In 28:12-16 Jeremiah pulled Hananiah son of Azzur aside. How Hananiah had “received” the message that he told others was from the LORD we don’t know, but Jeremiah gave him a very stern message from God. It wasn’t a warning to him that he needed to change his ways or he would be in trouble. It was a very curt statement of condemnation; “You will not live out the year because you have led the people in rebellion against God.” No religious leader wants to hear these words. The act of the basis of deep personal conviction. But Hananiah’s convictions were not based on faith in God. When I hear a message from God it cuts deep. When I hear a rebuke from God my stomach turns. I wonder how Hananiah responded to what we know was truly a message from God? Did his stomach turn? Did he repent? Did he keep on speaking the lies that he desperately wanted to see happen? Did Hananiah broadcast to everyone what Jeremiah had spoken to him in private? Did he mock God’s prophet or did he take it to heart and turn from his rebellion. Other scriptures would indicate that since God did not commute the death sentence but carried it out two months later that Hananiah did NOT turn from his message. That is the same fate I will face if I proclaim a message not from God and refuse to conform to God’s inspired message.
Stuart
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