#1064 Jeremiah 14 Part 2A I Did Not Send Them!!!

 

The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought:

2 “Judah mourns,

and her gates languish;

her people lament on the ground,

and the cry of Jerusalem goes up.

3 Her nobles send their servants for water;

they come to the cisterns;

they find no water;

they return with their vessels empty;

they are ashamed and confounded

and cover their heads.

4 Because of the ground that is dismayed,

since there is no rain on the land,

the farmers are ashamed;

they cover their heads.

5 Even the doe in the field forsakes her newborn fawn

because there is no grass.

6 The wild donkeys stand on the bare heights;

they pant for air like jackals;

their eyes fail

because there is no vegetation.

7 “Though our iniquities testify against us,

act, O Lord, for your name's sake;

for our backslidings are many;

we have sinned against you.

8 O you hope of Israel,

its savior in time of trouble,

why should you be like a stranger in the land,

like a traveler who turns aside to tarry for a night?

9 Why should you be like a man confused,

like a mighty warrior who cannot save?

Yet you, O Lord, are in the midst of us,

and we are called by your name;

do not leave us.”

10 Thus says the Lord concerning this people:

“They have loved to wander thus;

they have not restrained their feet;

therefore the Lord does not accept them;

now he will remember their iniquity

and punish their sins.”

11 The Lord said to me: “Do not pray for the welfare of this people. 12 Though they fast, I will not hear their cry, and though they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. But I will consume them by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence.”

Lying Prophets

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.’” 14 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. 15 Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who prophesy in my name although I did not send them, and who say, ‘Sword and famine shall not come upon this land’: By sword and famine those prophets shall be consumed. 16 And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem, victims of famine and sword, with none to bury them—them, their wives, their sons, and their daughters. For I will pour out their evil upon them.

17 “You shall say to them this word:

‘Let my eyes run down with tears night and day,

and let them not cease,

for the virgin daughter of my people is shattered with a great wound,

with a very grievous blow.

18 If I go out into the field,

behold, those pierced by the sword!

And if I enter the city,

behold, the diseases of famine!

For both prophet and priest ply their trade through the land

and have no knowledge.’”

19 Have you utterly rejected Judah?

Does your soul loathe Zion?

Why have you struck us down

so that there is no healing for us?

We looked for peace, but no good came;

for a time of healing, but behold, terror.

20 We acknowledge our wickedness, O Lord,

and the iniquity of our fathers,

for we have sinned against you.

21 Do not spurn us, for your name's sake;

do not dishonor your glorious throne;

remember and do not break your covenant with us.

22 Are there any among the false gods of the nations that can bring rain?

Or can the heavens give showers?

Are you not he, O Lord our God?

We set our hope on you,

for you do all these things. Jeremiah 14 ESV

Jeremiah 14: 13-16 Lying Prophets

…11Woe to them! They have traveled the path of Cain; they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam; they have perished in Korah’s rebellion. 12These men are hidden reefs in your love feasts, shamelessly feasting with you but shepherding only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried along by the wind; fruitless trees in autumn, twice dead after being uprooted. 13They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.… Jude 11-13

I like to put down a copy of  the whole chapter even when it is a multipart posts because it helps give context, reminding me of where I left off. In the first part we see that Judah is in severe physical drought because of her spiritual drought, characterized by infidelity (idolatry), unbelief, not taking God at His word, and unrepentance. Jeremiah makes a beautiful prayer of repentance on her behalf, yet his heart does not represent that of the people. God has told Jeremiah above, in verse 11, "do not pray for the welfare of this people."

13-16. Ah, Lord God, behold the prophets say to them - Jeremiah thinks he has found something here, and he makes a case for the peoples lack of repentance. It is because of these false prophets, God, they are telling these people that there will be no sword or famine. They are also saying, in Your name, that there will be "guaranteed" peace. In Jeremiah 4, the 10th verse, he makes a similar plea for Judah, "Ah, Lord God, surely You have utterly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, 'it shall be well with you', whereas the sword has reached their very life." It wasn't God Who was saying this, but there were many false prophets running around saying, "thus says the Lord", and the people were flocking to them. In Jeremiah 5, the fourth verse, he thinks it is a matter of social position, lack of education, but he finds the problem exists all the way to the top, the shepherds (overseers/politicians), and the priest, all take their cues from these false teachers. It wasn't a matter of access to the Word, they had that, but they didn't want to hear God's word, and they rejected His Lordship. 

It is a sad twist of irony that those who claim to be most focused on the Holy Spirit are in actuality the ones doing the most to abuse, grieve, insult, misrepresent, quench, and dishonor Him. How do they do it? By attributing to Him words He did not say, deeds He did not do, phenomena He did not produce, and experiences that have nothing to do with Him. They boldly plaster His name on that which is not His work.

