Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah and broke it. – Jeremiah 28:10

Today's Scripture Reading (August 25, 2026): Jeremiah 28

There is a tension between what we can do and what we should do. In science, the comment often concerns advanced weapons of war, especially weapons of mass destruction. It was the argument that surrounded the development of the Hydrogen and Atomic Bombs. It is also the argument that continues to surround the question of Atomic Energy. We know the positive uses of atomic energy. Still, we also know of the negative uses of Atomic theory in war and the great dangers that atomic energy presents to the human race. So, the question remains: just because we can does not necessarily mean that we should.

In national finances, the question is asked with almost every budget. Just because we have the money, or, in many cases, can borrow it, does not necessarily mean the money should be spent in these areas. Can does not mean should.

As a prophet, the tension between can and should was immense. A king would often pressure the prophet to speak in favor of his policies and the future of his nation. It was not just an egotistic wish that the prophet would stroke the ego of the king, although sometimes that was and still is a part of it. However, if the prophet stood with the king, it instilled a very positive energy throughout the nation. As a result, the pressure to support was considerable. Each prophet had to make a choice. He could support the king, but should he? And the question was really settled by the prophet's relationship with his God. The prophet was supposed to speak with the voice of God, but that assumed the prophet was close enough to God to hear his voice.

Hananiah removes the yoke from the shoulders of Jeremiah and breaks it. It was intended as an encouraging act, especially for King Zedekiah; Hananiah was symbolically removing the burden from Jeremiah's shoulders that Jeremiah had insisted was an image of the burden which was about to be placed on Judah. After he removed and broke the yoke, Hananiah explains his act: the false prophet argues that Jeremiah's prophecy of Judah's defeat is wrong. Hananiah asserts that he has heard the voice of God and that God wished to support Zedekiah, the king. Deep down, I think Jeremiah wished that Hananiah was right; he wished he could support the king, even if the king were not honoring God. However, Jeremiah had heard the voice of God, and the prophecy was that Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon was not fighting against God's will. The yoke that was about to be put on the shoulders of Judah would not be so easily broken just because Hananiah and King Zedekiah wished it.

We are still charged with speaking the will of God into our culture, no matter how uncomfortable that might make us. Speaking to the world about a God who loves them is always what we should, and can, do. 

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 29