One of the problems that Jeremiah is facing as a prophet of God is that there are so many false voices that are telling the people things that God did not actually say. We have seen in our study of Jeremiah many statements about the false prophets who are leading the people astray (cf. Jeremiah 2:8; 5:13; 5:31; 14:13-15; 23:13-16; 23:21-31). We are going to look at this problem in Jeremiah 27-28. How were the people supposed to know what was right and wrong and what was true and false when there were so many prophets saying false things? What were the people supposed to do with all of the religious noise? The answers we observe is going to teach us and help us to seek the truth with all the religious noise and false teachings we see in our world today.
The Sovereign Power of God (Jeremiah 27:1-7)
The message to Jeremiah begins by describing the sovereign rule of God. The Lord tells Jeremiah to make a yoke and put it on his neck as a picture to the nations. The message to Edom, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon is that they will be subservient to the king of Babylon (27:6). But I want us to notice that God is not simply predicting the future. Rather, God is proclaiming his rule over all the nations of the earth. Look at verse 5. God proclaims that it was by his power that he made the earth and all people and creatures on the earth. But notice that God says at the end of verse 5 that he gives it to anyone he wants. So God is giving the nations and peoples into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon (Jeremiah 27:6-7). Notice that the sovereignty of God includes the duration of this rule in verse 7. God declares that all the nations will serve the king of Babylon, his son, and his grandson. Then many nations will reverse the situation and subjugate Babylon. The point is to see the power of God and understand that he rules over the nations, giving them to whomever he wills. This sets the key message for this section of Jeremiah’s prophecy.
Do Not Listen To The False (Jeremiah 27:8-22)
The message is to not listen to all the false voices that are saying that this is not going to happen. There are false prophets saying that they will not serve Babylon (Jeremiah 27:9). They are saying lies that will cause them to be destroyed. Then Jeremiah tells the same message to Zedekiah, the king of Judah (Jeremiah 27:12-15). Don’t listen to the false prophets. Then Jeremiah tells this same message to the priests and the people to not listen to the false prophets (Jeremiah 27:16-17).
Now here is something I want us to consider. Why would anyone want to listen to false prophets? Why would people want to hear false messages that are not actually from God? One reason is becoming clear. The messages the false prophets are saying are the messages the people want to hear. The false prophets were saying that they will not serve Babylon and that the vessels of the temple will be returned soon. The temptation is to listen to a message because we like the message. It is the message we want to hear. Our natural disposition is to not want to listen to messages we do not like. If we don’t like it, then it can’t be right. This is what the people are doing in Jeremiah’s day. They are listening to the false because it is a desirable message. Everything is going to return to normal soon. Just wait it out and God will fix it. The apostle Paul gave the same warning to disciples of Jesus.
For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear what they want to hear. They will turn away from hearing the truth and will turn aside to myths. (2 Timothy 4:3-4 CSB)
Paul warned this about disciples, not the world. God’s people are not going to endure the sound teachings but look for messages that they want to hear and sound good, rather than are true. The real problem with all the religious noise is that people are making their evaluations based on if they like the message rather than considering if this is actually God’s message. Many churches today spend their efforts reaching the world and teaching their members what they think they want to hear rather than being willing to say what God actually said. So some things never change. What was happening in Jeremiah’s day and in Paul’s day also continues to happen today. We must be careful because we will be tempted to define messages that we do not like as false messages and messages that we do like as true messages. The reason the people listened to these false prophets and not Jeremiah is because they like the false prophets’ messages better. We all want to hear good news from God and not bad news. We naturally do not want to listen to hard things, to calls to repentance, or rebukes. But, friends, this is what God does in his messages. God’s messages were not all feel good messages. God’s messages were often difficult and convicting. They were challenging and called for his people to turn and change their ways.
