765_When confidence is mistaken for calling (Jeremiah 27-28)
Jeremiah 28:1-9 In that same year, at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fifth month of the fourth year, Hananiah the son of Azzur, the prophet from Gibeon, spoke to me in the house of the Lord, in the presence of the priests and all the people, saying, 2 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. 3 Within two years I will bring back to this place all the vessels of the Lord’s house, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place and carried to Babylon. 4 I will also bring back to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the exiles from Judah who went to Babylon, declares the Lord, for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.”
5 Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke to Hananiah the prophet in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the Lord, 6 and the prophet Jeremiah said, “Amen! May the Lord do so; may the Lord make the words that you have prophesied come true, and bring back to this place from Babylon the vessels of the house of the Lord, and all the exiles. 7 Yet hear now this word that I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people. 8 The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, famine, and pestilence against many countries and great kingdoms. 9 As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes to pass, then it will be known that the Lord has truly sent the prophet.”
A man was asked why he was so certain about a decision he had made. He replied, “I just know. I have complete peace about it.” His confidence was impressive, yet it was poorly grounded. Because nobody had asked: “How do you know that your confidence came from God?”
That is an important question, because a person can speak with certainty, conviction, and even passion, and yet speak only from his own heart. This is especially dangerous when someone attaches the name of God to his own words.
Jeremiah 27 and 28 show us an example of this happening in real life.
The setting is Jerusalem, during a frightening and confusing period in Judah’s history. Through Jeremiah, the Lord gives an unusual object lesson. Jeremiah makes a yoke and puts it on his neck. The yoke becomes a visible message: Babylon would conquer and enslave Jerusalem and the surrounding nations, within God’s sovereignty. God was using Nebuchadnezzar to fulfil his purpose.
This was a difficult message to hear. There was no prospect of immediate deliverance. Instead, Jeremiah told the people to submit to the Babylonian yoke as part of God’s discipline. For, he emphasized, discipline did not mean abandonment. Jeremiah 27:22 tells us how the prophet declared, “They shall be carried to Babylon and remain there until the day when I visit them, declares the LORD. Then I will bring them back and restore them to this place.”
The exile was not the end of the story. God would never forget his people. In his judgment, he had not forgotten mercy. He had already promised restoration.
At this point, Hananiah stepped up with a very different message. Jeremiah 28 tells us what he said, “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon.” Going further, Hananiah announced that within two years the exiles and the vessels of the temple would be brought back to Jerusalem.
Imagine how attractive that message must have sounded. Jeremiah preached submission and endurance. Hananiah preached imminent triumph and release. Instead of a difficult future, Hananiah offered immediate hope.
There is a warning here. A message of comfort need not be of God, and need not be true. Words that sound spiritual may originate in the human heart.
When met by this contradictory prophecy, Jeremiah initially responded, “Amen! May the LORD do so!” How deeply he longed for punishment to be averted, for his people and his land to remain safe. However, he knew it was not to be, for he was in the counsel of the Lord.
Therefore, he instructed the people: “As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes to pass, then it will be known that the LORD has truly sent the prophet.”
We need to remember that the only test of whether a message is from God is not how it appears to comfort us or give us intellectual food, or calms our fear and anxiety. The only true test is in its truth.
Hananiah had confidence. Jeremiah had a calling. Confidence says, “I believe this strongly.” Calling says, “This message is what God entrusted me with. ” Confidence may come from personality, experience, emotion, ambition, or personal desire. Calling comes from patient self-forgetful waiting to hear and learn from God, and results in the need to faithfully transmit what God has said.
It is a serious thing to speak in God’s name. The third commandment says, “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.” This does not relate only to using God’s name carelessly or irreverently. More than that, we must never put God’s name to words that God Himself has not spoken.
We may say, “This is what I think, “ but may never have to say, “This is what God told me.” There is a difference between saying, “I believe the Lord may be leading us in this direction,” and declaring, “The Lord told me to do this.”
The first acknowledges our limitations. The second claims divine authority.
Jeremiah 28 shows us how Hananiah broke the wooden yoke from Jeremiah’s neck and repeated his prophecy of quick deliverance. Jeremiah did not resist. But later he received another word from the Lord. The wooden yoke would be replaced with an iron yoke, and Hananiah would die because he had “made the people trust in a lie.”
Jeremiah 28:17 tells us, “That same year, in the seventh month, the prophet Hananiah died.”
Hananiah was confident, but he was wrong. Jeremiah was unpopular, but he was faithful.
Therefore, whenever we speak about the Lord or his word, let us not speak for him. For often, when we counsel, encourage, preach, or interpret circumstances, we try to make our words sound more authoritative by attaching God’s name to them.
Sometimes this urge is born of a genuine desire to encourage someone and the genuine belief that we are guided by the Lord in our counsel. Sometimes we desperately want to convince somebody, and “I think” sounds too weak. Sometimes our own desires become so strong that we assume they are of God. Sometimes we confuse our feelings with divine revelation.
But Jeremiah 27 and 28 invite us to pause.
Before saying, “Thus says the Lord,” let us first ask: What has God actually said? Where does Scripture support my strong urge to take the name of the Lord? Am I speaking because God has given me something to say, or simply expressing what I strongly desire or believe?
Many times the truest sign of spirituality is to say, “This is what I think, but I could be wrong.” Humility does not weaken our witness. It protects us from presumption.
Yet where God has spoken, let us not apologize for or tone down its truth. Let us speak the message of love and righteousness entrusted to us with courage and humility. For we are not the arbiters or authors of the message. Rather, we are judged by the message, just like anyone else.
The world will never be changed by more human confidence and more human words. What it needs is people who listen to God before they speak, who tremble at God’s Word, and who would rather say less than misrepresent Him.
Let our prayer be simply: “Lord, make me slow to speak for You. Teach me to listen before I speak. Give me courage when You have truly spoken, and humility to acknowledge my own thoughts.”
Let us recognize situations where we are tempted to think our own confidence or desire is identical with God’s calling. Let us admit the grave danger of putting God’s name to words he has not spoken. Let us earnestly learn to be silent and listen to God before speaking in his name. And where God has clearly spoken, let us learn to speak it out with boldness and humility. God bless.
As we close, take a moment to reflect.
What are some situations in your life where you may be tempted to confuse your own confidence or desire with God’s calling?
Why is it spiritually dangerous to attach God’s name to words He has not spoken?
How can you cultivate a deeper habit of listening to God through His Word before speaking on His behalf?
And when God has clearly spoken through Scripture, how can you learn to speak that truth with both boldness and humility?
Let us pray
Lord, open my heart to understand what you have revealed in Your Word. Teach me to listen that I may distinguish Your voice from my own desires and assumptions. Give me humility to be uncertain, courage to speak what You have clearly spoken, and let me never claim your sanction to speak words that are merely mine. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.