Making Matters Worse

“Go and tell Hananiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Thou hast broken the yokes of wood; but thou shalt make for them yokes of iron.” Jeremiah 28:13

Jeremiah’s message was both unusual and unpopular. God told him to put a yoke (a harness used to hitch an animal to a plow) on his neck and preach to the king and to all the people that they should serve Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. God said that He had chosen Nebuchadnezzar to rule over the nations and that all people should submit to his authority. The people viewed Jeremiah’s message as being unpatriotic. They wanted their religious leaders to talk about how their nation would prosper and be sovereign. A prophet from Gibeon named Hananiah came with a message that God was going to break Nebuchadnezzar’s yoke of bondage off of their necks, and all of the Israelites were going to be free from bondage. He took the yoke off of Jeremiah’s neck and broke it in the presence of the people. Hananiah said that Nebuchadnezzar was going to bring back all of the vessels that he had taken out of the temple. The people liked Hananiah’s message. It gave them feelings of spirituality and national pride. Jeremiah told Hananiah that his message sounded good but that it was not true. He told him that he was causing the people to believe a lie and that it would only make matters worse. Now they would refuse to submit to Nebuchadnezzar, and their bondage would become much more unpleasant. Simply telling people what they want to hear is rarely good for them. God’s message to us is simple, and He expects us to obey His Word.