DYNAMIS, Prophets False and True

?Jeremiah 14:10-21 SAAS Twentieth Reading in Kellia from the
Prophecies of Jeremiah
10 Thus says the Lord to this people: 'They love to wander and have not
refrained from it;
therefore, God is not pleased with them. Now He will remember their
wrongdoings.'
11 Again the Lord said to me, 'Do not pray about this people for their good.
12 When they fast, I will not hear their petition, and when they present
whole burnt offerings and
sacrifices, I will not take pleasure in them. For I will consume them
by the sword, by the famine,
and by death.'
13 Then I said, 'O Lord, behold their prophets prophesying, and say,
"You shall not see the
sword, nor shall there be famine among you; for I will give you truth
and peace in the land and in
this place.'"
14 Then the Lord said to me, 'The prophets prophesy lies in My name. I
have not sent them, or
commanded them; nor have I spoken to them. Because of false visions,
divinations, prophesying
by the way of birds, and by the purposes of their hearts, they prophesy
to you.'
15 Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who prophesy
lies in My name: 'I did
not send them.' They say, 'Sword and famine shall not be upon this
land.' They shall die in the
deathbed of sickness, for the prophets shall die in famine.
16 The people to whom they prophesy shall be cast into the thoroughfares
of Jerusalem because
of the edge of the sword and famine. There shall be no one to bury
them, for even their wives,
sons, and daughters shall so die. I will pour out their evils upon them.
17 So you shall speak this word to them; 'Let your eyes flow with tears
night and day. Let them
not cease; for in ruin, the daughter of My people was crushed to pieces,
and her wound was very
painful.
18 If I go out into the plain, then behold, there are the soldiers
wounded by the sword. If I enter
into the city, then
behold, there is the pain of famine, for priest and prophet have
traveled to a land they do not
know.'
19 Have You utterly rejected Judah? Has Your soul departed from Zion?
Why did You strike
us, and there is no healing for us? We waited for peace, but there was
no good thing; for a time
of healing, but behold, there was trouble.
20 We know, O Lord, our sins and the wrongdoings of our fathers, for we
sinned against You.
21 Stop for Your name's sake. Do not destroy the throne of Your glory.
Remember, and do not
break Your covenant with us.
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Jeremiah 14:10-21 (10/18-10/31)
Twentieth Reading in Kellia from the Prophecies of Jeremiah

Signs For Awakening III ~ Prophets, False and True: Jeremiah 14:10-21,
especially vs. 14: "Then the Lord said to me, 'The prophets prophesy
lies in My name. I have not sent them, or commanded them; nor have I
spoken to them. Because of false visions, divinations, prophesying by
the way of birds, and by the purposes of their hearts, they prophesy to
you.'"

Whenever a Bishop or Priest of the Church stands to preach the word of
the Lord and you are present, pray for him. Do not passively wait for
the message and assume that he will readily speak the truth of the
Gospel. Pray that he proclaims the truth of the Lord, is guided by the
Holy Spirit, is free of delusion, and does not hold back because of any
cost to himself of what he shall say.

Our Bishops are closely examined and chosen for the capacity to proclaim
and defend the truth of the Gospel. Still, they are fallible men. Pray
to God for them. At ordination, most of our Priests are vested with the
'epigonation,' the oblong vestment suspended on the right hip,
symbolizing that they bear "...the sword of the Spirit, which is the
word of God..." (Eph. 6:17), for they are trusted with "...rightly
dividing the word of truth" (2 Tim. 2:15). These are men with human
limitations and definitely need prayer and Divine grace. Constantly
pray to God for them!

Today's reading portrays a submitted and proven Prophet, a man who
unflinchingly obeyed God and was found true, for "...not one of his
words fell to the ground" (1 Kg. 3:19). The Jeremiah who is portrayed
in this passage reveals the struggle of every godly preacher who resists
wavering in proclaiming the truth. Few in Jeremiah's congregation
prayed or "...held him up before the Lord" in his trials declaring God's
truth.

God required Jeremiah to announce His judgment to His people who not
only 'wandered' into sin, but also never hesitated from it (Jer.
14:10). Few find the 'hell-and-brimstone' preacher charming! Among
people who enjoy their sins, there is little true openness to hearing
that God disapproves of them or will punish them. "Who is he to tell me
that?" is the likely response.

Not only was Jeremiah's message unpopular, true though it was, but also
God even restrained him from praying "... about this people for their
good" (vs. 11). Still, his congregation was an active one: they
attended services, made offerings, and kept the fasts. But God found
their religion superficial and without moral or spiritual substance.
Therefore, Jeremiah was to avoid praying that God would withhold the
consequences of their behavior. A loving pastoral response was
forbidden: what was to be, must not be inhibited by a righteous man's
prayer (Jas. 5:16).

Here was a Prophet who spoke against the prevailing trend of false
teaching by his fellow prophets, men doomed to receive exactly what they
said would not happen: "...sword and famine..." with "...no one to bury
them" (Jer. 14:16). God made Jeremiah a 'lone voice.'

In his isolation, the Prophet was to grieve openly before the people:
"Let your eyes flow with tears night and day. Let them not cease..."
(vs. 17) People were to see him sorrowing for the wounds that were
coming on them. This kind of behavior merely served to alienate him
further from those to whom he carried the message of the Lord.

Finally, Jeremiah had to live knowing that substantial terror was coming
for his people, despite their fondest hopes and their open
acknowledgment of wickedness (vs. 20). Only one prayer would be heard:
while they would feel the consequences of their sins, God would not
break His covenant with them. They would go into exile, but their
descendants would return. As our clergy take up the prophetic task of
ministry, how much they need our prayers!

O God, uphold our Bishops and Priests that they may stand in innocency
before Thy Throne, proclaim the Gospel of Thy kingdom, and rightly
minister the word of Thy truth.