mh_parser/vol_split/24 - Jeremiah/Chapter 28.xml

<div2 id="Jer.xxix" n="xxix" next="Jer.xxx" prev="Jer.xxviii" progress="39.05%" title="Chapter XXVIII">
<h2 id="Jer.xxix-p0.1">J E R E M I A H.</h2>
<h3 id="Jer.xxix-p0.2">CHAP. XXVIII.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Jer.xxix-p1" shownumber="no">In the foregoing chapter Jeremiah had charged
those prophets with lies who foretold the speedy breaking of the
yoke of the king of Babylon and the speedy return of the vessels of
the sanctuary; how here we have his contest with a particular
prophet upon those heads. I. Hananiah, a pretender to prophecy, in
contradiction to Jeremiah, foretold the sinking of Nebuchadnezzar's
power and the return both of the persons and of the vessels that
were carried away (<scripRef id="Jer.xxix-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.28.1-Jer.28.4" parsed="|Jer|28|1|28|4" passage="Jer 28:1-4">ver.
1-4</scripRef>), and, as a sign of this, he broke the yoke from the
neck of Jeremiah, <scripRef id="Jer.xxix-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.28.10-Jer.28.11" parsed="|Jer|28|10|28|11" passage="Jer 28:10,11">ver. 10,
11</scripRef>. II. Jeremiah wished his words might prove true, but
appealed to the event whether they were so or no, not doubting but
that would disprove them, <scripRef id="Jer.xxix-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.28.5-Jer.28.9" parsed="|Jer|28|5|28|9" passage="Jer 28:5-9">ver.
5-9</scripRef>. III. The doom both of the deceived and the deceiver
is here read. The people that were deceived should have their yoke
of wood turned into a yoke of iron (<scripRef id="Jer.xxix-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.28.12-Jer.28.14" parsed="|Jer|28|12|28|14" passage="Jer 28:12-14">ver. 12-14</scripRef>), and the prophet that was the
deceiver should be shortly cut off by death, and he was so,
accordingly, within two months, <scripRef id="Jer.xxix-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Jer.28.15-Jer.28.17" parsed="|Jer|28|15|28|17" passage="Jer 28:15-17">ver. 15-17</scripRef>.</p>
<scripCom id="Jer.xxix-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Jer.28" parsed="|Jer|28|0|0|0" passage="Jer 28" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Jer.xxix-p1.7" osisRef="Bible:Jer.28.1-Jer.28.9" parsed="|Jer|28|1|28|9" passage="Jer 28:1-9" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Jer.xxix-p1.8">
<h4 id="Jer.xxix-p1.9">Hananiah's False Prophecy. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxix-p1.10">b. c.</span> 597.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Jer.xxix-p2" shownumber="no">1 And it came to pass the same year, in the
beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth
year, <i>and</i> in the fifth month, <i>that</i> Hananiah the son
of Azur the prophet, which <i>was</i> of Gibeon, spake unto me in
the house of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxix-p2.1">Lord</span>, in the
presence of the priests and of all the people, saying,   2
Thus speaketh the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxix-p2.2">Lord</span> of hosts, the
God of Israel, saying, I have broken the yoke of the king of
Babylon.   3 Within two full years will I bring again into
this place all the vessels of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxix-p2.3">Lord</span>'s house, that Nebuchadnezzar king of
Babylon took away from this place, and carried them to Babylon:
  4 And I will bring again to this place Jeconiah the son of
Jehoiakim king of Judah, with all the captives of Judah, that went
into Babylon, saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxix-p2.4">Lord</span>: for I
will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.   5 Then the
prophet Jeremiah said unto the prophet Hananiah in the presence of
the priests, and in the presence of all the people that stood in
the house of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxix-p2.5">Lord</span>,   6 Even
the prophet Jeremiah said, Amen: the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxix-p2.6">Lord</span> do so: the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxix-p2.7">Lord</span> perform thy words which thou hast
prophesied, to bring again the vessels of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxix-p2.8">Lord</span>'s house, and all that is carried away
captive, from Babylon into this place.   7 Nevertheless hear
thou now this word that I speak in thine ears, and in the ears of
all the people;   8 The prophets that have been before me and
before thee of old prophesied both against many countries, and
against great kingdoms, of war, and of evil, and of pestilence.
