“For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream, for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; I did not send them, declares the Lord.” (Jeremiah 29:8–9, ESV)
Many people in the world today are gullible. They are quickly lured into deception by listening to charismatic or popular people. The problem is that the people who bring these false messages often have a hidden agenda, or may just be sincerely ignorant of the truth, or will tell you what you want to hear. The mainstream media today is actively pushing an agenda. Thus, people are increasingly skeptical of what the media tells them. I do not want to get political in this post, but I want to give you an example that demonstrates the subtlety of those with an agenda.
In Jeremiah’s day there were many false prophets as there are false messengers today. In his day the prophets and diviners were bringing messages contrary to the truth, that is God’s word, which is the only absolute truth. What was their message to the Jews who were exiled to Babylon? We see a prime example of it in the previous chapter by a prophet named Hananiah.
“And Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, “Thus says the Lord: Even so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all the nations within two years.” (Jeremiah 28:11, ESV)
In other words, he was telling the people that their deliverance was at hand. This message from the false prophets was tickling the itching ears of the people. It was what they wanted to hear. They wanted deliverance from Babylon and to return to Jerusalem. Yet this was not the Lord’s will for them. As we saw in the previous verses of Jeremiah’s letter, the people were to set up residence in the land of Babylon. The false prophet’s message would have had the effect of negating what the Lord had commanded them to do.
In our lives today there are many preaching and teaching. Many are teaching the word of God correctly. However, there are also many who distort or do not preach the whole counsel of God’s word. Instead, they tickle the itching ears of people.
“For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.” (2 Timothy 4:3–4, ESV)
So, we must be discerning. By the illuminating work of the Holy Spirit, we must filter the messages we hear to ensure they align with the Scriptures.
Renewing the Heart 