Jeremiah 27:1-28:17
Jeremiah 51:59-64
We watched our two prophets, Ezekiel and Jeremiah, in action. Ezekiel
was taken into captivity and prophesied to those in exile, while Jeremiah
remained in Jerusalem and prophesied to those who were left behind. Both of
them had the important task of communicating God’s warnings and judgment.
Most often the Lord’s prophets used their words to communicate His
messages. However, there were several times when they were asked to communicate
through object lessons or demonstrations. For example, Ezekiel demonstrated how
the Babylonians would attack Jerusalem by drawing a map of the city on a large
brick. He was also asked to lie down on his side for 430 days, a reminder of
the sins of the people.
Jeremiah wore an ox yoke in front of the King and his officials, to
predict their capture and future exile by the Babylonians. Later he sent a
message to the city of Babylon by way of Seraiah, one of Zedekiah’s staff
officers. After reading the message, he tied the scroll to a rock and dropped
it in the Euphrates River. “In the same way,” he said, “Babylon and her people
will sink, never again to rise, because of the disasters I will bring upon her”
(51:64).
We also saw false prophets, like Hananiah, contradict Jeremiah and his
messages of doom. Guys like him made a living “prophesying” good news, telling
the king what he wanted to hear. Of course, they were not true prophesies but
lies to make everyone feel better.
When Jeremiah stormed into the palace wearing an ox yoke; Hananiah
tore it off and broke it, proclaiming that God would remove the yokes from the
necks of His people within two years and bring them back to Judah. Because of
his lies, Hananiah died within two months.
Daily Reflection
It is a common misconception that false prophets only existed in the
Bible. False prophets are alive and well, still making a living telling people
what they want to hear. They are, of course, commissioned by our enemy to
confuse people and distract them from the true words of God.
When someone says, “I have a word from God...,” what should you do?
How do you discern what comes out of his or her mouth?
Millions of undiscerning people are led astray each year by preachers,
teachers, authors, and musicians who claim to speak for the Lord. All they need
to do, in order to protect themselves from false doctrine, is to evaluate
what they hear in light of God’s Word. Are you practicing discernment with what you
read or hear?
Worse than being deceived by false prophets is to deceive
others yourself. Any time you share God’s Word with others or claim to be speaking
truth on His behalf, you must be cautious that what you have to say is right.
What steps can you take to ensure that what you are telling others is indeed true
and not false?
Just as the enemy uses others to lead you astray, so also he wants to
use you to lead others astray. Be a Jeremiah and not a Hananiah.
BiAY.org |Day 228 — 137 Days to Go
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