God’s word has power

“Then the prophet Jeremiah replied to the prophet Hananiah before the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the Lord. He said, ‘Amen! May the Lord do so! May the Lord fulfill the words you have prophesied by bringing the articles of the Lord’s house and all the exiles back to this place from Babylon. Nevertheless, listen to what I have to say in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people: from early times the prophets who preceded you and me have prophesied war, disaster and plague against many countries and great kingdoms. But the prophet who prophesies peace will be recognized as one truly sent by the Lord only if his prediction comes true’.”
– Jeremiah 28:5-9

It is amazing how the false prophets come out of the woodwork like worms and termites when there is a national or international disaster. They say that they have messages from God.

But their predictions do not align with God’s word.

Jeremiah, a true prophet of God, had encountered many hardships because of his prophecies. He spoke God’s word as they were given to him. His predictions came true during the lifetime of his contemporaries.

He had prophesied, in the earlier chapters, that the Lord would give the land of Judah and that of the neighboring countries to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. This got him in trouble with the authorities.

Consequently, the priests and prophets subsequently recommended that he be put to death. However, the Lord delivered him from the hands of his detractors.

The text indicates that Jeremiah was wearing a yoke around his neck. This was ordered by God to show that the king of Babylon would be like a yoke around the neck of the nation of Judah and the surrounding nations.

Hananiah, the false prophet, broke the yoke around Jeremiah’s neck and made a false prophesy. He prophesied that, as he had broken the yoke around Jeremiah’s neck, God would break the yoke of Babylon and establish peace in the land.

The prophet Hananiah was saying what he believed the people wanted to hear. Many of our modern-day prophets and pastors do the same thing. They say what people want to hear.

Many people go to places where they can hear prosperity gospel. Unfortunately, they hear not what they need to hear, but what they want.

It is like one going to the doctor and the doctor discovers that one has cancer. However, instead of relaying the proper diagnosis, he says that one has indigestion and prescribes a treatment accordingly.

The patient will die because the doctor prescribes the wrong treatment. But then that is what the patient wants. It is the same with people who listen to false prophets. Those who rely upon the false message from those who tell them what they want to hear but not what they need to hear, will die in sin.

When Hananiah made his false prediction, Jeremiah simply said, amen! Let it be so. I only wish the lie you tell comes true, for your sake. He did not argue, because we should not argue about God’s word. God’s word has power and it will do what God intends it to do.

Jeremiah did give warning, “But the prophet who prophesies peace will be recognized as one truly sent by the Lord only if his prediction comes true.” The lying prophet will be revealed.

God’s word may not always say what the public wants to hear, but it is what the public needs to hear. It is the inerrant truth from the mouth of God, written by inspired men of God. We in the church have a responsibility to proclaim that word to the world in its purity. Amen.

 • Rev. Samuel M. Boodle, pastor at The Lutheran Church of Nassau, 119 John F. Kennedy Drive, can be reached at P.O. Box N 4794, Nassau, Bahamas; or telephone 426-9084; E-mail lutheranchurch@coralwave.com; or website www.nassaulutheranchurch.org.

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source https://thenassauguardian.com/2020/07/02/gods-word-has-power-2/