John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 28:1-2

"And it came to pass the same year, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth year, in the fifth month, that Hananiah the son of Azzur, the prophet, who was of Gibeon, spake unto me in the house of Jehovah, in the presence of the priests and of all the people, saying, Thus speaketh Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon." — Jeremiah 28:1-2 (ASV)

The Prophet relates here with what haughtiness, and even fury, the false prophet Hananiah came forward to deceive the people and to proclaim his deceptions, although he must have been conscious of his own wickedness. From this it clearly appears how great must be the madness of those who, being blinded by God, are carried away by a satanic impulse.

The circumstances of the case especially show how great a contempt of God was manifested by this impostor. For he came into the Temple, with the priests present and the people gathered; there, before his very eyes, he had the sanctuary and the ark of the covenant. We know that the ark of the covenant is everywhere understood to represent God's presence, for by that symbol God was, in a way, visible when He made the presence of His power and favor evident in the Temple. Since Hananiah then stood before God’s eyes, how great must have been his stupidity to thrust himself forward and impudently announce falsehood in the name of God Himself! He nevertheless falsely boasted that he was God’s prophet, fully conscious that he was speaking falsely.

And he used the same words as Jeremiah did, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel. Surely these words should have been like a thunderbolt to him, overwhelming his perverseness, even if he had been harder than iron. For what does Jehovah of hosts mean? This name expresses not only the eternal existence of God but also His power, which spreads throughout heaven and earth.

Should Hananiah not then have trembled when anyone else invoked God’s name? But now, though he derided and mocked the prophetic office as well as God’s holy name, he nevertheless did not hesitate to boast that God was the author of this prophecy, which was, in reality, nothing but an imposture. And he added, the God of Israel, so that he might be in no way inferior to Jeremiah.

This was a grievous trial, calculated not only to discourage the people but also to break down the firmness of the holy Prophet. The people saw that God’s name had become a subject of contest; there was a dreadful conflict: “God has spoken to me;” “No, rather to me.” Jeremiah and Hananiah were opposed to each other; each of them claimed to be a Prophet. Such was the conflict; the name of God seemed to have been used arbitrarily and thrown about by the devil as if in jest.

As for Jeremiah, his heart must have been grievously wounded when he saw that unprincipled man boldly profaning God’s name. But, as I have already said, God in the meantime supported the minds of the godly, so that they were not entirely disheartened, though they must have been somewhat disturbed.

For we know that God’s children were not so lacking in feeling as not to be moved by such things; yet God sustained all those who were endowed with true religion. It was indeed easy for them to distinguish between Jeremiah and Hananiah, for they saw that the former announced the commands of God, while the latter sought nothing else but the favor and praise of men.

But with regard to Hananiah, he was to them a dreadful spectacle of blindness and of madness, for he did not dread the sight of God Himself but entered the Temple and profaned it by his lies. At the same time, he contemptuously used God's name and boasted that he was a prophet, when he was nothing of the sort.

Let us not then wonder if there are many mercenary brawlers today who, without shame and fear, fiercely and falsely use God’s name and thus exult over us, as though God had given them all that they vainly chatter about, although it can be fully proved that they proclaim nothing but falsehoods. For God has justly blinded them, as they thus profane His holy name. We shall now come to the words:

And it was in the same year, even in the fourth of Zedekiah’s reign, etc. The fourth year seems to have been improperly called the beginning of his reign. We have said elsewhere that it may have been that God had entrusted this prophecy to Jeremiah and did not intend for it to be immediately published.

But there would be nothing strange in this, if the confirmation of his reign were called its beginning. Zedekiah was made king by Nebuchadnezzar because the people would not have been willing to accept a foreigner. He might indeed have set one of his own governors over the whole country, and he might also have made a king of one of the chief men of the land, but he saw that anything of this kind would have been greatly disliked.

He therefore considered it enough to remove Jeconiah and to put in his place one who had not much power nor much wealth, and who was to be his tributary, as was the case with Zedekiah. But over time, Zedekiah grew in power, so that he had peace in his own kingdom. We also know that he was appointed over neighboring countries, as Nebuchadnezzar thought it advantageous to bind him to himself with favors.

This fourth year, then, might well be considered the beginning of his reign, for during three years, things were so disturbed that he possessed no authority and hardly dared to ascend the throne. This, then, is the most probable opinion.

The text later states that Hananiah spoke to him in the presence of the priests and of the whole people. Hananiah should at least have been touched and moved when he heard Jeremiah speaking; he himself had no proof of his own calling. Indeed, he was an impostor, and he knew that he did nothing but deceive the people. Yet he audaciously persisted in his purpose and, so to speak, openly thrust himself forward to contend with the Prophet, as though he were waging war against God.

He said, Broken is the yoke of the king of Babylon, that is, the tyranny by which he has oppressed the people will shortly be broken. But he alluded to the yoke which Jeremiah had put on, as we will presently see. The beginning of his prophecy was that there was no reason for the Jews to fear the present power of the king of Babylon, for God would soon overthrow him.

They could not have entertained hope of restoration, or of a better condition, until that monarchy was crushed. For as long as the king of Babylon ruled, there was no hope that he would cancel the tribute and restore the vessels of the Temple to the Jews.

Hananiah then began with this: that God would break the power of the king of Babylon, so that he would be forced, willingly or unwillingly, to set the people free, or that the people could, without punishment, escape from his grasp. He then adds: