Thank you for stopping by and taking to time to watch, listen, or read this week’s message, Hope for the Best; Prepare for the Worst.
I hope you are encouraged in your faith in Jesus, and maybe even learn something new along the way 🙂
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A phrase used that can help in many areas of life is to hope for the best, but be prepared for the worst.
This is a great word for anyone attempting a home project. We hope for the best; that all will go well, fall into place, and be completed on time and under budget. However, if we are prepared for the worst, we will not be surprised when things go wrong.
Or how about family vacations? We look forward to the trips and activities, hoping for the best. We hope and plan for the trip to be perfect from beginning to end. However, we should be prepared for the worst. How many times have vacations become chaotic due to road construction, accidents, flight delays, bad weather, lost luggage, etc.? If we are prepared for the worst, the unexpected things will not ruin the entire trip.
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As we have been going through the book of Jeremiah, we see that he has been speaking God’s message to the people of Judah. This message has been consistent. God’s message was to have the people turn from your evil ways, turn back to God, or face the punishment that awaits.
This message brought with it the worst kind of news. Since they would not turn back to God, they were to be sent into exile for seventy years. They were to serve their enemy while in their country. If they were unwilling to serve, they would be punished. In time, God would bring them back into the land He had given to them.
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Now in Jeremiah 28, we read of a prophet named Hananiah who was bringing another message to the people. Like Jeremiah, he was proclaiming that his message was from God as well. However, his message was different. It was a message of hope that the people wanted to hear, but it was a deceitful message.
From Hananiah’s message and Jeremiah’s response, we can learn to…
Watch Out for Misguided Hopes
28 In the fifth month of that same year, the fourth year, early in the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, the prophet Hananiah son of Azzur, who was from Gibeon, said to me in the house of the Lord in the presence of the priests and all the people: 2 “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon. 3 Within two years I will bring back to this place all the articles of the Lord’s house that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon removed from here and took to Babylon. 4 I will also bring back to this place Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and all the other exiles from Judah who went to Babylon,’ declares the Lord, ‘for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.’”
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5 Then the prophet Jeremiah replied to the prophet Hananiah before the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the Lord. 6 He said, “Amen! May the Lord do so! May the Lord fulfill the words you have prophesied by bringing the articles of the Lord’s house and all the exiles back to this place from Babylon.
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Even though Jeremiah prophesied 70 years of captivity, Hananiah prophesied that the people would only be held captive for two years. It was a good news message. Yes, they were going to go into exile, but God was going to come and rescue them from their peril. It was a message that was pleasing to the ear; a message of hope.
Jeremiah prophesied exile and punishment, but Hananiah prophesied the return of the people and the things of God back to the land. Jeremiah’s message was hard to hear and painful to endure, but Hananiah’s message sounded like good news. Where Jeremiah’s message spoke of actions required by the people, Hananiah’s message requires nothing from them.
Hananiah’s message sounded good and right, but was it? His message is what the people wanted to hear and believe, but was it true?
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Consider a couple of the false hopes that are given to those in need…
Those with sicknesses—Many are told they will be healed if they just have enough faith. It is encouraging to hear such messages, and to believe in them. Even though it may be encouraging, it may bring about misguided hopes. If God should choose not to heal in the way we expect, then that may negatively affect our faith.
Those struggling with financial issues – Many are counseled that God wants them to be prosperous. This is true, as we will see next week in Jeremiah 29.11 where it is written, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” The danger in this prosperity mindset has brought about the prosperity gospel. This gospel says, “name it and claim it,” or “blab it and grab it.” Just because God wants us to be prosperous does not mean it will be financially. Again, when God chooses not to prosper us in the way we want, it can impact our faith in Him.
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When these false, misguided hopes are presented, a test we can use is to…
Learn from the Events in History
7 Nevertheless, listen to what I have to say in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people: 8 From early times the prophets who preceded you and me have prophesied war, disaster and plague against many countries and great kingdoms. 9 But the prophet who prophesies peace will be recognized as one truly sent by the Lord only if his prediction comes true.”
