The Proof of Jeremiah’s Prophecy

In Deuteronomy 18:21-22 God told Israel how to know whether a prophecy was from god or not.  “And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken?  When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.”  As a sign that the prophecy, there would be a short term prophecy which could be checked and if it didn’t happen they were to ignore the entire prophecy. 

There were a number of prophets among the captives in Babylon advising the people to rebel and promising they could escape if they did.  In his message to the captives to yield and assimilate into the Babylonian culture, Jeremiah included a sign so that they could know the prophecy was from God.  In Jeremiah 29:20-23, he told them that two of those prophets would be executed by the Babylonians.  “Hear ye therefore the word of the LORD, all ye of the captivity, whom I have sent from Jerusalem to Babylon: Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, of Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and of Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, which prophesy a lie unto you in my name; Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he shall slay them before your eyes; And of them shall be taken up a curse by all the captivity of Judah which are in Babylon, saying, The LORD make thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire; Because they have committed villany in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbours' wives, and have spoken lying words in my name, which I have not commanded them; even I know, and am a witness, saith the LORD.”

The Babylonians had carried away The Jewish leaders, including some of the priests.  One of the priests had sent messages back to Jerusalem instructing oner of the remaining priests to assume the high priest’s position and to arrest anyone who claimed to be a prophet.  He especially demanded that Jeremiah be silenced, blaming him for demoralizing the people and causing them to lose hope, in Jeremiah 29:24-28.  “Thus shalt thou also speak to Shemaiah the Nehelamite, saying,  Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, Because thou hast sent letters in thy name unto all the people that are at Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying, The LORD hath made thee priest in the stead of Jehoiada the priest, that ye should be officers in the house of the LORD, for every man that is mad, and maketh himself a prophet, that thou shouldest put him in prison, and in the stocks.  Now therefore why hast thou not reproved Jeremiah of Anathoth, which maketh himself a prophet to you?  For therefore he sent unto us in Babylon, saying, This captivity is long: build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them.”

One of the priests read the letter to Jeremiah, and God gave a special prophecy regarding the man who sent it, in Jeremiah 29:29-32.  “And Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the ears of Jeremiah the prophet.  Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah, saying, Send to all them of the captivity, saying, Thus saith the LORD concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite; Because that Shemaiah hath prophesied unto you, and I sent him not, and he caused you to trust in a lie: Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite, and his seed: he shall not have a man to dwell among this people; neither shall he behold the good that I will do for my people, saith the LORD; because he hath taught rebellion against the LORD.”

God had promised that he would restore Judah to their land after seventy years in Captivity, but because Shemiah had tried to stir up rebellion against God, encouraging them to refuse to assimilate, he would not survive to see the return, nor would any of his family.  Once again we see a warning to those who claim to be anointed by God that they need to make sure they are actually being led by him, and not acting or teaching their own opinions and beliefs.