Study Desk

"Preach it all, Jeremiah. Preach the entire Message to them. Say: "‘ God roars like a lion from high heaven; thunder rolls out from his holy dwelling— Ear-splitting bellows against his people, shouting hurrahs like workers in harvest. The noise reverberates all over the earth; everyone everywhere hears it. God makes his case against the godless nations. He's about to put the human race on trial. For the wicked the verdict is clear-cut: death by the sword.'" God 's Decree.

A Message from God -of-the-Angel-Armies: "Prepare for the worst! Doomsday! Disaster is spreading from nation to nation. A huge storm is about to rage all across planet Earth."

Laid end to end, those killed in God 's judgment that day will stretch from one end of the earth to the other. No tears will be shed and no burials conducted. The bodies will be left where they fall, like so much horse dung fertilizing the fields.

Wail, shepherds! Cry out for help! Grovel in the dirt, you masters of flocks! Time's up—you're slated for the slaughterhouse, like a choice ram with its throat cut. There's no way out for the rulers, no escape for those shepherds. Hear that? Rulers crying for help, shepherds of the flock wailing! God is about to ravage their fine pastures. The peaceful sheepfolds will be silent with death, silenced by God 's deadly anger. God will come out into the open like a lion leaping from its cover, And the country will be torn to pieces, ripped and ravaged by his anger.

At the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, this Message came from God to Jeremiah:

" God 's Message: Stand in the court of God 's Temple and preach to the people who come from all over Judah to worship in God 's Temple. Say everything I tell you to say to them. Don't hold anything back. Just maybe they'll listen and turn back from their bad lives. Then I'll reconsider the disaster that I'm planning to bring on them because of their evil behavior.

"Say to them, ‘This is God 's Message: If you refuse to listen to me and live by my teaching that I've revealed so plainly to you, and if you continue to refuse to listen to my servants the prophets that I tirelessly keep on sending to you—but you've never listened! Why would you start now?—then I'll make this Temple a pile of ruins like Shiloh, and I'll make this city nothing but a bad joke worldwide.'"

Everybody there—priests, prophets, and people—heard Jeremiah preaching this Message in the Temple of God . When Jeremiah had finished his sermon, saying everything God had commanded him to say, the priests and prophets and people all grabbed him, yelling, "Death! You're going to die for this! How dare you preach—and using God 's name!—saying that this Temple will become a heap of rubble like Shiloh and this city be wiped out without a soul left in it!" All the people mobbed Jeremiah right in the Temple itself.

Officials from the royal court of Judah were told of this. They left the palace immediately and came to God 's Temple to investigate. They held court on the spot, at the New Gate entrance to God 's Temple.

Jeremiah spoke next, publicly addressing the officials before the crowd: " God sent me to preach against both this Temple and city everything that's been reported to you. So do something about it! Change the way you're living, change your behavior. Listen obediently to the Message of your God . Maybe God will reconsider the disaster he has threatened.

"As for me, I'm at your mercy—do whatever you think is best. But take warning: If you kill me, you're killing an innocent man, and you and the city and the people in it will be liable. I didn't say any of this on my own. God sent me and told me what to say. You've been listening to God speak, not Jeremiah."

The court officials, backed by the people, then handed down their ruling to the priests and prophets: "Acquittal. No death sentence for this man. He has spoken to us with the authority of our God ."

Then some of the respected leaders stood up and addressed the crowd: "In the reign of Hezekiah king of Judah, Micah of Moresheth preached to the people of Judah this sermon: This is God -of-the-Angel-Armies' Message for you: "‘Because of people like you, Zion will be turned back into farmland, Jerusalem end up as a pile of rubble, and instead of the Temple on the mountain, a few scraggly scrub pines.'

"Did King Hezekiah or anyone else in Judah kill Micah of Moresheth because of that sermon? Didn't Hezekiah honor him and pray for mercy from God ? And then didn't God call off the disaster he had threatened? "Friends, we're at the brink of bringing a terrible calamity upon ourselves."

(At another time there had been a man, Uriah son of Shemaiah from Kiriath-jearim, who had preached similarly in the name of God . He preached against this same city and country just as Jeremiah did. When King Jehoiakim and his royal court heard his sermon, they determined to kill him. Uriah, afraid for his life, went into hiding in Egypt. King Jehoiakim sent Elnathan son of Achbor with a posse of men after him. They brought him back from Egypt and presented him to the king. And the king had him killed. They dumped his body unceremoniously outside the city.

Early in the reign of Zedekiah son of Josiah king of Judah, Jeremiah received this Message from God : "Make a harness and a yoke and then harness yourself up. Send a message to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon. Send it through their ambassadors who have come to Jerusalem to see Zedekiah king of Judah. Give them this charge to take back to their masters: ‘This is a Message from God -of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel. Tell your masters:

Then I gave this same message to Zedekiah king of Judah: "Harness yourself up to the yoke of the king of Babylon. Serve him and his people. Live a long life! Why choose to get killed or starve to death or get sick and die, which is what God has threatened to any nation that won't throw its lot in with Babylon? Don't listen to the prophets who are telling you not to submit to the king of Babylon. They're telling you lies, preaching lies. God 's Word on this is, ‘I didn't send those prophets, but they keep preaching lies, claiming I sent them. If you listen to them, I'll end up driving you out of here and that will be the end of you, both you and the lying prophets.'"

