How should the people of Judah have known that the prophets were speaking lies and not the Lord’s words?
This section on the prophets of Judah who preached a false message during Jeremiah’s ministry has shown the devastating impact these prophets had on the nation. Driven by their self-interest, they worked with the religious and political leadership of Judah to maintain the status quo. Faced with the very real danger of foreign invasion, they formulated and declared a message that assured the people that the Lord would keep his covenant promise of protecting Judah. The Lord would make sure that peace and security would prevail and that the throne of David would not be toppled. They especially pointed to the presence of the temple and the worship rites that took place there as a sign that the Lord was with his people. What they totally ignored was the rampant sin and covenant unfaithfulness of the people and of the leadership, including themselves. But how should the people of Judah have known that these prophets had not been sent by the Lord and were not speaking the Lord’s words? How could the people discern their words as lies when so much of what the prophets said used the language of the covenant? The answer is the covenant itself. In the Torah the Lord had given the people of Judah all they needed to discern the words of the prophets. The Torah made it very clear who the Lord was, how they were supposed to live as his covenant people, and the consequences of ignoring both. The fact that the prophets assured the people that it was acceptable to worship other gods should have made it obvious that they were not speaking on behalf of the Lord who, in his covenant, calls on his people to love him with all their heart, soul, mind and strength as the one and only living God who created everything. The fact that the prophets totally undermined all righteousness and justice in the land with both their words and their behaviour should have made it obvious that they were not speaking on behalf of the Lord who, in his covenant, gave them his law and described in detail what righteousness and justice looks like. It should have been obvious that these self-deceived prophets were speaking lies out of self-interest. But the sin that so powerfully twisted the Lord’s words in the hearts of the prophets was equally present in the hearts of the people. It is no wonder that the people accepted the lies of the so-called prophets and rejected the Lord’s truth as spoken by Jeremiah. Their sin had blinded them. The wonderful truth of Jeremiah’s message is that even though judgment would inevitably come because of this sin, judgment would not be the end. The Lord would not allow sin to destroy his covenant promises. He would ultimately overcome sin by giving his people new hearts. That great act of covenant faithfulness was fulfilled when the Lord sent his own Son as the Messiah who died and rose again to set people free from sin.
This section on the prophets of Judah who preached a false message during Jeremiah’s ministry has shown the devastating impact these prophets had on the nation. Driven by their self-interest, they worked with the religious and political leadership of Judah to maintain the status quo. Faced with the very real danger of foreign invasion, they formulated and declared a message that assured the people that the Lord would keep his covenant promise of protecting Judah. The Lord would make sure that peace and security would prevail and that the throne of David would not be toppled. They especially pointed to the presence of the temple and the worship rites that took place there as a sign that the Lord was with his people. What they totally ignored was the rampant sin and covenant unfaithfulness of the people and of the leadership, including themselves. But how should the people of Judah have known that these prophets had not been sent by the Lord and were not speaking the Lord’s words? How could the people discern their words as lies when so much of what the prophets said used the language of the covenant? The answer is the covenant itself. In the Torah the Lord had given the people of Judah all they needed to discern the words of the prophets. The Torah made it very clear who the Lord was, how they were supposed to live as his covenant people, and the consequences of ignoring both. The fact that the prophets assured the people that it was acceptable to worship other gods should have made it obvious that they were not speaking on behalf of the Lord who, in his covenant, calls on his people to love him with all their heart, soul, mind and strength as the one and only living God who created everything. The fact that the prophets totally undermined all righteousness and justice in the land with both their words and their behaviour should have made it obvious that they were not speaking on behalf of the Lord who, in his covenant, gave them his law and described in detail what righteousness and justice looks like. It should have been obvious that these self-deceived prophets were speaking lies out of self-interest. But the sin that so powerfully twisted the Lord’s words in the hearts of the prophets was equally present in the hearts of the people. It is no wonder that the people accepted the lies of the so-called prophets and rejected the Lord’s truth as spoken by Jeremiah. Their sin had blinded them. The wonderful truth of Jeremiah’s message is that even though judgment would inevitably come because of this sin, judgment would not be the end. The Lord would not allow sin to destroy his covenant promises. He would ultimately overcome sin by giving his people new hearts. That great act of covenant faithfulness was fulfilled when the Lord sent his own Son as the Messiah who died and rose again to set people free from sin.
40 Je mettrai sur vous un opprobre éternel Et une honte éternelle, Qui ne s'oublieront pas.