Jeremiah 14:1-15:9; 16-17
It’s a question I have asked before, and I’m sure I will ask it again in the future. It is such an important question, that I’ll ask it again right now:
To whom do you listen?
Then I said: “Ah, Lord GOD, behold, the prophets say to them, ‘You shall not see the sword, nor shall you have famine, but I will give you assured peace in this place.’” And the LORD said to me: “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds…”
Jeremiah 14:13-14
To us, the false prophets of Jeremiah’s day look ridiculous. Of course calamity is coming. Anyone can see that. Of course Jeremiah is God’s true prophet. Of course these other guys are all frauds. Of course their message of peace and security is empty. Of course, of course, of course… But, of course, we have the benefit of 20/20 hindsight. We know how things turn out for Judah and Jerusalem. And so we laugh at the people of Jerusalem for believing the false prophets.
But which of us, if we were there then, would truly side with Jeremiah? His voice is in the distinct minority. The false prophets are well established. They have the backing of the Temple priests, who trace their lineage to Aaron. They have the full support of the rich and powerful, even the king himself. Jeremiah, on the other hand, is a second-class priest from Anathoth, the city to which Solomon banished Abiathar. (I Kings 2:26-27; Jer. 1:1) Plus, the false prophets all sound quite reasonable. They proclaim that the LORD is merciful and always rescues His people. They can point to Isaiah, who told Hezekiah, just a few generations back, that the LORD would save Jerusalem, and sure enough 185,000 Assyrians fell dead in one night. (II Kings 19:35; Isaiah 37:36) Why would He not do so again? Their message sounds patriotic, reassuring, full of confidence in a loving God. Jeremiah is the outlier, the one whose message is out of step, disheartening, full of doom and gloom.
Would you really listen to Jeremiah? More to the point, to whom do you listen now?
Not many people call themselves “prophets” these days. (That is no longer fashionable.) But that does not mean that false prophets do not abound. Some, indeed, may sound very spiritual and may even speak in the name of the Lord. They might preach on Christian channels or write best-selling books, published by ostensibly Christian publishing houses. Or they may not sound particularly “spiritual” at all. They may be journalists or college professors or politicians or actors or writers or social-media “influencers” or podcasters or experts. In fact, we encounter them every day.
And so, the question remains: To whom do you listen? Among the myriad voices you hear every day, which speak the Truth? And which just say what you want to hear?