Jeremiah 23:9-12 - They will be banished to darkness

23:9,10

After the great promises we return to the desperate reality of the day, and Jeremiah feels it. There are these great promises, Jeremiah sees something of how wonderful things could be, but instead the land is full of adulterers, of people who were unfaithful to the Lord. Jeremiah felt this so deeply within himself that he was like a drunken man. Instead of the land being under a blessing it was under a curse. The prophets did not speak the word of the Lord, but used their power unjustly. When we look at our society it is not just the mess that we are in that should sadden us, but how wonderful things could be if only we would trust the Lord.

23:11,12

“Both prophet and priest are godless”. This is the terrible state that the nation was in, people who were meant to be leaders in helping the people to follow God were godless. Sadly, this is the state in many churches today. We are meant to be godly people. This is just about how we live our lives morally (though it does include that!), it means we look to God for all things. Notice also that prophets were seen as an essential and key element of the religious leadership in the nation. We should also note that the New Testament assumes that prophets are a part of the leadership in the church. Now while there are some who claim to be prophets who are clearly not, and sometimes utter rubbish is spoken in the name of prophecy, this is not grounds for saying there should not be prophets. False prophets abounded in Jeremiah’s time! I can see no Biblical case whatsoever for denying a role for prophecy in the church today.

False prophets and ungodly leaders should beware, for God will bring severe judgement upon them.