Speak the Word of the Lord Faithfully

Jeremiah 23:25-40

25 "I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in My name, saying, 'I have dreamed, I have dreamed!' 26 How long will this be in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies? Indeed they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart, 27 who try to make My people forget My name by their dreams which everyone tells his neighbor, as their fathers forgot My name for Baal.

28 "The prophet who has a dream, let him tell a dream;
And he who has My word, let him speak My word faithfully.
What is the chaff to the wheat?" says the LORD.
29 "Is not My word like a fire?" says the LORD,
"And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?

30 "Therefore behold, I am against the prophets," says the LORD, "who steal My words every one from his neighbor. 31 Behold, I am against the prophets," says the LORD, "who use their tongues and say, 'He says.' 32 Behold, I am against those who prophesy false dreams," says the LORD, "and tell them, and cause My people to err by their lies and by their recklessness. Yet I did not send them or command them; therefore they shall not profit this people at all," says the LORD.

33 "So when these people or the prophet or the priest ask you, saying, 'What is the oracle of the LORD?' you shall then say to them, 'What oracle?' I will even forsake you," says the LORD. 34 "And as for the prophet and the priest and the people who say, 'The oracle of the LORD!' I will even punish that man and his house. 35 Thus every one of you shall say to his neighbor, and every one to his brother, 'What has the LORD answered?' and, 'What has the LORD spoken?' 36 And the oracle of the LORD you shall mention no more. For every man's word will be his oracle, for you have perverted the words of the living God, the LORD of hosts, our God. 37 Thus you shall say to the prophet, 'What has the LORD answered you?' and, 'What has the LORD spoken?' 38 But since you say, 'The oracle of the LORD!' therefore thus says the LORD: 'Because you say this word, "The oracle of the LORD!" and I have sent to you, saying, "Do not say, 'The oracle of the LORD!'" 39 therefore behold, I, even I, will utterly forget you and forsake you, and the city that I gave you and your fathers, and will cast you out of My presence. 40 And I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.'"

If one teaches of preaches God’s word, then he must tell it faithfully and truly, not claiming divine unction where there is none.  That is the mistake which the false prophets of Jeremiah’s time made and were being held accountable for.  The written scriptures are the primary test of the truth of what someone teaches with the Spirit of God within us bearing testimony to the truth of it or lack of alignment with the word of God.  The false ones then spoke out of the deceit of their own thinking and reasoning instead of according to His word and ended up drawing the people away from Him in the process.  Their erroneous dreams and visions were paths leading away from truth and into error that caused others to sin more in idolatry by false worship brought on by false teaching passed for true.  The LORD, however, encouraged those who followed His word to speak truly what He told and showed them, and faithfully speak that truth.  The chaff (Psalm 1:4, Luke 3:17) of those with no ear to hear would be blown away because they had no seed of life or truth in them, and the true followers would remain to hear the real messages as good seed from God as He had already spoken by His prophets and which would cause growth to multiply and fill the earth as commanded to Adam in the beginning.  His word has the power to cast down false arguments and sweet sounding philosophy (2 Corinthians 10:5) like a consuming fire or a massive hammer that crushes the hardened hearts (Matthew 21:44) to listen to Him instead of those self proclaiming prophets who only tout themselves to be important and who lead many astray, even as we see today.  Whoever speaks a “new word from the Lord” as they claim which is not found in the Bible is false and misleading as much as these self appointed prophets of Jeremiah’s time were.  God’s word exposes the truth and the thoughts with their intents as Hebrews 4:12 reminds us.  God told the people through Jeremiah that He is soundly against those false prophets and teachers with false dreams of reckless lies that only mislead others.  He did not send them or appoint them as prophets, yet they took it on themselves as the seven sons of Sceva (Acts 19:13-15) who attempted to tack God’s name to their own efforts instead of speaking according to their calling by the Lord.  This is a sobering reminder for us all to speak truth according to His word and not out of our own imaginations or desire for recognition of our importance.  Those had relied on calling their manmade prophecies oracles of the LORD, but were not spoken as He commanded or enabled them to do; we know, however, that speaking oracles according to His word when given the ability to do so (1 Peter 4:11) and which align with His word are valid and profitable.  It is when we invent our own messages that do not keep in step with the scriptures that we have problems with the Lord.  We are all sent to bear witness of the gospel but not to rewrite scripture with supposed new revelations because Christ has the final word as Prophet (Hebrews 1:1-2) and our interpretation of scripture which we teach and preach is prophetic explanations of what has been already revealed and recorded in the scriptures (2 Peter 1:20-21) and not new revelations.  May we be mindful to speak His word faithfully to break hardened hearts and burn up the unfruitful lies like chaff that the gospel might take root as good seed in repentant hearts by grace.