Today, I am reading and commenting on  Jeremiah 23-25.

Today’s passage begins with a condemnation of leaders who divide the people rather than unite them.  In particular Jeremiah speaks out against religious leaders who declare false visions and false prophecies.  He condemns those who speak their own ideas as if they are from God.  Jeremiah tells us that these false prophets and godless priests steal words from each other and claim they are from God.  As I read Jeremiah’s words about these divisive shepherds and lying religious leaders I am reminded of today.  Today, I see leaders who encourage the divisions between groups in order to further their own power rather than unite people for the good of everyone.  I see religious leaders who proclaim their own ideas as the words of God.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Jeremiah 23-25.

Jeremiah condemned the leaders of the people for scattering the people and driving them away from God.  In particular, he focuses on religious leaders who  commit adultery and live a lie.  He condemns them for encouraging evildoers to continue in their wickedness rather than calling them to turn to righteousness.  They tell people to continue in their sin.  God tells Jeremiah that because of this no one is to say they have “a message from the Lord.”  Jeremiah tells us that true prophets tell us to turn from our evil ways and evil practices.  When God sends a prophet, that prophet does not tell us to keep doing what we are doing.  God sends prophets to tell us to change our ways.  Those who tell us that we can do as we please are false prophets.  If the people you hear speaking for God do not make you uncomfortable, do not make you feel like you need to change things about your life, they are false prophets.  When someone speaks God’s word, it should make you uncomfortable.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Jeremiah 23-25.

In today’s passage Jeremiah prophesied against leadership which divided the people rather than uniting them.  Through Jeremiah, God promises that He will gather them back together and give them new, faithful leadership.  Because Jeremiah speaks primarily about priests and prophets in the rest of that prophecy, one might think that he was referring to only religious leaders.  But, because he mentions that God will appoint a King who will rule wisely in place of these divisive leaders, we know that political leaders were included in Jeremiah’s condemnation.  Now, I want to look closer at those religious leaders.  The prophets used their powers for unjust gain.  Both the priests and the prophets were godless.  Let’s look at that a little closer: they proclaimed themselves fonts of spiritual wisdom, but they did not guide people towards God.  In fact, some of them even prophesied on behalf of gods other than God.  They committed adultery and lived a lie.  Instead of calling out evildoers, they enabled them, so that none of them turned from their sin.  Is this starting to sound familiar?  Jeremiah goes on to say that these prophets and priests told those who despised God that they were in no danger, that there was no reason to change their behavior.

Which brings us to how we can recognize the prophets, and other religious leaders, whom God has sent, and those whom He has not sent.   Those whom God has sent tell us things we do not want to hear, they tell us to change our ways and turn away from evil deeds.  They need to call out all sins and evil practices.  If they call out sexual immorality, but give other forms of self-indulgence a pass, or vice versa, they are not passing on God’s words.  If they call out greed, but give violence a pass, they are not passing on God’s words.  If they are speaking to you, but calling out somebody else’s sins, they are not passing on God’s words.  When God sends a prophet to speak to you, that prophet will not be speaking about what someone else is doing wrong.  Of course, if that prophet has been sent by God, he will not be telling other people what you are doing wrong either.  When he speaks to them, he will tell them God’s words for them.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Jeremiah 23-25.

Jeremiah begins today’s passage by condemning the leaders of Judah for scattering the people rather than gathering them and tending them.  Jeremiah declares that God has given power to political and religious authorities in order that they might unite the people, but all too often those with authority choose to divide people in order to more easily control them.  God declares that He will punish such leaders and replace them with those who will carry out His will.  I want to note that many people follow such divisive leaders because they see doing so as a path to power for themselves.  God will punish such people along with their leaders.

While Jeremiah has strong words for the secular leaders who divide God’s people (and I believe that for the purposes of this prophecy all people are God’s people), he has even stronger condemnation for the religious leaders who fail to gather God’s people to Him.  He warns us that many of those who claim to offer us moral guidance are godless and wicked, even among those who claim to speak on behalf of God.  Rather than speak God’s word  in order to turn people from their wicked ways, they speak words from their own mind, strengthening the hands of evildoers.  They tell those who despise God that their wicked actions will have only positive consequences.  Such prophets will face God’s wrath because if they had spoken God’s words people would have turned from their evil ways and been redeemed by God.

Later in today’s passage, Jeremiah has words of warning for those who think they can gain from the destruction of society.  When God brings His destruction upon those who mock His word, it will be indiscriminate.  The only shelter from His wrath will be for those who turn to Him and faithfully serve Him.  In this passage, Jeremiah refers to the destruction which will be visited on those nations around the world who thought to profit from the fall of Jerusalem, even for Babylon which was the tool by which that fall occurred.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Jeremiah 23-25.

Jeremiah’s prophecy against the prophets and other religious leaders of Judah is one which we should think about closely.  Are we following religious leaders who teach God’s words, or their own?  Jeremiah condemns the religious leaders as ungodly, wicked people.  All too many of the religious leaders today fit into the mold of those Jeremiah condemns: they commit adultery and love dishonesty.  All too many of them are willing to tell those who hate God’s words that God loves them and will not judge their actions.  The first part is true, but the second part is a lie.  Jeremiah warns us to be careful about listening to the prophets and other religious leaders who claim to speak for Him, but who have never listened to His voice.  Read the Bible for yourself and you will soon know who those are.  But discipline yourself to read the entire Bible, not just the parts that say the things you like to hear.  As I write this I want to say, don’t just read my commentary on what I have read, read it for yourself.  Look for the things I have missed, or gotten wrong.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.  I am back from vacation, but back to doing my daily readings a few days earlier than planned.  I will continue to try to be a few days ahead so that I can publish on time if anything comes up.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Jeremiah 23-25.

Each year as I read through the Old Testament prophets I realize more and more how each section flows into the next.  For example, it is easy to look at today’s reading and see it as starting a new theme from Jeremiah separate from what came before.  But the fact of the matter is that Jeremiah’s condemnation of the leaders and prophets expands on his condemnation of idolatry among the people.  As part of his condemnation of leaders and prophets Jeremiah reminds us that all of the people abuse what power they have.  All too often when we condemn the abuse of power by leaders we forget that that the poor and oppressed use what power they may have over others to abuse them as well.  The leaders of society, both political and religious, have an obligation to lead with honor and righteousness.  However, the common people cannot expect their leaders to be honorable and righteous if they themselves are not.

Jeremiah condemns as false prophets those religious leaders who tell those who despise God’s word that they will have peace and those who follow their own desires that no harm will come to them.  I have heard those who say that God loves everyone, no matter what they believe or do.  They say that there are many paths to God and we should not presume that others need to follow the one which we have found.  There is truth to both of these statements, but both miss God’s message to us.  Yes, God loves everyone, no matter what they believe or do, but He wishes to bring them healing and love which will transform them.  If you believe that evil is good and good is evil you will continue to do things which harm both yourself and others.  God desires to show you His love and truth so that you will stop harming yourself through self-destructive behavior.  And yes, there are many paths to God.  If you truly seek God you will find Him, no matter what path you follow, but eventually that path will lead you to Christ and if you reject Christ when you come to Him you are rejecting God.  Those who claim to be speaking for God who claim that you need not come to Christ and need not stop self-destructive behaviors are liars