two full years the vessels of the temple, Jeconiah, and the exiles carried off to Babylon will return.
• Verses 5–9: Jeremiah answers "Amen," expressing the wish that it might be so. He then observes that the prophets before them prophesied war, evil, and pestilence, and that a prophet who prophesies peace is recognized as sent by the LORD only after his word has come to pass.
• Verses 10–11: Hananiah takes the yoke from Jeremiah's neck and breaks it, declaring that within two years the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar will likewise be broken from the neck of all nations. Jeremiah goes his way.
• Verses 12–14: The word of the LORD comes to Jeremiah, instructing him to declare that although Hananiah has broken the yoke of wood, he has made in its place a yoke of iron; all the nations will serve Nebuchadnezzar, and even the beasts of the field have been given to him.
• Verses 15–17: Jeremiah tells Hananiah that the LORD has not sent him and that he has made the people trust in a lie, and he declares that Hananiah will die that very year. Hananiah dies in the seventh month of that year.

Key Verses

• Jeremiah 28:9: "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." This verse sets forth a criterion for discerning true prophecy.
• Jeremiah 28:13: "Thou hast broken the yokes of wood; but thou shalt make for them yokes of iron." The symbolic act is reversed, signifying that the judgment becomes heavier.
• Jeremiah 28:15: "The LORD hath not sent thee." This single sentence exposes the core problem of false prophecy.

People and Places

• Jeremiah: The prophet who delivers the message to submit to Babylon.
• Hananiah: The son of Azur, of Gibeon, who prophesies a swift restoration.
• Zedekiah: The king of Judah, then in the fourth year of his reign.
• Nebuchadnezzar: The king of Babylon.
• Jeconiah: The son of Jehoiakim and the king of Judah who was carried off to Babylon; also called Jehoiachin.
• Gibeon: A town in the territory of Benjamin, north of Jerusalem, and Hananiah's hometown.
• The house of the LORD: The Temple in Jerusalem, where the events take place.

Points for Reflection

• Interpretations of Jeremiah's "Amen" in verse 6 differ. Some read it as a sincere wish on Jeremiah's part, while others take it as irony.
• The criterion in verse 9 corresponds to the criteria for identifying false prophets in Deuteronomy 18. The text records Hananiah's death two months later as the outcome of that test.
• In the Septuagint, the chapters of Jeremiah are arranged in a different order from the Hebrew text, so this chapter corresponds to chapter 35.
• The chapter is often read alongside New Testament passages such as the warning against false prophets in Matthew 7 and the call to test the spirits in 1 John 4.

In the Korean Church

The chapter is used as a sermon text on the theme of distinguishing true prophecy from pleasant-sounding messages of peace.