Thomas Aquinas Commentary Jeremiah 28:10-11

"Then Hananiah the prophet took the bar from off the prophet Jeremiah`s neck, and brake it. And Hananiah spake in the presence of all the people, saying, Thus saith Jehovah: Even so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon within two full years from off the neck of all the nations. And the prophet Jeremiah went his way." — Jeremiah 28:10-11 (ASV)

^28:12a And Jeremiah went his own way.

1. Here, he confirms his own prophecy by action, and there are three points concerning this.

1. He gives the symbolism of the action: Hananiah took and broke, as a sign of the breaking of the power of Babylonia.
2. He explains the symbolism: and Hananiah spoke. This was to happen long after in the future. As it says below: I shall break his yoke from your neck, and I shall burst his bonds (Jeremiah 30:8).
3. The humility of Jeremiah is shown, because he patiently and willingly bore this and went his own way. I have become like a man who hears not, and has no reproofs in his mouth (Psalms 37:15).

^28:12b And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, after Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet, saying:

2. Here, the condemnation of the falsehood is given.

First, he excludes the false consolation by the symbolism of the act: you, you Hananiah, have broken; and you Jeremiah, shall make, as a sign of the increase in the punishment. They who fear the hoarfrost, upon them shall fall the snow (Job 6:16).

The explanation of the symbolism follows: for thus says the Lord. It is as if he were saying, “The yoke of bondage will be harsher than was previously signified.” His yoke is a yoke of iron, and his chain is a chain of bronze .

Second, the threat against his prophesying is given:

1. The refutation of his fault is given: and Jeremiah spoke . . . the Lord has not sent you. We have made a lie our hope, and by a lie are we protected (Isaiah 28:15).
2. The threat of punishment is given: therefore, I shall send you; that is, I will destroy you by death. Not so the wicked, not so, but they are like the dust which the wind drives from the face of the earth (Psalms 1:4).
3. The fulfillment of the prophecy is given: and Hananiah died in the seventh month—therefore, he survived for only two more months. When they say, ‘peace and security,’ then shall destruction come upon them suddenly, as the pain of a woman in labor, and they shall not escape (1 Thessalonians 5:3).