Bible Commentaries
Jeremiah 23

Verses 1-8

Jer 23:1-8

Jeremiah 23:1-4

Woe unto the shepherds that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith Jehovah. Therefore thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, against the shepherds 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 Jehovah. And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and multiply. And I will set up shepherds over them, who shall feed them; and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be lacking, saith Jehovah.

Shepherds that destroy and scatter the sheep...

(Jeremiah 23:1). Whither I have driven them ... (Jeremiah 23:3). Throughout the Bible the same action is often attributed to multiple sources. Here the sheep were scattered by the false shepherds, but God also states that he had scattered them. The same act may be referred to man or to God, according to the light in which we regard it. Judicial hardening, for example, is done by God, and by Satan, and by men themselves. In the New Testament the crucifixion of Christ is said to have been done by (1) God; (2) by Christ; (3) by Satan; (4) by the Jews; (5) by the Romans, etc.

The remnant of my flock out of all the countries. and will bring them to their fold .....

(Jeremiah 23:3). This is a prophecy of the return of the righteous remnant from Babylon to Canaan, which in time, of course, duly came to pass; but there are two things that forbid the limitation of this prophecy to the physical return of a relatively few Jews from Baylonian captivity. These are: (1) the very limited number who returned, not from all the countries, but from Babylon only, and (2) the proximity of the passage to the glorious prophecy of the Messiah in the same breath. The fulfillment of this prophecy in its fuller significance occurred not in the pitiful remnant that returned from Babylon, but in the glorious ingathering into the fold of God of both Jews and Gentiles alike in the kingdom of Christ. As Cheyne expressed it, To be in Christ is to be in the true Canaan.

I will set up shepherds over them who shall feed them, and they shall fear no more...

(Jeremiah 23:4) Barnes and others find this to be, A prophecy of the post-exilic leaders such as Nehemiah, Ezra, the Maccabees, etc. But this is by no means a satisfactory explanation of the prophecy. It is impossible to believe that during all the wars and dislocations of the inter-testamental period the people of God did not fear any more. There are most certainly overtones of the kingdom of heaven in the prophecy here.

The remnant of my flock...

(Jeremiah 23:3). The doctrine of a righteous remnant appears extensively in the Old Testament. It is found in Isaiah 1:9; Isaiah 37:4; Micah 4:7; Micah 7:18, and in Jeremiah here, and in Jeremiah 24 and Jer. 40--44. One of the sons of Isaiah was named, A remnant shall return, being in fact a double prophecy, not merely of the captivity, but also of the return to Palestine of a small remnant. The name of that son was Shear-Jashub, (Isaiah 7:3; Isaiah 10:21). Until there is proof that Isaiah did not live until after the exile, the critics will never establish their false allegation that the doctrine of a remnant did not exist prior to the exile.

Nor be dismayed, neither shall any be lacking...

(Jeremiah 23:4) Harrison thought that these words meant that, None of them shall go astray, because responsible shepherds shall lead them and attend to their welfare. If that is indeed what the passage means, it is further proof that only in Messianic times may the fulfillment be expected. Certainly in the long ages prior to the coming of Messiah, the Old Israel became more sinful than ever, sinking into the utter rigidity of God’s judicial hardening; and those official shepherds of the people, i.e., the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Herodians were revealed as the false shepherds of Zechariah, and who engineered the crucifixion of the Son of God Himself. No, we cannot find the fulfillment of the promise of those noble shepherds of Jeremiah 23:4 anywhere in ancient Israel. Also, alas, there were many religious communities during the reign of Messiah which still suffered from the fatal leadership of evil shepherds.

Jeremiah 23:5-8

PROPHECY OF THE RIGHTEOUS BRANCH

Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely; and this is his name whereby he shall be called: Jehovah our righteousness. Therefore, behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that they shall no more say, As Jehovah liveth, who brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; but, As Jehovah liveth, who brought up and who led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all the countries whither I had driven them. And they shall dwell in their own land.

A righteous Branch...

(Jeremiah 23:5). Without any doubt whatever, this is a promise of the Holy Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.

The near-unanimous opinion of the greatest scholars of a thousand years has held this passage to be a prophecy of Jesus the Christ the Son of God. The words of it cannot possibly refer to any one else. Who else, among all the people ever born, could honestly be called JEHOVAH OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS?

We shall cite only a few examples of what well-known writers have said and are still saying about this passage.

The announcement concerns the ideal king Messiah. Messiah is here called THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS, because he is Jehovah; and he is our righteousness because he justifies us by his merits. As a title, BRANCH traces the human and divine ancestry of Messiah and focuses upon the kingly and priestly natures of the Messianic task. In Jeremiah 23:5-8, we have the promise of Messiah. Under the just scepter of Messiah, all Israel will reach the destiny designed for it by the Lord. We have not many prophecies of Christ in Jeremiah, but here is a very illustrious one. Doubtless the prophet speaks of him and of no other man. Some scholars question this oracle, feeling that messianism was not a significant element in Jeremiah’s thought. But how can we know that? when the concept of messianism is found here, in Jeremiah 33:15-16; Jeremiah 3:15-18, and in Jeremiah 31:31-34; and this is surely an instance of a direct reference to the messianic King. The title BRANCH here has much in common semantically with "seed" (Genesis 3:15), the Davidic Son (2 Samuel 7), and with Isaiah’s Servant of the Lord ... Here is the highest fulfillment of the Seed of Woman, the Son of David, and the Servant of the Lord. This title, The Plant, is here unmistakably applied to the Messianic King.

There are at least a hundred other references in this writer’s library that could be added to these; but these are sufficient for the moment.

We should be aware, however, that Satan is never content to allow any holy prophecy of the Son of God to remain unchallenged in the sacred scriptures; and there constantly surfaces evidence of satanic objections to every prophecy in the Word of God. Note the following paragraph.

