Friends….I’m telling you…we ought not to be in a hurry to call ourselves ‘teachers/preachers’ of God’s word, and James tells us why that is in his letter- “for we who teach will be judged more strictly” (3:1)
Do you know why God was not pleased with his teachers/prophets back in Jeremiah’s day? Because “the Lord’s flock was taken captive” (Jer. 13:17); and if you continue on reading chapter 23 there…it will become clear why: “they caused God’s people to err.” (13).
Twice, in the first two verses in this chapter, God accuses these teachers, or ‘shepherds’ of being responsible for ‘scattering His flock of sheep’ (1-2). Do you want to know what a scattered flock of sheep looks like? Take a look at Matt. 9:35-36. You’ll probably will recall that Jesus was not real thrilled with the teachers of God’s word back in His day either, calling them a bunch of ‘vipers’ (Matt. 12:34; 23:33).
Interestingly, there is a portion of text in this chapter 23 of Jeremiah that is ‘prophetic’, in that it mentions the coming of Jesus, as a ‘Branch of David’…who will be called ‘The Lord our Righteousness’. And because of His reign, God’s people can and will ‘dwell safely’ (5-6). But you might want to underline that part that says this ‘King shall reign and prosper…and “execute judgement” and righteousness in the earth’ (5). Care to guess how one ‘dwells safely’? You do that by becoming a follower of Jesus and ‘abide in Him’ (Ps. 91; John 15:1-8; 1 John 5:18). And ‘follower’ should be emphasized!
While we’re on this topic, from whom does God keep us… ‘safe’? When Jeremiah was weeping back there in chapter 13:17…who had taken the Lord’s flock ‘captive? The ‘enemy’, you say? Interesting. Who is our ‘enemy’ today (1 Pet. 5:8). And why does this ‘enemy’ take people captive, according to 2 Timothy 2:25-26? I don’t mean to bounce all over the place here but these are important ‘dots to connect’ as we come to a better understanding as to what God’s ‘wrath’ is…and how it operates…which is what we started studying here several days ago.
As you continue on in chapter 23 of Jeremiah, you read quite a laundry list of grievances God had with the teachers back then. They themselves had fallen away into ‘wickedness’ (11), which eventually leads the people in to sin and darkness as well. And let me remind you that when you see that word ‘wicked’, don’t be in a rush to conjure up images of the most vile acts you can imagine. Jesus pointed out that one who has been forgiven of their sins/debts by God…but fails to forgive others…is a ‘wicked servant’ (Matt. 18:32). So there’s that.
Look at vs.14 now, where we read how the prophets ‘strengthen the hands of evildoers’…so that no one turns back (repents) from his wickedness’. Do you know how you ‘strengthen the hand of evildoers’? You don’t call them out for their sins, which only allows them to become ‘more wicked’ as their hearts harden. Keep in mind, this ‘falling away’ is a gradual process for most folks. (Heb. 3:12-13; 2:1).
The rest of this chapter is well worth your time to pour over, but let me hit a point out a ‘indictment’ made by God (15-17). These prophets are not speaking or declaring God’s words of warning, rather they are speaking from their own hearts and visions. Can I just tell you that’s not a hard ditch to fall into for many people who stand behind pulpits today; and for a host of reasons.
But the ‘crime’ listed here is they were affirming people who continued to ‘walk according to the dictates of their own hearts’…but then telling them: “No evil shall come upon you.” Do you know what it means to walk according to the dictates of your own heart? It means you are not being led by God’s Spirit as you continue to walk and live ‘according to the flesh nature’…and we should know by now where that leads us- (Rom. 8:13; Gal. 5:21; Eph. 5:5-6).
Now read vs.19-20 (Jer. 23) where God makes it clear as to what they can expect to experience; and just a side-note to toss in here for your consideration- We read at the start of vs. 15 where God is ‘The Lord of hosts’. Ever wonder what that means when we see…the Lord of ‘hosts’? It comes from a Hebrew word which translates – [that which goes forth, army, war, warfare]. This is important to note, because when God talks about unleashing His ‘anger’, or how His ‘anger will not turn back’…there is more to this than thinking God is stomping around heaven throwing a fit because His people continue to walk in sin and rebellion towards Him and He’s just plain mad.
I’m trying hard to keep these limited to a certain length, but I have much to share with you here, so I hope you are looking up these verses on your own. (You cannot imagine how fruitful and productive this is for you to do.) Let’s talk a moment as to what it might mean when scripture refers to God’s ‘anger’. Jot down and then look up 2 Samuel 24:1 and then 1 Chronicles 21:1. In the first passage, we read where God’s ‘anger’ incited, or ‘moved David’ to sin by numbering his troops. We won’t delve into that story here, but just want to connect a few more dots for you. God was not pleased that David took this action and he ended up facing God’s judgement for doing this. But now look at the passage in 1 Chron. 21, which is a more detailed companion collection of writings that reviews what took place here. Who actually ‘moved David’ to start counting up his troops? 'anger' = ________?
Friends…it’s one thing to be ‘taught’ valuable information and truth; but it’s another thing altogether when something is ‘revealed’ to us by God’s Spirit when He ‘opens our eyes’ to His truths. Remember when we launched off into this topic days ago, from Romans 1:18? What did Paul say was being ‘revealed’ to us in this hour? Now let’s finish up today with a quick look at Proverbs 19:12 and Psalms 78:21, 49. When God is ‘unleashing’…His ‘anger’…who…or what…is He ‘allowing’ to move in to ‘steal, kill, and destroy’?
Yeah…you might need some time with this one today. Let the Holy Spirit work now. I so pray you hang with me here...there's some really good news on the way. I’ll meet you back here tomorrow…Lord willing.
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