Without necessarily directly interceding for them, Jeremiah now addresses the Lord in response to the Lord’s refusal to save his people in Jeremiah 14:11–12. In trying to mitigate the people’s guilt, he points out the influence of prophets who have preached a message that is the total opposite of the one that the Lord has sent Jeremiah to preach. These prophets tell the people that they will not see sword, nor shall you have famine, but I will give you assured peace in this place.
The message of these prophets has already been mentioned in the book (Jeremiah 4:10; Jeremiah 5:12–13; Jeremiah 6:13–14; Jeremiah 8:10–11) and will be more fully discussed in Jeremiah 23:27–29. The reason their message has such a powerful influence on the people is not simply because it promises blessing, but because these are blessings promised by the covenant. They spoke as prophets who upheld the covenant, claiming that the Lord had spoken to them and assuring the people that the Lord would be faithful in keeping his covenant promises. This was the total opposite to what Jeremiah was saying, which is why they were such a source of trouble for him and his ministry. What these prophets totally ignored was the blatant unfaithfulness of the people and that the Lord is also faithful to the covenant when he pours out curses because of disobedience and idolatry. The false prophets chose to present a kind of Zion theology that suggested that not even the unfaithfulness of the people would undermine the certainty of Israel’s place in the land. This was a clear distortion of the covenant promises
.1
13 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.’”