Enemies outside. Enemies inside. 

Jerusalem faced risks and dangers—perhaps too many to overcome. Peace and security seemed improbable, if not impossible.

Enter Hananiah. 

A wall builder. The commander of the citadel. Perhaps a perfume maker. A person of integrity who feared God—feared God more than most people fear God.

When problems appeared, those in need trusted Hananiah. Hananiah became a leader over all of Jerusalem.

Really? 

Well, no and yes. 

The Hananiah who feared God more than most lived in Jerusalem during the time of Nehemiah—after the promised 70 years of exile. This Hananiah helped restore the city and protect the people.

Almost seven decades earlier, a different Hananiah delivered false messages of impossible hope—impossible hope contrary to the will of God. This Hananiah lived in Jerusalem along with Puppet King Zedekiah and the poorest of the poor—the people Babylon left behind. 

Perhaps early-exile Hananiah lived life as a patriot. Maybe he really believed he spoke the words of God. In any case, he told the people of Jerusalem and King Zedekiah: "This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel, says: 'I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon. Within two years I will bring back… the articles of the Lord's house… I will also bring back… Jehoiachin, a son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and all the other exiles from Judah who went to Babylon… I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon'" (Jer 28:2-4). 

Despite his message of hope—false hope—Hananiah shared life in Jerusalem with Jeremiah, the prophet of God.

Hananiah disliked Jeremiah—both his actions and his words. When God told Jeremiah to wear a wood yoke, Hananiah grabbed the yoke and broke it. The yoke represented the will of God—symbolizing how the exiled people must live as captives for 70 years. Nothing could shorten the exile.

Jeremiah told the exiles and those left in Jerusalem to accept the yoke of Babylon—submit to Nebuchadnezzar and his son and his grandson. "Seek the peace and prosperity of the city… Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper” (Jer 29:7). Jeremiah encouraged submission. Hananiah encouraged rebellion—rebellion against Babylon, rebellion against God.

When King Zedekiah and the people rebelled, Babylon crushed Jerusalem—crumbling the walls, burning the temple, killing the leaders, carrying off the people to Babylon. The End. 

As the exile began, Jeremiah revealed the heart of God to the people, saying, "For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart" (Jer 29:11). 

Almost 70 years later, another Hananiah stepped forward with a heart seeking God. He feared God more than most people fear God. He helped rebuild what rebellion destroyed. 


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About the Hananiahs: The false prophet Hananiah appears in Jeremiah 28. The letter Jeremiah sent to the exiles appears in Jeremiah 29. The God-fearing Hananiah shows up several times in Nehemiah, with his fear of God mentioned in Nehemiah 7:2. Some scholars say Nehemiah contains at least two Hananiahs.