Jeremiah 23 reminds me of the expression, “Divide and Conquer”. This strategy is successfully used in war to separate the enemy into smaller groups that are more easily defeated. In real life we know many that constantly cause division, but very few unifiers that bring people together. Today’s chapter begins with a scathing rebuke of the Jewish leaders, “Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of My pasture! Because you have scattered My flock… not bestowed care on them”. A shepherd’s job is to protect and feed his sheep. God’s priority is to protect the existence of His herd. In time, “I Myself will gather the remnant of My flock out of all the countries where I have driven them”.The Jewish people have been dispersed throughout the whole world, and yet have remained a distinct people. He adds to this promise, “and will bring them back to their pasture… I will place Shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified”. Prior to 1948, this was an impossible dream, but since being reestablished, the population of Israel has grown every year as His people slowly return. “The days are coming… when… a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land… He will be called: The Lord Our Righteous Savior”. Christ the Messiah will return and reestablish Jerusalem as the center of His kingdom on earth.
Today, as it was in the time of Jeremiah, there are false prophets that preach a different gospel, “Concerning the prophets: My heart is broken within Me… The land is full of adulterers”. God has equal contempt for those leading the Hebrew people toward idolatry as those preaching hatred toward the Jew. “The prophets follow an evil course and use their power unjustly… even in My temple I find their wickedness”. What happened? I believe the leaders stopped reading and studying God’s Word and were quickly turned away. “They commit adultery and live a lie”. Without the Word of God, we are left with the wisdom of man. “Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you… They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord”. The true division is not between Jew and Gentile; it is between God and sin.
Jeremiah expresses God’s disgust toward those that claim, “You will have peace” without atonement for sin. “I did not speak to them, yet they have prophesied”. He asks, “Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them?” Why do some want to eliminate God today? Without God, there is no standard of good and evil. Those who live according to God’s righteous requirements, shine the light on the unrighteous. To the deceivers, God says, “They …lead My people astray with their reckless lies”. Who benefits by dividing those that desire to honor God? The chapter closes with the questions most still ask, “What has the Lord spoken?” Some sincerely search. Others seek to undermine faith. Romans 10:17 says, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God”. Friend, are you tired of all the division? Have you been living without a shepherd? Jesus said, “I am the gate; whoever enters through Me will be saved…The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep” (John 10:9-11). Perhaps you think you will just remain neutral? Jesus also said, “Whoever is not with Me is against Me, and whoever does not gather with Me scatters” (Luke 11:23). Is it time for addition?