S) "13 But, 'Ah, Lord God!' I said, 'Look, the prophets are telling them, "You will not see the sword nor will you have famine, but I will give you lasting peace in this place."' 14 Then the Lord said to me, 'The prophets are prophesying falsehood in My name. I have neither sent them nor commanded them nor spoken to them; they are prophesying to you a false vision, divination, futility and the deception of their own minds.'"
Jeremiah 14:13-14 (NASB)
O) Jeremiah was not the only prophet to face this circumstance, but this passage does highlight his problem fairly well. He was the only prophet affirming the coming destruction. There were scores of false-prophets all speaking positively about the coming times. When Jeremiah voiced this with the LORD, it almost sounds as if he was beginning to doubt what God had been telling him. This is understandable, given the flood of opposition he was facing, from people who also claimed to be hearing from the LORD. God reassured Jeremiah that he was hearing God correctly. He confirmed for Jeremiah, that the destruction was indeed coming. God did not tell him to convince them all that he was the only true prophet. He wasn't told that he must convince the people to believe his words, instead of the words of the false prophets. Jeremiah's task was to speak the truth, so that justice would be done when God executed His judgment on them for turning their backs on Him. We know Jeremiah was the only true prophet among his contemporaries, because the words he spoke came to pass. The proof is historically proven. When the exiles were taken, they all realized that only one prophet was among them.
A) This passage reminds me of the beauty of the Bible. God gave us His reliable words, through the prophets of the Old Testament, and the apostles of Jesus Christ. Because I know the Bible is the inspired Word of God, I don't have to guess about which prophet to believe. I just read the Bible, and believe what it says. This passage also reminds me, that if there are differing opinions about doctrine (i.e., another Christian understands a certain passage differently than me), I can rest in the fact that I don't have to convince anyone. In the end, if my opinion about a particular passage was correct, history will show it. Thankfully, it seems that the more important a subject is, the more clear God made it. The gospel itself, is very simple and clear. Very important, very clear. The book of Revelation, however, is quite a bit less clear in certain parts, but it also seems to be quite a bit less important to being a Christian. So, I will continue to study my Bible, as the most reliable, authoritative, infallible words of God. I will continue to pray, measuring what I think I might hear against the Bible. If someone disagrees on a small matter, I will agree to disagree, and if someone disagrees with a serious matter, I will turn to the Bible as the authoritative, trustworthy, proven words of God.
P) Father, thank You for the indwelling Holy Spirit. Thank You for the grace of the Bible. Please continue to open my eyes to see the truth in Scripture. Please continue to open my ears, to hear Your voice in prayer. Give me peace when someone disagrees on some point of doctrine. Give me discernment to know when to debate or not. Above all, let me seek obedience, love, grace and mercy with my brothers and sisters in Christ. Be glorified in the way we love. In Jesus's name I pray. Amen.
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