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In Christ, Mark
In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
“Concerning the prophets: My heart is broken within me; all my bones
tremble. I am like a drunken man, like a strong man overcome by wine, because
of the Lord and His holy words. The land is full of adulterers; because of the
curse the land lies parched and the pastures in the wilderness are withered. The
prophets follow an evil course and use their power unjustly.”
“Both prophet and priest are godless; even in My temple I find their
wickedness,” declares the Lord. “Therefore their path will become slippery; they
will be banished to darkness and there they will fall.
I will bring disaster on them in the year they are punished,” declares the Lord.
I will bring disaster on them in the year they are punished,” declares the Lord.
“Among the prophets of Samaria I saw this repulsive thing: They
prophesied by Baal and led my people Israel astray. And among the prophets of
Jerusalem I have seen something horrible: They commit adultery and live a lie. They
strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that not one of them turns from their
wickedness. They are all like Sodom to me; the people of Jerusalem are like
Gomorrah.”
“Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says concerning the prophets: ‘I
will make them eat bitter food and drink poisoned water, because from the
prophets of Jerusalem ungodliness has spread throughout the land.’”
“This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Do not listen to what the prophets
are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from
their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. They keep saying to those who
despise me, “The Lord says: You will have peace.” And to all who follow the
stubbornness of their hearts they say, “No harm will come to you.” But which of
them has stood in the council of the Lord to see or to hear His word? Who has
listened and heard His word?”
See, the storm of the Lord will burst out in wrath, a whirlwind swirling
down on the heads of the wicked. The anger of the Lord will not turn back until
He fully accomplishes the purposes of His heart. In days to come you will
understand it clearly. I did not send these prophets, yet they have run with
their message; I did not speak to them, yet they have prophesied. But if they
had stood in My council, they would have proclaimed My words to My people and
would have turned them from their evil ways and from their evil deeds.”
“I have heard what the prophets say who prophesy lies in My name. They
say, ‘I had a dream! I had a dream!’ How long will this continue in the hearts
of these lying prophets, who prophesy the delusions of their own minds? They
think the dreams they tell one another will make My people forget My name, just
as their ancestors forgot My name through Baal worship. Let the prophet who has
a dream recount the dream, but let the one who has My word speak it faithfully.
For what has straw to do with grain?” declares the Lord. “Is not My word like
fire,” declares the Lord, “and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?
“Therefore,” declares the Lord, “I am against the prophets who steal from
one another words supposedly from Me. Yes,” declares the Lord, “I am against
the prophets who wag their own tongues and yet declare, ‘The Lord declares.’ Indeed,
I am against those who prophesy false dreams,” declares the Lord. “They tell
them and lead My people astray with their reckless lies, yet I did not send or
appoint them. They do not benefit these people in the least,” declares the Lord.
“When these people, or a prophet or a priest, ask you, ‘What is the
message from the Lord?’ say to them, ‘What message? I will forsake you,
declares the Lord.’ If a prophet or a priest or anyone else claims, ‘This is a
message from the Lord,’ I will punish them and their household. This is what
each of you keeps saying to your friends and other Israelites: ‘What is the Lord’s
answer?’ or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ But you must not mention ‘a message
from the Lord’ again, because each one’s word becomes their own message. So you
distort the words of the living God, the Lord Almighty, our God. This is what
you keep saying to a prophet: ‘What is the Lord’s answer to you?’ or ‘What has
the Lord spoken?’ Although you claim, ‘This is a message from the Lord,’ this
is what the Lord says: You used the words, ‘This is a message from the Lord,’
even though I told you that you must not claim, ‘This is a message from the Lord.’
Therefore, I will surely forget you and cast you out of My presence along with
the city I gave to you and your ancestors. I will bring on you everlasting
disgrace—everlasting shame that will not be forgotten.”
Jeremiah 23:9-22, 25-40
This ends today’s reading from God's holy
word. Thanks be to God.
Since the advent of man, God has been sending messages to His people,
sometimes delivered directly but just as much sent through those He would
select to be His messengers.
