Let the one who has my word speak it faithfully. Jeremiah 23:28
At noon on September 21, 1938, a young meteorologist warned the U.S. Weather Bureau of two fronts forcing a hurricane northward toward New England. But the chief of forecasting scoffed at Charles Pierce’s prediction. Surely a tropical storm wouldn’t strike so far north.
Two hours later, the 1938 New England Hurricane made landfall on Long Island. By 4:00 p.m. it had reached New England, tossing ships onto land as homes crumbled into the sea. More than six hundred people died. Had the victims received Pierce’s warning—based on solid data and his detailed maps—they likely would have survived.
The concept of knowing whose word to heed has precedent in Scripture. In Jeremiah’s day, God warned His people against false prophets. “Do not listen [to them],” He said. “They fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord” (Jeremiah 23:16). God said of them, “If they had stood in my council, they would have proclaimed my words to my people” (v. 22).
“False prophets” are still with us. “Experts” dispense advice while ignoring God altogether or twisting His words to suit their purposes. But through His Word and Spirit, God has given us what we need to begin to discern the false from the true. As we gauge everything by the truth of His Word, our own words and lives will increasingly reflect that truth to others.
16 This is what the Lord Almighty says:
“Do not listeni to what the prophets are prophesying to you;
they fill you with false hopes.
They speak visionsj from their own minds,
not from the mouthk of the Lord.
17 They keep sayingl to those who despise me,
‘The Lord says: You will have peace.’m
And to all who follow the stubbornnessn of their hearts
they say, ‘No harmo will come to you.’
18 But which of them has stood in the councilp of the Lord
to see or to hear his word?
Who has listened and heard his word?
19 See, the stormq of the Lord
will burst out in wrath,
a whirlwindr swirling down
on the heads of the wicked.
20 The angers of the Lord will not turn backt
until he fully accomplishes
the purposes of his heart.
In days to come
you will understand it clearly.
21 I did not sendu these prophets,
yet they have run with their message;
I did not speak to them,
yet they have prophesied.
22 But if they had stood in my council,v
they would have proclaimedw my words to my people
and would have turnedx them from their evil ways
and from their evil deeds.y
INSIGHT
- What’s the standard you use when you decide whether something is true?
- What in your attitude needs to change toward those who disagree with you?
In Jeremiah 23, God spoke through the prophet Jeremiah against the “shepherds” (kings and priests, vv. 1–2) and prophets (vv. 9–40) for their continued disobedience and for leading the people astray. The shepherds were called to be godly leaders who guided and protected; instead, they’d destroyed and scattered “the sheep of [God’s] pasture” (v. 1). And rather than speaking God’s truths, the prophets “prophesied by Baal and led [God’s] people Israel astray” (v. 13). They “live[d] a lie” and strengthened “the hands of evildoers” so that they didn’t turn back “from their wickedness” (v. 14). God warned the people not to listen to the false prophets who weren’t speaking for God and offered only “false hopes” (v. 16). Because of their refusal to listen, Judah would be exiled at the hands of the Babylonians. Yet God wouldn’t forsake them forever (vv. 3–8).
PRAYER
Loving God, so many claim to speak for You these days. Help me learn what You really have to say. Make me sensitive to Your Spirit, not the spirit of this world. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen!!
Read: Jeremiah 23:16-22 (NIV) | Bible in a Year: 2 Chronicles 1-3; John 10:1-23