  9 The prophet which prophesieth of peace, when the word of
the prophet shall come to pass, <i>then</i> shall the prophet be
known, that the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxix-p2.9">Lord</span> hath truly sent
him.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxix-p3" shownumber="no">This struggle between a true prophet and a
false one is said here to have happened <i>in the beginning of the
reign of Zedekiah,</i> and yet <i>in the fourth year,</i> for the
first four years of his reign might well be called <i>the
beginning,</i> or former part, of it, because during those years he
reigned under the dominion of the king of Babylon and as a
tributary to him; whereas the rest of his reign, which might well
be called the <i>latter part</i> of it, in distinction from that
<i>former part,</i> he reigned in rebellion against the king of
Babylon. In this fourth year of his reign he went in person to
Babylon (as we find, <scripRef id="Jer.xxix-p3.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.59" parsed="|Jer|51|59|0|0" passage="Jer 51:59"><i>ch.</i> li.
59</scripRef>), and it is probable that this gave the people some
hope that his negotiation in person would put a good end to the
war, in which hope the false prophets encouraged them, this
Hananiah particularly, who was of Gibeon, a priests' city, and
therefore probably himself a priest, as well as Jeremiah. Now here
we have,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxix-p4" shownumber="no">I. The prediction which Hananiah delivered
publicly, solemnly, <i>in the house of the Lord,</i> and in the
name of the Lord, in an august assembly, <i>in the presence of the
priests and of all the people,</i> who probably were expecting to
have some message from heaven. In delivering this prophecy, he
faced Jeremiah, he spoke it to him (<scripRef id="Jer.xxix-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.28.1" parsed="|Jer|28|1|0|0" passage="Jer 28:1"><i>v.</i> 1</scripRef>), designing to confront and
contradict him, as much as to say, "Jeremiah, thou liest." Now this
prediction is that the king of Babylon's power, at least his power
over Judah and Jerusalem, should be speedily broken, that <i>within
two full years</i> the vessels of the temple should be brought
back, and Jeremiah, and all the captives that were carried away
with him, should return; whereas Jeremiah had foretold that the
yoke of the king of Babylon should be bound on yet faster, and that
the vessels and captives should not return for 70 years, <scripRef id="Jer.xxix-p4.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.28.2-Jer.28.4" parsed="|Jer|28|2|28|4" passage="Jer 28:2-4"><i>v.</i> 2-4</scripRef>. Now, upon the
reading of this sham prophecy, and comparing it with the messages
that God sent by the true prophets, we may observe what a vast
difference there is between them. Here is nothing of the spirit and
life, the majesty of style and sublimity of expression, that appear
in the discourses of God's prophets, nothing of that divine flame
and <i>flatus.</i> But that which is especially wanting here is an
air of piety; he speaks with a great deal of confidence of the
return of their prosperity, but here is not a word of good counsel
given them to repent, and reform, and return to God, to pray, and
seek his face, that they may be prepared for the favours God had in
reserve for them. He promises them temporal mercies, in God's name,
but makes no mention of those spiritual mercies which God always
promised should go along with them, as <scripRef id="Jer.xxix-p4.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.24.7" parsed="|Jer|24|7|0|0" passage="Jer 24:7"><i>ch.</i> xxiv. 7</scripRef>, <i>I will give them a
heart to know me.</i> By all this it appears that, whatever he
pretended, he had only the <i>spirit of the world,</i> not the
<i>Spirit of God</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.xxix-p4.4" osisRef="Bible:1Cor.2.12" parsed="|1Cor|2|12|0|0" passage="1Co 2:12">1 Cor. ii.
12</scripRef>), that he aimed to please, not to profit.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxix-p5" shownumber="no">II. Jeremiah's reply to this pretended
prophecy. 1. He heartily wishes it might prove true. Such an
affection has he for his country, and so truly desirous is he of
the welfare of it, that he would be content to lie under the
imputation of a false prophet, so that their ruin might be
prevented. He said, <i>Amen; the Lord do so; the Lord perform thy
words,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xxix-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.28.5-Jer.28.6" parsed="|Jer|28|5|28|6" passage="Jer 28:5,6"><i>v.</i> 5,
6</scripRef>. This was not the first time that Jeremiah had prayed
for his people, though he had prophesied against them, and
deprecated the judgments which yet he certainly knew would come; as
Christ prayed, <i>Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from
me,</i> when yet he knew it must not pass from him. Though, as a
faithful prophet, he foresaw and foretold the destruction of
Jerusalem, yet, as a faithful Israelite, he prayed earnestly for
the preservation of it, in obedience to that command, <i>Pray for
the peace of Jerusalem.</i> Though the will of God's purpose is the
rule of prophecy and patience, the will of his precept is the rule
of prayer and practice. God himself, though he has determined, does
not desire, the death of sinners, but would <i>have all men to be
saved.</i> Jeremiah often interceded for his people, <scripRef id="Jer.xxix-p5.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.18.20" parsed="|Jer|18|20|0|0" passage="Jer 18:20"><i>ch.</i> xviii. 20</scripRef>. The false
prophets thought to ingratiate themselves with the people by
promising them peace; now the prophet shows that he bore them as
