By Eugene Garner

JEREMIAH - CHAPTER 23

A DENUNCIATION OF JUDAH'S LEADERS

    The word "pastor," in verse 1, is actually "shepherd" - the consistent biblical symbol for kings and civil leaders. Jeremiah denounces the offspring of Josiah who, failing to develop a true shepherd-character, failed to fulfill the shepherd function in the nation. From its first usage, in the prophetic song of Jacob, (Gen. 49:24), the figure is progressively developed until it becomes crystal-clear, in Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Zechariah, that it refers to those civil rulers who are responsible for the welfare of the nations.
    Though Zedekiah is not specifically named in this passage, there can be little doubt that these words are addressed to him and to his false counsellors.

    Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD. 2 Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD. 3 And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. 4 And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the LORD. 5 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. 6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. 7 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that they shall no more say, The LORD liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; 8 But, The LORD liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land.

    1. A "woe" is hurled at those shepherds who practice what is the exact OPPOSITE of true shepherding, (Ezek. 13:3; 34:2; Zech. 11:17); instead of gathering and providing for the needs of the flock, they scatter and destroy the sheep of Jehovah's pasture! (vs. 1; 10:21; 50:6).
    2. Jehovah, the God of Israel, is, therefore, AGAINST these shepherds who miss-attend His people, (vs. 2, 30; Psa. 34:16; comp. Ezek. 13:8).
      a. They are responsible for the scattering.
      b. Their misdeeds are responsible for the captivity of the Lord's flock and their displacement in an alien land.
      c. Since they have not attended to the needs of His people, He will attend to the punishment the faithless shepherds so richly deserve, (vs. 2; 21:12; 44:22).
    3. In a NEW EXODUS, the Lord will "gather" the remnant of His flock from all the countries whereunto they have been scattered - bringing them back to their own folds and making them fruitful, (vs. 3; 31:7-8; 32:37-38; comp. Isa 11:11-16).
    4. After visiting judgment upon the faithless leaders, Jehovah will raise up shepherds that will faithfully attend to the needs of His flock, (vs. 4; 3:15; Ezek. 34:23).
      a. No longer will there be any reason for them to fear or be dismayed, (30:10; 46:27-28; comp. Isa. 43:5-7).
      b. Nor will they suffer want, (Psa. 23:1; 34:9-10).
    5. Verses 5-8 consist of a far reaching Messianic prophecy of Hope, (comp. 30:8-9; 33:15-16; Lk. 24:27).
      a. "The days come" (an expression used 15 times in Jeremiah's prophecy) when the Lord will raise unto David a RIGHTEOUS BRANCH - "shoot" or "sprout"; a rightful and honorable heir to the throne, (comp. 33:15; Isa 4:2; Zech. 3:8; 6:12; Isa. 11:1).
        1) As King, He will reign and prosper, (Isa. 9:7; 52:13; Lk. 1:32-33).
        2) His reign will be characterized by the exercise of judgment and justice in the earth, (Psa. 72:1-2; Isa. 11:2-5; 32:1).
        3) In His days Judah will truly find deliverance from her enemies, and a re-united Israel will dwell in safety, (vs. 6a; Deut. 33:28-29; comp. Zech. 14:11).
        4) In contrast to Zedekiah ("the Lord IS righteous"), His name will be called "The Lord OUR righteousness," (33:16; Isa. 45:24-25; 54:17; I Cor. 1:30).
        a) No longer will the nation struggle to attain UNTO a righteousness of her own, (Rom. 9:31).
        b) ALL will find satisfaction in the imputed righteousness of Jehovah Himself, (Rom. 3:21-22; I Cor. 1:30; 2 Cor. 5:21; comp. Phil. 3:9).
      b. So great and marvelous will be the "new exodus," when the Lord again redeems His people from the hand of their enemies, that no further mention will be made of the exodus of their fathers from the land of Egypt, (vs. 7; comp. 16:14-15; Isa 43:18-19).
      c. The nation will then rejoice in Jehovah Who has turned back their captivity and restored them to their own land - in peace and prosperity, (vs. 8; Isa 14:1).

    9 Mine heart within me is broken because of the prophets; all my bones shake; I am like a drunken man, and like a man whom wine hath overcome, because of the LORD, and because of the words of his holiness. 10 For the land is full of adulterers; for because of swearing the land mourneth; the pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up, and their course is evil, and their force is not right. 11 For both prophet and priest are profane; yea, in my house have I found their wickedness, saith the LORD. 12 Wherefore their way shall be unto them as slippery ways in the darkness: they shall be driven on, and fall therein: for I will bring evil upon them, even the year of their visitation, saith the LORD. 13 And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria; they prophesied in Baal, and caused my people Israel to err. 14 I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies: they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness: they are all of them unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah. 15 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets; Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall: for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone forth into all the land.

