T " The prophet who has a dream, let him tell a dream; And he who has My word, let him speak My word faithfully.
' What is the chaff to the wheat?' says the Lord.
' Is not My Word like a fire?' says the LORD,
' And like a sledgehammer that pulverizes rocks in pieces?'"- Jeremiah 23:28-29 ( NKJV)
Jeremiah was an extremely unpopular prophet with the people of his day-because has was a true one.
Israel had departed from God, the people worshiped foreign gods, and lived corruptly. There were going to be consequences. Babylon would invade, destroy Jerusalem, and take the people captive for seventy years. It's not hard to understand why Jeremiah was hated! The immediate future God showed him could not be attractive to anyone, but it was the true Word of God. And there was still hope in it- of repentance and restoration if the people would hear and choose to repent. God longed to revive them. They continually chose not to listen. There were plenty of other voices they could listen to, many other prophets who spoke of peace and prosperity and no consequences for their evil actions. False prophets who did not speak God's words but their own and what they knew the people wanted to hear. What they spoke, however, was lies and delusion.
Jeremiah didn't have much of a choice in the matter of prophesying. God had created him for it, filled him with His words. Jeremiah said when he tried to keep silent and resist speaking, God's word was like a fire inside of him ready to burst forth, burning his bones. He literally could not keep it in.
God says of the prophets who willingly lead the people astray,
" I did not send these prophets, yet they ran with a message. I did not speak to them, yet they prophesied. If they had really stood in My council, they would have enabled My people to hear My words and would have turned them back from their evil ways and their evil deeds."- Jeremiah 23:21-22 ( NKJV)
The false prophets gave watered down lies that feed the peoples desire to ease their conscience and numb their senses. But God's Word is powerful-it is a fire that consumes impurity. It is a hammer that pulverizes obstacles and convicts cleanly. It opens our eyes and wakes us up! It is Alive- because the One who gives it is the Living God.
The words of the false prophets were chaff; the thin, dry husks that have been removed from the grain. It is worth nothing- but can simply be blown away by the wind. There is no substance or worth to it. The chaff is not meant to be with the wheat- they must be separated so that the wheat can be used and consumed.
But the true Word of God is the wheat that has been separated from the husks- it is pure and whole. It is can be used to make bread and nourish the body.
So God has compared His word to three very different things; Wheat, Fire, and Hammer. It effectively nourishes, consumers, and breaks down. Whenever we receive His Word, we're allowing Him to change us and make our lives different. We're allowing Him to direct our choices. We're declaring Him Lord in our life.
' What is the chaff to the wheat?' says the Lord.
' Is not My Word like a fire?' says the LORD,
' And like a sledgehammer that pulverizes rocks in pieces?'"- Jeremiah 23:28-29 ( NKJV)
Jeremiah was an extremely unpopular prophet with the people of his day-because has was a true one.
Israel had departed from God, the people worshiped foreign gods, and lived corruptly. There were going to be consequences. Babylon would invade, destroy Jerusalem, and take the people captive for seventy years. It's not hard to understand why Jeremiah was hated! The immediate future God showed him could not be attractive to anyone, but it was the true Word of God. And there was still hope in it- of repentance and restoration if the people would hear and choose to repent. God longed to revive them. They continually chose not to listen. There were plenty of other voices they could listen to, many other prophets who spoke of peace and prosperity and no consequences for their evil actions. False prophets who did not speak God's words but their own and what they knew the people wanted to hear. What they spoke, however, was lies and delusion.
Jeremiah didn't have much of a choice in the matter of prophesying. God had created him for it, filled him with His words. Jeremiah said when he tried to keep silent and resist speaking, God's word was like a fire inside of him ready to burst forth, burning his bones. He literally could not keep it in.
God says of the prophets who willingly lead the people astray,
" I did not send these prophets, yet they ran with a message. I did not speak to them, yet they prophesied. If they had really stood in My council, they would have enabled My people to hear My words and would have turned them back from their evil ways and their evil deeds."- Jeremiah 23:21-22 ( NKJV)
The false prophets gave watered down lies that feed the peoples desire to ease their conscience and numb their senses. But God's Word is powerful-it is a fire that consumes impurity. It is a hammer that pulverizes obstacles and convicts cleanly. It opens our eyes and wakes us up! It is Alive- because the One who gives it is the Living God.
The words of the false prophets were chaff; the thin, dry husks that have been removed from the grain. It is worth nothing- but can simply be blown away by the wind. There is no substance or worth to it. The chaff is not meant to be with the wheat- they must be separated so that the wheat can be used and consumed.
But the true Word of God is the wheat that has been separated from the husks- it is pure and whole. It is can be used to make bread and nourish the body.
So God has compared His word to three very different things; Wheat, Fire, and Hammer. It effectively nourishes, consumers, and breaks down. Whenever we receive His Word, we're allowing Him to change us and make our lives different. We're allowing Him to direct our choices. We're declaring Him Lord in our life.