Rejecting False Promises

KEY VERSE: “Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.” —Jeremiah 29:12,13

SELECTED SCRIPTURE: Jeremiah, chapters 28, 29

OUR LESSON TODAY contains the substance of two letters sent by the Prophet Jeremiah to the people of Israel who had been taken captive to Babylon. In the first he recommends that they be patient in their present circumstances, and to endure for seventy years. (Jer. 29:20-23) They were better off than their brethren who remained behind in Jerusalem. However, the people did not accept his message, and instead took the suggestions of Ahab and Zedekiah, who flattered them with the hope of a speedy end to their captivity. Jeremiah sent a second message, in which he pronounced heavy judgments against those false prophets who had deceived them.—vss. 24-32

Even as it was in the days of Jeremiah, so today we hear many thoughts and opinions that supposedly originate with God, but the question is, do they? Do these various views really harmonize with the written Word? They may say exactly what their adherents want to hear, but often they are not the words of God. What should we do when we know that some are being led along a pathway full of false hopes and promises? Jeremiah had to face just such a situation, and his lesson prompts us to ask how we can discern between the words of the Lord, and these false teachings.

No one wanted to hear Jeremiah’s message of forthcoming destruction. Instead they preferred to listen to Hananiah, another false prophet who foretold that God would break the yoke of King Nebuchadnezzar. (Jer. 28:11) He assured his listeners that within two years, the people exiled to Babylon would return home. Jeremiah knew otherwise, but his words were rejected in favor of Hananiah’s false hopes for peace.

Jeremiah confronted the false prophet, stating that God had not sent Hananiah to speak to the people, and that while his words of peace may have brought comfort to their minds, his words were false. They contradicted the will of God. Through Jeremiah, God told Hananiah that he would be dead within one year—a prophecy fulfilled in the seventh month.

To encourage and inspire those exiled in Babylon, Jeremiah wrote a clear message that God was responsible for their circumstances. They were occurring not because of weakness on God’s part, but in fulfillment of his will. Jeremiah’s primary message to the exiles was to accept their lot, and to settle in the land, because, contrary to the false prophets (Jer. 29:8,9), they would be in exile for a long time. In fact, the exile did not end until King Cyrus of Persia, who defeated the Babylonians, issued a decree allowing them to return to rebuild the Temple. In Babylon, Jeremiah told them to build houses, plant gardens, marry, have children and grandchildren—multiplying and thriving in the land. They were to seek peace, for if Babylon prospered, so would they.

What a wonderful time! Paul tells us that Israel’s experiences were for our instruction. (I Cor. 10:6) Mankind has been exiled from God for the past six thousand years, and false teachers have arisen. But God’s Word is sure that all will be released from exile into a kingdom of peace. God will be found by all those who truly seek after him.

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