"Why will you and your people die...?" (a paraphrase of Jeremiah 27:13).

God tells the remnant of Judah to surrender to Nebuchadnezzar because it is His will. Any other choice will bring God's judgment of sword, famine, and pestilence. Yet surrender is not even a consideration for Zedekiah and the people. Instead they debate whether to fight or to flee to Egypt. So God asks what seems an absurd question: "Why will you die?" Why would they choose death? God has promised them life in Babylon. He has even told them how long they will be there — seventy years — before He brings them back. But the king and the people have stopped their ears against divine wisdom.

Every time I knowingly sin against the Lord, I think I must be out of my senses. Either I don't really believe in Him, or I am not thinking clearly. For me, unbelief seems further from reality than folly. So I confess my depravity and my inadequacy; I humble myself; I admit that in myself I can achieve no good. Then I praise God for His unfailing mercy and grace: He does not give me what I deserve, and my salvation rests on Christ's righteousness and not my own.

Were Zedekiah and the people of Judah confused or unbelieving? Why would they choose death? I cannot say for certain; but I do not see them humbling themselves, repenting, and seeking God's mercy and grace.

Friends, we are not so different from unfaithful Judah. We are not so different from the majority who perished during the forty years of wandering, or from those who died outside the ark when the flood came. Yet if God grants you even a twinge of conviction — "Today, if you hear his voice" — do not harden your heart in rebellion. Instead, I urge you to humble yourself. God has extended His mercy even to the worst of sinners when they humbled themselves; think of Manasseh, and of the Ninevites. Humble yourself, repent, and return to the Lord. Even if you have sinned a thousand times; even if you feel helpless to change; even if you recognize how senseless your rebellion is — even so, humble yourself and repent. Why will you die?

AI-Expanded Reflection

"Why will you die?" is one of Scripture's most haunting questions, and it appears more than once. Ezekiel records God saying, "I have no pleasure in the death of anyone... so turn, and live" (18:32), and "Why will you die, O house of Israel?" (33:11; see #2242). The question assumes something remarkable: that judgment is not what God prefers, and that the door of repentance is open until it closes.

Jeremiah's message in chapter 27 was politically unthinkable — submit to Babylon — and it put him at odds with popular prophets promising quick deliverance (27:14–16; 28:1–4). Yet God's word to the exiles was full of hope: build houses, plant gardens, seek the welfare of the city, "For I know the plans I have for you," plans for welfare and not for evil (29:5–11). The hard word and the hopeful word came from the same God. The comment's closing appeal — that no amount of failure puts repentance out of reach — is confirmed by the two examples it names: Manasseh, the worst of Judah's kings, who humbled himself and was restored (2 Chronicles 33:12–13), and Nineveh, the cruelest of empires, which repented at Jonah's preaching.

They brought Uriah out of Egypt to King Jehoiakim, who struck him down with the sword and threw his body into the burial place of the common people (a paraphrase of Jeremiah 26:23).

We are told that Uriah prophesied against the city in words similar to Jeremiah's. He fled to Egypt when he learned the king intended to kill him, but he was caught, brought back to King Jehoiakim, and put to death.

But the hand of Ahikam son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, so that he was not handed over to the people "to be put to death" (a paraphrase of Jeremiah 26:24).

Though Uriah was put to death, Jeremiah was not, because he was helped by people like Ahikam.

As we read these two accounts, let us understand that not all of God's faithful servants survive. They are not always protected by God from the schemes of the wicked. While many Scriptures speak of God delivering the righteous from the wicked, and He does, it is not a foregone conclusion or something that binds the sovereign Lord always to deliver. Hebrews tells of those who suffered mocking, flogging, chains, and imprisonment; who were stoned, sawn in two, and killed by the sword; who went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, and mistreated — "of whom the world was not worthy" — wandering in deserts, mountains, and caves (a paraphrase of Hebrews 11:36–38).

These faithful people suffered and died for their faith. They were not delivered in their lifetimes. So we should understand that God does as He pleases for His highest glory. He is sovereign over believers and unbelievers alike, for all are His creation. Consider the message God sent to the nations around Judah: He made the earth, people, and animals by His great power and outstretched arm, and gives it to whomever He sees fit; He had given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, "my servant," and all nations would serve him, his son, and his grandson, until the time of his own land came (a paraphrase of Jeremiah 27:5–7).

In Jeremiah's day God had given Nebuchadnezzar authority over the nations, until the time came for Babylon itself to be subject to others. So Jeremiah's call for Judah and the nations to bow their necks to Nebuchadnezzar was not primarily a call to surrender to a stronger power, but a call to obey God.

