Sword, Famine, and Pestilence
And aher gates languish;
They bmourn for the land,
And cthe cry of Jerusalem has gone up.
They went to the cisterns and found no water.
They returned with their vessels empty;
They were aashamed and confounded
bAnd covered their heads.
For there was ano rain in the land,
The plowmen were ashamed;
They covered their heads.
They sniffed at the wind like jackals;
Their eyes failed because there was no grass.”
Do it afor Your name’s sake;
For our backslidings are many,
We have sinned against You.
Why should You be like a stranger in the land,
And like a traveler who turns aside to tarry for a night?
| << Jeremiah 14:1 | Jeremiah 14:3 >> |
What Does Jeremiah 14:2 Mean?
Jeremiah 14:1-16
Notice what is happening. The land is suffering from a drought. Did the people connect drought with obedience to the message of a false minister? Probably not.
The spirit that was speaking to them was not divine, but it was supernatural. The people submitted to it because they did not put the prophet to the test to see whether or not his teaching was in harmony with what had already been revealed through God's messenger, Moses.
God blames the plight of the nation (the drought mentioned in verses 1-6) on the false prophets to whom the people listened (verses 13-16). What did the prophets do? They lulled the people into complacency, which led them to believe that all was well when it was not. They preached to them smooth things because the people had itching ears. They liked the things that were taught to them, but it was not the Word of God. God says they preached lies in His name. If one listens to them, then it is the same thing as the blind leading the blind and both falling in the ditch.
The land was in drought. How many carnal people would connect a drought with obedience to a false minister? Not very many because they would be thinking carnally and say, "It's just part of the cycle of things. It happens every so many years." They are not thinking that there might be a spiritual cause for it: that God is concerned about the well being of His people, and that He had brought the drought to make them think about why it is happening. The cause for concern is spiritual in nature.
Would any modern U.S. President or presidential candidate make an appeal to American citizens that the cause of our problems are spiritual in nature? If a national figure today said before a group of people that the reason we are having troubles in the United States is that we need to repent and get back to our God, they would be laughed into shame and contempt. The reason we are seeing the immorality in the United States is the effect of listening to false ministers!
John W. Ritenbaugh
Satan (Part 2)
Other Forerunner Commentary entries containing Jeremiah 14:2:
Revelation 6:5-6
Revelation 6:5-6
| << Jeremiah 14:1 | Jeremiah 14:3 >> |
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