Jeremiah 28:10-11 – Don’t be embroiled in a needless argument

Let’s do a recap. Jeremiah was instructed to wear a yoke over his neck. God wanted the nations to know that they must all submit to Babylon’s dominion.   Prior to this, he had made known that Judah would be in Babylonian captivity for 70 years. But then a prophet from Gibeon by the name of Hananiah was misleading the people with a lie. He falsely claimed that the Babylonian yoke would be broken in two years. He even said that the king of Judah, the people, and the temple’s treasure taken by Nebuchadnezzar would also be returned within two years. All that he had said contradicted Jeremiah’s prophecy who then checked him. Jeremiah pointed out that the best authentication of a true prophet would be when what he had prophesied comes to pass.

Apparently, Hananiah took offense to Jeremiah. So in Jeremiah 28:10-11, he aggressively removed the yoke from Jeremiah’s neck and broke it, and continued to mislead the people. He then went on to emphasize by proclaiming again saying, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Even so will I break within two full years the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all the nations.’”  The last line of verse 11 says Jeremiah went away. Here we venture a guess for the reason he did not want to engage Hananiah. Perhaps it was because he did want to make a scene and created needless commotion before the people. anyway, it is pointless to engage a person who is openly looking for a fight. 

Here we learn how to deal with an unreasonable person. It is always wiser to walk away and wait for a more opportune time to correct him. When one is insistent in persisting in his or her error, correcting openly would only lead to more aggression from that person.  Besides, in life, it is pointless to discuss with someone who obviously refused to accept the truth. Continuing the conversation to correct such a person would be an exercise in futility. It takes a lot of energy and accomplish nothing. Paul’s counsel in 2 Timothy 2:23 is to “refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce quarrels.”  The lesson in a situation like this is to just walk away and seek a more appropriate time to correct that person.