We know those people today as prophets who had a responsibility and
accountability to God to share whatever He told them with whoever He wanted the
message to go to. Refusing to do so was not an option, reference Jonah and the
consequences God brought on him when he decided to not carry out God’s command
to take a warning to Nineveh and instead tried to run away.
As we see in today’s scripture passage, people who self-proclaimed to be
prophets of God when they weren’t equally infuriated God, an action that
carried its own set of penalties detailed here:
“Concerning the prophets: My
heart is broken within me; all my bones tremble. I am like a drunken man, like
a strong man overcome by wine, because of the Lord and His holy words. The land
is full of adulterers; because of the curse the land lies parched and the
pastures in the wilderness are withered. The prophets follow an evil course and
use their power unjustly.”
“Both prophet and priest are
godless; even in My temple I find their wickedness,” declares the Lord. “Therefore
their path will become slippery; they will be banished to darkness and there
they will fall. I will bring disaster on them in the year they are punished,” declares
the Lord.
“Among the prophets of Samaria I
saw this repulsive thing: They prophesied by Baal and led my people Israel
astray. And among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen something horrible: They
commit adultery and live a lie. They strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that
not one of them turns from their wickedness. They are all like Sodom to me; the
people of Jerusalem are like Gomorrah.”
“Therefore this is what the Lord
Almighty says concerning the prophets: ‘I will make them eat bitter food and
drink poisoned water, because from the prophets of Jerusalem ungodliness has
spread throughout the land.’”
“This is what the Lord Almighty
says: ‘Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you
with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth
of the Lord. They keep saying to those who despise me, “The Lord says: You will
have peace.” And to all who follow the stubbornness of their hearts they say, “No
harm will come to you.” But which of them has stood in the council of the Lord to
see or to hear His word? Who has listened and heard His word?”
See, the storm of the Lord will
burst out in wrath, a whirlwind swirling down on the heads of the wicked. The
anger of the Lord will not turn back until He fully accomplishes the purposes
of His heart. In days to come you will understand it clearly. I did not send
these prophets, yet they have run with their message; I did not speak to them, yet
they have prophesied. But if they had stood in My council, they would have
proclaimed My words to My people and would have turned them from their evil
ways and from their evil deeds.”
“I have heard what the prophets
say who prophesy lies in My name. They say, ‘I had a dream! I had a dream!’ How
long will this continue in the hearts of these lying prophets, who prophesy the
delusions of their own minds? They think the dreams they tell one another will make
My people forget My name, just as their ancestors forgot My name through Baal
worship. Let the prophet who has a dream recount the dream, but let the one who
has My word speak it faithfully. For what has straw to do with grain?” declares
the Lord. “Is not My word like fire,” declares the Lord, “and like a hammer
that breaks a rock in pieces?
“Therefore,” declares the Lord,
“I am against the prophets who steal from one another words supposedly from Me.
Yes,” declares the Lord, “I am against the prophets who wag their own tongues
and yet declare, ‘The Lord declares.’ Indeed, I am against those who prophesy
false dreams,” declares the Lord. “They tell them and lead My people astray
with their reckless lies, yet I did not send or appoint them. They do not
benefit these people in the least,” declares the Lord.
“When these people, or a prophet
or a priest, ask you, ‘What is the message from the Lord?’ say to them, ‘What
message? I will forsake you, declares the Lord.’ If a prophet or a priest or
anyone else claims, ‘This is a message from the Lord,’ I will punish them and
their household. This is what each of you keeps saying to your friends and
other Israelites: ‘What is the Lord’s answer?’ or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ But
you must not mention ‘a message from the Lord’ again, because each one’s word
becomes their own message. So you distort the words of the living God, the Lord
Almighty, our God. This is what you keep saying to a prophet: ‘What is the Lord’s
answer to you?’ or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ Although you claim, ‘This is a
message from the Lord,’ this is what the Lord says: You used the words, ‘This
is a message from the Lord,’ even though I told you that you must not claim,
‘This is a message from the Lord.’ Therefore, I will surely forget you and cast
you out of My presence along with the city I gave to you and your ancestors. I
will bring on you everlasting disgrace—everlasting shame that will not be
forgotten.” Jeremiah 23:9-22, 25-40
First, we read of the lament of Jeremiah over many false prophets who
were following an “evil course” and using “their power unjustly”.