"The concept of the coming king is not of major importance in Jeremiah. The Christian is tempted to find a reference to Christ here. Others suggest Zerubbabel (Haggai 2:23)."

It seems strange that such a comment as this should come from a former Bible professor in a Christian university. He strongly implies here that there is no reference to Christ in this passage, an interpretation that must be rejected. And who are those "others" who suggest Zerubbabel? Zerubbabel was no king in any sense of the word. Who are the ’others’? They are those who try to edit Christ out of every prophecy in the Bible. (See my dissertation on Zerubbabel in Vol. 3 of my commentaries on the minor prophets, pp. 188f.) Zerubbabel was a deputy of Darius the Great, king of Babylon, and being a favorite of that monarch was permitted to lead a group back to Jerusalem, where he served the king of Babylon as governor of Judah. He was of the seed of David all right, but as a son of Shealtiel, he was the legal heir to the non-existent throne of Israel, but was absolutely unqualified to sit on David’s throne because of the prohibition of Jeremiah 22:30.

We wish to note another serious blunder in the above quotation. The reference to Christians being "Tempted to find Christ" in the passage here implies that Christians might not be as reliable as some other people in arriving at a true interpretation of the Word of God. The opposite of this is true. An apostle of Jesus Christ flatly declared that unless one is indeed a believer in Christ Jesus, "Even to this day, in the reading of the Old Covenant, a veil lieth upon their heart" (2 Corinthians 3:15)! No one who is not a Christian can properly read and interpret the Old Testament. That is the very thing that produces so much irresponsible writing on the Old Testament today.

The futility of seeking a fulfillment of that promise of an ideal king at any time between the captivity and the First Advent of Christ is seen in the prophecy of Hosea who declared that Israel would continue "without king, without prince" (Hosea 3:4) etc. The earthly house of David was terminated in the previous chapter. "But even with the temporal kingship abolished, the sure mercies of David were still sure." ^F17 Those sure mercies, however, would be accomplished not by some racial group nor in some literal city such as Jerusalem, but in the realization of the Messianic Kingdom of Christ.

And he shall reign as king...

(Jeremiah 23:5). He shall reign as king, not as a puppet like Zedekiah, and not as a deputy of the king of Babylon like Zerubbabel.

He shall be called JEHOVAH OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS...

(Jeremiah 23:6). Who but Jesus Christ was ever entitled to a name like this? Ten times in the Greek New Testament Jesus is called God. Other than in the instance of a few lunatics has this name ever been applied to any person except our Lord.

We agree with Feinberg that the "forensic righteousness" (imputed righteousness) of the New Testament is not in this passage. Furthermore, we do not believe it is in the New Testament either! The righteousness here is genuine, intrinsic righteousness. How is it, then, called "our righteousness?" This is outlined in seven KJV verses of the N.T.: Romans 3:22; Romans 3:26; Galatians 2:16; Galatians 2:20; Galatians 3:22; Ephesians 3:12; and Philippians 3:9. In all these verses properly translated, it is affirmed that men are saved by the "faith of Christ’; and it is Christ’s righteousness alone that ever saved anyone. How? By God’s imputing righteousness to stinking sinners? A thousand times NO! God’s way of saving sinners is by transferring the sinners into Christ, after they are willing to renounce themselves or deny themselves and to become identified with Christ, as Christ, and "in Christ" by being baptized into him (Galatians 3:26-27; Romans 6:3-5, and 1 Corinthians 12:13). Thus they partake of a righteousness that is truly genuine in the fullest sense of the word.

As Jehovah liveth who. led the seed of the children out of the north country .....

(Jeremiah 23:8). This greater exodus than the coming up out of Egypt was not fulfilled by the handful of returnees from Babylon. In the Exodus from Egypt, the tribe of Judah alone boasted over 600,000; therefore this greater exodus refers to the innumerable company of the redeemed in Christ (Revelation 7:9-10).

And they shall dwell in their own land...

(Jeremiah 23:8). Again we remember the words of Cheyne already quoted in this chapter, To be in Christ is to be in the true Canaan. In addition to that, there never was for Israel, either safety or salvation in the old Canaan. Salvation is found nowhere, but nowhere, except in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Before leaving this great prophecy, we should point out that the metaphor also appears in Isaiah 11:1; Zechariah 3:8; Zechariah 6:11, etc. (See my comments "en loco" which will supplement what is written here.)

The Promise of an Ideal Ruler Jeremiah 23:1-8

It is a sad situation which the prophet is describing in Jeremiah 23:1. The shepherds, the national leaders (cf. Jeremiah 2:8; Jeremiah 10:21), are responsible for the impending destruction of the flock which God has committed into their care. Under the leadership of these unscrupulous men the people of the land had strayed from the paths of fidelity to God. Not only did these leaders set the wrong example for the people, they also condoned and encouraged the violence and corruption which was rampant in the land. These leaders had not “visited” the flock of God. Therefore God is about to visit these corrupt leaders (Jeremiah 23:2). The Hebrew word translated “visit” has a wide variety of meanings. It may mean to attend to, to visit, muster, appoint, pay attention to, etc. The word can be used in a positive or a negative sense. One can “visit” for the purpose of aiding or helping, or one can “visit” for the purpose of judging or punishing. The verb is used in both senses in Jeremiah 23:2. The spiritual leaders of Judah did not “visit” the flock, i.e., they did not care for or aid them or pay attention to them. Therefore God will “visit” on them their evil deeds, i.e., God will punish them for their wickedness. This type of word play is common in the prophetic books. By pointing the finger of blame at the national leaders Jeremiah does not mean to excuse the populace from any responsibility for the condition of the nation. The people are guilty for having tolerated and followed their wicked leaders.

