28:6-9 Hananiah had just come up with a prophecy everyone liked. He declared that God would soon bring relief from all their problems and oppressors. Jeremiah had to admit that Hananiah’s words echoed his own wishes. He sincerely hoped Hananiah was right. But unfortunately, Hananiah’s words were not from God. Positive or negative, God’s words are exactly true. We, like Jeremiah, may honestly wish for results or benefits outside God’s plans. But if we are going to be faithful to God, there will be times when we must disagree with our own wishes in order to speak the truth and be obedient to God.
28:8-17 Jeremiah spoke the truth, but it was unpopular; Hananiah spoke lies, but his deceitful words brought false hope and comfort to the people. God had already outlined the marks of a true prophet (Deuteronomy 13; 18:20-22): A true prophet’s predictions always come true, and his words never contradict previous revelation. Jeremiah’s predictions were already coming true, from Hananiah’s death to the Babylonian invasions. But the people still preferred to listen to comforting lies rather than painful truth.