Do Not Listen to the False Prophets

“Do not listen to your false prophets, fortune-tellers, interpreters of dreams, mediums, and sorcerers who say, ‘The king of Babylon will not conquer you.' "

Jeremiah 27:9

Jeremiah 27 records several prophetic messages of Jeremiah that were delivered early in the reign of King Zedekiah, around 594 B.C. Though he was the ruler of Judah, he had been installed by the Babylonians, who already held sway over Judah and the neighboring countries. Nevertheless, many so-called prophets and advisers were offering a false message of hope to the Jews and their neighbors, denying the inevitability of Babylonian dominion.

Through Jeremiah, the Lord spoke first to the nations around Judah (Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon; 27:3). He urged them to serve Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and he warned them not to listen to “your false prophets, fortune-tellers, interpreters of dreams, mediums, and sorcerers who say, ‘The king of Babylon will not conquer you' " (27:9). Only by submitting to Babylon, and, in effect, to the Lord, would these nations be preserved. Then, in similar fashion, Jeremiah addressed King Zedekiah of Judah, the priests, and the Jewish people, offering the same word of exhortation and warning. They too were not to listen to the prophets who delivered the false hope of resistance to Babylon (27:12-22).

As it was in the time of Jeremiah, so it is today. We easily find ourselves attracted to preachers and counselors who tell us what we want to hear. We don’t like bad news. We don’t want to be troubled and challenged. So, quite naturally, we choose to listen to those who bring a message of easy comfort.

Now, to be sure, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the best news one can ever hear. But the whole, true Gospel is not comfortable, though it is profoundly comforting. The Gospel confronts us with the truth of our sin and its consequences. It confounds our pride by insisting that we cannot save ourselves. It calls us to receive Christ as our Savior and also our Lord, the one to whom we are to submit our whole lives in humble service. The Gospel challenges us to live in a Christ-like way each day: loving both neighbor and enemy, forgiving those who wrong us, extending ourselves for the sake of the lost, the poor, and the oppressed. None of this is easy or comfortable, but it is essential to God’s work both in us and through us in the world.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: When was the last time you heard something from a preacher that made you uncomfortable with a Spirit-inspired discomfort? How did you respond? How do you respond when you are challenged by the Word of God? How willing are you to listen to those who make you uncomfortable?

PRAYER: Dear Lord, I would confess at the outset that I do not like to be stirred up or made to feel uncomfortable. Thus I’m tempted to listen only to those who make my life easy, who affirm me in my current course. Forgive me, Lord, for failing to hear those who wield the sharp edge of your Word.

May I be open, Lord, to hearing from you the whole truth. May I offer my life to you as my Lord, even as I receive my life from you as my Savior.

Speak to me, I pray, with words of comfort when I need them, and word of challenge when I need them. Amen.