Jeremiah 28:10-11

3. The reaction of Hananiah (Jeremiah 28:10-11)

TRANSLATION

(10) Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoke from upon the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and smashed it. (11) And Hananiah said before all the people, Thus says the LORD: Like this I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon within two years from upon the neck of all the nations. Then Jeremiah the prophet went on his way.

COMMENTS

Hananiah, instead of any rejoinder to Jeremiah, resorts to an act of violence which will impress the multitude. Apparently he could not answer the prophet's quiet and convincing argument. Violence grows in inverse proportion to the number of reasonable arguments which can be offered to bolster one's position. The air was tense already. Those assembled in the Temple listened eagerly as the two prophets exchanged their verbal blows. Probably no one there including Jeremiah was quite prepared for the dramatic action which followed, Without any warning Hananiah tore the yoke from the neck of Jeremiah (one wonders how much physical violence this would have involved), and shattered it before them all (Jeremiah 28:10). As he smashes the yoke Hananiah dogmatically and dramatically declared that the yoke of Babylon would be broken within two full years. This is just a repetition of what Hananiah had previously said except that this time he adds the climax from off the neck of all nations.

Jeremiah submitted to the indignity of the moment. He simply went his way (Jeremiah 28:11). No explosion of anger. No hastily spoken word of rebuttal. He simply went his way. Perhaps it was obvious that Hananiah had swayed the audience with his dramatic action and words. To attempt to answer Hananiah further at that time might have placed his life in danger. Perhaps under the circumstances he felt it useless to repeat the admonition which he had earlier made.