And finally I spoke to the priests and the people at large: "This is God 's Message: Don't listen to the preaching of the prophets who keep telling you, ‘Trust us: The furnishings, plundered from God 's Temple, are going to be returned from Babylon any day now.' That's a lie. Don't listen to them. Submit to the king of Babylon and live a long life. Why do something that will destroy this city and leave it a heap of rubble? If they are real prophets and have a Message from God , let them come to God -of-the-Angel-Armies in prayer so that the furnishings that are still left in God 's Temple, the king's palace, and Jerusalem aren't also lost to Babylon. That's because God -of-the-Angel-Armies has already spoken about the Temple furnishings that remain—the pillars, the great bronze basin, the stands, and all the other bowls and chalices that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon didn't take when he took Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim off to Babylonian exile along with all the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem. He said that the furnishings left behind in the Temple of God and in the royal palace and in Jerusalem will be taken off to Babylon and stay there until, in God 's words, ‘I take the matter up again and bring them back where they belong.'"

Later that same year (it was in the fifth month of King Zedekiah's fourth year) Hananiah son of Azzur, a prophet from Gibeon, confronted Jeremiah in the Temple of God in front of the priests and all the people who were there. Hananiah said: "This Message is straight from God -of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel: ‘I will most certainly break the yoke of the king of Babylon. Before two years are out I'll have all the furnishings of God 's Temple back here, all the things that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon plundered and hauled off to Babylon. I'll also bring back Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and all the exiles who were taken off to Babylon.' God 's Decree. ‘Yes, I will break the king of Babylon's yoke. You'll no longer be in harness to him.'" Prophet Jeremiah stood up to prophet Hananiah in front of the priests and all the people who were in God 's Temple that day. Prophet Jeremiah said, "Wonderful! Would that it were true—that God would validate your preaching by bringing the Temple furnishings and all the exiles back from Babylon. But listen to me, listen closely. Listen to what I tell both you and all the people here today: The old prophets, the ones before our time, preached judgment against many countries and kingdoms, warning of war and disaster and plague. So any prophet who preaches that everything is just fine and there's nothing to worry about stands out like a sore thumb. We'll wait and see. If it happens, it happens—and then we'll know that God sent him." At that, Hananiah grabbed the yoke from Jeremiah's shoulders and smashed it. And then he addressed the people: "This is God 's Message: In just this way I will smash the yoke of the king of Babylon and get him off the neck of all the nations—and within two years." Jeremiah walked out. Later, sometime after Hananiah had smashed the yoke from off his shoulders, Jeremiah received this Message from God : "Go back to Hananiah and tell him, ‘This is God 's Message: You smashed the wooden yoke-bars; now you've got iron yoke-bars. This is a Message from God -of-the-Angel-Armies, Israel's own God: I've put an iron yoke on all these nations. They're harnessed to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. They'll do just what he tells them. Why, I'm even putting him in charge of the wild animals.'" So prophet Jeremiah told prophet Hananiah, "Hold it, Hananiah! God never sent you. You've talked the whole country into believing a pack of lies! And so God says, ‘You claim to be sent? I'll send you all right—right off the face of the earth! Before the year is out, you'll be dead because you fomented sedition against God .'" Prophet Hananiah died that very year, in the seventh month.

From a Wooden to an Iron Yoke Later that same year (it was in the fifth month of King Zedekiah's fourth year) Hananiah son of Azzur, a prophet from Gibeon, confronted Jeremiah in the Temple of God in front of the priests and all the people who were there. Hananiah said: "This Message is straight from God -of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel: ‘I will most certainly break the yoke of the king of Babylon. Before two years are out I'll have all the furnishings of God 's Temple back here, all the things that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon plundered and hauled off to Babylon. I'll also bring back Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and all the exiles who were taken off to Babylon.' God 's Decree. ‘Yes, I will break the king of Babylon's yoke. You'll no longer be in harness to him.'" Prophet Jeremiah stood up to prophet Hananiah in front of the priests and all the people who were in God 's Temple that day. Prophet Jeremiah said, "Wonderful! Would that it were true—that God would validate your preaching by bringing the Temple furnishings and all the exiles back from Babylon. But listen to me, listen closely. Listen to what I tell both you and all the people here today: The old prophets, the ones before our time, preached judgment against many countries and kingdoms, warning of war and disaster and plague. So any prophet who preaches that everything is just fine and there's nothing to worry about stands out like a sore thumb. We'll wait and see. If it happens, it happens—and then we'll know that God sent him." At that, Hananiah grabbed the yoke from Jeremiah's shoulders and smashed it. And then he addressed the people: "This is God 's Message: In just this way I will smash the yoke of the king of Babylon and get him off the neck of all the nations—and within two years." Jeremiah walked out. Later, sometime after Hananiah had smashed the yoke from off his shoulders, Jeremiah received this Message from God : "Go back to Hananiah and tell him, ‘This is God 's Message: You smashed the wooden yoke-bars; now you've got iron yoke-bars. This is a Message from God -of-the-Angel-Armies, Israel's own God: I've put an iron yoke on all these nations. They're harnessed to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. They'll do just what he tells them. Why, I'm even putting him in charge of the wild animals.'" So prophet Jeremiah told prophet Hananiah, "Hold it, Hananiah! God never sent you. You've talked the whole country into believing a pack of lies! And so God says, ‘You claim to be sent? I'll send you all right—right off the face of the earth! Before the year is out, you'll be dead because you fomented sedition against God .'" Prophet Hananiah died that very year, in the seventh month.