Lying Prophets
This upcoming Sunday’s Old Testement reading is from Jeremiah 23:16-29.
Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. They say continually to those who despise the word of the Lord, ‘It shall be well with you’; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ‘No disaster shall come upon you.’”
For who among them has stood in the council of the Lord
to see and to hear his word,
or who has paid attention to his word and listened?
Behold, the storm of the Lord!
Wrath has gone forth,
a whirling tempest;
it will burst upon the head of the wicked.
The anger of the Lord will not turn back
until he has executed and accomplished
the intents of his heart.
In the latter days you will understand it clearly.
“I did not send the prophets,
yet they ran;
I did not speak to them,
yet they prophesied.
But if they had stood in my council,
then they would have proclaimed my words to my people,
and they would have turned them from their evil way,
and from the evil of their deeds.
“Am I a God at hand, declares the Lord, and not a God far away? Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord. I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in my name, saying, ‘I have dreamed, I have dreamed!’ How long shall there be lies in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies, and who prophesy the deceit of their own heart, who think to make my people forget my name by their dreams that they tell one another, even as their fathers forgot my name for Baal? Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let him who has my word speak my word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat? declares the Lord. Is not my word like fire, declares the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?
From <https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah%2023&version=ESV>
That is some strong Old Testement language. A few verses earlier we read:
“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord. Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who care for my people: “You have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for your evil deeds, declares the Lord. Then I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, declares the Lord.
“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’
From <https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah+23&version=ESV>
The author of Hebrews tells us:
Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
From <https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews+1&version=ESV>
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
From <https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2010&version=ESV>
Whose voice do you hear? Whose voice do you follow? Who is filling you with vain hopes? Are you stubbornly following your own heart?
I am not pitting the Old Testament against the New Testament. I am not saying, “Old Testament – Law bad; New Testament – Gospel good.” Far from it! You must hear the voice of Jesus in the Old Testament as well as the echoes of the Law in the New Testament. The thread of hearing and following runs through all God’s Word. In the Garden, Adam heard God, and hid. Adam went in the wrong direction! In Revelation, we read:
The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears this say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come [ed. note: read that as follow!]. Let the one who wants the water of life take it as a gift.
From <https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation+22&version=EHV>
Trust the Promises
Steve Skiver