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Then Hanani, the seer, came to see Asa, king of Judah, with the word of the Lord. Let
us read from II Chron. 16: 7-9:
"Because thou hast relied on the king of Syria, and not relied on the Lord thy God,
therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of thine hand. Were not the
Ethiopians and the Lubims a huge host, with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet,
because thou didst rely on the Lord, He delivered them into thine hand. For the eyes of
the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew Himself strong in the
behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him. Herein thou hast done foolishly:
therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars."
These words caused Asa to be very angry, so much so that he sent Hanani to prison.
His rage extended to others as Asa oppressed a number of the people.
So Hanani is another prophet who suffered for declaring the word of the Lord
faithfully. He needed much courage to convey such an unpopular message, and to
declare God's judgment to Asa. To tell Asa that he was foolish in that he did not rely on
the Lord his God, and would suffer in consequence, was a disagreeable task for the
prophet Hanani.
He was faithful in his ministry, and he told the truth. But he suffered for it.
No.5.
God's servants imprisoned for speaking the truth.
pp. 193 - 197
The Offence of the Truth. In writing to Timothy, Paul refers to those who "resist the
truth" (II Tim. 3: 8) and to those who "turn away their ears from the truth" (4: 4). When
we read John 6: 59-66, we observe that some of the doctrines proclaimed by our Lord
were described by many disciples as "hard" and could not be understood. Jesus Christ
then asked them, "Doth this offend you?". The result was that many of His disciples
"went back and walked no more with Him".
A study of prison experiences and the study of those where offended by the truth
shows that the two subjects are linked, so far this article we turn aside to look at the
offence of the truth. When studying the experience of Micaiah, the writer turned to The
Companion Bible, and in looking at I Kings 22: 27 where we read "Put this fellow in
the prison ..." a note was found which read, "One of the eleven rulers offended with
God's servants, for speaking the truth".
"But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart and he would not let them go" (Exod. 10: 27).
On referring to Exod. 10: 28, there was a note which gave a list of the eleven rulers (or
kings) who were offended by the truth. Some went to prison as a result of their
faithfulness, but others did not suffer in the same way. But all knew what it was to be