What is the context?
The officials and people now say Jeremiah should not die because he has spoken in the Lord’s name. Elders support the decision by recalling an earlier prophetic warning.
They quote Micah’s announcement that Zion would be plowed, Jerusalem become rubble, and the temple hill become a wooded ridge. Severe words against the city have a precedent in recognized prophecy.
The elders recall Hezekiah responding with reverence and seeking the Lord, followed by the withdrawal of disaster. Their argument concerns the right response to warning rather than automatic protection of every speaker.
The account shows Scripture and remembered mercy being used to resist a hasty killing. Killing the messenger would bring more evil upon the people themselves.
How is this passage commonly understood?
Wesley points directly to Micah 3:12, where the same warning appears. He reads the elders’ argument as a reason not to answer a prophet in the opposite manner from Hezekiah’s response.
What is our position?
We don't have a position on this passage yet. When our study reaches a conclusion the text supports, it will appear here.
Where can I study this further?
No deeper study linked yet.