Jeremiah 43:1-7: a reflection

1When Jeremiah had finished speaking to all the people all the words of the LORD their God, with which the LORD their God had sent him to them, even all these words, 2then Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the proud men spoke, saying to Jeremiah, “You speak falsely. The LORD our God has not sent you to say, ‘You shall not go into Egypt to live there;’ 3but Baruch the son of Neriah has turned you against us, to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they may put us to death or carry us away captive to Babylon.” 4So Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, and all the people, didn’t obey the LORD’s voice, to dwell in the land of Judah. 5But Johanan the son of Kareah and all the captains of the forces took all the remnant of Judah, who had returned from all the nations where they had been driven, to live in the land of Judah— 6the men, the women, the children, the king’s daughters, and every person who Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan; and Jeremiah the prophet, and Baruch the son of Neriah. 7They came into the land of Egypt, for they didn’t obey the LORD’s voice; and they came to Tahpanhes.

When Jeremiah delivers God's clear word that the people should not go down to Egypt, they reject it, calling it false, because it does not suit what they have already decided to do. You speak falsely, they say to Jeremiah; the LORD our God has not sent you to say this. They had already made up their minds to go to Egypt; and when God's word through Jeremiah told them otherwise, they did not receive it, but dismissed it as false, accusing the prophet of lying and being turned against them. They rejected God's true word because it conflicted with what they wanted. This shows the danger of dismissing God's word as false when it conflicts with what we want. Do not dismiss God's word as false because it goes against your wishes. We can reject the truth when it does not suit us. God's word does not become false because we do not want to hear it. Beware of calling God's word false to justify doing what you please.

Notice how the people treated God's word here. Jeremiah brought them a clear word from God: do not go to Egypt. But they had already decided to go; and rather than submit to God's word, they dismissed it, calling it false, accusing Jeremiah of lying and being turned against them. They did not reject the word because they had reason to doubt it was from God, but because it conflicted with what they wanted to do. It is a sobering pattern. When God's word, in Scripture or through faithful counsel, tells us something we do not want to hear, something that goes against what we have already decided, we can be tempted to do exactly what these people did: to dismiss it, to explain it away, to call it false or mistaken, so that we can go on doing what we want. But God's word does not become false because it conflicts with our wishes; and to dismiss it as false so that we can do as we please is a dangerous self-deception. We do well to receive God's word even when, especially when, it goes against what we want, rather than dismissing it as false to justify our own way. When God's word goes against your wishes, receive it rather than dismissing it as false. We can call the truth false to justify doing what we please. God's word does not become false because we do not want to hear it. Do not explain away what God says so you can do as you want.

That is worth taking to heart, for God's word does not become false because it conflicts with our wishes, and we do well to receive it even when it goes against what we want, rather than dismissing it, as the people dismissed Jeremiah's word to justify going to Egypt. We can call God's word false when it does not suit us, so that we may do as we please; but the people who dismissed Jeremiah's true word as false only deceived themselves. Truth stands. When God's word goes against what you have already decided, do not dismiss it as false; receive it, and submit to it, rather than explaining it away to do what you want. Receive God's word even when it goes against what you want, rather than dismissing it as false to justify your own way, as when Jeremiah delivered God's clear word that the people should not go down to Egypt they rejected it, calling it false because it did not suit what they had already decided to do, saying he spoke falsely and that God had not sent him; for they had already made up their minds to go to Egypt, and when God's word through Jeremiah told them otherwise they did not receive it but dismissed it as false, accusing the prophet of lying and being turned against them, rejecting God's true word because it conflicted with what they wanted, which is a sobering pattern, since when God's word in Scripture or through faithful counsel tells us something we do not want to hear, something that goes against what we have already decided, we can be tempted to do exactly what these people did, to dismiss it, explain it away, and call it false so that we can go on doing what we want, but God's word does not become false because it conflicts with our wishes, and to dismiss it as false so that we can do as we please is a dangerous self-deception, so that we do well to receive God's word even when it goes against what we want rather than dismissing it as false to justify our own way.

Lord, when Jeremiah delivers your clear word that the people should not go down to Egypt, they reject it, calling it false, because it does not suit what they have already decided to do. You speak falsely, they say to Jeremiah; the LORD our God has not sent you to say this. They had already made up their minds to go to Egypt; and when your word through Jeremiah told them otherwise, they did not receive it, but dismissed it as false, accusing the prophet of lying. They rejected your true word because it conflicted with what they wanted. Show me how the people treated your word here. Jeremiah brought them a clear word from you: do not go to Egypt. But they had already decided to go; and rather than submit to your word, they dismissed it, calling it false. They did not reject the word because they had reason to doubt it was from you, but because it conflicted with what they wanted to do. It is a sobering pattern. When your word, in Scripture or through faithful counsel, tells me something I do not want to hear, something that goes against what I have already decided, I can be tempted to do exactly what these people did: to dismiss it, to explain it away, to call it false, so that I can go on doing what I want. But your word does not become false because it conflicts with my wishes; and to dismiss it as false so that I can do as I please is a dangerous self-deception. Take that to my heart, for your word does not become false because I do not want to hear it. When your word goes against what I have already decided, keep me from dismissing it as false; help me receive it and submit to it, Lord, rather than explaining it away to do what I want, receiving your word even, and especially, when it goes against my own wishes.