    Having denounced the heads of state, Jehovah now turns to rebuke those leaders who dealt falsely in the religious life of the nation. It was the responsibility of the true prophet to speak out with courage, boldness and confidence, against the perversion of justice and righteousness on the part of the shepherds of Israel. But this is not what he saw happening among the professional prophets.
    1. Jeremiah's mind is boggled by the outright wickedness of the professional prophets in Judah, (vs. 9).
      a. Their careless, unbelieving and mocking attitude toward the threatenings of divine judgment upon the nation is shocking!
      b. So deep is his agitation that he pictures himself as trembling, staggering and swaying like a drunken man.
    2. The corruption of prophet and priest is reflected in the utter corruption of the covenant people.
      a. Their immorality and idolatry had even found its way into the rituals being practiced in Jehovah's own temple in Jerusalem, (vs. 11; 2 Kings 21:5; Ezek. 8:16-18).
      b. Worse than their counterparts in the northern kingdom had been, both prophets and priests, in Judah, approved and encouraged the heathenish, orgiastic rites of Baal - practicing adultery and walking in lies, while professing to serve Jehovah.
      c. Small wonder, therefore, that Judah did not turn from her wickedness; and that God regarded her as Sodom and Gomorrah (vs. 14b-c).
    3. Jeremiah flatly charges the religious leaders with the responsibility of the immorality of the nation; nor shall they escape the judgment of the Lord! (vs. 12, 15).
      a. In darkness, they are following a slippery, perilous path to destruction.
      b. The Lord will feed them with wormwood (bitterness) and give them poisoned water to drink (vs. 15a).
      c. The REASON: "for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone forth into all the land!"(vs. 15b).

    16 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD. 17 They say still unto them that despise me, The LORD hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you. 18 For who hath stood in the counsel of the LORD, and hath perceived and heard his word? who hath marked his word, and heard it? 19 Behold, a whirlwind of the LORD is gone forth in fury, even a grievous whirlwind: it shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked. 20 The anger of the LORD shall not return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the thoughts of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly. 21 I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. 22 But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.

    1. The messages proclaimed by the professional prophets were NOT from the Lord (9:12, 14), but from self-induced visions, out of their own minds, (Matt. 7:15; 2 Cor. 11:13-15; Gal. 1:8-9); thus, Judah was warned not to trust them, (vs. 16; 14:14; 27:9-10, 14-17; I Jn. 4:1; comp. Matt. 24:5, 11).
    2. Their words offered false hope - promising peace to those who despised Jehovah, and assuring those who followed the stubbornness of their own hearts that no harm would befall them, (vs. 18; 8:11; 5:12-13; Amos 9:10; Mic. 3:11; contr. Jer. 13:10; 18:12).
    3. Because these prophets had not received the Lord's counsel their words turned no one away from his sins, (vs. 18).
      a. There was, within their words, no rebuke for sin.
      b. Rather, they actually encouraged continuation in wickedness.
    4. God's wrath will fall, like a swirling tornado, upon such false prophets and upon all those who trust in their lying words, (vs. 19-20; 30:23-24).
    5. Though God did not send them, they went forth with lying words - all the time claiming that they proclaimed the word of Jehovah, (vs. 21-22; 27:15).
      a. Had they stood in the Lord's counsel, they would have heard and proclaimed His word, (35:12; Zech. 1:4; comp. I Thes. 1:9-10).
      b. They would, then, have been concerned to turn Judah from her wickedness, rather than encourage her toward ever-increasing rebellion against the word of the Lord!

    23 Am I a God at hand, saith the LORD, and not a God afar off? 24 Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD. 25 I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed. 26 How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart; 27 Which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbour, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal. 28 The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the LORD. 29 Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces? 30 Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that steal my words every one from his neighbour. 31 Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that use their tongues, and say, He saith. 32 Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the LORD, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the LORD.

    1. Can these wretched hirelings imagine that their wickedness is hidden from the eyes of Him who is the God of the whole earth? (vs. 23-24; 49:10; Isa. 29:15-16).
      a. Filling heaven and earth (1 Kings 8:27; Psa. 139; Isa. 66:1), He is no localized deity, with limited power.
      b. Nor can He be deceived - though men may consider Him "far off,"(Psa 113:4-9; I Cor. 4:5).
    2. He hears the lies of those who claim to speak on the basis of revelatory visions and dreams, (vs. 25, 28, 32; comp. 8:6-7; 14:14; 29:8-9).

