Welcome to this Daily PBJ devotional. Read Joshua 3, Jeremiah 28, and 2 Corinthians 10. This devotional is about Jeremiah 28. In the fifth month of that same year, the fourth year, near the beginning of the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah, the prophet Hananiah son of Azur, who was from Gibeon, said to me in the house of the Lord in the presence of the priests and all the people, This is what the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, says, I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. Within two years I will restore to this place all the articles of the house of the Lord that Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, removed from here and carried to Babylon. And I will restore to this place Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, along with all the exiles from Judah who went to Babylon, declares the Lord, for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon. Then the prophet Jeremiah replied to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the Lord. Amen, Jeremiah said. May the Lord do so. May the Lord fulfill the words you have prophesied. And may he restore the articles of his house and all the exiles back to this place from Babylon. Nevertheless, listen now to this message I am speaking in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people. The prophets of old who preceded you and me prophesied war, disaster, and plague against many lands and great kingdoms. As for the prophet who prophesies peace, only if the word of the prophet comes true will the prophet be recognized as one the Lord has truly sent. Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke off the neck of Jeremiah the prophet, and broke it. And in the presence of all the people, Hananiah proclaimed, This is what the Lord says, In this way, within two years, I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, off the neck of all the nations. At this, Jeremiah the prophet went on his way. But shortly after Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke off his neck, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, Go and tell Hananiah that this is what the Lord says, You have broken a yoke of wood, but in its place you have fashioned a yoke of iron. For this is what the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, says, I have put a yoke of iron on the neck of all these nations to make them serve Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and they will serve him. I have given him control of the beasts of the field. Then the prophet Jeremiah said to the prophet Hananiah, Listen, Hananiah, The Lord did not send you, but you have persuaded this people to trust in a lie. Therefore, this is what the Lord says. I am about to remove you from the face of the earth. You will die this year because you have preached rebellion against the Lord. And in the seventh month of that very year, the prophet Hananiah died. This is God's word. In Jeremiah 27, God commanded Jeremiah to develop a little object lesson for the kings of his era. He commanded Jeremiah to make a yoke and wear it around his neck. We saw that back in Jeremiah 27 verses 3 through 12. Now here in Jeremiah 28, a prophet named Hananiah confronted Jeremiah with a prophecy of his own. He spoke his words in the house of the Lord, in the presence of the priests and all the people, according to verse 1 here in Jeremiah 28. And Hananiah told all these people that God would break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, within two years. We saw that in verses 3 and 4. Hanani even took the yoke off of Jeremiah's neck and broke it to emphasize the message. That's in verses 10 through 12. Jeremiah responded with an enthusiastic, Amen, literally, according to verse 5. However, he warned Hananiah about making untrue prophecies in verse 9. With only two years or less for his prophecy to become true, his role as a prophet would either be validated or he would lose all credibility as a spokesman for God. We saw that in verse 9. Later, God himself spoke to Jeremiah and sent him to warn Hananiah about the consequences of prophesying falsely in God's name. Predicting that God will do something within a period of time where you will probably still be alive during that period of time is a bad idea. If it doesn't happen, meaning the prophecy doesn't happen, then people will know that you are a fraud. Jeremiah, however, made a prophecy with an even shorter runway to fulfillment. He predicted that Hananiah would die within the year. The reason for this prediction was God's judgment on Hananiah. Scripture says, because you have preached rebellion against the Lord. That's verse 16 in the NIV. Although Hananiah's word was rosy and optimistic and encouraged people's hearts, it was in fact urging them to rebel against the Lord instead of obediently following the word that came through Jeremiah. Remember, Jeremiah's word from the Lord was submit to Nebuchadnezzar in the previous chapter. God honored his true prophet, Jeremiah, by causing his prophecy to come to pass. In the seventh month of that same year, Hananiah the prophet died, according to verse 17 from the NIV. Hananiah didn't make it two months, see back in verse one, before God vindicated Jeremiah and discredited Hananiah. God does not seem to bring such swift, clear punishment always against those who speak in his name today. Why? Because God is being merciful to them. In fact, this was the point of Jeremiah's prophecy to Hananiah. The reason Hananiah was told that his death was approaching was so that he could repent Had he repented and publicly taken back, his prophecy would be part of that repentance. But had Hanani done that, God would likely have let him live for many more years. This is always why God's word is given to us. It's to lead us to repentance. While disobedience to God's commands may not lead to premature death in our day and age, there are always painful consequences to sin. Let's consider this when we are convinced to sin in our lives. It is unwise and unsafe to ignore the confrontations and warnings of the Lord. Conviction of sin is for our good. Let's welcome it and respond to it in repentance for God's glory and for our good. See Hebrews 12, 4 through 11, especially verses 10 and 11, for more about that subject. And if this devotional was helpful to you, I would encourage you to sign up by email to receive it every day in your email. 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