great a good-will as their prophets did, whom they were so fond of;
and, though he had no warrant from God to promise them peace, yet
he earnestly desired it and prayed for it. How strangely were those
besotted who caressed those who did them the greatest wrong
imaginable by flattering them and persecuted him who did them the
greatest service imaginable by interceding for them! See <scripRef id="Jer.xxix-p5.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.27.18" parsed="|Jer|27|18|0|0" passage="Jer 27:18"><i>ch.</i> xxvii. 18</scripRef>. 2. He appeals
to the event, to prove it false, <scripRef id="Jer.xxix-p5.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.28.7-Jer.28.9" parsed="|Jer|28|7|28|9" passage="Jer 28:7-9"><i>v.</i> 7-9</scripRef>. The false prophets reflected
upon Jeremiah, as Ahab upon Micaiah, because he never <i>prophesied
good concerning them, but evil.</i> Now he pleads that this had
been the purport of the prophecies that other prophets had
delivered, so that it ought not to be looked upon as a strange
thing, or as rendering his mission doubtful; for prophets of old
prophesied against <i>many countries and great kingdoms,</i> so
bold were they in delivering the messages which God sent by them,
and so far from fearing men, or seeking to please them, as Hananiah
did. They made no difficulty, any more than Jeremiah did, of
threatening war, famine, and pestilence, and what they said was
regarded as coming from God; why then should Jeremiah be run down
as <i>a pestilent fellow, and a sower of sedition,</i> when he
preached no otherwise than God's prophets had always done before
him? Other prophets had foretold destruction did not come, which
yet did not disprove their divine mission, as in the case of Jonah;
for God is gracious, and ready to turn away his wrath from those
that turn away from their sins. But the prophet that <i>prophesied
of peace</i> and prosperity, especially as Hananiah did, absolutely
and unconditionally, without adding that necessary proviso, that
they do not by wilful sin put a bar in their own door and stop the
current of God's favours, will be proved a true prophet only by the
accomplishment of his prediction; if it come to pass, then it shall
be known that <i>the Lord has sent him,</i> but, if not, he will
appear to be a cheat and an impostor.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Jer.xxix-p5.5" osisRef="Bible:Jer.28.10-Jer.28.17" parsed="|Jer|28|10|28|17" passage="Jer 28:10-17" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Jer.xxix-p5.6">
<h4 id="Jer.xxix-p5.7">Hananiah Condemned. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxix-p5.8">b. c.</span> 597.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Jer.xxix-p6" shownumber="no">10 Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoke from
off the prophet Jeremiah's neck, and brake it.   11 And
Hananiah spake in the presence of all the people, saying, Thus
saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxix-p6.1">Lord</span>; Even so will I break
the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all
nations within the space of two full years. And the prophet
Jeremiah went his way.   12 Then the word of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxix-p6.2">Lord</span> came unto Jeremiah <i>the prophet,</i>
after that Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke from off the
neck of the prophet Jeremiah, saying,   13 Go and tell
Hananiah, saying, Thus saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxix-p6.3">Lord</span>; Thou hast broken the yokes of wood; but
thou shalt make for them yokes of iron.   14 For thus saith
the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxix-p6.4">Lord</span> of hosts, the God of
Israel; I have put a yoke of iron upon the neck of all these
nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and
they shall serve him: and I have given him the beasts of the field
also.   15 Then said the prophet Jeremiah unto Hananiah the
prophet, Hear now, Hananiah; The <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxix-p6.5">Lord</span> hath not sent thee; but thou makest this
people to trust in a lie.   16 Therefore thus saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxix-p6.6">Lord</span>; Behold, I will cast thee from off
the face of the earth: this year thou shalt die, because thou hast
taught rebellion against the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxix-p6.7">Lord</span>.
  17 So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh
month.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxix-p7" shownumber="no">We have here an instance,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxix-p8" shownumber="no">I. Of the insolence of the false prophet.
To complete the affront he designed Jeremiah, <i>he took the yoke
from off his neck</i> which he carried as a memorial of what he had
prophesied concerning the enslaving of the nations to
Nebuchadnezzar, and he broke it, that he might give a sign of the
accomplishment of this prophecy, as Jeremiah had given of his, and
might seem to have conquered him, and to have defeated the
intention of his prophecy. See how the lying spirit, in the mouth
of this false prophet, mimics the language of the Spirit of truth:
<i>Thus saith the Lord, So will I break the yoke of the king of
Babylon,</i> not only from the neck of this nation, but <i>from the
neck of all nations, within two full years.</i> Whether by the
force of a heated imagination Hananiah had persuaded himself to
believe this, or whether he knew it to be false, and only persuaded
them to believe it, does not appear; but it is plain that he speaks
with abundance of assurance. It is no new thing for lies to be
fathered upon the God of truth.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxix-p9" shownumber="no">II. Of the patience of the true prophet.
