"Hananiah said in the presence of all the people: "Thus says the LORD: 'Even so, within two years I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, from off the neck of all the nations.'" At that, the prophet Jeremiah went away." (Jer28:11)
Why did Jeremiah go? Obviously, because in spite of everything there were still things he did not know. Hananiah had spoken like a man who "knows it all". He considered himself a great politician, for he thought that in an hour of danger he had succeed in strengthening the people's resistance. But what he actually strengthened was an illusion, which when it collapsed would cause the collapse of the people's strength.
The true prophets are the true politicians of reality, for they proclaim their political tidings from the viewpoint of the complete historical reality, which given them to see.
How poor is the one reality in the face of the thousand dreams! False prophets are not godless. They adore the god of "success".
Source: On the Bible, Eighteen Studies by Martin Buber, Syracuse University Press 2000, pg.166-171
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