The corrupt shepherds who governed Judah were responsible for the impending national deportation and dispersement. But sometime in the future the Good Shepherd would again assemble His flock. Only a remnant, a small portion, of those who were carried away into captivity would ever return. Apparently the majority would be lost during the period of exile. God will gather His people from the various lands—Egypt, Assyria, Babylon—where He had scattered them. Upon returning to their homeland the remnant of Judah will be made fruitful and they will multiply (Jeremiah 23:3). Compare Ezekiel 34:12-15. After their return God will raise up for His people a new kind of ruler. The wicked shepherds took care of themselves and not the flock; but the new shepherds will have the interest of the people at heart. The old shepherds had left the flock of God exposed to the ravishes of wild beasts (cf. Ezekiel 34:8); under the new shepherds the flock will contentedly graze without fear. Not one of them will be lacking or missing due to any neglect on the part of the new shepherds (Jeremiah 23:4). Who are the new shepherds of whom Jeremiah speaks? Some contend that he is referring to leaders like Zerubbabel, Ezra and Nehemiah whom God raised up to care for the remnant of Judah following the return from Babylon. Others think the prediction is Messianic and points to those leaders who serve under the glorious Ruler who appears in the following verse. As is frequently the case in prophecy prophecies of restoration blend in with prophecies of the Messiah and His kingdom.

The word “behold” indicates that a noteworthy announcement is about to be made. Jeremiah uses the formula “behold days are coming” sixteen times to introduce messages of reassurance. After the days of humiliation at the hands of Babylon, God will raise up an ideal King to rule over the land. This ruler is of course none other than the long-awaited Messiah. Jeremiah 23:5-6 are of such importance that nearly every phrase is deserving of comment. The following information can be gleaned from these verses concerning the coming Messiah.

1. The promised Messiah is to be the descendant of David. Through the prophet Nathan, God had promised David that his progeny would sit forever on the throne of Israel (2 Samuel 7).

2. The Messiah is called in the standard English version a “branch.” However the Hebrew word is never used of a twig or individual branch of a tree. Rather the idea is a sprout or shoot which grows directly out of the ground. The title “shoot” is here applied unmistakably to the Messiah for the first time. In Zechariah 3:8; Zechariah 6:12 “shoot” becomes a proper name for the Messiah.

3. The Messianic Shoot is raised up by direct action of God. This was necessary because the old stock of David was worn out, incapable of reproducing from itself a mighty tree.

4. The Messiah will be a righteous Shoot. All other descendants of David had to confess their sins and ask divine forgiveness. The Messiah would be sinless (Isaiah 53:9). He did not become righteous; he was righteous (Isaiah 53:11).

5. The Messiah shall reign as king. Jeremiah looks forward here to the rule of a second David. That the reign of Christ has already begun is the clear testimony of the New Testament. See Hebrews 1:3-13; Hebrews 10:12-13; Revelation 3:21; 1 Corinthians 15:20-28; Acts 2:19-34.

6. He shall deal wisely. The same Hebrew verb could be translated “he shall prosper.” But in the light of Isaiah 11:2 probably the former translation is preferable. The Messiah will have the insight and the intelligence to bring God’s plan of salvation to a successful completion. He will rule His kingdom in such a way as to bring joy, happiness and well-being to all His subjects.

7. The Messiah will execute justice and righteousness. This sums up the function of the ideal ruler (cf. 11 Samuel Jeremiah 8:15). He is able to create or establish a new norm, a new standard, a new righteousness. Seven times Jeremiah uses the Hebrew verb meaning “do or make” with the word for justice. Thus the Messiah creates or makes justice and righteousness.

8. Israel and Judah will be reunited under the rule of the Messiah. Ezekiel held out a similar hope (Ezekiel 37:19). The salvation and deliverance spoken of in Jeremiah 23:6 are spiritual blessings. Reunited Judah and Israel never regained political independence except for one brief period under the Hasmonean rulers in the second century before Christ.

9. The Messiah shall bear the name “The LORD our Righteousness.” In Jeremiah 33:16 Jeremiah gives this same name to the city of Jerusalem. Laetsch has pointed out the unique manner in which this name is introduced here. The Lord does not merely say: His name is or shall be (as is said of Abraham—Genesis 17:5 b); nor does he say: Call His name (as in the case of Ishmael—Genesis 16:11; Genesis 16:13); nor yet does he say: This shall he be called (as is used of Jerusalem—Jeremiah 33:16). The phraseology used here is unique in the entire Old Testament: “And this is His name which one shall call Him.” According to Laetsch two facts are underscored by this construction:

(1) The name given the Messiah here is not a mere label or tag. Rather it designates the very nature or essence of the Messiah. He IS righteousness! (2) God desires that mankind should refer to the Messiah by the title here given, “Yahweh, our Righteousness.”

In Jeremiah 23:7-8 the prophet moves back from the distant Messianic future to the more immediate future. Using essentially the language of Jeremiah 16:14 f. Jeremiah speaks once again of the return from Babylonian captivity. Jeremiah never wavered on this proposition: God would bring a remnant of His people home from Babylon. This return from Babylon would overshadow the Exodus from Egypt. The promise is introduced by the word “therefore.” One noted expositor has suggested that whenever one sees in Scripture a “therefore” he ought to try to discover what it is there for. The suggestion here is that God lets His people return to their homeland as a preparation for the coming of the great Messianic savior of whom Jeremiah has been speaking in Jeremiah 23:5-6. Since the Exodus from Egypt was foundational to the establishment of the old covenant and to all the theology of the Old Testament, it is no small matter for Jeremiah to state that the New Exodus from Babylon will supersede that earlier event in importance. Only when the Exodus from Babylon is seen as foundational to the establishment of the New Covenant is such a comparison justified.