Friends, let us also acknowledge the sovereignty of our God and make it our priority simply to trust Him and obey His Word. Let us not chase after unverified prophecies and new signs. God will judge rightly, as He dealt with Hananiah (cf. Jeremiah 28:15–17), Shemaiah (cf. Jeremiah 29:31–32), and the other false prophets of old who prophesied against God's true Word. But you, dear friends, must not believe false prophecies. Why seek for more — as if chasing the Spirit in a round-the-clock prayer house, a retreat, a revival, or a prophecy room — when the Spirit already lives in you (cf. 1 Corinthians 2:12; 6:19), and God says His Word equips you for every good work (cf. 2 Timothy 3:16–17)?

AI-Expanded Reflection

The contrast between Uriah and Jeremiah is one of the most sobering in the prophets, and the comment draws the right lesson from it. Both were faithful; both spoke the same message; one was killed and one was spared. The difference was not faithfulness but God's providence working through a human protector. Ahikam son of Shaphan came from a family that repeatedly appears on the side of God's word: his father Shaphan read the rediscovered Book of the Law to Josiah (2 Kings 22:8–10), and his son Gedaliah would later protect Jeremiah after the fall of Jerusalem (Jeremiah 39:14; see #1760). Faithfulness sometimes runs through families as well as through prophets.

Chapter 26 also records an important precedent that saved Jeremiah's life. When the officials debated whether to execute him, certain elders reminded them that Micah had prophesied Jerusalem's destruction in Hezekiah's day, and Hezekiah had not killed him but repented, and God relented (26:17–19, quoting Micah 3:12). It is one of the rare places in the Old Testament where one prophet is quoted by name in another's book — and it shows the value of a community that remembers God's past dealings. Uriah had no such defenders. The comment's point that God does not guarantee deliverance in this life is true, and Hebrews 11 makes it clear that those who were not delivered are among the heroes of faith.

Wow! Who is to be believed?! The officials, priests and prophets versus Jeremiah. It is so often the case that the true prophet of God is in the minority. Also, as Jeremiah argues, the true prophet of God rarely prophesies peace, and the few that do have a greater burden of proof:

From early times the prophets who preceded you and me have prophesied war, disaster and plague against many countries and great kingdoms. But the prophet who prophesies peace will be recognized as one truly sent by the Lord only if his prediction comes true." (Jeremiah 28:8–9).

The people are swayed in one direction and another, whether they are in Jerusalem or in Babylon. Who are they to trust? Will they trust their misguided king and his army of officials, priests and prophets that preach rebellion against Babylon and the prospect of near-term peace and prosperity? Or will they trust Jeremiah and a faithful few, whose only defense seems to be God's Word?

We have the luxury of narrative and historical insight, so that we know that Jeremiah and the faithful few were right while all the others were wrong. However, the important insight is not that we should always side with the few over the many, even though this is frequently true, but rather to stand upon the Word of God. Jeremiah's prophecies of judgment were consistent with a host of prophecies in Scripture going back even as far as Moses that warned the people of impending judgment for sin. He also credentialed his prophecies with a claim to absolute accuracy, even when these prophecies were unpopular and threatened his own life.

Friends, I hope you will take this principle to heart. Just as there were false prophets in Jeremiah's day, there were also false prophets in the first centuries of the Christian faith. What is more, the very same things that these false prophets were preaching in those early centuries, some are preaching today in the guise of a "new apostolic movement." It is not new, but since so much time has passed, the errors of the past are threatening to be repeated in our generation. Many embraced the false prophets then, causing a long period of crisis in the church, and it appears something similar may be happening today. The church survived the heresies of the early centuries by clearly recognizing and establishing the biblical canon, by which we have the sixty-six books that constitute our Bibles today. Perhaps something like this needs to happen today. We need a return to biblical orthodoxy.

What can you do? While there may be occasions to expose the lies, deceptions, and misguided teachings of these self-proclaimed prophets of God, a much more potent and enduring force for change is to practice and encourage everyone to read the Word of God for themselves. The Bible provides its own best defense, and the false prophets of our day prey upon the biblical ignorance of believers. Don't be one of them. This site was designed to encourage and help every believer to know God's truth in His Word.

If you have gotten lazy in your reading, study, and meditation on God's Word, decide today to make a renewed effort. Sometimes, you wonder if there are better or more important priorities. There should be no such struggle here. Everything should take second place to God's Word in your life. As you must eat and drink to survive, so you must read God's Word to thrive spiritually.

