May 25, 2023
Passage Read: Jeremiah 25-28
Meditation Verses: 28:15-17
Thought
By speaking lies, the false prophet Hananiah ensured the nation would suffer and be exiled from their land, because he emboldened them to carry on in their sin rather than repent of it. He and others like him condemned the nation. To make His point, the Lord told Jeremiah to prophesy Hananiah's death, and it came to pass within two months. It is not good to be a false prophet, to speak things that are not true, to assure people that everything will be fine when they are standing on the brink of destruction. People need to be warned, especially those who think everything's fine between them and God.
Application
Better to be one who pleads for repentance than one who assures of peace. There is peace and hope for those who repent of their evil ways and walk in the ways of the Lord. That was actually God's message to the people through Jeremiah. If they had repented earlier on, He would have allowed them to remain in their own land! Better to be humble and contrite than to be confident and deaf to truth.