Lying Prophets and Fake News

 By:  Dale Weckbacher

 

Text:  Jeremiah 14:13-22

 

Jeremiah 14:13

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.’”

(ESV)

 

Fake news and lying politicians seem to be part of the new normal in the information age.  While it may seem like a new normal, Jeremiah 14:13-22 gives us insight into the existence of fake news and lying prophets during the time of Jeremiah.  This is comforting for it lets us know that fake narratives and false promises are nothing new and that there is biblical guidance on how to handle them.  Jeremiah 14:13-22 provides this guidance by showing us the importance of,

 

1)      Calling out the lying prophets (Jeremiah 14:13-16) – Jeremiah is a true prophet who only tells the people what the Lord directs him to say.  This places him at odds with what the people want to hear and why the Jews were plotting against him (Jeremiah 12:6).  Other prophets avoid confrontation with the people by telling them what they want to hear as opposed to what the Lord wants them to hear (Jeremiah 14:13).  The Lord reminds Jeremiah that these prophets are not true prophets for God did not send them (Jeremiah 14:14) and reminds him that they will suffer from sword and famine as well even though they are telling the people it will not occur (Jeremiah 14:15).  The people listening to these lying prophets will, unfortunately, discover the truth when sword and famine come to the land (Jeremiah 14:16).

2)      A word from the Lord to the lying prophets (Jeremiah 14:17-18) – As a true prophet, Jeremiah waits for a word from the Lord before speaking to the people.  Typically, God would give Jeremiah a word of rebuke to the people urging them to repent (Jeremiah 5:3) but this time the Lord instructs Jeremiah to share his heart and how he grieves at the people’s rejection of God (Jeremiah 14:17-18).  Jeremiah has a heart of love towards God and his people with him continuing to weep and grieve for their sin.  While it would have been nice if the people would have listened and repented of their sin, this repentance will only come after exile from the land. 

3)      Jeremiah’s lament (Jeremiah 14:19-22) – With the Lord not urging Jeremiah to tell the people to repent but to instead let them know his heart that grieves for the sin of the people, Jeremiah now must come to grips with the fact that the Lord has abandoned Judah and loathes Zion due to their worship of other gods (Jeremiah 14:19).  Jeremiah then repents of the sin of the people and then pleads with the Lord not to spurn Judah, bringing dishonor to His name (Jeremiah 14:20-21).  Jeremiah then asks a rhetorical question asking which one of the false gods can bring rain, acknowledging that only God can do that and why his hope is in God (Jeremiah 14:22). 

 

Jeremiah is a true prophet from God, speaking what God has told him to say to the people about the consequences of their disobedience to God.  Other prophets contradict what Jeremiah says and Jeremiah brings this to the Lord’s attention (Jeremiah 14:13).  The Lord's response to Jeremiah is calling these prophets lying prophets who will suffer the same fate as the people.  However, instead of instructing Jeremiah to answer with a rebuke of the lying prophets and the judgment the people will face, the Lord instructs Jeremiah to respond with his heartfelt lament of what is about to occur to the people (Jeremiah 14:17-18).  Jeremiah then asks the Lord why he has rejected Judah, pleading for the Lord’s intervention (Jeremiah 14:19-21).  Jeremiah ends his plea to the Lord by acknowledging only He can end the famine destroying Judah and sets his hope on the Lord (Jeremiah 14:22). 

 

Chaotic times cause us to seek teaching that tickles our ears and makes us feel good.  This is why some may become offended and leave the Church if they hear teaching from the pulpit that is the truth from the Word of God that convicts instead of tickling the ears of the congregation with a feel-good message.  As Churches come back from the lockdowns and restrictions of the pandemic, they can fall prey to the temptation to abandon the truth that may convict for feel-good messages that do not offend.  Leaders in the Church must not abandon speaking truth that may convict or offend for revival that turns people back to God must have a basis in truth for it is the truth that sets people free (John 8:32). 

 

Those seeking a closer relationship with God must seek teaching coming from a foundation of truth.  For believers in Jesus, this foundation is the Bible, the Word of God, and why all believers must test teaching using the standard of the Bible.  For those teaching, the challenge is not to fear teaching from the Bible that may offend some or bring conviction by the Holy Spirit.  For revival to come, we need more Jeremiah’s in the pulpit and fewer lying prophets preaching a feel-good message lacking a Biblical foundation.  May God bless everyone reading this post.