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. – Jeremiah 28:3

Today's Scripture Reading (July 10, 2023): Jeremiah 28

Earlier in my ministry path, I took a position that many people above me in the ecclesiastical hierarchy didn't want me to take. And one bishop-like person even made a prophecy. He said I would crash and burn within a year of assuming the position. Actually, I admit that he was right; I did crash and burn, although I think I also learned a lot through the experience. There are many things that I would do differently if I could do it all over again, but not taking the position is not one of my regrets. Where this bishop was in error was that I didn't crash and burn within that first year; it took seven years. My bishop apologized after the passing of that first year without my demise. And I almost wish he hadn't. I feel that my relationship with him has been restored, and I still have a lot of respect for him, maybe even more than before he uttered the ill-fated prophecy.

Hananiah is prophesying that this time of trial is coming to an end. Yes, Babylon had the upper hand, but that would end. And when it did, everything that Babylon had removed from the Temple would be returned. For people who were scared and suffering, it was welcome news. And people sought Hananiah out to listen to his words. I mean, who would you rather listen to, someone who prophesies that wealth is just around the corner or someone who wants you to confront the sin in your life? Yes, I know the answer; I have read your Facebook pages. It is filled with memes saying, "Send this to ten of your friends, and God will bless you with the desires of your heart." I am still waiting to see the meme that asserts, "Send this to ten of your friends, and God will confront you with the unconfessed sins of your life," just sayin'.

Hananiah was prophesying, and the reality was that Hananiah was right. The yoke of the Babylonians would be broken. Okay, it wouldn't be Nebuchadnezzar on the throne at the time of the breaking; it would be one of his descendants. And the breaking would be the final step in a significant decline of the Babylonian Empire that the Media Persian Empire would author. But, at that time, Cyrus, the Persian King, would return the things that had been removed from the Jewish Temple. 

So, it wasn't that Hananiah was utterly wrong, but that his purpose was wrong. Hananiah wanted to comfort the people of Israel when God needed them to take a long, hard look at their lives and the things they believed. Good times were coming, but first, the hard times would overtake them. Hananiah's big mistake was when he said the good times were just a couple of years away. They were more like eighty years away, and Hananiah would not live long enough to see the good times arrive.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 29,