Jeremiah 14:13

THE FALSE PROPHETS ARE TO BLAME

"Then said I, Ah, Lord Jehovah, the prophets say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine; but I will give you assured peace in this place. Then Jehovah said unto me; the prophets prophesy lies in my name; I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake I unto them: they prophesy unto you a lying vision, and divination, and a thing of naught, and the deceit of their own heart. Therefore thus saith Jehovah concerning the prophets that prophesy in my name, and I sent them not, yet they say, Sword and famine shall not be in this land: by sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed."

"The prophets say unto them ..." (Jeremiah 14:13). This is a reference to the false prophets; and this is an account of how Jeremiah, "tried to excuse the people by blaming the false prophets. That excuse was not acceptable to Jehovah, because blame must be attached to those who reject the covenant for whatever cause."[17]

Why were the people deceived by the false prophets? The only plausible answer is that they WANTED to be deceived. "The secret of the power of the false prophets was given by the Lord in Jeremiah 5:32, `My people love to have it so.'"[18] Adam Clarke pointed out the fact that the people accepted the allegation of false prophets without any proof, and without investigating their credentials.[19] The slightest attention to the question of "Who are these sons of the devil"? would have spared the people of any temptation to trust them. This is exactly what Christians today should do with regard to men who deny the Bible. Clarke also recounted the fulfillment of this prophecy that the false prophets would be consumed by the sword during Nebuchadnezzar's invasion. Jehoiachim had been warned by Jeremiah not to withhold tribute from Nebuchadnezzar but Jehoiachim heeded the words of the false prophets who advised him to withhold it. "Nebuchadnezzar was incensed, invaded the land and destroyed it, including the false prophets."[20]

"The deceit of their own heart ..." (Jeremiah 14:14). Jeremiah thus described the various methods of "prophesying" employed by the false prophets; but these words do not mean that the false prophets were deceived in their own hearts, being therefore sincere but misguided men; ah no! "This is a reference, not to self-deceit, but to willful and intentional fraud."[21] We also believe that the same thing applies to many false teachers today. They are not sincere, misguided men, but unbelievers, preaching that in which they have no confidence at all.

These verses reveal a profound misunderstanding of the covenant. Both the false prophets and the people, "imagined that continual and wanton violation of the terms of that covenant would not result in the operation of the curses of that covenant!"[22] What fools they were! However, we should reserve a little of our pity to the men of our own day who just as vainly imagine that, "We are justified by faith alone." These ancient protagonists of that same doctrine learned to their eternal sorrow how wrong they were.