ROOTED - Friday, May 8, 2026
Jeremiah 14:13-16
13 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.’” 14 And
the Lord said to me: “The prophets are prophesying lies in my
name. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They
are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the
deceit of their own minds. 15 Therefore thus says
the Lord concerning the prophets who prophesy in my name
although I did not send them, and who say, ‘Sword and famine shall
not come upon this land’: By sword and famine those prophets shall be
consumed. 16 And the people to whom they prophesy
shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem, victims of famine and
sword, with none to bury them—them, their wives, their sons, and their
daughters. For I will pour out their evil upon them.
Reflection: Lying Prophets
Written By: Pastor Jesse Caro
Allow me to touch a passage from yesterday’s
reading. It is critical, so I thought we might back track a day.
The “health, wealth, gospel,” also pejoratively known as the “name
it and claim it” gospel is one that I am careful not to preach. Those who
preach it say things like this: “God wants to bless you… he wants you healthy,
and blessed, well-off, and free of debt, sickness, and stress.” The challenge
with this message is that it is a half-truth, and half-truths in God’s view is
a whole lie. It is true, for example, that God wants to bless us, but that
blessing would be (mostly) owing to the fact that we are living a life
consistent with a life of blessing. What the “prosperity gospel” omits is that
God does, in fact, demand holiness. A gospel that omits the fact that God is
holy and expects us to be holy, is a gospel that offers the blessing of God
without the cross. We are called, after all, to pick up our crosses and follow
Jesus. The life in Christ is sacrifice, in which we are promised suffering.
Indeed, we are invited to partake in his suffering.
The lying prophets in Jeremiah’s day had a message akin to some
popular ministers. “There is not going to be judgment. God does not demand
holiness from you and Babylon will not be overthrown by God’s hand.” The
Children of Israel loved that message: the message of a loving God, with no
mention of repentance, righteousness, or judgment. “Sword and famine will not
come to the land!” The people gravitated to this message and the corrupt
messengers who gave it. Jeremiah’s message was far less popular: repent… put
away your idols and turn back to God or judgment is on the way (a message like
John the Baptist’). We might put ourselves in the shoes of the people: whose
message appeals more to you?! Well, this is why we need honest and godly
messengers of God, who will tell us the truth and not feed us words that are
palatable to our stomachs, but mislead us to ruin.
Lord
God, help us to discern truth from the popular Christian messages we hear
today… messages that neglect to say the whole truth that you are, in fact,
holy.