DO I HAVE A HANANIAH OR A JEREMIAH HEART?

May 12, 2011

DO I HAVE A HANANIAH OR A JEREMIAH HEART?

Jeremiah 28

Kris Howell

Central Truth

God is sovereign, and He has a plan.

"The prophet who prophesies of peace, when the word of the prophet comes to pass, then that prophet will be known as one whom the LORD has truly sent." (Jeremiah 28:9)

Hananiah the False Prophet

1 In that same year, at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fifth month of the fourth year, Hananiah the son of Azzur, the prophet from Gibeon, spoke to me in the house of the LORD, in the presence of the priests and all the people, saying, 2 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. 3 Within two years I will bring back to this place all the vessels of the LORD's house, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place and carried to Babylon. 4 I will also bring back to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the exiles from Judah who went to Babylon, declares the LORD, for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.”

5 Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke to Hananiah the prophet in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the LORD, 6 and the prophet Jeremiah said, “Amen! May the LORD do so; may the LORD make the words that you have prophesied come true, and bring back to this place from Babylon the vessels of the house of the LORD, and all the exiles. 7 Yet hear now this word that I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people. 8 The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, famine, and pestilence against many countries and great kingdoms. 9 As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes to pass, then it will be known that the LORD has truly sent the prophet.”

10 Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke-bars from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke them. 11 And Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, “Thus says the LORD: Even so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all the nations within two years.” But Jeremiah the prophet went his way.

12 Sometime after the prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke-bars from off the neck of Jeremiah the prophet, the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: 13 “Go, tell Hananiah, ‘Thus says the LORD: You have broken wooden bars, but you have made in their place bars of iron. 14 For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: I have put upon the neck of all these nations an iron yoke to serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and they shall serve him, for I have given to him even the beasts of the field.’” 15 And Jeremiah the prophet said to the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah, the LORD has not sent you, and you have made this people trust in a lie. 16 Therefore thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will remove you from the face of the earth. This year you shall die, because you have uttered rebellion against the LORD.’”

17 In that same year, in the seventh month, the prophet Hananiah died.

My husband and I became foster parents last summer. We knew that what God was calling us to would not be an easy road. The desire to add children to our family would be met with many obstacles and bumps along the way.

It is when these bumps come that I find myself falling into old habits and desiring to take control of the situation. It is easy for me to deceive myself into thinking that "the system" is messed up or that God will do things the way that I have them worked out in my own head.

This is what I feel Hananiah was doing. He decided to make things sound better. God would change their situation, and the oppression and suffering would end. But the danger in doing this can be severe. As we see in Hananiah's case, God put him to death! In my own life, I must make sure that I am trusting in God's plan and not my own. "All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, but He does according to His will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of earth; and no one can ward off His hand or say to Him, 'What have You done?'" (Daniel 4:35)

'''For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,' declares the Lord. 'For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.''' (Isaiah 55:8-9) These verses show clearly that God is in control and that He has a plan. The question is whether we trust Him enough to sit back and pray and walk through the fire, or if we go kicking and screaming "Why?" the whole way.

1. What are the areas in your life right now in which you are trying to take control?

2. Can you remember times in your past when you tried to take control? How did that work out for you?

3. Think about people in the Bible whose lives were headed in a confusing direction and how God used those situations to bring Him glory and to improve their lives, and sometimes the lives of others (Joseph, Esther, Daniel . . . just to name a few).

4. What is God asking you to release control of in your life right now?

WEEKLY FAMILY ACTIVITY

JEREMIAH 25-29 (MAY 9-13)

Read Jeremiah 29:1-14.

Jeremiah 29 is written when some of the Jews (God's chosen people) had been exiled (separated from) God and their country because of their disobedience.

Have you ever felt exiled? Talk about the situation and how you were brought back from the time of separation. (Think about time outs or grounding.)

What encouragement and reminders did God give His people through this book?

After your time of exile, was there encouragement given to you?

Activity: Write a letter to someone in your life who needs hope. People who are lonely, away at college for the first time, struggling with the consequences of something they did wrong, or weary from trials in their lives. Remember to include truth from Scripture about God's promises to us.