NOTES for Jer 28:1-17
In principle, the speech of someone like the ill-fated Hananiah is a normal cultural phenomenon. He encourages the despairing Jews and inspires them with hope that God has not abandoned them and that therefore all is not yet lost. He tells them what they want to hear, and there is nothing wrong with people wanting to hear something good rather than something bad. Jeremiah himself is the first to cry “Amen,” because he too very much wants there to be no war, no deaths, and for the great Temple to remain standing. But the whole point is that, besides the desire to hear pleasant and joyful news, a human being has another calling, one far more important than Judah's victory or defeat, than the fate of the Temple and everything connected with it. This calling is not to shut oneself within one's own culture and to listen and hear not only one another's words, however good they may be. Humanity was born to listen to God: God wants to speak with people, and people can hear His Word. In relation to this calling, Hananiah proves to be a liar and Jeremiah a prophet.