Commentary - Jeremiah 28:5-9

Bird's-eye view

In this passage, we are dropped into the middle of a stark and public confrontation. This is not a quiet theological debate in a seminary classroom; it is a high-stakes showdown in the house of Yahweh, before the priests and all the people. The issue at hand is the Word of the Lord. Which man is speaking it? Jeremiah, the weeping prophet of doom, or Hananiah, the purveyor of peace and imminent restoration? Hananiah has just delivered a rousing prophecy of hope: in two years, the Babylonian yoke will be broken, and the temple vessels and exiles will return. It is precisely the kind of message the people wanted to hear. Jeremiah's response is a master class in prophetic confrontation, combining apparent agreement with a sharp, history-grounded challenge. He lays down the biblical test for all who would claim to speak for God, particularly those who prophesy peace in a time of flagrant sin. The passage forces us to consider the nature of true and false prophecy, the seductive allure of wishful thinking, and the ultimate, unyielding authority of God's revealed will, which is authenticated not by popular acclaim but by its coming to pass.

This conflict is a perennial one. God's people are always tempted to prefer teachers who will stroke their felt needs, who will prophesy smooth things. But God's true messengers are called to speak the truth, whether it results in a revival or a riot. Here, Jeremiah stands as a model of pastoral courage, refusing to soften the hard edges of God's message for the sake of public approval. He places his confidence not in his own charisma, but in the God who vindicates His own Word in His own time.

Outline

Context In Jeremiah

Jeremiah 28 is a narrative interlude set within a collection of Jeremiah's prophecies concerning the nations and Judah's relationship to them. The immediate context is the reign of Zedekiah, Judah's final king before the utter destruction of Jerusalem. The political air is thick with intrigue and rebellion. False prophets, like Hananiah, are fanning the flames of nationalism, promising a swift end to Babylonian rule. They are, in essence, telling the king and the people what they want to hear. This directly contradicts Jeremiah's consistent and deeply unpopular message, delivered for decades: that Judah's sin has made submission to Babylon God's ordained judgment. To resist Babylon is to resist God. Jeremiah has even used a physical yoke as a prophetic sign-act to drive this point home (Jeremiah 27), a yoke which Hananiah dramatically breaks just before our passage begins (Jer 28:1-4, 10-11). This chapter, therefore, presents the clash between true and false prophecy in its most acute form. It is not an abstract theological problem but a life-and-death matter for the nation.

Key Issues

Verse by Verse Commentary

5 Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke to the prophet Hananiah in the sight of the priests and in the sight of all the people who were standing in the house of Yahweh,

The stage is set, and it is a public one. This is not a private disagreement. The confrontation happens "in the sight of the priests and in the sight of all the people." The spiritual leadership is there, and so are the laypeople. Truth and error are battling for the heart of the nation in the most sacred of places, the house of Yahweh. This is where the truth is supposed to be proclaimed, but it has become a theater for wishful thinking and rebellion masquerading as faith. Jeremiah does not pull Hananiah aside for a quiet word. The lie was public, and so the refutation must be public. This is a pattern for faithful pastors. While private sins can often be dealt with privately, public error that threatens the flock must be confronted publicly, for the health of the whole body.

6 and the prophet Jeremiah said, “Amen! May Yahweh do so; may Yahweh establish your words which you have prophesied to return the vessels of the house of Yahweh and all the exiles, from Babylon to this place.

Here is a beautiful piece of rhetoric, dripping with godly irony. Jeremiah begins with "Amen!" This is startling. He appears to agree with his adversary. In one sense, his agreement is genuine and heartfelt. As a lover of Judah and God's temple, of course he would desire the return of the holy vessels and his countrymen. Who wouldn't? This is not a sourpuss prophet who enjoys proclaiming judgment. He is the weeping prophet precisely because the judgment he must announce is so grievous to him. He is saying, in effect, "Hananiah, I wish you were right. My heart's desire is for the peace and restoration you are describing. No one would be happier than me if your words came true." This disarms the crowd. It shows that his motivation is not personal animosity or a morbid love of disaster, but rather a commitment to the truth, however painful. He is establishing that he is on the same side as the people in terms of what he would want to happen. The disagreement is over what God has said will happen.

7 Yet hear now this word which I am about to speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people!

After the "Amen," comes the pivot. "Yet..." or "Nevertheless..." This is the turning point. Having established his patriotic bona fides, he now calls for their undivided attention. He is about to introduce a hard corrective, a principle that must govern their thinking. He does not simply offer a contrary opinion. He is not saying, "Well, that's your prophecy, but here's mine." He is about to appeal to a standard, to the historic pattern of God's dealings, to the rules of the prophetic game, as it were. He is moving the debate from a clash of personalities to a test of principle. And again, he emphasizes the public nature of the address: "in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people." Everyone needs to hear this. Everyone needs to learn how to distinguish a true word from a false one.

