Jeremiah 23:9-15

E. The Condemnation of False Prophets Jeremiah 23:9-40

The heading over Jeremiah 23:9 reads against the prophets. In this section of the book which deals with national leaders past, present and future a section concerning the prophets is to be expected. The question is, what prophets are addressed in this oracle? Jeremiah is not referring to the prophets of Baal (see Jeremiah 23:13; Jeremiah 23:27), nor is he referring to the so called sons of the prophets who are always described as true prophets of the Lord. As a matter of fact there is no positive proof that the institution known as the sons of the prophets which was founded by Elijah and Elisha was still in existence. The prophets against whom Jeremiah speaks out are men who were purporting to speak in the name of the Lord when they had received no revelation from Him. They are akin to those self-serving court prophets which appear in 1 Kings 22 as part of the court of Ahab. These pseudo prophets apparently enjoyed a large measure of popular support in the days of Jeremiah probably because they tickled the ears of the people with the kind of preaching which they craved. These men were perhaps the greatest hindrance to the effective proclamation of the revealed word of God. That there existed a mutual antagonism between the true messenger of God and these charlatans is evident in the passages where they are mentioned.[227] Jeremiah lashed out against them throughout his ministry. Here he points out the menace of false prophets (Jeremiah 23:9-15) and analyzes their message (Jeremiah 23:16-22) and their methods (Jeremiah 23:23-32). Finally he blasts them for the way they caused the people to mock the true messenger of God (Jeremiah 23:33-40).

[227] See Jeremiah 5:30 f; Jeremiah 14:13-18; Jeremiah 26:7-16; Jeremiah 28:1-17; Jeremiah 29:30-32; Jeremiah 37:18-21.

1. The menace of the fake Prophets (Jeremiah 23:9-15)

TRANSLATION

(9) Against the prophets. My heart is broken with in me, all my bones shake; I am like a drunk man, and like a strong man whom wine has overcome, because of the LORD, and because of His holy words. (10) For the land is full of adulterers; for the earth mourns because of a curse; the pastures of the wilderness have dried up. Their course is evil, and their strength is not right; (11) for both the prophets and the priests are profane; yea in My house I have found their wickedness (oracle of the LORD). (12) Therefore their way shall become to them as slippery places in deep darkness. They shall be pushed forward and fall on it; for I shall bring against them calamity, the year of their visitation (oracle of the LORD). (13) In the prophets of Samaria I saw unseemliness; they prophesied by Baal and caused My people Israel to err. (14) But in the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen an astonishing thing: committing adultery, walking in lies; and they have strengthened the hands of the evil ones, with the result that no one turns from his evil. They are all to Me like Sodom, and her inhabitants like Gomorrah. (15) Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets: Behold, I am about to feed them wormwood and cause them to drink poison water; for from the prophets of Jerusalem ungodliness has gone out to all the land.

COMMENTS

Jeremiah did not fit the stereotype of the hell-fire and damnation preacher. As he contemplated the guilt of his people and their impending destruction his heart is broken, his bones shake in terror. He loses all self-control and becomes in that respect like a man who is intoxicated. Four reasons for the grief and distress of the prophet are given. (1) Jeremiah is upset because of the Lord and His word (Jeremiah 23:9). The knowledge that God is about to bring judgment upon the wicked and sinful people of Judah has caused the prophet much grief and no little perplexity. (2) Jeremiah is grief-stricken because of the sinfulness of the masses. The land is full of adultery. Both literal and spiritual adultery is doubtlessly meant. The course of the people, their way of life, that which they pursue is only evil. They use their might for that which is not right i.e., crookedness. (3) The condition of the land brings the prophet much distress. The land is under the curse of God because of the sin of its inhabitants. The curse here is that with which God punishes the wicked.[228] The earth mourns because it is unable to bring forth its produce. The pastures have dried up (Jeremiah 23:10). This passage may well date to the time of the drought mentioned in Jeremiah 14:1. (4) But the greatest burden to the heart of Jeremiah was the condition of the spiritual leaders of the land. Both the priests and the prophets were profane, unholy, disobedient to the commands of God. In the very Temple of God evidence of their wickedness could be found (Jeremiah 23:11). Just exactly what wickedness Jeremiah is referring to here is uncertain. Ezekiel tells of the totemistic worship of figures of animals in the inner chambers and of women weeping for the nature god Tammuz in the courts of the Temple (Ezekiel 8:10-14). These pagan practices could not have been going on without the active cooperation of the priests. The false prophets were probably preaching their perversions of the word of God in the Temple precincts. Being both priest and prophet, Jeremiah was keenly aware of the guilt of the men who occupied both of these offices.

[228] See Zechariah 5:3; Daniel 9:11; Isaiah 24:6; Leviticus 26:14 ff.; Deuteronomy 28:16 ff.

Up to this point the false prophets had pursued their evil course with assurance; but now God will make their way slippery and dangerous as they plunge forward into the darkness of sin. The imagery here is comparable to that of Jeremiah 13:16 and Psalms 35:6. By circumstances and by Satan these wicked men are driven forward to ever more treacherous ground until they finally will fall to their destruction. Their year of visitation i.e., time of their punishment, will overtake them (Jeremiah 23:12).

In the eyes of God the prophets of Judah were more wicked than the prophets of Samaria. Those Baal prophets of the north had been found to be unseemly (lit., unsalted, tasteless). They had caused God's people in the north to err (Jeremiah 23:13). But the prophets of Judah were far worse. By professing themselves to be spokesmen for God they were in effect putting God's stamp of approval upon the most terrible deeds. They themselves were immoral and unscrupulous and furthermore through their false prophecies they strengthened the hands of those who engaged in evil practices. They did not preach repentance or judgment and consequently no man turned away from his evil deeds. By constantly preaching peace and prosperity these prophets had succeeded in turning Judah into a virtual Sodom (Jeremiah 23:14). From the prophets of Jerusalem ungodliness had spread throughout the land. Good prophets may not have much of an impact upon society. But let reports of evil conduct on the part of clergymen spread throughout the land and every sinner will use it as an excuse to commit even greater evils. These prophets who preached such a disastrous message and set such a terrible example will be forced to partake of the wormwood and the gall, bitter poisonous plants which here symbolize divine judgment (Jeremiah 23:15). In Jeremiah 9:15 this same expression was used in reference to the judgment upon the people of the land. Here the preachers are depicted as suffering the same fate as the people to whom they preached. There is no exemption for the clergy when it comes to divine judgment!