Jeremiah 42:5-6 Then they said to Jeremiah, “May the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act in accordance with everything the Lord your God sends you to tell us. Whether it is favorable or unfavorable, we will obey the Lord our God, to whom we are sending you, so that it will go well with us, for we will obey the Lord our God.”

This has got to be one of the most hypocritical declarations in the whole Bible. It sounds pious, beautifully righteous, but the following events prove that it was all a sham. These men had decided what they wanted to do and they wanted Jeremiah to put pretty window dressing on it, but they were forgetting that Jeremiah was a true prophet of God, who would speak what God said to him, and not a politician who would say whatever was expedient. As it turned out, when God through Jeremiah said the opposite of what they had already decided, they refused to be obedient, in direct violation of what they said here, and did what they had planned anyway. This may be an extreme example, but it is all too typical of our attitude toward God, wanting Him to rubber stamp our plans rather than genuinely listening to Him in humble obedience. I really think the biggest reason we think God doesn’t guide us is that we aren’t willing to listen to guidance that doesn’t go along with what our flesh wants to do. Sadly, we bear the consequences of that, just as these men did eventually. Sadly, tradition tells us that when things turned out badly, they blamed Jeremiah and stoned him to death, adding sin on top of sin. It is so much better when we obey God with our actions instead of just with our words!

As a man of words, I am constantly in danger of this. Like so many, I tend to feel that if I said it, that’s the way it is, but that attitude is risky indeed. God is the only one who can say it and it is! I’ve got to be careful of unintended hypocrisy. No one lives up perfectly to the standards they profess, but I’ve got to be honest enough to repent every time I stumble, not stubbornly continuing in my sin. As a pastor, I couldn’t possibly keep track of all the pious statements people have made to me that they never followed through with. I don’t think I’ve encountered anything as drastic as Jeremiah did, but some have seemed to come close. I am not to be judgmental, but neither am I to turn a blind eye. I am to speak the truth in love, whether it is received or not, and let God fulfill His word. I certainly can’t do it for Him!

Father, You know the people and situations about which I am most concerned, but You also know of other situations which are equally or more serious which I don’t know about. Keep me from thinking I am, or from trying to be, in control. Help me be fully submitted to You both emotionally and practically, so that I do Your will and nothing less, destroying the lies of the enemy and setting people free, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!