Verses 9-15

Jer 23:9-15

Jeremiah 23:9-12

CONCERNING THE FALSE PROPHETS

The wisdom of devoting most of the chapter to this subject appears in the fact that every generation has its quota of false prophets, and that such false teachers are the principal reason for the disobedience exhibited continually throughout history by the rebellious race of Adam. Our own generation needs this chapter as desperately as did the generation of Jeremiah. Note also, that despite the fact of the false teachers being the more to blame for the sins of the people, the sinful people also perished nevertheless. As Jesus said, "If the blind lead the blind, they shall both fall into the ditch."

Jeremiah 23:9-12

Concerning the prophets. My heart within me is broken, all my bones shake; I am like a drunken man, and like a man whom wine hath overcome, because of Jehovah, and because of his holy words. For the land is full of adulterers; for because of swearing the land mourneth; the pastures of the wilderness are dried up. And their course is evil, and their might is not right; for both prophet and priest are profane; yea, in my house have I found their wickedness, saith Jehovah. Wherefore their way shall be unto them as slippery places 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 Jehovah.

Concerning the prophets...

(Jeremiah 23:9). This is the title for the remainder of the chapter.

The message of these false prophets was summarized by Halley. "They delivered their messages ’in the name of God,’ falsely claiming an authority they did not have. They cried, ’Jeremiah is lying; we are prophets of God, and God has told us Jerusalem is safe.’ "

The land is full of adulterers...

(Jeremiah 23:10). The adultery referred to here is not merely spiritual adultery in breaking the covenant with God, but it refers to the gross immorality of those godless men. Immorality always leads to godlessness; and the people were whole-heartedly following the evil example of their wicked leaders.

Jeremiah 23:13-15

And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria; they prophesied by Baal, and caused my people Israel to err. In the prophets of Jerusalem also I have seen a horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies; and they strengthen the hands of evil-doers, so that none doth return from his wickedness: they are all of them become unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah. Therefore thus saith Jehovah 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 ungodliness gone forth into all the land.

In a word, the evil prophets shall suffer the summary judgment of God. The mention of Sodom and Gomorrah here is significant. Ezekiel even stated that Israel had become "worse" than Sodom and Gomorrah (Ezekiel 16).

Prophets of Samaria. prophets of Jerusalem .....

(Jeremiah 23:13-14). Smith analyzed the denunciation of these prophets, noting that, The prophets of Samaria were open idolaters, whereas the prophets of Jerusalem professed the true faith but led immoral lives and lived in hypocrisy. Therefore they were more strongly condemned than the prophets of Samaria.

The Condemnation of False Prophets Jeremiah 23:9-40

The heading over Jeremiah 23:9 reads “against the prophets.” In this section of the book which deals with national leaders past, present and future a section concerning the prophets is to be expected. The question is, what prophets are addressed in this oracle? Jeremiah is not referring to the prophets of Baal (see Jeremiah 23:13; Jeremiah 23:27), nor is he referring to the so called “sons of the prophets” who are always described as true prophets of the Lord. As a matter of fact there is no positive proof that the institution known as the “sons of the prophets” which was founded by Elijah and Elisha was still in existence. The prophets against whom Jeremiah speaks out are men who were purporting to speak in the name of the Lord when they had received no revelation from Him. They are akin to those self-serving court prophets which appear in 1 Kings 22 as part of the court of Ahab. These pseudo prophets apparently enjoyed a large measure of popular support in the days of Jeremiah probably because they tickled the ears of the people with the kind of preaching which they craved. These men were perhaps the greatest hindrance to the effective proclamation of the revealed word of God. That there existed a mutual antagonism between the true messenger of God and these charlatans is evident in the passages where they are mentioned. See Jeremiah 5:30 f; Jeremiah 14:13-18; Jeremiah 26:7-16; Jeremiah 28:1-17; Jeremiah 29:30-32; Jeremiah 37:18-21. Jeremiah lashed out against them throughout his ministry. Here he points out the menace of false prophets (Jeremiah 23:9-15) and analyzes their message (Jeremiah 23:16-22) and their methods (Jeremiah 23:23-32). Finally he blasts them for the way they caused the people to mock the true messenger of God (Jeremiah 23:33-40).

1. The menace of the fake Prophets (Jeremiah 23:9-15)

Jeremiah did not fit the stereotype of the hell-fire and damnation preacher. As he contemplated the guilt of his people and their impending destruction his heart is broken, his bones shake in terror. He loses all self-control and becomes in that respect like a man who is intoxicated. Four reasons for the grief and distress of the prophet are given. (1) Jeremiah is upset because of the Lord and His word (Jeremiah 23:9). The knowledge that God is about to bring judgment upon the wicked and sinful people of Judah has caused the prophet much grief and no little perplexity. (2) Jeremiah is grief-stricken because of the sinfulness of the masses. The land is full of adultery. Both literal and spiritual adultery is doubtlessly meant. The course of the people, their way of life, that which they pursue is only evil. They use their might for that which is not right i.e., crookedness. (3) The condition of the land brings the prophet much distress. The land is under the curse of God because of the sin of its inhabitants. The curse here is that with which God punishes the wicked. See Zechariah 5:3; Daniel 9:11; Isaiah 24:6; Leviticus 26:14 ff.; Deuteronomy 28:16 ff. The earth mourns because it is unable to bring forth its produce. The pastures have dried up (Jeremiah 23:10). This passage may well date to the time of the drought mentioned in Jeremiah 14:1. (4) But the greatest burden to the heart of Jeremiah was the condition of the spiritual leaders of the land. Both the priests and the prophets were profane, unholy, disobedient to the commands of God. In the very Temple of God evidence of their wickedness could be found (Jeremiah 23:11). Just exactly what wickedness Jeremiah is referring to here is uncertain. Ezekiel tells of the totemistic worship of figures of animals in the inner chambers and of women weeping for the nature god Tammuz in the courts of the Temple (Ezekiel 8:10-14). These pagan practices could not have been going on without the active cooperation of the priests. The false prophets were probably preaching their perversions of the word of God in the Temple precincts. Being both priest and prophet, Jeremiah was keenly aware of the guilt of the men who occupied both of these offices.

