Not Everyone Who Claims to Speak for God Is Speaking Truth

Note from today’s Bible reading: Jeremiah 27-31

During the reign of Zedekiah, Hananiah prophesied that God had “broken the yoke of the king of Babylon” (Jeremiah 28:2). He also claimed that “within two years,” the vessels from the temple and the exiles who had been taken would be returned (Jeremiah 28:3-4).

In response, Jeremiah issued a reminder that the only way to know whether a prophet was sent by the Lord was to see if his word comes to pass (Jeremiah 28:9). Hananiah then “took the yoke from the neck of Jeremiah…and broke it” (Jeremiah 28:10), dramatically reaffirming his claim.

However, God told Jeremiah to tell Hananiah, “You have broken the yokes of wood, but you have made instead of them yokes of iron” (Jeremiah 28:13). Jeremiah then said to the false prophet, “The Lord has not sent you, and you have made this people trust in a lie. Therefore thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I am about to remove you from the face of the earth. This year you are going to die, because you have counseled rebellion against the Lord” (Jeremiah 28:15-16). According to Jeremiah’s prophecy, Hananiah died that year, proving that he was not to be heeded and that Jeremiah spoke the Lord’s word.

So remember that not everyone who claims to speak for God is speaking truth. Knowing this, we need to test what we are taught by the word of God. Those who continue to make false prophecies and teach things contrary to the Scriptures are to be rejected.