Jeremiah quietly <i>went his way,</i> and <i>when he was reviled he
reviled not again,</i> and would not contend with one that was in
the height of his fury and in the midst of the priests and people
that were violently set against him. The reason why he went his way
was not because he had nothing to answer, but because he was
willing to stay till God was pleased to furnish him with a direct
and immediate answer, which as yet he had not received. He expected
that God would send a special message to Hananiah, and he would say
nothing till he had received that. <i>I, as a deaf man, heard not,
for thou wilt hear,</i> and <i>thou shalt answer, Lord, for me.</i>
It may sometimes be our wisdom rather to retreat than to contend.
<i>Currenti cede furori—Give place unto wrath.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxix-p10" shownumber="no">III. Of the justice of God in giving
judgment between Jeremiah and his adversary. Jeremiah went his way,
as a man <i>in whose mouth there was no rebuke,</i> but God soon
put a word into his mouth; for he will appear for those who
silently commit their cause to him. 1. The word of God, in the
mouth of Jeremiah, is ratified and confirmed. Let not Jeremiah
himself distrust the truth of what he had delivered in God's name
because it met with such a daring opposition and contradiction. If
what we have spoken be the truth of God, we must not unsay it
because men gainsay it; for <i>great is the truth and will
prevail.</i> It will stand, therefore let us stand to it, and not
fear that men's unbelief or blasphemy will make it of no effect.
Hananiah has broken the <i>yokes of wood,</i> but Jeremiah must
make for them <i>yokes of iron,</i> which cannot be broken
(<scripRef id="Jer.xxix-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.28.13" parsed="|Jer|28|13|0|0" passage="Jer 28:13"><i>v.</i> 13</scripRef>), for (says
God) "<i>I have put a yoke of iron upon the neck of all these
nations,</i> which shall lie heavier, and bind harder, upon them
(<scripRef id="Jer.xxix-p10.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.28.14" parsed="|Jer|28|14|0|0" passage="Jer 28:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>), <i>that
they may serve the king of Babylon,</i> and not be able to shake
off the yoke however they may struggle, for they shall serve him
whether they will or no;" and who is he that can contend with God's
counsel? What was said before is repeated again: <i>I have given
him the beasts of the field also,</i> as if there were something
significant in that. Men had by their wickedness made themselves
<i>like the beasts that perish,</i> and therefore deserved to be
ruled by an arbitrary power, as beasts are ruled, and such a power
Nebuchadnezzar ruled with; for <i>whom he would he slew and whom he
would he kept alive.</i> 2. Hananiah is sentenced to die for
contradicting it, and Jeremiah, when he has received commission
from God, boldly tells him so to his face, though before he
received that commission he went away and said nothing. (1.) The
crimes of which Hananiah stands convicted are cheating the people
and affronting God: <i>Thou makest this people to trust in a
lie,</i> encouraging them to hope that they shall have peace, which
will make their destruction the more terrible to them when it
comes; yet this was not the worst: <i>Thou hast taught rebellion
against the Lord;</i> thou hast taught them to despise all the good
counsel given them in God's name by the true prophets, and hast
rendered it ineffectual. Those have a great deal to answer for who,
by telling sinners that they shall have peace though they go on,
harden their hearts in a contempt of the reproofs and admonitions
of the word, and the means and methods God takes to bring them to
repentance. (2.) The judgment given against him is, "<i>I will cast
thee off from the face of the earth,</i> as unworthy to live upon
it; thou shalt be buried in it. <i>This year thou shalt die,</i>
and die as a rebel against the Lord, to whom death will come with a
sting and a curse." This sentence was executed, <scripRef id="Jer.xxix-p10.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.28.17" parsed="|Jer|28|17|0|0" passage="Jer 28:17"><i>v.</i> 17</scripRef>. Hananiah died the same year,
within two months; for his prophecy is dated the fifth month
(<scripRef id="Jer.xxix-p10.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.28.1" parsed="|Jer|28|1|0|0" passage="Jer 28:1"><i>v.</i> 1</scripRef>) and his death
the seventh. Good men may perhaps be suddenly taken off by death in
the midst of their days, and in mercy to them, as Josiah was; but
this being foretold as the punishment of his sin, and coming to
pass accordingly, it may safely be construed as a testimony from
Heaven against him and a confirmation of Jeremiah's mission. And,
if the people's hearts had not been wretchedly hardened by the
deceitfulness of sin, it would have prevented their being further
hardened by the deceitfulness of their prophets.</p>
</div></div2>