Up to this point the false prophets had pursued their evil course with assurance; but now God will make their way slippery and dangerous as they plunge forward into the darkness of sin. The imagery here is comparable to that of Jeremiah 13:16 and Psalms 35:6. By circumstances and by Satan these wicked men are driven forward to ever more treacherous ground until they finally will fall to their destruction. Their year of visitation i.e., time of their punishment, will overtake them (Jeremiah 23:12).

In the eyes of God the prophets of Judah were more wicked than the prophets of Samaria. Those Baal prophets of the north had been found to be unseemly (lit., unsalted, tasteless). They had caused God’s people in the north to err (Jeremiah 23:13). But the prophets of Judah were far worse. By professing themselves to be spokesmen for God they were in effect putting God’s stamp of approval upon the most terrible deeds. They themselves were immoral and unscrupulous and furthermore through their false prophecies they strengthened the hands of those who engaged in evil practices. They did not preach repentance or judgment and consequently no man turned away from his evil deeds. By constantly preaching peace and prosperity these prophets had succeeded in turning Judah into a virtual Sodom (Jeremiah 23:14). From the prophets of Jerusalem ungodliness had spread throughout the land. Good prophets may not have much of an impact upon society. But let reports of evil conduct on the part of clergymen spread throughout the land and every sinner will use it as an excuse to commit even greater evils. These prophets who preached such a disastrous message and set such a terrible example will be forced to partake of the wormwood and the gall, bitter poisonous plants which here symbolize divine judgment (Jeremiah 23:15). In Jeremiah 9:15 this same expression was used in reference to the judgment upon the people of the land. Here the preachers are depicted as suffering the same fate as the people to whom they preached. There is no exemption for the clergy when it comes to divine judgment!

Verses 16-22

Jer 23:16-22

Jeremiah 23:16-22

Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they teach you vanity; they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of Jehovah. They say continually unto them that despise me, Jehovah hath said, Ye shall have peace; and unto every one that walketh in the stubbornness of his own heart they say, No evil shall come upon you. For who hath stood in the council of Jehovah, that he should perceive and hear his word? who hath marked my word, and heard it? Behold, the tempest of Jehovah, [even his] wrath, is gone forth, yea, a whirling tempest: it shall burst upon the head of the wicked. The anger of Jehovah shall not return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the intents of his heart: in the latter days ye shall understand it perfectly. I sent not these prophets, yet they ran: I spake not unto them, yet they prophesied. But if they had stood in my council, then had they caused my people to hear my words, and had turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.

Jeremiah 23:16 carries the meaning that the false prophets, "Gave out the thoughts of their own heart as divine revelation, promising peace and prosperity to all stiff-necked sinners." Were such men popular? Indeed, they were popular among the vast wicked majority of the people. "Here we have the principal earmark of false teaching. False prophets, or teachers, always speak words that quiet the conscience, promise all kinds of good things, and violate with impunity the laws of morality." In our day, the false teachers know nothing except the grace, love, mercy, and forgiveness of God and absolutely nothing about obedience or holiness. Their doctrine is "Smile, something good is going to happen to you" or, "I’m OK, you’re OK!"

Jeremiah 23:19-20 occur again almost verbatim in Jeremiah 30:23-24.

In the latter days ye shall understand it...

(Jeremiah 23:20). Normally the words. In the latter days are used to introduce the subject of the Messianic kingdom, or the eschatological happenings of the end times; but here, They can hardly mean that. Here they mean that when God’s judgment falls upon Judah, the whole nation at that time will understand perfectly what the warnings of Jeremiah and the other prophets were all about. As Jamieson put it, When the prophesies shall be fulfilled in their Babylonian exile, the people shall consider and see by bitter experience, their sinful folly.

2. The message of the fake prophets (Jeremiah 23:16-22)

The prophets of Judah are bolstering the false hopes of the people with false prophecies. Jeremiah calls for the people to repudiate these deceivers. Their prophecies did not come from the mouth of the Lord but from the vain imaginations of their own hearts. Giving heed to such empty prophecies would only cause the people to act in a vain and foolhardy way (Jeremiah 23:16). The false prophets were continually grinding out their pious platitudes. The Hebrew uses a grammatical device to emphasize the ceaseless flow of words which were pouring forth from these pseudo prophets. To the hardened and rebellious sinners of Judah these men were giving assurance that all would be well. “The Lord has said, You shall have peace. No calamity will befall you!” The expression “the Lord has spoken” nowhere else in the Old Testament introduces a revelation from the Lord. If this was the formula by which these false prophets actually introduced their supposed oracles, then it differed from those formulas used by Jeremiah and the other prophets whose books have been preserved in Scripture.

By means of two rhetorical questions Jeremiah denies the authority of the false prophets and at the same time implicitly affirms his own inspiration. “Who has stood in the council of the Lord that he might see and hear His word?” The answer is obvious. Corrupt men like the false prophets could never have stood in the presence of God. Amos asserted, “Surely the Lord will do nothing unless he reveals His secret counsel (same word used by Jeremiah) unto His servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7). David declared that God extends His secret counsel to the pious (Psalms 25:14). Sometimes the prophets had visions in which they saw the Lord in consultation with His trusted servants (Isaiah 6:1; 1 Kings 22:19). Eliphaz asked Job, “Were you listening in the council of God? (Job 15:8). The picture here is of the heavenly council chambers. True prophets are privy to the decisions of God relating to the children of men. This is another way of saying that the prophet receives direct revelation from God. The second rhetorical question of Jeremiah 23:18 points to another way in which man can ascertain the will of God. “Who has paid attention to His word and heard it?” When one gives heed to the word of God as revealed in Scripture, he too can learn the will of God. The false prophets had not been privileged to stand in the secret council of God nor had they paid heed to His written word.