In Jesus' day, the religious leaders of Israel blasphemously attributed the work of the Spirit to Satan (Matthew 12:24). The modern Charismatic Movement does the inverse, attributing the work of the devil to the Holy Spirit. - J Mac

The prophets are prophesying lies in my name - They want to be heard, so they have a very simple technique, take the Name of the Lord God of Israel, and then say what people want to hear. It isn't a new thing, and it is far from gone. In our day we have an even greater number that come in an array of flavors, catering to a vast variety of want and demand. There are "prophets" in the so called church, in academia, Christian styled, atheist, Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, scientists, Unitarians, all trying to promote their brand, and fill their niche. The most blasphemous are those that claim to know the true God, but tell people things that go against and twist His Word. 

…22Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’ 24Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.… Matthew 7: 22-24

Jesus answered, “See to it that no one deceives you. 5For many will come in My name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. 6You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. These things must happen, but the end is still to come.… Matthew 24: 4-6

I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them - There is no relationship between God and these prophets. They were not called of God, not on a mission for Him, and they have received no special knowledge from Him, so why are they here? The answer goes against Jeremiah's hope of an argument, that it is  because these prophets are prophesying peace, this is why the people have not come to true repentance. These prophets are here because these people want their ears tickled, it has created a vacuum, and they see opportunity. 

1. The people are discouraged in hearing God's law, it makes them feel yucky inside, it destroys their self image. They want encouragers, people who say nice things about them, build them up, tell them how gifted and spiritual they are. Build up my ego. There is a place for encouragement, but it is useless when it discards the truth.
2. They want a God that puts more emphasis on outward displays, rituals, and respects the fact that they are descendants of Abraham, oh, and the temple is here in Jerusalem, don't forget that.
3. They hate what Isaiah prophesied to them, but since they couldn't kill God, they killed the messenger, yet here is another one in Jeremiah, and they need some other prophets to counteract this. 
4. They hate God's word, the conviction that comes with it, the imperative and finalized nature of it. The false prophets could be detected if the people loved God's word, if the shepherds and priests stuck with the Author's intent then they would have outed these guys. 
5. The people were greedy, and the false teachers were flamboyant with their prosperity gospel. "Hey poor, you don't have to be poor anymore." The rich people wanted more as well.
6. They wanted peace, not through a humble relationship with God, but they wanted a pseudo peace, freedom to sin like their pagan neighbors, but be protected from both their neighbors and dismissed from any chastening by God. No consequences.
7. They hate God, because if He is sovereign, then guess what, we are not. They want prophets who will empower them, put the power in their hands, their gibberish, their wants, feelings and emotions. "I felt something, did you feel it too? Yep, that must be the Spirit." They want a form of godliness but deny the power. No different than me or you today, wanting the desires of a fallen nature, wanting things, glorifying ourselves, but not desiring God, refusing the call to repent. 

…30A horrible and shocking thing has happened in the land. 31The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own authority. My people love it so, but what will you do in the end? Jeremiah 5: 30-31

…2Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and encourage with every form of patient instruction. 3For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires. 4So they will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.… 2 Timothy 4: 2-4

1Of David. I give You thanks with all my heart; before the gods I sing Your praises. 2I bow down toward Your holy temple and give thanks to Your name for Your loving devotion and Your faithfulness; You have exalted Your name and Your word above all else. 3On the day I called, You answered me; You emboldened me and strengthened my soul.… Psalm 138: 1-3

1Now there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. 2 Many will follow in their depravity, and because of them the way of truth will be defamed. 3In their greed, these false teachers will exploit you with deceptive words. The longstanding verdict against them remains in force, and their destruction does not sleep.… 2 Peter 2: 1-3

The incredible irony is that those who talk the most about the Holy Spirit generally deny His true work. They attribute all kinds of human silliness to Him while ignoring the genuine purpose and power of His ministry: freeing sinners from death, giving them everlasting life, regenerating their hearts, transforming their nature, empowering them for spiritual victory, confirming their place in the family of God, interceding for them according to the will of God, sealing them securely for their eternal glory, and promising to raise them to immortality in the future. - J Mac from Strange Fire

There is a lot of important stuff to point out and go over here, so I will stop here and pick up at the end of verse 14. I highly recommend John Macarthur's book Strange Fire, even if you have already read Charismatic Chaos. I listened to some of his sermons going back into the 70's and he has been at times a seemingly lone voice in confronting this, but there are others like R.C. Sproul, Spurgeon before them, the Apostles Peter, Paul, Jude, and their and my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It is not my goal to attack people but to confront bad ideologies and false doctrine. I have believed many foolish things, been superstitious, been atheists, and as a Christian I am still growing and coming to the knowledge of Jesus Christ, by His Spirit and through His Word. 

…6Instead, your hearts are filled with sorrow because I have told you these things. 7But I tell you the truth, it is for your benefit that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. 8And when He comes, He will convict the world in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment:…

…9in regard to sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see Me; 11and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world has been condemned.… John 16: 6-11