Don’t Say It If It Ain’t So…

Jeremiah was a prophet of God during a bad time to be a prophet. The nation of Judah was in “free fall”; continuing to rebel against God. Jeremiah’s main job was to warn the people of the impending destruction. This kind of job tends to not be a very popular one. Jeremiah faced physical danger as people wanted to kill him. In chapter 27 we are introduced to another prophet by the name of Hananiah. Hananiah told a different story than Jeremiah. Hananiah said that in two years everything the king of Babylon had taken would be restored and Judah would be a strong kingdom again. That was a much more popular message…but one that was 100% wrong. God doesn’t take too kindly to people taking His words and twisting them or pretending to speak for Him when they are teaching falsehood. That is why James in the New Testament says that “teachers will receive a stricter judgment.”

Anyway, God tells Jeremiah to tell Hananiah (since God wasn’t really on speaking terms with Hananiah) that because he was telling the people a lie he would lose his life and sure enough, he died. I don’t think that too many people are getting “words from the Lord” in the sense that Jeremiah did. We have the written word of God which pretty much is all that we need. However, if you decide to speak for God, please make sure that what you say is correct. Don’t say it if it ain’t so…