Jeremiah 26-28 -- It Doesn't Pay To Be A False Prophet

The people heard Jeremiah prophesy that God would allow Jerusalem and the temple to be destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, and they considered such a message blasphemy.  "Since God's covenant with David protected the city and the Temple, Jeremiah was actually denying the covenant!  He was leading the people astray and deserved to die, they thought," according to my commentary.

Jeremiah was arrested but the officers and all the people told the priests and prophets that Jeremiah must not die.  The congregation was telling the priests what God was saying!

God told Jeremiah to construct a wooden yoke, indicating submission, and wear it before King Zedekiah and representatives from five neighboring nations.  They had to submit to Nebuchadnezzar or else be destroyed.  He also delivered the same message to the priests and the people.  Only by submitting to the king of Babylon could the nation and the people be saved.

Hananiah, a false prophet, declared that the captivity would end in two years, while Jeremiah had heard God say it would be 70 years.  Hananiah even broke the wooden yoke Jeremiah was wearing for his action sermon.  Jeremiah then told Hananiah that God had decreed that He would replace the wooden yoke with a yoke of iron, impossible to break, and that Hananiah would die that very year.  Two months later, he did.  "It's always the case that when we reject the light yoke of God's will, we end up wearing a heavier yoke of our own making," my commentary said.

Father, help me to submit to Your will for my life.  Make sure that I understand that any rebellion will only lead to a heavier burden that my stubbornness will create, rather than the light burden You put on me in love.

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Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford