False Prophets

In Jeremiah 28, there is an interesting story about a false prophet named Hananiah. Hananiah is prophesying peace for the nation of Judah while Jeremiah is predicting more war, famine, and defeat by the Babylonians. Hananiah is telling the people what they want to hear, while Jeremiah is doing just the opposite. Naturally, Hananiah is the most popular. In fact, if you read the book of Jeremiah, you soon discover that he was not well liked at all, and there were even several attempts on his life. However, the bottom line is that Jeremiah was right, and Hananiah was wrong. It's a historical illustration of being popular and official, acting as if you are speaking the words of God, but in the end, totally wrong. Who looking back would want to be Hananiah rather than Jeremiah? No one. Yet, during their life, most would choose the popularity and message of Hananiah. The story brings out the fact that it is more important to be right than to be popular. Yet, I can't help but think that Hananiah was convinced that he was right as he was speaking peace and prosperity. It's also an illustration of how we can fool ourselves as to what is right. We can be absolutely convinced we are speaking truth, yet in the end be dead wrong...literally. In verses 7-9, Jeremiah gives us a clue to help us find our way. In verse 6, Jeremiah responds to the words of Hananiah by stating that he hopes they come true. My personal belief is that he meant those words. But he goes on to point out that the words of previous prophets agree with Jeremiah, not with Hananiah. Therefore, the burden of proof is upon Hananiah. There are those today who still preach a message of peace and prosperity. Naturally, they are very popular. But the real question is...are they right? Only by looking at the whole of Scripture can we see that God often uses difficulties in various forms to bring us to the place where we are fully dependent upon Him.