The message which Jeremiah brought in the name of God was quite different from that which the false prophets brought. God’s judgment is already approaching like a whirlwind. It will literally dance around upon the head of the wicked. The hurricane of divine wrath is upon them (Jeremiah 23:19). Nothing will turn back God’s wrath. Attempting to thwart the plans of God by human means is as foolish as trying to tame a tornado at the height of its fury. Though the people may not presently be able to understand the plans and purposes of God, someday they will understand it all. At that time they will realize that they have been justly punished for their sins against God and man (Jeremiah 23:20). The term “end of days” has been explained in three ways. (I) Some think that the “end of days” refers to the consummation of the world. The idea would then be that at the end of the age, possibly after the second coming of Christ, men will be able to understand clearly all of God’s dealing with men. It cannot be sustained from the usage of this term in the Old Testament that it refers to the end of the world. (2) Others think that “end of days” refers to the Messianic age as in Jeremiah 48:47; Jeremiah 49:39; Isaiah 2:2; Hosea 3:5. The idea would then be that God’s dealing with Israel would be placed in proper perspective when the Messiah comes. (3) A third view is that the term “end of days” simply means “in future days.” Cheyne points to an Assyrian inscription where precisely the same phrase is used in the general sense of future time. It is the view of this writer that “end of days” refers to the New Testament age.

In Jeremiah 23:17-20 Jeremiah emphasizes the point that the message of the false prophets is diametrically opposed to true revelation. God had not sent these prophets yet they eagerly ran to assume their prophetic office. God had not spoken to them yet they had the audacity to prophesy in His name (Jeremiah 23:21). As further proof that these men were deceivers Jeremiah points out that their preaching was not designed to effect any moral change. Their message has no rebuke for sin and no appeal for reformation. Therefore these men cannot be true prophets of the Lord! If they truly had stood in the secret council of God they would be diligently laboring to turn people from their evil ways (Jeremiah 23:22).

Verses 23-27

Jer 23:23-27

Jeremiah 23:23-27

Am I a God at hand, saith Jehovah, and not a God afar off? Can any hide himself in secret places so that I shall not see him? saith Jehovah. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith Jehovah. I have heard what the prophets have said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed. How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies, even the prophets of the deceit of their own heart? that think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbor, as their fathers forgat my name for Baal.

Am I a God at hand, and not a God afar off...

(Jeremiah 23:23) This is a warning to the false prophets that they cannot hide from God. He is not like some localized deity whom it is easy to avoid; he is inescapable, the immanent, transcendent, ubiquitous, omnipotent, omnipresent, and eternal God; and he has heard all the lies of the false prophets.

That think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams...

(Jeremiah 23:27). There are two things of importance here. Note that the false prophets are enemies of God and that they have a purpose, that of causing the people to forget even the name of God. There is nothing innocent about such men, whether in the days of Jeremiah or at the present time.

Forget my name by their dreams...

(Jeremiah 23:27). The superstition that attaches importance to dreams keeps God as entirely out of men’s minds as does absolute idolatry. It is true that God, of old times, did speak to some men in dreams; but he has now spoken unto us through his Son (Hebrews 1:2). This, of course, forbids our paying any attention whatever to dreams; and, if this is true of dreams, which indeed at one time were utilized by God in bringing messages to men, how much more is it mandatory that men pay no attention whatever to phrenology, palmistry, the signs of the Zodiac, etc., etc., which were never utilized by God in such a manner!

Jeremiah 23:28-32

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 straw to the wheat? saith Jehovah. Is not my word like fire? saith Jehovah; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces? Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith Jehovah, that steal my words every one from his neighbor. Behold, I am against the prophets, saith Jehovah, that use their tongues, and say, He saith. Behold, I am against them that prophesy lying dreams, saith Jehovah, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their vain boasting: yet I sent them not, nor commanded them; neither do they profit this people at all, saith Jehovah.

Let him tell a dream...

(Jeremiah 23:28). This means, ’let him tell a dream for what it is, merely a dream, and not the Word of God.’

What is the wheat to the straw...

(Jeremiah 23:28). This compares the words of the false prophets to the straw or the chaff, and the Word of God to the wheat.

Is not my word like a fire...

(Jeremiah 23:29)? This beautiful metaphor of the Word of God reminds us of Hebrews 4:12, The Word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Henderson identified three classes of false teachers here: (1) Those who pervert the true Word of God; (2) those who are word merchants, attractive, glib talkers, whose words have a pleasing sound but actually have no solid meaning; and (3) those who specialize in dreams!

3. The methods of the false prophets (Jeremiah 23:23-32)

In a series of three rhetorical questions Jeremiah presents deep theological truth. (1) Am I a God near at hand and not a God far off? (Jeremiah 23:23). This question brings out the thought of God’s transcendence. Unlike the pagan gods the Lord is not restricted to one place at a time. He was not confined to a temple or shrine. He dwells afar off where no man can approach Him, let alone manipulate Him. (2) Can a man hide himself in secret places that I cannot see him? This second question brings out the thought of God’s omniscience. God’s vision and knowledge embrace all things happening on the earth. The remote past and the distant future are equally known to Him. (3) Do not I fill the heavens and the earth? (Jeremiah 23:24). This question points to the fact that God is omnipresent. He is everywhere at once. Three times in Jeremiah 23:23-24 the phrase “oracle of the Lord” occurs. This transcendent, omniscience, omnipresent God is the Lord, Yahweh, the great I Am who is unlimited by space and time. The false prophets have not escaped the notice of God. He has heard the lies which they have been prophesying in His name. These prophets boasted of their dreams as though the mere claim to having received revelation was sufficient to prove that they were prophets of God (Jeremiah 23:25).