What constituted the “evil course” these prophets were on?
The Lord answers the question, stating the following:
1. The false prophets (and priests as well) were godless.
“Both prophet and priest are
godless.”
Their actions clearly showed they were not in relation with God because the
words they were selling as God’s message weren’t from God at all. Only a person
minus God could do such a thing.
2. The false prophets were bold enough to commit their sins in God’s
temple.
“Both prophet and priest are
godless; even in My temple I find their wickedness.”
This action was simply referred to by God as wickedness. No one in their
right mind should have ever thought that committing iniquity and defiling God’s
holy place would go unpunished by Him. The false prophets would soon learn that
that their decision was pure folly and a huge mistake.
3. The false prophets prophesied by false gods and led God’s people
astray.
“Among the prophets of Samaria I
saw this repulsive thing: They prophesied by Baal and led my people Israel
astray.”
Whereas defiling the temple with sinfulness was considered wicked by God,
the false prophets prophesying by the pagan god Baal was referred to as
repulsive. The actions of the false prophets caused God’s people to adopt pagan
worship practices and God wasn’t going to stand for it. Harsh judgment was soon
to come.
4. The false prophets committed other sins outside of spreading false
messages from false gods, defiling the temple, and leading God’s people astray.
“And among the prophets of
Jerusalem I have seen something horrible: They commit adultery and live a lie. They
strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that not one of them turns from their
wickedness. They are all like Sodom to me; the people of Jerusalem are like
Gomorrah.”
Committing adultery when God had commanded to not commit it. Living a lie
in the way they presented themselves as God’s messengers when they weren’t.
Encouraging instead of discouraging evil amongst the people.
These were other sins committed by the prophets and these sins translated
over to the people the prophets worked with. Go back to the words of Jeremiah
early in our passage and you’ll see his testimony that the land was “full of
adulterers”. It’s little surprise that God’s opinion of His holy city of
Jerusalem was that it was no better than Sodom and Gomorrah, both of which were
destroyed by God because of their wickedness.
5. The false prophets were spreading false hope.
“This is what the Lord Almighty
says: ‘Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you
with false hopes.’”
God goes onto explain the kind of false hope being given:
“They keep saying to those who
despise me, ‘The Lord says: You will have peace.’ And to all who follow the
stubbornness of their hearts they say, ‘No harm will come to you.’”
“Although you claim, ‘This is a
message from the Lord,’ this is what the Lord says: You used the words, ‘This
is a message from the Lord,’ even though I told you that you must not claim,
‘This is a message from the Lord.’
The false prophets were telling God’s people that they would have peace
and will not face harm when the reality was that God was preparing judgment to
put upon the Israelites that would definitely bring harm and ruin in a violent,
not peaceful way.
6. The false prophets asserted they were sent by God when they weren’t.
“In days to come you will
understand it clearly. I did not send these prophets, yet they have run with
their message; I did not speak to them, yet they have prophesied. But if they
had stood in My council, they would have proclaimed My words to My people and
would have turned them from their evil ways and from their evil deeds.”
“Therefore,” declares the Lord,
“I am against the prophets who steal from one another words supposedly from Me.
Yes,” declares the Lord, “I am against the prophets who wag their own tongues
and yet declare, ‘The Lord declares.’ Indeed, I am against those who prophesy
false dreams,” declares the Lord. “They tell them and lead My people astray
with their reckless lies, yet I did not send or appoint them. They do not
benefit these people in the least,” declares the Lord.
The evidence that the false prophets were not from God came in observing
the actions of the Israelites. For if God’s words were being proclaimed then
those words would have turned His people from their evil deeds. As it ended up,
the people were enabled to continue to sin by the wicked words of the prophets,
led astray by their wicked lies.
