What does "perverted the words" mean in the context of Jeremiah 23:36? Setting the Scene • Jeremiah 23 exposes false prophets who claimed direct messages from God while actually inventing their own ideas. • Verse 36 pinpoints the heart of the problem: “...every man’s own word becomes his oracle, and so you pervert the words of the living God, the LORD of Hosts, our God.” What “Perverted the Words” Signifies • “Pervert” translates a Hebrew verb meaning to twist, turn around, or warp. • The prophets weren’t merely misquoting; they were deliberately altering God’s message to suit their agendas. • Their slogan “the oracle of the LORD” (literally, “burden of the LORD”) had become a marketing label for self-generated prophecies, emptying the phrase of its God-given weight. Specific Ways They Twisted God’s Word • Attaching God’s name to personal opinions → “every man’s own word becomes his oracle.” • Ignoring God’s true revelations already given through Jeremiah and earlier prophets. • Promising peace and prosperity when judgment was imminent (Jeremiah 23:17). • Borrowing religious vocabulary to give a divine gloss to human ambitions. Scriptural Echoes of the Same Warning • Deuteronomy 4:2 — “Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it...” • Proverbs 30:6 — “Do not add to His words, lest He rebuke you and prove you a liar.” • 2 Peter 3:16 — Some “distort” (same idea) Paul’s letters “to their own destruction.” • Revelation 22:18-19 — Final caution against adding to or taking away from prophecy. Consequences Highlighted in Jeremiah 23 • God rejects their messages (v. 31). • Shame and everlasting disgrace fall on the deceivers (v. 40). • The people are led astray, forfeiting protection they could have had by heeding true prophecy (v. 32). Takeaways for Today • Guard the line between Scripture and personal opinion. • Treat God’s Word as fixed truth, not a flexible tool for contemporary agendas. • Test every teaching: “Examine everything; hold fast to the good.” (1 Thessalonians 5:21) • Speak God’s Word accurately, plainly, and with reverence; never let clever slogans replace inspired truth. |
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