The question here is whether or not dreams in the Old Testament were a legitimate mode of divine communication. In Deuteronomy 13:1 a fake prophet is described as a “dreamer of dreams.” God did at times reveal His will through dreams (Genesis 15:12; Genesis 20:3; Genesis 31:24; Genesis 37:5). In Numbers 12:6 God is said to make himself known to prophets by visions and dreams. Joel 2:28 predicts that in the Messianic age the old men will dream dreams. It is interesting however that between Numbers 12:6 which refers to the very early period of Israel’s history and Joel 2:28 which refers to the distant Messianic age scarcely anything is said of dreams as a medium of revelation to prophets. Often times prophets received communications from God in the night but these are called visions and not dreams (2 Samuel 7:14; 2 Samuel 7:17; Zechariah 4:1). While dreams were not then an illegitimate method of receiving divine revelation, as a matter of fact those who were true prophets rarely received revelation in that particular manner. The present passage seems to discredit the false prophets on the grounds that they claimed to receive divine revelation through dreams. Furthermore the fact that the prophets permitted what God had forbidden in His word stamped their dreams as products of their own heart (cf. Deuteronomy 13:1-3).

Jeremiah 23:26-27 are difficult to translate. Two questions are asked in these verses. The first question is quite general: How long? How much longer will these men continue their deception and falsehood. The second question is more penetrating, probing the possible motives of the false prophets. Is it their purpose to cause the people to forget the name of God and all that His name stands for? Error and false teaching lead men away from the Lord. As these prophets peddled their pernicious platitudes from door to door (lit., each man to his neighbor) they were sabotaging the true faith. False doctrine is as dangerous as idolatry. Jeremiah’s generation was in as much danger of being deceived by a false theology as their fathers who had been deceived by Baal worship (Jeremiah 23:27). There is nothing wrong with these men relating their dreams. But when they do so they should make it very clear that they are relating only a dream and nothing more. They should not pretend that these dreams are divine revelations. Chaff and wheat, the word of God and the dreams of men, must be kept separate. That which is worthless should never be allowed to contaminate in the least that which is pure. A preacher who presents personal views and opinions and theories from the pulpit as if they are the word of God is no better than the false prophets with whom Jeremiah struggled. Those who preach the word of God must speak it faithfully, honestly, forthrightly (Jeremiah 23:28). When this is done the word of God has dynamic power to accomplish the purpose of God. The word of God is like fire: It burns the conscience, purifies the life, illuminates the mind, energizes the will, warms the heart, fuses the fellowship, and consumes the ungodly. God’s message for Jeremiah’s day was a message of judgment, crushing like a hammer (Jeremiah 23:29). What a contrast between the feeble falsehoods of the pseudo prophets and the dramatic truth of the pure word of. God!

Three times in Jeremiah 23:30-32 God declares that He is against the false prophets. His opposition to them is threefold. (1) They have stolen the words of God from their neighbors i.e., another prophet who had received a genuine revelation from God. What elements of truth may have been in the message of the false prophet were stolen. No doubt these men carefully scrutinized the sermons of Jeremiah and tried to imitate his style and technique. Perhaps to a certain extent they even copied the content of his message. (2) They used the official prophetic formulas to give their utterances the aura of truth. They used the word “oracle,” a technical term used by a prophet whenever God put words in his mouth. The false prophets were palming off their own delusions by adopting the same forms as the true prophets used (Jeremiah 23:31). (3) God opposes these prophets because they are causing the people to err. The major trouble with false teachers is that they always gain a following. The people of Judah believed the lying dreams related to them by the false prophets. How presumptuous, how arrogant, how boastful of these men to claim to speak the word of God when in fact they had nothing more to share with their countrymen than their own wishful thinking. Such men are of no value at all to a nation (Jeremiah 23:32).

Verses 33-40

Jer 23:33-40

Jeremiah 23:33-40

And when this people, or the prophet, or a priest, shall ask thee, saying, What is the burden of Jehovah? then shalt thou say unto them, What burden! I will cast you off, saith Jehovah. And as for the prophet, and the priest, and the people, that shall say, The burden of Jehovah, I will even punish that man and his house. Thus shall ye say every one to his neighbor, and every one to his brother, What hath Jehovah answered? and, What hath Jehovah spoken? And the burden of Jehovah shall ye mention no more: for every man’s own word shall be his burden; for ye have perverted the words of the living God, of Jehovah of hosts our God. Thus shalt thou say to the prophet, What hath Jehovah answered thee? and, What hath Jehovah spoken? But if ye say, The burden of Jehovah; therefore thus saith Jehovah: Because ye say this word, The burden of Jehovah, and I have sent unto you, saying, Ye shall not say, The burden of Jehovah; therefore, behold, I will utterly forget you, and I will cast you off, and the city that I gave unto you and to your fathers, away from my presence: and I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.

The wording of this paragraph is somewhat confusing; but the situation was this: Many of the prophecies of Jeremiah began with the words, "The burden of the Jehovah"; but the people did not believe the prophecies and were annoyed by Jeremiah’s continued preaching; so they decided to call him, "You old burden of Jehovah!" Every time they saw him they mockingly asked him, "Well, what is the Burden of Jehovah today?" The mention of the false prophets and the priests who joined in this mockery of the true prophet of God suggests that they had perhaps organized this systematic mockery of Jeremiah.

In various verses of this paragraph, God’s answer to this scandalous behavior was: "I will cast you off" (Jeremiah 23:33); "I will punish that man and his house who even uses those mocking words in Jeremiah’s presence" (Jeremiah 23:34); to all who mockingly inquired about God’s Word, there would be no answer at all. The Word of God shall be denied them, and their mockery shall be their burden before God when they are judged. "Every man’s word shall be his own burden" (Jeremiah 23:36); "I will utterly forget you, and I will cast you off, and the city that I gave unto you and to your fathers, away from my presence; and I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten" (Jeremiah 23:40).