7. The false prophets lied about
having special, prophetic dreams.
“I have heard what the prophets
say who prophesy lies in My name. They say, ‘I had a dream! I had a dream!’ How
long will this continue in the hearts of these lying prophets, who prophesy the
delusions of their own minds? They think the dreams they tell one another will make
My people forget My name, just as their ancestors forgot My name through Baal
worship. Let the prophet who has a dream recount the dream.”
Prophets would sometimes get God’s messages in dreams but the false
prophets were flat out lying and leading people further away from God toward
the worship of false gods like Baal, just as their ancestors had done. In other
words, the false prophets were repeating the sinful mistakes of the past.
8. The false prophets gave their own messages, not God’s.
“When these people, or a prophet
or a priest, ask you, ‘What is the message from the Lord?’ say to them, ‘What
message? I will forsake you, declares the Lord.’ If a prophet or a priest or
anyone else claims, ‘This is a message from the Lord,’ I will punish them and
their household. This is what each of you keeps saying to your friends and
other Israelites: ‘What is the Lord’s answer?’ or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ But
you must not mention ‘a message from the Lord’ again, because each one’s word
becomes their own message. So you distort the words of the living God, the Lord
Almighty, our God. This is what you keep saying to a prophet: ‘What is the Lord’s
answer to you?’ or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ Although you claim, ‘This is a
message from the Lord,’ this is what the Lord says: You used the words, ‘This
is a message from the Lord,’ even though I told you that you must not claim,
‘This is a message from the Lord.’”
The prophets advertised that their words were coming from the Lord but
they were really only speaking on their own and presenting their own words, not
His. God promised that this sin would lead to Him punishing both the prophet
and their household and as we know, He delivered on that promise.
Godless. Fearless in sinning. Promoting messages from false gods.
Committing adultery. Living a lie. Encouraging evil behavior. Spreading false
hope. Deceiving others to thing that God had sent them. Feigning dream
experiences with the Lord. Prophesying their own messages, not His.
These were all reasons for God to pass judgment on the false prophets and
He Himself provided an extensive list of consequences which included:
1. A slippery path which would lead to disaster and banishment in darkness.
“Therefore their path will become slippery; they
will be banished to darkness and there they will fall. I will bring disaster on
them in the year they are punished,” declares the Lord.
2. Bitter food to eat and poisoned water to drink.
“Therefore this is what the Lord
Almighty says concerning the prophets: ‘I will make them eat bitter food and
drink poisoned water, because from the prophets of Jerusalem ungodliness has
spread throughout the land.’”
3. The storm of the Lord coming upon the false prophets born from the
wrath in God’s heart.
See, the storm of the Lord will
burst out in wrath, a whirlwind swirling down on the heads of the wicked. The
anger of the Lord will not turn back until He fully accomplishes the purposes
of His heart.
4. The false prophets would be forgotten by God and cast out of His
presence.
“Therefore, I will surely forget
you and cast you out of My presence along with the city I gave to you and your
ancestors.”
5. Everlasting disgrace and shame would be upon the false prophets.
“I will bring on you everlasting
disgrace—everlasting shame that will not be forgotten.”
Friends, as we see, God’s judgment rose against anyone who was deceiving,
godless messengers in the day of Jeremiah and rest assured that He will take
the same action on anyone who does the same today. For we are fooling ourselves
if we don’t believe that there are still fraudulent, lying messengers in our
midst this very day who are claiming to be speaking on behalf of God when they
aren’t. Jesus warned us that they would come and told us how to identify them when
He said:
“Watch out for false prophets.
They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By
their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or
figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree
bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear
good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown
into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.” Matthew 7:15-20
Is a proclaiming prophet producing the fruits of the Spirit that Paul
writes of in the Book of Galatians (Galatians 5:22-23) by truly speaking the
word of God or is he or she leading people down the road of sin and wickedness?
Examine this question before you invest any trust in someone who says
they are ordained by God to be His spokesperson.
Amen.
In
Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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