Jeremiah 26-28

Jeremiah 26

Setting: Early reign of Jehoiakim (≈ 609 BC).

God tells Jeremiah to stand in the temple courtyard and preach.

Message:

• Repent.
• Obey God’s law.
• Or Jerusalem will become like Shiloh (destroyed sanctuary).

Priests and prophets seize Jeremiah saying “You shall die!” Because he prophesied destruction of the temple.

Jeremiah calmly replies:

• God sent me.
• Repent and disaster may change.
• Killing me means shedding innocent blood.

Elders remember Micah’s prophecy against Jerusalem and that Micah was not executed. (See Micah)

Another prophet (Uriah):

• Preached similar message.
• Fled to Egypt.
• Was captured and executed.
• We don’t know much about this Uriah 

Jeremiah lives

Jeremiah 27

About verse 1: from https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/jeremiah-27/: . In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim: The reference to Jehoiakim is a problem, because it isn’t in many manuscripts and doesn’t match with the rest of the chapter, which seems clearly to speak to the time of Zedekiah, not Jehoiakim. This is a likely scribal error.

i. “The first verse is omitted by LXX. Some Hebrew MSS and the Peshitta substituted Zedekiah for Jehoiakim, which is obviously correct chronologically (cf. Jeremiah 28:1). The mistake probably arose from a miscopying of 26:1.” (Harrison)

During reign of Zedekiah God commands Jeremiah to wear a wooden yoke. Meaning: Nations must submit to Babylon.

God calls Nebuchadnezzar“My servant” as Babylon is God’s instrument.

Resist Babylon → sword, famine, pestilence.
Submit → live.

Warning to Zedekiah: Do not listen to prophets promising freedom. False hope leads to destruction.

False prophets claim temple treasures will return soon. Jeremiah says:They will go to Babylon and remain there. Exile will last.

Jeremiah 28

Hananiah a prophet declares:

• Babylon’s power will break.
• Exiles will return in two years.

This directly contradicts Jeremiah.

Jeremiah essentially says: “I hope you’re right.”

But reminder: True prophets predicting peace must be proven by fulfillment.

Hananiah breaks Jeremiah’s wooden yoke as a “symbol” of  Babylon’s rule ending.

God replies:You broke wood, I replace it with iron.

• Babylon’s domination will be stronger.

Hananiah dies that same year.

Application

These chapters show the importance of listening to God for truth. Messages that promise quick relief must be tested, because false hope can lead to greater destruction.