Jeremiah 14:13–14: “Then I said, ‘Ah, LORD GOD! Behold, the prophets say to them, “You shall not see the sword, nor shall you have famine, but I will give you assured peace in this place.”‘ And the LORD said to me, ‘The prophets prophesy lies in My name. I have not sent them, commanded them, nor spoken to them; they prophesy to you a false vision, divination, a worthless thing, and the deceit of their heart.'”

October 13th, 2024 by Pastor Ed in devotional

Jeremiah complained to God that the people in Jerusalem should not be held accountable for their sins. He reasoned that they weren’t entirely responsible for not listening to his message, because false prophets were lying to them, giving them assurances that they were at peace with God and that there would not be an attack by foreign nations or a famine. God responded personally to Jeremiah, saying something along the lines of, “Nice try, but that excuse doesn’t work, because I hold individuals responsible for their own sins.” In this case, the false prophets were held accountable for their sin of lying to the people, and the people of Jerusalem were held accountable for failing to heed God’s warning through Jeremiah.

God has made it possible for His people to know the truth even when they are being told lies. By studying God’s word and learning His character, we can know when the things being told to us don’t match up with all that God has revealed about Himself. In the New Testament, Jesus taught that His people know His voice and will not follow the voice of another (John 10).

In addition to God’s revelation through His word, Ecclesiastes 3:11 also tells us that God “has put eternity in their hearts,” which means that everyone has a sense of eternity, a sense of God built into them. In Don Richardson’s book Eternity in their Hearts, he shows how many people groups have had some myth or belief system that pointed to God. The people weren’t necessarily following God, but these stories and beliefs showed that they had a consciousness of God and eternity. Many missionaries were then able to use each people’s stories to reveal the one, true God to them. God wants us to know Him. He desires to reveal Himself to us. And that is why He refused Jeremiah’s compliant that the people shouldn’t be held responsible. If we honestly seek truth, God Himself will make sure that we find it.

“LORD, we recognize that You alone have truth and You are able to communicate it to us if we will only seek You.”