Hananiah was a dude.
There’s a teeny little chapter written about him in the book of Jeremiah – chapter 28. Jeremiah was a prophet, and God spoke through him to the people of Israel about how completely fed up He was with their refusal to repent and change their ways, and what the consequences were going to be for this refusal. At this time there were other dudes that spoke up as well. Hananiah was one of them.
Hananiah stood up one day and spoke to Jeremiah in the presence of the priests and all the people. He spoke eloquently. It sounded just like a prophecy. It was a prediction that God would not further punish the nation of Israel, but rather that God would rescue them from their oppressors and restore them as a nation.
It sounded really good. In a time when Jeremiah was prophecying a hard-core message of repentance and impending judgment and doom, Hananiah produced a message that was all nice and warm and fuzzy.
More than likely it was very well-received, because it probably was what the people wanted to hear. Hananiah could have easily felt bolstered by this positive response to his message, and proceeded to speak with even more confidence.
Jeremiah wasn’t quite sure. He told Hananiah he wanted to wait and see if what he predicted would really come true.
Turns out, Hananiah was wrong. God spoke to Jeremiah with a twist on Hananiah’s prophecy that was more than dire. Jeremiah went back to Hananiah and told him, “The Lord has NOT sent you, yet you have persuaded this nation to trust in LIES. …Therefore…this very year you are going to die…” (Jer 28:15)
Sure enough, that year Hananiah died.
….Sometimes, People Are Wrong.
Very persuasive people.
These people can be so convinced that they are right and lead others to believe the same. Their message is believable and sounds good.
But that doesn’t change the fact that they are wrong.
God takes this sort of thing very seriously, exhibited by His judgment on Hananiah. When someone is in a position of influence and leadership, God holds them to a higher standard of accountability. “Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.” (James 3:1) Why this higher standard of accountability? Because of the power over people. God loves every individual on the face of the earth, and takes it very seriously when someone takes people down a wrong path.
There’s a teeny little chapter written about him in the book of Jeremiah – chapter 28. Jeremiah was a prophet, and God spoke through him to the people of Israel about how completely fed up He was with their refusal to repent and change their ways, and what the consequences were going to be for this refusal. At this time there were other dudes that spoke up as well. Hananiah was one of them.
Hananiah stood up one day and spoke to Jeremiah in the presence of the priests and all the people. He spoke eloquently. It sounded just like a prophecy. It was a prediction that God would not further punish the nation of Israel, but rather that God would rescue them from their oppressors and restore them as a nation.
It sounded really good. In a time when Jeremiah was prophecying a hard-core message of repentance and impending judgment and doom, Hananiah produced a message that was all nice and warm and fuzzy.
More than likely it was very well-received, because it probably was what the people wanted to hear. Hananiah could have easily felt bolstered by this positive response to his message, and proceeded to speak with even more confidence.
Jeremiah wasn’t quite sure. He told Hananiah he wanted to wait and see if what he predicted would really come true.
Turns out, Hananiah was wrong. God spoke to Jeremiah with a twist on Hananiah’s prophecy that was more than dire. Jeremiah went back to Hananiah and told him, “The Lord has NOT sent you, yet you have persuaded this nation to trust in LIES. …Therefore…this very year you are going to die…” (Jer 28:15)
Sure enough, that year Hananiah died.
….Sometimes, People Are Wrong.
Very persuasive people.
These people can be so convinced that they are right and lead others to believe the same. Their message is believable and sounds good.
But that doesn’t change the fact that they are wrong.
God takes this sort of thing very seriously, exhibited by His judgment on Hananiah. When someone is in a position of influence and leadership, God holds them to a higher standard of accountability. “Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.” (James 3:1) Why this higher standard of accountability? Because of the power over people. God loves every individual on the face of the earth, and takes it very seriously when someone takes people down a wrong path.
John gives us a wise caution to consider, as well: “My dear friends, don’t believe everything you hear. Carefully weigh and examine what people tell you. Not everyone who talks about God comes from God. There are a lot of lying preachers loose in the world.” (I John 4:1, MSG)
I don’t know about you, but leadership scares me. And, I am asking God to help me be a student – a student who carefully weighs and examines what people tell me.
I don’t know about you, but leadership scares me. And, I am asking God to help me be a student – a student who carefully weighs and examines what people tell me.