8 The prophets who were before me and before you from ancient times prophesied against many lands and against great kingdoms, of war and of calamity and of pestilence.

Jeremiah now appeals to redemptive history. He says, "Let's look at the track record. What is the standard subject matter for a prophet sent to a sinful nation?" The answer is not peace, prosperity, and a chicken in every pot. The historical pattern, set by men like Moses, Isaiah, Amos, and Micah, was to prophesy against nations, including their own, warning of war, calamity (or evil), and pestilence. These are the covenant curses from Deuteronomy. The default message of a true prophet in a time of apostasy is a call to repentance under the threat of judgment. It is a message of doom. Why? Because sin has consequences, and God is a holy judge. To ignore this long and consistent prophetic tradition was to ignore the character of God Himself. Hananiah's message of unconditional, imminent peace was the anomaly. It was Jeremiah's message of judgment that stood foursquare in the central tradition of Israel's prophets.

9 The prophet who prophesies of peace, when the word of the prophet comes to pass, then that prophet will be known as one whom Yahweh has truly sent.”

This is the clincher. Jeremiah lays down the rule, straight from the law of Moses (Deut. 18:21-22). The burden of proof is not on the prophet who preaches judgment. Given the sinful state of the nation, judgment is the baseline expectation. The burden of proof lies squarely on the one who preaches peace. It is an extraordinary claim to say that God is going to bless a people who are in open rebellion against His covenant. Therefore, such a claim requires extraordinary verification. And what is that verification? Fulfillment. "When the word of the prophet comes to pass." Jeremiah is saying to Hananiah and all the people, "You want to believe this message of peace? Fine. But the test is not how good it makes you feel. The test is whether it happens. Let us wait and see. My message of doom is consistent with our history and our sin. His message of peace is the outlier. So, let's put it to the test. If, in two years, the exiles and the temple vessels are back, then we will all know that Hananiah is the true prophet and I am the false one. But until then, the weight of scriptural testimony and historical precedent is on my side." This is the ultimate appeal to reality. God's Word corresponds to the world He governs. A true prophet's words will be vindicated by history, because God is the Lord of history.

Key Words

'Amen'

The Hebrew word 'āmēn is a declaration of affirmation, meaning "truly," "so be it," or "let it be." It is a verbal confirmation that one agrees with and stands behind a statement or prayer. When Jeremiah says "Amen!" here, he is not validating Hananiah's prophecy as true. Rather, he is affirming the desirability of the outcome Hananiah described. It is a pastoral and rhetorical masterstroke. He is saying, "May it be so! I wish it were so!" This shows his heart is for the people, even as his mouth must speak God's hard truth against them. He separates his personal desires from his prophetic duty.

Shalom, "Peace"

The word shalom is a rich Hebrew concept that means far more than the mere absence of conflict. It signifies wholeness, completeness, welfare, prosperity, and tranquility. It is the state of things when all is right with God and the world. Hananiah is prophesying shalom. This was a powerful and seductive message to a people suffering under foreign domination. The false prophets consistently cried "Shalom, shalom," when there was no shalom (Jer. 6:14). They were peddling a cheap grace, a peace disconnected from righteousness. Jeremiah's point in verse 9 is that a prophet who preaches this ultimate blessing of shalom in a time of covenant-breaking carries a heavy burden of proof. True shalom is a fruit of obedience and reconciliation with God, not a political program or a product of wishful thinking.

Application

The confrontation between Jeremiah and Hananiah is not some dusty artifact of ancient history. The same spirit of Hananiah is alive and well in the modern church. It is the spirit that craves positive and encouraging messages at all costs, that rebrands sin as a psychological malady, and that promises cultural victory and personal blessing without the prerequisite of repentance and holiness. We are constantly tempted to listen to the prophets who tell us what our itching ears want to hear (2 Tim. 4:3).

Jeremiah teaches us that the truthfulness of a message is not determined by its popularity or by how optimistic it makes us feel. The truthfulness of a message is determined by its fidelity to the whole counsel of God. The true prophetic word today, the preaching of the gospel, has the same shape as Jeremiah's ministry. It speaks of a terrible judgment against sin, a judgment that fell upon Christ at the cross. But it also speaks of a glorious restoration and peace, a true shalom, for all who repent and believe in Him. It is a message of both calamity and comfort.

We must learn to apply the test. When we hear a message of peace, blessing, and victory, we must ask if it is grounded in the finished work of Christ and if it produces the fruit of righteousness. A gospel of peace that makes no demands, that requires no death to self, that promises a crown without a cross, is the gospel of Hananiah. Let us have the courage of Jeremiah to stand for the true Word, trusting that God Himself will vindicate it in the end.