    NOTE: There were times when God DID employ visions and dreams to convey His word, (Heb. 1:1; Gen. 38:5-10; Num. 12:6; I Sam. 28:6; Joel 2:28; Matt. 1:20; etc.); those being related by THESE Prophets are condemned because they are contrary to the word of Jehovah!

    3. Though the hearers of these false prophets might have been impressed by their mysticism, it was but a delusion - a message of lying deceit, out of the prophets' own hearts, (vs. 26; comp. I Tim. 4:1-2).
    4. The Lord says that these prophets meant to cause His people to forget His name (attributes, character and authority) - as their fathers had forgotten it through their lusting after Baal, (vs. 27; Deut. 13:1-3; comp. Jer. 29:8-9; Judg. 3:7-8; 8:33-35).
    5. The prophets were free to tell their dreams, if they wished, but those who speak in the name of the Lord must be faithful to HIS word, (vs. 28-29).
      a. There is as much difference between the dreams of a prophet and the word of God as between straw and grain, (comp. I Cor. 3:12-13); in the grain one may find true nourishment, but not in the straw.
      b. God's word is also likened unto a devouring "fire" (5:14; comp. Zech. 1:4-6); and to a hammer that is able to crush hearts that have been hardened through repeated rebellion, (vs. 29; 2 Cor. 10:3-5; Heb. 4:12).
    6. The Lord is against those prophets who allow themselves to be agents of the real enemy -stealing the words of Jeremiah (the true prophet) from their brethren, lest they hear and submit themselves to God's plan, (vs. 30; comp. Matt. 13:19).
    7. The Lord is against those lying prophets who boastfully proclaim their vain dreams as the word of Jehovah - thus, causing God's people to err, (vs. 31-32).
      a. The Lord has not sent them, nor commanded them to speak in His name.
      b. Nor do they profit His people IN ANY WAY!

    33 And when this people, or the prophet, or a priest, shall ask thee, saying, What is the burden of the LORD? thou shalt then say unto them, What burden? I will even forsake you, saith the LORD. 34 And as for the prophet, and the priest, and the people, that shall say, The burden of the LORD, I will even punish that man and his house. 35 Thus shall ye say every one to his neighbour, and every one to his brother, What hath the LORD answered? and, What hath the LORD spoken? 36 And the burden of the LORD shall ye mention no more: for every man's word shall be his burden; for ye have perverted the words of the living God, of the LORD of hosts our God. 37 Thus shalt thou say to the prophet, What hath the LORD answered thee? and, What hath the LORD spoken? 38 But since ye say, The burden of the LORD; therefore thus saith the LORD; Because ye say this word, The burden of the LORD, and I have sent unto you, saying, Ye shall not say, The burden of the LORD; 39 Therefore, behold, I, even I, will utterly forget you, and I will forsake you, and the city that I gave you and your fathers, and cast you out of my presence: 40 And I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.

    1. Throughout this passage there is a play on the Hebrew word "massa" which is used in the two-fold sense of "utterance" and "burden" - often carrying the implication of impending judgment, (comp. Isa 13:1; 15:1; Ezek. 12:10; Hab. 1:1; Nah. 1:1; etc.).
    2. People, prophets and priests appear to have mocked Jeremiah as "a man with a burden" - always carrying a message of heaviness!
    3. Thus, God told him that if they came to him again inquiring, 'What is the burden of the Lord?" he should reply: "What Burden?" (vs. 33).
      a. The rendering of this passage in the Septuagint is a little more to the point; it sets forth Jeremiah's reply as: "YOU are the burden!"
      b. Because they have persistently refused to accept their covenant-responsibilities, Jehovah is about to toss them aside as a burden too heavy to bear any longer! (vs. 39; 12:7).
    4. Furthermore, the false prophets are, henceforth, forbidden to speak of "the burden of the Lord," (vs. 34, 36).
      a. Each man's word is his burden.
      b. They have perverted the word of the Living God, the Lord of hosts, (Lam. 2:14; Ezek. 22:25-28; comp. Zech. 13:3; 2 Pet 3:16).
    5. If inquiry is to be made of the prophet, there must be a new formula: "What hath the Lord answered thee? and, What hath the Lord spoken?" (vs. 35, 37; comp. 33:3; 42:4-6).
    6. Because of their refusal to heed the word of the Lord in this matter, He lays a heavy burden upon them, (vs. 39-40).
      a. He will forget and forsake them - along with the city (Jerusalem) that He gave to their fathers.
      b. He will cast them out of His presence, (7:14-15; 12:7; Ezek. 8:18).
      c. And, He will bring down upon them such everlasting shame and reproach as will never be forgotten, (vs. 40; 20:11; 42:18; Ezek. 5:14-15).