Even if Moses and Samuel were to stand before Me

Jeremiah 14:11-15:14 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

So the Lord said to me, “Do not pray for a good outcome on behalf of this people. ¹² When they fast, I am not going to listen to their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I am not going to accept them. Rather, I am going to put an end to them by the sword, famine, and plague.”

False Prophets

¹³ But I said, “Oh, Lord God! Behold, the prophets are telling them, ‘You will not see a sword, nor will you have famine; on the contrary, I will give you lasting peace in this place.’” ¹⁴ Then the Lord said to me, “The prophets are prophesying falsehood in My name. I have neither sent them nor commanded them, nor spoken to them; they are prophesying to you a false vision, divination, futility, and the deception of their own minds. ¹⁵ Therefore this is what the Lord says concerning the prophets who are prophesying in My name, although it was not I who sent them—yet they keep saying: ‘There will be no sword or famine in this land’—by sword and famine those prophets shall meet their end! ¹⁶ And the people to whom they are prophesying will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; and there will be no one to bury them—neither them, nor their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters. For I will pour out their own wickedness upon them.

¹⁷ You will say this word to them, ‘Let my eyes stream down tears night and day, And let them not cease; For the virgin daughter of my people has been crushed with a mighty blow, With a sorely infected wound. ¹⁸ If I go out to the country, There are those killed by the sword! Or if I enter the city,
There are diseases from famine! For both prophet and priest Have wandered around in the land that they do not know.’”

¹⁹ Have You completely rejected Judah? Or have You loathed Zion?
Why have You stricken us so that we are beyond healing? We waited for peace, but nothing good came; And for a time of healing, but behold, terror!
²⁰ We know our wickedness, Lord, The wrongdoing of our fathers, for we have sinned against You. ²¹ Do not despise us, for the sake of Your own name; Do not disgrace the throne of Your glory. Remember and do not annul Your covenant with us. ²² Are there any among the idols of the nations who give rain? Or can the heavens grant showers? Is it not You, Lord our God? Therefore we wait for You, For You are the one who has done all these things.

Judgment Must Come

15 Then the Lord said to me, “Even if Moses and Samuel were to stand before Me, My heart would not be with this people. Send them away from My presence and have them go! ² And it shall be that when they say to you, ‘Where should we go?’ then you are to tell them, ‘This is what the Lord says:

“Those destined for death, to death; And those destined for the sword, to the sword; And those destined for famine, to famine; And those destined for captivity, to captivity.”’

³ And I will appoint over them four kinds of doom,” declares the Lord: “the sword to kill, the dogs to drag away, and the birds of the sky and the animals of the earth to devour and destroy. ⁴ I will make them an object of terror among all the kingdoms of the earth because of Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah, the king of Judah, for what he did in Jerusalem.

⁵ “Indeed, who will have pity on you, Jerusalem, Or who will mourn for you,
Or who will turn aside to ask about your welfare? ⁶ You who have forsaken Me,” declares the Lord, “You keep going backward. So I will stretch out My hand against you and destroy you; I am tired of relenting! ⁷ I will winnow them with a winnowing fork At the gates of the land; I will bereave them of children, I will destroy My people; They did not repent of their ways. ⁸ Their widows will be more numerous before Me Than the sand of the seas;
I will bring against them, against the mother of a young man, A destroyer at noon; I will suddenly bring down on her Shock and horror. ⁹ She who gave birth to seven sons withers away; Her breathing is labored. Her sun has set while it was still day; She has been shamed and humiliated. So I will turn over their survivors to the sword Before their enemies,” declares the Lord.

¹⁰ Woe to me, my mother, that you have given birth to me As a man of strife and a man of contention to all the land! I have not lent, nor have people lent money to me, Yet everyone curses me. ¹¹ The Lord said, “I will certainly set you free for purposes of good; I will certainly make the enemy plead with you In a time of disaster and a time of distress.

¹² “Can anyone smash iron, Iron from the north, or bronze? ¹³ I will give your wealth and your treasures As plunder without cost, For all your sins
And within all your borders. ¹⁴ Then I will make your enemies bring your possessions Into a land that you do not know; For a fire has been kindled in My anger, And it will burn upon you.”

Today’s text says: So the Lord said to me, “Do not pray for a good outcome on behalf of this people. When they fast, I am not going to listen to their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I am not going to accept them. Rather, I am going to put an end to them by the sword, famine, and plague.” But I said, “Oh, Lord God! Behold, the prophets are telling them, ‘You will not see a sword, nor will you have famine; on the contrary, I will give you lasting peace in this place.’” Then the Lord said to me, “The prophets are prophesying falsehood in My name. I have neither sent them nor commanded them, nor spoken to them; they are prophesying to you a false vision, divination, futility, and the deception of their own minds. Therefore this is what the Lord says concerning the prophets who are prophesying in My name, although it was not I who sent them—yet they keep saying: ‘There will be no sword or famine in this land’—by sword and famine those prophets shall meet their end! And the people to whom they are prophesying will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; and there will be no one to bury them—neither them, nor their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters. For I will pour out their own wickedness upon them… Then the Lord said to me, “Even if Moses and Samuel were to stand before Me, My heart would not be with this people. Send them away from My presence and have them go!  And it shall be that when they say to you, ‘Where should we go?’ then you are to tell them, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Those destined for death, to death; And those destined for the sword, to the sword; And those destined for famine, to famine; And those destined for captivity, to captivity.”’  

This was a very specific prophesy against the nation of Israel, but even though it doesn’t apply to us today, there is surely a message for us as well. Even though we live under the New Covenant, we can and should learn from what happened to those under the Old Covenant. If God would so harshly judge His chosen people, do we think that He would not also judge those who are disobedient today? What is the destiny of the disobedient today?   As there were false prophets at that time, so there are those today who say there will be peace. They speak only of blessings, promises and provision. They speak only of God’s love and grace. Romans 11:22 says: See then the kindness and severity of God: to those who fell, severity, but to you, God’s kindness, if you continue in His kindness; for otherwise you too will be cut off.  God is loving and kind. He is a righteous and just God. Justice requires that is a consequence or penalty for disobedience. God judges sin with severity. That we live under the New Covenant has not changed that. Romans 6:23 says: The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. The cost, the consequence of sin is still death. It was paid by Christ’s death on the cross for those who believe and receive God’s gift of grace. In John 14:6 Jesus says: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.”  God says: “Even if Moses and Samuel were to stand before Me, My heart would not be with this people.” Only Christ can save. Each person must choose for themselves whether they will believe and receive. The blessings and promises of God, His love, mercy and grace are gifts beyond measure. In Mark 8:36 though, Jesus says: “What does it benefit a person to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?” Nothing else matters if we have not believed and received Christ’s death for our sin.

1 John 1:5-10 God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.  Amen. Thank You heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit for Your love, mercy and grace. Thank You that through the cross, the price for my sin has been paid. By the power of the Holy Spirit in me, I choose to walk in Your righteousness.  Amen.