Postscript Concerning The Request From Shemaiah The Prophet In Babylon Calling For Jeremiah To Be Severely Disciplined As A False Prophet Because Of His Declarations That Deliverance Would Be Delayed, And What Resulted From It (Jeremiah 29:24-32).
This may be a postscript to the letter described above (in which case Jeremiah must have written previously), or more likely an indication of a later letter sent to Babylon once Shemaiah had written in response to this letter. It is interesting for a number of reasons:
· Firstly it indicates that regular correspondence took place between Jerusalem and Babylon with a view to affecting affairs in both places.
· Secondly it indicates that a prophet among the community in Babylon seriously expected to be able to affect affairs in Jerusalem, even to the extent of writing in his own name and rebuking a major figure in the Temple.
· Thirdly it suggests the almost full unanimity between the prophets within Babylon itself. As we know Ezekiel was ministering away from Babylon and was clearly out of tune with the other prophets in the capital, his continual message being that Jerusalem must be destroyed.
· Fourthly it brings out what authority the prophets saw themselves as having, and, at least in Shemaiah's case, that he saw himself as a genuine prophet with prophetic authority from YHWH. Nor does Shemaiah appear to have seen himself as a minor functionary, but as a major player who had a right to be listened to at the highest level (almost on a par with Jeremiah himself).
“And concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite you shall speak, saying,”
We know nothing further about Shemaiah other than what we learn here, nor do we know what the fact that he was a Nehemalite specifically indicated. The old idea that it signified ‘dreamer' is now rejected because of its ending which probably indicates that he was from Nehemal, an unknown town or clan in Judah.
“Thus speaks YHWH of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, Because you have sent letters in your own name to all the people who are at Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, and to all the priests, saying,”
Jeremiah's words are scathing. Shemaiah would almost certainly have written in the Name of YHWH, but Jeremiah writes off his claims and makes clear to all that really he had ‘written in his own name'. In other words that he was not a genuine prophet of YHWH. Shemaiah, however, had such a high opinion of himself and his own authority that he had written to all the people of Jerusalem, Zephaniah, possibly as acting High Priest, (‘the Priest' usually means the High Priest, but Zephaniah was the second priest) and the whole priesthood. Fortunately his opinion of himself does not appear to have been shared by Zephaniah.
It would appear that at this stage Zephaniah was standing in for the then High Priest Jehoiada, who may have been rendered unsuitable for some reason. Zephaniah was strictly the second priest, and was so at the time of the fall of Jerusalem (Jeremiah 52:24; 2 Kings 25:18; compare Jeremiah 21:1; Jeremiah 37:3), and possibly responsible for the oversight of prophets.
“YHWH has made you priest in the place of Jehoiada the priest, that there may be officers in the house of YHWH, for every man who is mad, and makes himself a prophet, that you should put him in the stocks and in shackles, now therefore, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth, who makes himself a prophet to you, forasmuch as he has sent to us in Babylon, saying, ‘It is long, Build yourselves houses, and dwell in them, and plant gardens, and eat the fruit from them'?”
“YHWH has made you priest in the place of Jehoiada the priest.” This may simply mean ‘appointed as second priest with specific responsibility for prophets', but if so, in view of the wide nature of those addressed, why would Shemaiah have omitted also addressing the High Priest? Thus Zephaniah may actually have been temporarily standing in for the High Priest, possibly for political reasons, or because Jehoiada had for some reason been rendered incapable of acting, with Seraiah, the later High Priest (Jeremiah 52:24), not yet of age.
Shemaiah's point was that it was Zephaniah's responsibility to control the prophets and that he should therefore be acting against false prophets (depicted as ‘mad' on the grounds that only a madman would ‘make himself a prophet'. Thereby, without realising it, he was condemning himself). He should have been putting such madmen in the stocks and in shackles (the treatment for mad people). Why then had he not disciplined Jeremiah who had clearly ‘made himself a prophet', as was evident from the fact that he disagreed with all the prophets of YHWH in Babylon? YHWH could not speak in two voices at once. His complaint was that Jeremiah had sent a letter to Babylon (presumably the letter described above) telling the exiles that their exile would last for a long time, and that they should therefore build permanent houses, dwell in them, plant gardens and eat their fruit (Jeremiah 29:5). In other words he was denying that the prophecies of the prophets in Babylon were true.
‘And Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the ears of Jeremiah the prophet.'
Shemaiah had rather overestimated his own authority, for Zephaniah does not appear to have taken his letter too seriously. He appears to have been on reasonable terms with Jeremiah (Jeremiah 21:1; Jeremiah 37:3) and thus showed him the letter. Had the intent not been good we would have expected that he would be rebuked by YHWH along with Shemaiah. He may have intended Jeremiah to take warning from it, or may simply have done it out of interest, and so that Jeremiah might be aware of the opposition. But there is no suggestion that he followed up on the letter or had any vindictive idea in mind.
‘Then came the word of YHWH to Jeremiah, saying, “Send to all those of the captivity, saying, Thus says YHWH concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite. Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you, and I did not send him, and he has caused you to trust in a lie, therefore thus says YHWH, Behold, I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite, and his seed. He will not have a man to dwell among this people, nor will he behold the good that I will do to my people, the word of YHWH, because he has spoken rebellion against YHWH.”
YHWH provided Jeremiah with a reply to Shemaiah's letter which was to be addressed to all the exiles who were apparently living together in a community. It informed the community that Shemaiah was a false prophet. Although he had prophesied he had not been sent by YHWH, and he had made them trust in a lie. Therefore YHWH would punish both him and his family. Any men in his close family would die, no more sons would be born to him, and he himself would not survive until the restoration. Thus basically his name would be blotted out of Israel. And this was on the sure prophetic word of YHWH. And the reason was because of his rebellion against YHWH. Thus while not suffering to the same extent as the previous two prophets, and as Hananiah in Jerusalem, he was to suffer in the long run.