It ain’t what people often think. No kidding.
God’s ways are higher than our ways.
Jeremiah was a prophet of God during a tough time for the
people of Israel. Politically things
were going bad. The economy was
suffering. The general populace expected
God to keep them safe and comfortable.
The back story? Oh
yeah, the people had rejected God’s ways and gone their own way. God had sent messengers to correct them, but
they didn’t want anything to do with the way God wanted them to go. God was allowing the tough times to come upon
them to possibly get them to turn around.
They didn’t like God’s messengers, the prophets, telling them they were
at fault for their bad times. Do you
know what they did?
Like many today they
find someone in a religious position who will say positive things about them so
they could feel good about themselves.
No, really. They didn’t want to
hear the truth from God that could have made their lives really better. No, they wanted to keep doing what they were
doing, but find someone who would say that what they were doing was blessed by
God or that they would be blessed by God.
That seems incredibly dangerous. Look
at the words of Jeremiah the prophet:
16
This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says to his
people: “Do not listen to these prophets when they prophesy to you, filling you
with futile hopes. They are making up everything they say. They do not speak
for the LORD!
17 They keep saying to those who
despise my word, ‘Don’t worry! The LORD
says you will have peace!’ And to those who stubbornly follow their own
desires, they say, ‘No harm will come your way!’ Jeremiah 23:16-17 (NLT)
Did you see that?
People who are supposed to be speaking for the Lord tell others who
despise what God says that they don’t have to worry and that God says they will
have peace. If they despise what the
Lord has said they will most certainly not have peace. And those who follow their own desires these
folks say that no harm will come their way.
It appears the laugh will be Satan’s as people believe this lie and God’s
wrath comes upon them. This is a
horrible scenario. But people are often
hungering after the lie that supports what they already believe or gives them
false hope rather than really trusting God and going His way.
Modern day promoters will encourage people with positive
statements that seem helpful and harmless.
They may say something like: You were born to be a winner; you were born
for greatness; you were created to be a champion in life. Those kind of words seem worthy of posting on
the refrigerator. The problem is that
they are not from God, they are not God-centered, and they are not promoting
God’s purposes or His power. Just as in
the days of Jeremiah there were messengers taking their cues from the way they
wanted things to be and saying things that pleased the people and God had
nothing to do with it. Look at what
Jeremiah goes on to say:
Have any of these prophets been in the LORD’s presence to hear what he is
really saying? Has even one of them cared enough to listen? Jeremiah
23:18 (NLT)
Have these messengers been in the Lord’s presence to hear
what He is really saying? What a
question! And the answer is, no they
haven’t.
What would a prophet who had been in the Lord’s presence
have to say given the situation in Jerusalem in Jeremiah’s day? It would look this way:
Look! The LORD’s anger bursts out like a storm, a
whirlwind that swirls down on the heads of the wicked. The anger of the LORD will not diminish until it has
finished all he has planned. In the days to come you will understand all this
very clearly. Jeremiah 23:19-20
(NLT)
God isn’t sending a messenger to affirm the self-centered
behaviors of His people. He isn’t
offering comfort to those who reject what He has to say. Christians often imagine God as kindly
grandfather cheering them on in their every interest and endeavor, but He is
the All Powerful God and He is pointing them to His thing not theirs. Jeremiah points out the problem of messengers
claiming to have something to say from God.
I have not sent these prophets, yet they run
around claiming to speak for me. I have given them no message, yet they go on
prophesying.
Jeremiah 23:21 (NLT)
God identifies those who speak for Him as those who have
been in His presence. They know His
words. They aren’t passing on what they
imagine or even what the crowds want to hear.
If they had stood
before me and listened to me, they would have spoken my words, and they would
have turned my people from their evil ways and deeds. Jeremiah 23:22 (NLT)
The result is that the message from God passed on to people
of the earth would have differed from their views, opinions, dreams and desires
and the messengers would have turned God’s people from their evil ways and
deeds. The true messenger helps people
move closer to God’s ways rather than the ways of the world.
Have you heard someone who is being confronted about their
behavior share this gem? “You don’t know
me!” It is a deflection. A way of avoiding the issue of
confrontation. It assumes no one has a
right to question their actions because they don’t know their full history or
inner heart. The tricky messengers have
tried that one as well. God answers them
in Jeremiah. Because He can be
everywhere there is no one anywhere who has information He doesn’t already
know.
“Am I a God who is only close at hand?” says the LORD. “No, I am far away at the same time. Can anyone hide
from me in a secret place? Am I not everywhere in all the heavens and earth?” says
the LORD. Jeremiah 23:23-24 (NLT)
God’s conclusion is to let the false prophets speak. Those who are not interested in God or His
reality can have their way. But the true
messengers are to get God’s word out. He
illustrates the difference between what is real and not by comparing what is
nutritious and not and what has results like fire and can break like a
hammer.
“Let these false
prophets tell their dreams, but let my true messengers faithfully proclaim my
every word. There is a difference between straw and grain!
Does not my word burn like fire?” says the LORD.
“Is it not like a mighty hammer that smashes a rock to pieces? Jeremiah
23:28-29 (NLT)
God has more for His people than we can imagine. We sell Him short and that leaves us in a bad
spot when we don’t seek out God’s truth the whole truth even when it hurts or
doesn’t agree with our desire for what is comfortable and trouble free. Great is the Lord and greatly to be
praised.
