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Day 14 Jeremiah 14 14:1 The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah concerning the dearth. 2 Judah mourns, and the gates thereof languish; they are black unto the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up. 3 And their nobles have sent their little ones to the waters: they came to the pits, and found no water; they returned with their vessels empty; they were ashamed and confounded, and covered their heads. 4 Because the ground is chapped, for there was no rain in the earth, the plowmen were ashamed, they covered their heads. 5 Yea, the hind also calved in the field, and forsook it, because there was no grass. 6 And the wild asses did stand in the high places, they snuffed up the wind like dragons; their eyes did fail, because there was no grass. 7 O LORD, though our iniquities testify against us, do thou it for thy name’s sake: for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against thee. 8 O the hope of Israel, the Saviour thereof in time of trouble, why should thou be as a stranger in the land, and as a wayfaring man that turns aside to tarry for a night? 9 Why should thou be as a man astonied, as a mighty man that cannot save? Yet thou, O LORD, art in the midst of us, and we are called by thy name; leave us not. 10 Thus says the LORD unto this people, Thus have they loved to wander, they have not refrained their feet, therefore the LORD doth not accept them; he will now remember their iniquity, and visit their sins. 11 Then said the LORD unto me, Pray not for this people for their good. 12 When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence. 13 Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, 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. 14 Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spoke unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of naught, and the deceit of their heart. 15 Therefore thus says the LORD 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. 16 And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; and they shall have none to bury them, them, their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters: for I will pour their wickedness upon them. 17 Therefore thou shalt say this word unto them; Let mine eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease: for the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great breach, with a very grievous blow. 18 If I go forth into the field, then behold the slain with the sword! and if I enter into the city, then behold them that are sick with famine! Yea, both the prophet and the priest go about into a land that they know not. 19 Hast thou utterly rejected Judah? Hath thy soul loathed Zion? Why hast thou smitten us, and there is no healing for us? We looked for peace, and there is no good; and for the time of healing, and behold trouble! 20 We acknowledge, O LORD, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers: for we have sinned against thee. 21 Do not abhor us, for thy name’s sake, do not disgrace the throne of thy glory: remember, break not thy covenant with us. 22 Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain? Or can the heavens give showers? Art not thou he, O LORD our God? Therefore we will wait upon thee: for thou hast made all these things. With every natural disaster, you hear the doom and gloom reports from those people who claim to be ‘in the know’ regarding God and our future. They make claims that the end is coming soon, and you need to get right with God, or he will come and destroy you. Even when there aren’t natural disasters, but bad things happen in your life, you will find someone there, telling you God was punishing you for whatever sin you have in your life. For Judah, the opposite was true. The false prophets told the people they would not die by sword or famine, they would not go into exile as Israel had, but they would live in peace and safety. God told Jeremiah, he did not send those prophets who prophesied in his name, but they would find their end in sword and famine, and the people who trusted them would also be destroyed because they believed a lie, and did not trust in or obey God. Jesus gave us the expectations we need to consider when the doom and gloom prophets are spouting their end of the world nonsense. Yes, the end will come, but you need to pay attention to what Jesus said about the end. Matthew 24:1 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. 2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? Verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. 3 And as he sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? 4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. 5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. 6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows. Matthew 24:11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. 12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. (KJV) Just as God told Judah what to expect and not to heed the lies of the prophets who told them there would be peace, Jesus, gave us the plan for the end of the world. In the first verses, Jesus said it was the beginning of sorrows. As you look around at the events happening in the world today, you can easily see we are in the beginning of sorrows. In the second set of verses, we see some things that have taken place – people who prophesy when the end of the world will be. We’ve seen two such prophesies in the past couple years, and yet, the end has not happened yet, and won’t until the gospel is preached in the whole world. There are still many countries who have not heard the gospel of Jesus Christ, or God’s plan of salvation through his Son. We are coming close to that time, but it isn’t yet. There is only one person you are to believe in any situation in your life, and that is God. No one knows what you are going through like you do. When someone comes to you and tells you that what is happening is because of sin in your life, ignore that person, unless that person is speaking the truth, which most often isn’t the case. God’s test on whether the person is from God, prophesying for him in his name, is when that prophecy comes true. If it doesn’t, that person will die for the lies they spoke in God’s name. Are you willing to make such claims, speaking in God’s name, and then not have the prophecy come true? I’m not. Be certain before you speak, that you are hearing clearly from God, and God will take care of his Word to perform it. Let’s pray: Father, help me discern your true word from all the lies being told and all the gloom and doom reports I hear. Help me discern what I hear with what your Word says. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen. Copyright © 2 November 2017 by Valerie Routhieaux Image courtesy of Pixabay