Jeremiah 28

Part 6

By Debra Isenbletter

Vs 7: In this verse is seen "An Urgent Admonition" and "A Sober Reminder" for Jeremiah says, "Nevertheless hear thou now this word that I speak in thine ears and in the ears of all the people." I've broken down this sentence into the following categories: The Admonition; The Urgency; The Reminder; and The Hearers.

The Admonition: "Nevertheless hear thou..." How sad that Jeremiah must remind Hananiah of the one thing necessary to really know the will of God. There must be a "hearing" of the Word of the Lord. To "hear" means "to listen" and "understand" and "obey." These are three stages we go through when the Word is presented to us: First we "listen," second we "understand" and third we "obey." Many people stop really hearing the Word because they don't really "listen." How many times have we begun to listen to something and if we don't like what we begin to hear we never really finish listening to the rest of what is said. The words may have been spoken but we can turn off what we hear by simply not listening.

Hananiah was such a one, he had an opportunity to hear the Word, to understand the Word and to obey the Word yet in each case he does not. There is a failure there but who is at fault? It isn't the Lord. If we make up our minds first before really listening then we will never truly hear what the Lord says. This seems to be Jeremiah's persistent cry throughout the whole book, he is either asking them to hear or admonishing them for not hearing. He uses this word at least fifty times and it is still an admonition we need repeated today. When Jesus speaks to the seven churches in Revelation He ends each message to each individual church with "He that hath an ear, let him HEAR what the Spirit saith unto the churches."

The Urgency: "hear thou now..." or "hear thou, I beseech you, now:" There is an urgency and a plea in Jeremiah's cry, his heart goes out even to this false prophet to hear what the Word has said. Because Jeremiah's "now" carries this "beseeching" tone, Hananiah cannot take offense to what is said. Jeremiah is like the Apostle Paul, who despite the persecution and rejection he experienced at the hands of the Jews still desired that they might be saved. (Rom 10:1) And like Paul when he speaks here it is with meekness, even in the face of anger and opposition. His weapons are not carnal but mighty, and there is no mightier weapon that the Word of God in the hand of a yielded vessel. (2 Cor 10:1-5). We cannot fight the flesh with fleshly weapons or fight anger with anger. Jeremiah's calm demeanor and gracious attitude must have stood in sharp contrast to Hananiah's anger. What is so amazing is that it is Jeremiah's quiet and calm presentation of the Word that will finally undo Hananiah, he will explode in anger. He is rendered powerless by a spiritual man for he sees in Jeremiah everything that he should be and is not.

The Reminder: "hear thou now this Word that I speak..." "Word" here means "commandment" or "precept," therefore Jeremiah is speaking of the written Word of God. Jeremiah is not speaking of his current prophecy for he is pointing to "this word" not "my word." He is bringing everyone's attention back to where it should be and reminding them of what has already been written in the Word and what has already been prophesied. Hananiah cannot argue with the written Word (commandments and precepts) and he cannot argue with fulfilled prophecy. Jeremiah under the Spirit's anointing does not argue or debate over Hananiah's message but he does defend the Word with the Word. He is using the "sword of the Spirit" and wearing all the spiritual armor, for this is a spiritual battle. In order to do this Jeremiah must first know the Word and he reminds Hananiah of what he too should already know, but does not. Jeremiah's defense becomes a gentle reminder and Hananiah cannot argue this.

The Hearers: "in thine ears and in the ears of all the people." The one person that Jeremiah spoke to was Hananiah but others also heard his words (all the people). The Lord will make sure that all have an opportunity to hear the Word so that if they continue to believe a lie it is because they choose to. Notice that it is their "ears" (both Hananiah and the people) that will hear. The question is, will their hearts also hear? Jeremiah's quiet voice is meant for one man, yet it will be heard by all the people. He didn't have to try to get an audience, the Lord gathered them for him. This may have started out as a trial for Jeremiah and a battle, but the Lord uses both the trial and the battle so all may hear His Word, so in Jeremiah's case, "all things work together for good to them that love God... " (Rom 8:28) Whatever the circumstances, if there be a yielded vessel, the Lord will use those circumstances to work out that which He desires. When we quietly walk in obedience and graciously present the Word, whether it is our intention or not, it becomes a proclamation. Jeremiah's single, quiet voice becomes a shout that can't be ignored or silenced!

In Jeremiah 28:8-9 two different messages are compared, vs 8 describes Past Prophecies of War and vs 9 describes A Present Prophecy of Peace. These are two opposing messages and Jeremiah is going to bring alongside his message Witnesses from the Past that support what he has said. Jeremiah will take these witnesses and divide their prophecies into two categories: Prophecies against Nations and Prophecies of judgment. All that Jeremiah says is a reminder of what has already been written or already come to pass, this in itself is a powerful witness for Jeremiah's message. Even Hananiah cannot argue with the known revealed Word of God.