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Historically, all the prophets before, and including Jeremiah, spoke of war, disaster, and plague if the people did not turn from their evil ways and turn back to God. There was the proclamation of what was wrong, what needed to be done, and what would happen if the people would choose not to follow God’s commands.
In contrast, Hananiah spoke of God breaking the hold Babylon had on the people and bringing them back to the land. He spoke in direct contradiction to the message Jeremiah had shared with the people. While Jeremiah spoke of war, disaster, and plague, Hananiah spoke of peace.
It is a good message that was given, but it did not fit with the historical record. Because of this, Jeremiah responded that those who prophesied peace would only be confirmed if their prophecy came to pass.
Avoid being Swayed by Over Confidence
10 Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah and broke it, 11 and he said before all the people, “This is what the Lord says: ‘In the same way I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon off the neck of all the nations within two years.’” At this, the prophet Jeremiah went on his way.
In response to Jeremiah’s claims, Hananiah went a step further, breaking the yoke that Jeremiah had around his neck. He proclaimed that God was going to do the same with Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. In that zeal he had for the message spilled out into a visual representation of what was going to happen.
Think about the things that capture our attention and draws us in. Any company that is wanting to promote a product or service will use the most influential ways to grab our attention. The zeal people have for specific things can cause us to have the desire for those same things.
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Just like Hananiah, there are individuals who are proclaiming messages with a confidence that cannot be denied. However, just because there is confidence does not mean the message is right or true.
We really need to draw closer to God so that we are not swayed by the things of men or of the world. When we hear the teachings of others, if our relationship with God is strong, we will be able to realize whether or not the teachings come from God.
Be Aware of Potential Unintended Results
12 After the prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 13 “Go and tell Hananiah, ‘This is what the Lord says: You have broken a wooden yoke, but in its place you will get a yoke of iron. 14 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I will put an iron yoke on the necks of all these nations to make them serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and they will serve him. I will even give him control over the wild animals.’”
15 Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, “Listen, Hananiah! The Lord has not sent you, yet you have persuaded this nation to trust in lies. 16 Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘I am about to remove you from the face of the earth. This very year you are going to die, because you have preached rebellion against the Lord.’”
17 In the seventh month of that same year, Hananiah the prophet died.
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In his zeal, Hananiah ended up bringing about punishment upon himself. In verse 16 we see that instead of speaking a message from God, he was actually speaking in rebellion against Him.
God’s message that was given to Jeremiah had a timeline, 70 years, with commands for the people to follow. It was a consistent teaching: Turn from your evil ways and turn back to God, or punishment will come. This punishment involved being sent away from the land that was given to them by God. It also involved serving their enemy during their exile.
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On the other hand, Hananiah’s proclamation went against God’s timeline and expectations for the people. In essence, he was going against the commands of God to pursue his own hopes and dreams. They were good hopes and dreams, but it was not God’s plan. As a result, Hananiah lost his life because of his misguided, self-proclaimed message.
We need to be aware of the results that come from wayward teachings. They may sound good, look good, and seem like the directions God would want us to go. If they are man driven and not God led, the results could be catastrophic for any and all who share these messages as well as those who blindly follow these leadings.
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So, what is the point? What is our challenge from this passage?
Faithfully spend time in the Word. The Bible is God’s love letter to us. His Word is living and active and can speak to us today. Are we spending time with God through His Word?
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Search diligently for the Truth. There are many different versions of the “truth” in the world today. If we want to know if something is true or not, it would be of great help to us to search for God’s view in all matters through His Word, by His Spirit.
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Trust wholeheartedly in the Spirit. If Jesus is our Savior, then we have His Spirit living and working inside of us. Do we trust those thoughts, words, and directions that come from a place deep within us? Those thoughts, words, and directions may just be Jesus speaking to us as we go about our day.
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Live unwaveringly for the Lord. Our life should be fully committed to the Lord our God. How does that look today? It goes back to the three previous paragraphs. If we are spending time in the Word, searching for the truth, and trusting in the Spirit, we will become a people that are fully committed to living for the Lord.
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Have a Great Day!