Saturday, June 2, 2018

"Pleasant Lies" June 2 Readings: Jeremiah 24-28


Today's Reading - Jeremiah 24-28


Background


Like Elijah, Micaiah, Isaiah, and all the other prophets of God, the bane of Jeremiah's existence was the false prophets. The kings of Judah gathered around themselves prophets who would tell them exactly what they wanted to hear. "God isn't going to judge you. Everything will be okay." The people loved the false prophets because they told them good and pleasant things.

Devotional - Pleasant Lies


The exchange between Jeremiah, the false prophets, and the leaders of Israel is classic, revealing the ongoing battle between false prophets and those who hear from God.

The situation was dire. Israel was under the threat of destruction by the Babylonians and they were looking for some help, for some good news. Unfortunately, God sent Jeremiah with a message (Jeremiah 26:1-6 - yesterday's readings) no one wanted to hear - judgment was coming and was going to be severe. Judah's sins had piled up to the point where God's hand of discipline was on them.

The reaction (Jeremiah 26:7-10) was fast and furious. The prophets and priests, the people who were supposed to be seeking God and leading the people to follow him, struck back at Jeremiah. How could he say such things about Israel? He must be a traitor. They did not like what they were hearing and they were looking to kill the messenger. Jeremiah escaped but a prophet of God named Uriah felt the peoples' wrath and was put to death.

The prophet of God spoke the hard truth while the false prophets refused to believe such things.

The clearest differentiation of this principle happens in chapter 28, when we read the prophecy of Hananiah, in verses 2-4.
“This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. Within two years I will restore to this place all the articles of the Lord’s temple that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon took from here and transported to Babylon. And I will restore to this place Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the exiles from Judah who went to Babylon’—this is the Lord’s declaration—‘for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.’”
What a wonderful prophecy - exactly what the people wanted to hear. God was going to step in and save them from Babylon. Their sins weren't so bad after all; God would come through for them.

There was one main problem with Hananiah's soothing prophecy - it was a big fat lie. God didn't say that and the prophecy was not going to come to pass. Jeremiah's unpleasant truth was what Israel needed to hear, but Hananiah's comforting lies were what they wanted to hear.

Looking at the hard truths of God is never fun. Facing my own sin is unpleasant, but it is the truth that will transform me, not sugary-sweet deceit. In the end, it is God's truth that transforms, not the pleasant lies.

Father, by your Spirit, speak truth to my soul; unpleasant and hard if need be. May I never hide from the full weight of your painful truth or seek the pleasant lies that will bind my soul. 

Think and Pray


Do you have "itching ears" that want to be scratched by the pleasant lies of the false prophets or are you willing to hear the full and hard truth of God.
Look at what the false prophets said and what the true prophet said. Which would be more popular in America today?

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