Reading for today: Jeremiah 23 - 25
Wednesday, August 20, 2014

In today’s reading we hear Jeremiah denounce the false prophets. In this book Jeremiah refers to false prophets more than any other book. Why? Because it is so devastating to God’s people to listen to false witness. 

Leaders who will tell the people what they want to hear and then profess that it came from God, cause more trouble for believers than one could imagine. It is no wonder that the Bible (Old and New Testament) continually warns us against listening to them. The problem is, if we don’t know our Bibles, it is hard to know when we are listening to a false prophet or a true prophet of God. So, because we don’t know, we find people would rather listen to the false prophets because their message on the surface seems easier to take at least that was the case in Jeremiah’s day. 


Jeremiah categories the false prophets into four groups.
    1. Those who were unrighteous, of low moral character and just not capable of providing sound moral leadership
    2. Some who outright say they are prophesying by Baal rather than by Yahweh
    3. Those who prophesied what the people wanted to hear
    4. Some who were just self-serving and prophesied for their own gain and subtly encourage people to disobey God.


What happens when we follow false prophets and false teachings like these found in Jeremiah is that there is no remorse or repentance for the evil acts that are taking place. Many times you will see people follow the practices of the leaders, so when moral decay in our leaders is prevalent, then the people follow suit and what we have is the killing of innocent babies by abortions and we say it’s alright; we see cheating and lying taking place and it’s ok as long as you don’t get caught; there are lifestyles that seem to be the norm, people living together without benefit of marriage, same sex unions…. We let “politically correct” policy trump Christian beliefs because we want everything to be equal, fair. The problem lies with having to compromise our beliefs for the sake of equality. Life is not fair and the only recourse that is open to us, is to follow Jesus and listen to His words, listen to His true prophets and repent and ask for forgiveness for the wrongs we have committed.


How do we learn what is right from what is wrong? First read your Bible (it is the first and last place you should go to find out if something is true or false), pray to the Holy Spirit for wisdom and understanding, attend worship services, read your Bible, join a Bible study or small group, did I mention read your bible. (Make sure that whatever church you attend is a Bible believing church that does not compromise the Word of God). If you try to make it on your own, the false teachers/prophets will lie to you and lead you down the wrong path. 


Now Jeremiah also has a word for those false prophets, those “shepherds”, “who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!” (23:1) – woe. Those responsible for leading Israel down the wrong path will be punished. Leaders will be held accountable and they better beware – God is all-knowing, you won’t get away with it forever. For all people there is a bigger responsibility and subsequently a stronger accountability for those who lead and influence others. Pastors, politicians, parents, teachers, coaches, etc.


But lest I’ve depressed you too much, I want you to know, that there is also a word of hope in this reading. God is never far away. Even those Israelites that were punished by being taken off into captivity in Babylon, were cared for by the Lord. Through their trials they were made stronger. We’ll read of some of those times in later books. (Esther and Daniel.) I want you to know that we serve a just God and His plan for our salvation is laid out before us (23:5-6). Just accept and believe.


Blessings
PK