Jeremiah 23:16

The Bible says in Jeremiah 23:16-17, “Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD. They say still unto them that despise me, The LORD hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you.” God said, “Hearken not unto the words of the prophets.” Things had gotten so bad in Israel, that you could not trust the preachers. What the preachers said was wrong. What the preachers said would give you bad advice and incorrect teachings. If that was true in the days of Jeremiah, then it is no doubt true today. When you get saved, you want to learn the Book, the Word of God; but you also want to be very wary of any teaching that human beings may give. People will lead you astray. People will teach you things that are just not true. I have heard people teach things that are not true. I have heard people teach segregation as if it was God’s will, when in reality they were teaching the doctrines of the KKK. Many of the preachers of the southern Unites States preached such doctrines without shame. First there was slavery and then there was segregation and racism; and it was all justified by a mis-use of the Bible. Many people believed what they heard, when they should have rejected what they heard. They should have read Jeremiah 23:16 that says, “Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD.” You will not know if the teachings you have heard are from God or not unless you know the Book very, very well. Speaking about the Christians in Acts 17:11, it says, “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” I have heard teachers teach about tithing, church attendance, the correction of children, as well as race relations, and say things that did not come from this book. Be careful what you hear. You will hear things that are not true. You had better know the Book, or you too will be led astray.

The Bible says in Jeremiah 23:18, “For who hath stood in the counsel of the LORD, and hath perceived and heard his word? who hath marked his word, and heard it?” By asking this question, the Lord is in effect saying that it is very uncommon for someone to know the Word of God. The knowledge of the Word of God is fading from the world. People do not read the Bible like they once did. Preachers do not preach from the Bible like they once did. Read the Word of God. Memorize important Bible verses. Listen to the best Bible expository sermons that you have access to. Let God speak to you from His Word. If you do all these things on a regular basis, you will be a rare individual.

The Bible says in Jeremiah 23:19-22, “Behold, a whirlwind of the LORD is gone forth in fury, even a grievous whirlwind: it shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked. The anger of the LORD shall not return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the thoughts of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly. I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.” Verses 19 and 20 mention a whirlwind of the Lord and the anger of the Lord. Of course, this is language that refers to the judgment that God will bring against the people. Notice that it says about this judgment at the end of Jeremiah 23:20, “in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly.” One of the interesting truths about Bible prophecy is that it often has an immediate and local application, but the ultimate fulfillment is in the last days. There is often a more immediate fulfillment of the prophecy, but then there is also the complete fulfillment of the prophecy in the last days. God always has His eye on the future, and we should too if we are going to be spiritually minded. Great events will happen in the future that will culminate with the return of Jesus Christ and His manifestation to all human beings as King of kings and Lord of lords. Judgment came to the nation of Israel during the lifetime of Jeremiah, but an even greater judgment lies in the future. They cannot continue to reject the Messiah, Jesus Christ, without consequences. The greatest earthly judgment will come when Israel is encircled by its enemies one last time and about to be destroyed.

In addition to what happened to Israel when Babylon came to destroy them, let’s look at another example of a Bible prophecy that had both a local, immediate application as well as a long-term application that would be fulfilled in the last days. There is a Biblical term that Jesus used called “the abomination of desolation.” It was used by Jesus in Matthew 24:15. Jesus said, talking about the last days, “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)” It says in Daniel 8:8-13, “Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven. And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land. And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them. Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered. Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot?” We know from history that a ruler by the name of Antiochus Epiphanes fulfilled this prophecy a number of years after Daniel wrote about it. This was the local and immediate fulfillment. We know from what Jesus said, and from what it says in the book of Revelation, that there will be a future fulfillment in the last days. The antichrist will take over Jerusalem. There will be a temple in Jerusalem, and the temple will be desecrated by the antichrist.

Jeremiah 23:22 gives one of the most important reasons that the Word of God needs to be preached to the people of the world. It says, “But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.” The preaching of God’s Word does make a difference. God uses His Word and He blesses His Word. God speaks through His Word to the hearts of human beings. That is God’s method. It says in Romans 10:13-15, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!” If you want to be involved in God’s work, then make sure you are involved in some way in the preaching of the Gospel, whether you are a preacher, a witness, or in some way helping or supporting a preacher.

The Lord said about Himself in Jeremiah 23:23-24, “Am I a God at hand, saith the LORD, and not a God afar off? Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD.” In this verse God is telling us about one of His attributes: the omnipresence of God. God is everywhere. He has always been everywhere, and He always will be. This great truth has several wonderful ramifications. If God is everywhere, then you can worship God anywhere. There is no place on this earth where you must go and no building that you must be in to be close to God. The reason to go to a church service is not to be in God’s presence. You are already in God’s presence everywhere. The reason to go to a church service is to share prayer requests with other believers, to hear the Word of God preached, and to sing the songs of Zion together.

Of course, because Jesus is God, He also has the attribute of omnipresence. Because Jesus is everywhere present, He could say in Matthew 28:20, “…lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” Because Jesus is everywhere, He can save the soul of anyone at any time. That is why it says in Romans 10:13, “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” On the matter of prayer there is also an important truth to mention about God’s omnipresence. God said in Jeremiah 23:23 that He is “at hand,” and He is not “afar off.” Sometimes you hear people pray, “Lord, please be with us.” In reality, no one ever has to pray that prayer. God is always everywhere. He is always with you, and you are always in His presence. God said in Jeremiah 23:24, “I fill heaven and earth.” In other words He fills the entire universe. Think of filling a jar with water. If you put any object into the jar, you have just immersed the object in water. We are all immersed in God.

One more observation concerning prayer: have you ever heard anyone say that they felt like their prayers just could not reach to God because it seemed that God was so far away? God is not far away. He is “at hand.” You prayer can be a whisper, and you will be whispering in God’s ear.

One of the practical aspects to the truth that God is everywhere has to do with the fact that He sees and knows everything that we do. This means that He knows our sins. That is why God reminded the Israelites that He was everywhere present. He knew how sinful they were. That is a thought that should give us all pause. God knows what we have done. We need to confess our sins and ask Jesus to forgive us our sins. The Psalmist was aware of this great truth. It says in Psalms 139:1-13, “O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it. Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee. For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.”

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