2026 Pentecost Devotions I
Monday, June 22
Jeremiah 28:5-9
5 The prophet Jeremiah spoke to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the Lord, 6 and the prophet Jeremiah said, “Amen! May the Lord do so; may the Lord fulfill the words that you have prophesied and bring back to this place from Babylon the vessels of the house of the Lord and all the exiles. 7 But listen now to this word that I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people. 8 The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, famine, and pestilence against many countries and great kingdoms. 9 As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes true, then it will be known that the Lord has truly sent the prophet.”
“… 5 The prophet Jeremiah spoke to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the Lord …”
Which would you rather hear? A proclamation announcing that everything is going to be okay even in the face of evidence to the contrary? Or, a proclamation announcing that everything was going to hell in a handbasket, something you could see and experience at the time?
While most of would probably want to hear the first, the second would be the likely reality.
The prophets Jeremiah and Hananiah were engaged in such a conflict. Even though the Babylonian army was at the gates of Jerusalem, Hananiah prophesied that everything would be okay because God was with Israel. Jeremiah, on the other hand, recognizing that the Babylonian army had destroyed most of the other cities and towns in Palestine, prophesied that Jerusalem would fall because they had been disobedient to the Lord. Now, who would you rather believe?
Sometimes, we believe a lie because it’s what we want to be true even though we know that it’s not. We recognize the dissonance between what we are experiencing first hand – the reality of the situation – and what we are being led to believe – the fabrications offered by others. Yet, often, because we want the lie to be true, we bend over backwards trying to justify our faith in those lying.
As Jeremiah points out: Those who prophesize peace, security, comfort, and consolation are well loved and respected. However, those who hold up the mirror of reality – what God is really doing – are often ridiculed and pushed aside. Which would you rather hear? The hard truth or an easy lie?
Prayer: Lord, as You sent Jeremiah to proclaim the truth in his generation, so too send us prophets today who will speak the truth in love even when it hurts and is not what we want to hear. Amen.