The False Message Exemplified (Jeremiah 28:1-17)
After proclaiming the problem, this problem will be exemplified with an interaction in Jeremiah’s life. One of these false prophets confronts Jeremiah in the presence of the priests and the people (Jeremiah 28:1). Hananiah proclaimed that in two years God was going to bring back all the vessels that were captured from the Lord’s temple. Further, in two years the king and the people captured will also return to the land. What will Jeremiah say to this false prophecy? Look at verses 5-9. Jeremiah begins by essentially wishing that this was the case by proclaiming an amen. It is not that Jeremiah does not want these things to be true. It is just that they are not true. This is not what God said would happen. But then Jeremiah reminds the people of a test of a prophet. In verse 9 he reminds them that if a prophet proclaims peace and it comes to pass, then you will know that the Lord had sent that prophet. Hananiah at this point doubles down on his prophecy and even takes the yoke that Jeremiah is wearing and breaks it symbolize how the yoke of Babylon will be broken in two years (Jeremiah 28:10-11).
Now I want us to think about why God allowed so many false prophets to run around deceiving the people. How could the people possibly know who to believe? I want to look at the scripture that Jeremiah is referring to when he makes his defense. Listen to the full instruction from Deuteronomy 13.
“If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, ‘Let us go after other gods,’ which you have not known, ‘and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the LORD your God is testing you, to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.” (Deuteronomy 13:1-3 ESV)
Deuteronomy 18:17-22 teaches a similar idea. Did you notice why God would allow false teachers to go around proclaiming false words in his name? God says that he is testing the people to see if they love the Lord with all their heart and soul. There are always going to be false people saying false things about God. This was also a concern in the first century. Listen to what the apostle John taught:
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. (1 John 4:1 ESV)
The Christians in the first century were not to trust what everyone said even if they proclaimed to have the Spirit of the Lord with them or claimed to be stating God’s message. Rather they were to test the proclaimers and what they said to see if it was true or not. Just because you called yourself a prophet did not mean you were supposed to believe it. Back when we had a radio show, the person who came on the radio after us called himself an apostle. We do not believe that just because he said so. You have to test to see if what they said is actually from God or not. We see this heart in the first century Christians. Listen to what these listeners in Berea did:
The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. (Acts 17:10-11 ESV)
Notice the praise that was given to these listeners. These were considered virtuous and noble because they listened to the word with eagerness and then examined the scriptures every day to see if these teachings were true. Now I want us to notice why this is so important. Go back into Jeremiah 27 and notice God’s repetition about what these prophets are doing. Look at Jeremiah 27:10. “For it is a lie that they are prophesying to you.” Look at Jeremiah 27:14. Do not listen to the words of the prophets “for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you.” Look at Jeremiah 27:16. “For it is a lie that they are prophesying to you.” These spiritual teachers were lying to the people. Go to the end of Jeremiah 28 and you will see Jeremiah tell Hananiah to his face that he is a false prophet. Look at Jeremiah 28:15. “Listen, Hananiah, the Lord has not sent you, and you have made this people trust in a lie.”
This can be hard for us to believe if we are trusting. But maybe it is easier to believe if you have experienced this. There are people who claim to be spiritual, who claim to be Christians, who claim to proclaim God’s word but they are lying to the people and cause people to trust in a lie. There is no safe place from this. Being a large church or a small church does not mean the teacher is telling you the truth. Being on TV does not mean the teacher is telling the truth. Having a podcast does not mean that the person is telling you the truth. Having a book or a number of best selling books does not mean the teacher is telling the truth about God. Having popularity or a following does not mean that the teacher is telling you the truth. Being a part of a particular church does not mean the teacher is telling you the truth. Listen to how the apostle Paul warned about this to the Christians in Rome:
I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. (Romans 16:17-18 ESV)
Why would there be Christians who lie, cause problems, stir the pot, and create obstacles? They are serving themselves and their own appetites. They are not serving you. They are deceiving by their smooth words and flattery. What is the only defense? Examine the scriptures daily like the Bereans did. Test the teachings. Do not reject something or accept something because of who is speaking. Do not reject or accept a teaching because it is new or old. Just because it is something new we are learning does not make it wrong. Just because it is something widely accepted does not make it right. Accept or reject the teaching because you have looked at the word of God for yourself and you are able to see whether this is truly the word of the Lord. We listen, we digest, and then we consider it against the word of the Lord. Friends, may we evaluate all things by seeing in God’s word, not by whether we like it or not. God says hard things that are going to challenge us and cut us. The writer of Hebrews said that the word of God is like a sharp, two-edged sword that will cut us to the very core (cf. Hebrews 4:12). Only the truth can set us free. So test all things and make sure you are walking in the truth.