What does the Lord say to the exiles when Zephaniah read Shemaiah’s letter in the hearing of Jeremiah?

 In what appears to be a comment from the narrator who was compiling this passage, we are told that Shemaiah’s letter was “read aloud in the hearing of Jeremiah." Zephaniah appears to be very non-committal when it comes to Jeremiah. He is willing to read Shemaiah’s letter in public, but he is not willing to act against Jeremiah. He later appears to recognize Jeremiah as a prophet when he goes to him with a request from Zedekiah to enquire of the Lord (Jeremiah 21:1–2; Jeremiah 37:3). However, he never seems to act on any of Jeremiah’s warnings. Zephaniah sits on the fence regarding Jeremiah and for this he ultimately faces the Lord’s judgment.(Jeremiah 52:24–27)¹ Remaining neutral to the Lord’s word is the same as rejecting it.   

Through Jeremiah’s letter, the Lord now declares his verdict regarding Shemaiah. The verdict is addressed to all the exiles. Because Shemaiah had prophesied to you when I did not send him, and has made you trust in a lie, therefore thus says the LORD: Behold I will punish Shemaiah of Nehelam and his descendants. He shall not have anyone living among this people, and he shall not see the good that I will do to my people, declares the LORD, for he has spoken rebellion against the LORD.

The Lord clearly identifies Shemaiah as a false prophet who was not sent by him. The seriousness of his actions is highlighted by the fact that he has caused the exiles to trust in a lie. He is exactly like Hananiah (Jeremiah 28:15). The Lord’s judgment of Shemaiah is devastating. None of his descendants will share in the good that the Lord has promised the exiles. The good both he and his descendants will not see is the restoration of Judah and the return of the exiles, but it also includes the care the Lord shows to the exiles while in Babylon (see Jeremiah 29:1–14). The death of his offspring meant that he, like Ahaz and Zedekiah, would suffer under a judgment like that about to fall on the people remaining in Judah and Jerusalem. Without children or grandchildren, Shemaiah would have no connection to the good coming at the end of seventy years. Because of his opposition to God's word through Jeremiah, Shemaiah had been cut off from the gift of a future and a hope .²

 Jeremiah 29:1–32 would have played an important role in sustaining the exiles relationship with the Lord. It presented them with the choice of trusting in the Lord instead of trusting in the empty promises of the false prophets. Trusting in the Lord meant hearing his word which was present among them as a written letter, even if his prophet was not. The Lord would also protect them from false prophets. This was also a clear sign to them that the Lord was with them even while in exile. In fact, even though they were cut off from the land, Jerusalem and the temple, the Lord was able and willing to sustain them and do them good in Babylon. He is the sovereign Lord who rules everywhere and he would hear their prayers and make it possible for them to experience something of his covenant blessings even while in exile. Even Babylon would experience his blessings because of their presence in the land. Trusting the Lord also meant seeing the seventy years in exile as an important part of the process that the Lord was using to restore them to himself in a relationship of wholehearted commitment to him. Being in exile does not automatically make them good figs (seeJeremiah 24:1–10). Receiving the salvation, restoration and renewal that the Lord has promised is a process of change and transformation that must take place through exile³ . Trusting the Lord also meant knowing that ultimately the exile would end and restoration would come. The Lord’s covenant faithfulness would overcome all of their unfaithfulness.