4. The mockery of the false prophets (Jeremiah 23:33-40)

The people of Judah and their religious leaders constantly mocked Jeremiah by asking him, “What is the burden of the Lord?” The word “burden” in Hebrew can mean a heavy object or it can mean a weighty utterance. The apostates of Judah regarded every message from God as a heavy and wearisome burden. Wherever they would meet Jeremiah they would with a sneer ask the man of God, What new BURDEN do you have for us, you prophet of doom? The next time that question is put to him Jeremiah is instructed to say: You are the burden! This reading of the Hebrew is based on a slightly different division and vocalization of the consonants and is supported by the Septuagint and the Vulgate. An alternative translation is proposed by Keil: “With reference to your question, What burden? I will unload you.”

Since the term “burden” had been so misused by the people and their religious leaders Jeremiah is commanded to use it no longer in his prophetic utterances. Whoever continues to mockingly use the term “burden” will be punished by God (Jeremiah 23:34). If a person in the future wished to inquire concerning the word of the Lord he should adopt new terminology. He should ask, “What is the answer” or “What is the word of the Lord?” (Jeremiah 23:35). Apparently Jeremiah felt it was better to adopt a new phrase than to run the risk of misunderstanding or, even worse, profanity. Those who persist in using the term “burden” will find that their own words will be a burden which will crush them to the ground. By peddling their sugar-coated lies as being a “burden” from the Lord these prophets were not only guilty of mockery they were also guilty of perverting the word of God (Jeremiah 23:36).

After issuing his warning concerning the use of the term “burden” Jeremiah turns to the false prophets and challenges them with a question: “What message do you have from the Lord?” (Jeremiah 23:37). If in their reply these deceivers use the forbidden term “burden” Jeremiah is to pronounce sentence over them. God will utterly forget them and remove them from His presence, i.e., cause them to go into captivity (Jeremiah 23:38-39). The Hebrew here is very interesting. The word rendered in English “utterly forget” sounds very much like the forbidden word massa (burden). No doubt the prophet intended this as a pun or play on words. The scoffers and deceivers who made a reproach out of the word of God would themselves become an object of shame and reproach (Jeremiah 23:40). It is not hard to imagine the contempt with which these professing prophets were treated after their predictions of peace and prosperity failed to materialize.

The Righteous Branch - Jeremiah 23:1-40

Open It

1. What are your expectations of the persons who teach or care for your children?

2. When have you had the experience of your words being misquoted, distorted, or taken out of context? What resulted?

Explore It

3. What technique did God use to describe the relationship between His people, Israel, and their leaders? (Jeremiah 23:1)

4. What did God promise to do for His "flock" after He delivered them from evil rulers? (Jeremiah 23:3-4)

5. What were the characteristics of the King God promised to raise up? (Jeremiah 23:5-6)

6. What great event, foretold by Jeremiah, would take precedence over the historical importance of the Exodus out of Egypt? (Jeremiah 23:7-8)

7. What did God promise to do with people who claimed to be His prophets or priests but were in fact godless and wicked? (Jeremiah 23:11-12)

8. What different, but equally abhorrent, deeds were done by the prophets in Israel and Judah? (Jeremiah 23:13-14)

9. Where were the false prophets getting the "visions" they reported? (Jeremiah 23:16)

10. What lie did the false prophets tell those who rejected God’s ways? (Jeremiah 23:17)

11. What would have characterized the message of the prophets if they had truly heard from God? (Jeremiah 23:21-22)

12. What questions did God ask of those who underestimated His power? (Jeremiah 23:23-24)

13. Where did the "dreams" of the false prophets come from, and what were they designed to accomplish? (Jeremiah 23:25-27)

14. How does God’s Holy Word contrast with the contrived dreams of faithless people? (Jeremiah 23:28-29)

15. What kind of prophet does God oppose? (Jeremiah 23:30-32)

16. Why were the people of Israel forbidden to use the word "oracle"? (Jeremiah 23:33-36)

17. What would become of those who insisted on claiming to speak God’s Word even after they were warned of His judgment on their lies? (Jeremiah 23:37-40)

18. Word even after they were warned of His judgment on their lies? (Jeremiah 23:37-40)

Get It

19. What truths about God are implied in the rhetorical questions He asks in Jeremiah 23:23-24?

20. Why are false prophets such a dangerous attraction for the people of God?

21. Who are the unbelieving "prophets" (that is, people who falsely claim to have special insights into the truth) of our day?

22. Why can someone’s claim of a dream or vision be hard to refute?

23. How can we distinguish between someone who falsely speaks in the name of God and someone who is speaking the truth about God?

24. What sobering truths should we take into consideration before we claim to speak for God?

Apply It

25. What is one thing you can do to avoid being naive or misled by others who misrepresent the facts?

26. What pleasant statements or predictions have you heard recently that you need to examine in the light of God’s Word?

Questions On Jeremiah Chapter Twenty-Three

By Brent Kercheville

1 What promises does God make (Jeremiah 23:1-4)?

2 What else will the Lord do (Jeremiah 23:5-6)?

Who is the Branch? How do you know?

What will happen when the Branch arrives?

3 What else will happen in those days (Jeremiah 23:7-8)?

4 What is Jeremiah’s message against the other prophets (Jeremiah 23:9-15)?

5 In what ways were the prophets sinning?

6 What amazing thing does God say in Jeremiah 23:14?

7 What is God’s message to the people about these false prophets (Jeremiah 23:16-22)?

8 What will the faithfulness of God accomplish (Jeremiah 23:20)?

9 What is God’s message about himself (Jeremiah 23:23-32)?

What is God’s message about these false prophets?

What do we learn about God?

10 What were the people to say to the prophet or priest (Jeremiah 23:33-40)? What do we learn from this?

TRANSFORMATION:

How does this relationship change your relationship with God?

What did you learn about him?

What will you do differently in your life?