Links for today’s readings:
Sep 2 Read: Jeremiah 27 Listen: (3:52) Read: 1 Corinthians 4 Listen: (3:15)
Scripture Focus: Jeremiah 27:16-17
16 Then I said to the priests and all these people, “This is what the Lord says: Do not listen to the prophets who say, ‘Very soon now the articles from the Lord’s house will be brought back from Babylon.’ They are prophesying lies to you. 17 Do not listen to them. Serve the king of Babylon, and you will live. Why should this city become a ruin?
Reflection: It’s a Trap!
By Erin Newton
In the Star Wars movies, one character is known for the line “It’s a trap!” The phrase is actually repeated by multiple characters. Clearly the plot relies on the element of ruses and tricks. Situations the characters first think are good, often erupt into action-packed scenes of near disaster.
False prophets also deal in tricks and traps.
Jeremiah warns the people about their judgment by the hand of God through the Babylonians. While their experience was painful, it was tempting to trust those who promised ease and a reversal. I don’t think I blame them.
In fact, the prophets often began their messages with warnings of judgment and destruction and then followed those statements with promises of restoration. We rely on the conclusion of hope when we read the Bible. Why is Jeremiah warning against those prophecies now?
If these false prophets had been able to sway the people, they would likely have attempted to act on the promises by rebelling against Babylon. Jeremiah warns that this would be futile.
Disclaimer: A glimmer of hope appears when Jeremiah indicates that restoration will happen when God decides. But the key factor is that God is the determiner of when that happens. Reacting to a false promise of restoration would likely have ruined it all.
Pain has a way of leading us into temptation. We are tempted to listen to false prophets. We are tempted to listen to people who claim the name of God but speak a different message.
You often see movies with these types of characters. They are the characters that cannot possibly grasp the danger that lies before them and so they convince themselves that everything is going to be just fine and that restoration is coming “very soon.” The character jumps up and flees the small net of safety and then the monster pounces.
It is certainly tempting to believe a message that we can control. Blessing is coming very soon? Well let’s just hurry things along! That sounds rather nice. But in the end, it is foolish for us to force things to happen—force blessings, force ease and comfort.
It’s sometimes hard to distinguish between promises of hardship or promises of coming restoration. I think we are called to be patient in God’s timing, even in pain. We must hold this life of ours loosely, never trying to turn things to our own commands.
Divine Hours Prayer: The Greeting
Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, and your faithfulness to the clouds. — Psalm 36.5
– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.
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Read more: Comfortable Prophecies
It is difficult to judge Jerusalem for falling for these false prophets. Don’t we also feel the pull to grasp onto any far-fetched hope of a return to normalcy?