AI-Expanded Reflection

Jeremiah 28 presents a conflict that could not be resolved simply by counting respected supporters. Hananiah speaks in the temple and announces a desirable outcome: the Babylonian yoke will be broken and the exiles and temple vessels returned within two years. Jeremiah's initial wish that the Lord might indeed accomplish such a restoration shows that he is not opposed to hope. The dispute concerns whether this particular promise has actually come from God.

The appeal to earlier prophets locates discernment within an existing testimony. Jeremiah's warning about judgment is consistent with the covenant's exposure of persistent rebellion. Hananiah's announcement of immediate peace must be tested by fulfillment. The narrative then supplies a further divine word and reports Hananiah's death that year. Readers receive a resolution through the text that the original audience did not possess at the beginning of the confrontation.

The original wisely rejects the conclusion that minority status by itself proves truth. A small group can be mistaken, just as a large institution can be mistaken. Persecution, confidence, or unpopularity cannot replace examination of the message. Jeremiah's authority is grounded in God's commission and the word he receives, not in the social appeal of being a dissenter. Contemporary believers should resist turning disagreement with the majority into an automatic credential.

The comparison with early Christian controversies also needs historical precision. Recognition of the biblical canon developed through a complex process, and the number sixty-six describes the Protestant canon rather than a list uniformly adopted by all early Christians. Athanasius' thirty-ninth Festal Letter is an important witness to the familiar twenty-seven New Testament books, while its treatment of Old Testament and other church reading differs from a simple modern sixty-six-book formulation. That history supports careful attention to authoritative Scripture without compressing centuries of discussion into one crisis and one decision.

The exhortation to read Scripture is therefore constructive when joined to patient learning. Regular reading provides the context in which distorted claims can be recognized, but familiarity must develop into understanding. Compare related passages, ask what kind of text is being read, and distinguish what it says from the interpretation being proposed. Reliable teaching can assist this process without replacing the reader's responsibility.

Making God's word a priority need not mean neglecting the family, work, rest, and care it commands. The point is that those responsibilities should be governed by its truth. A renewed habit of reading can be modest, sustained, and accountable rather than driven by guilt. In a world of competing confident voices, maturity grows through receiving the whole testimony of Scripture and becoming willing to obey it when it challenges the hope we would most like to hear.

There were two deportations of Jews to Babylon before Jerusalem's final fall in 586 BC. The first came in the third year of King Jehoiakim's reign (605 BC), when Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem and took some of the temple articles, along with young men of the royal family and nobility for training in his court — among them Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (a paraphrase of Daniel 1:1–6). The second came at the end of King Jehoiachin's brief three-month reign (597 BC), when Nebuchadnezzar took Jehoiachin captive, removed the temple's remaining treasures, and carried off ten thousand people, including officers, soldiers, and skilled workers (a paraphrase of 2 Kings 24:12–14); Ezekiel appears to have been taken during this second deportation, since his prophecies are dated from "the exile of King Jehoiachin" (a paraphrase of Ezekiel 1:2–3). Jeremiah 29 is a letter Jeremiah wrote to these exiles already living in Babylon. Just as Jerusalem had false prophets, so did the exile community — figures like Ahab and Zedekiah, who promised a quick return home (a reference to Jeremiah 29:21). Jeremiah's message was very different: he told the exiles to build houses, settle down, marry, have children, and seek the peace and prosperity of the land they were in, since it would be seventy years before the LORD brought them back. God's promise, though, wasn't abandonment — He knew the plans He had for them, plans to prosper and not harm them, to give them hope and a future; they would seek Him and find Him when they sought Him with their whole heart, and He would gather them back from every nation where He'd scattered them (a paraphrase of Jeremiah 29:10–14). Even while telling them their exile would last seventy long years, Jeremiah still offered real hope: God hadn't forgotten them. Even in suffering, God has a purpose and a plan for every believer — trust in Him!

AI-Expanded Reflection

The specific instruction this comment highlights — build houses, marry, have children, seek the welfare of the very city that had exiled you — is worth noting as a genuinely countercultural command for a displaced, grieving people who might understandably have wanted to simply wait out their exile in bitterness or passive hope for quick rescue. Jeremiah's letter effectively tells them to invest fully in a place they never wanted to be, for a duration longer than many of them might live to see the end of. That's a difficult kind of hope to practice — not hope that circumstances will change soon, but hope substantial enough to justify building an actual life within circumstances that aren't changing anytime soon, trusting that God's larger promise still holds even across a timeline stretching well beyond one's own present season.