What is the meaning of Jeremiah 23:22?

But if they had stood in My council

• God pictures an inner circle where His true servants listen before they speak (Job 15:8; Psalm 25:14).

• To “stand” there means unwavering submission, as seen when Isaiah cried, “Here am I. Send me!” (Isaiah 6:8).

• Pseudo-prophets in Jeremiah’s day skipped this step, so their messages reflected human dreams, not divine decree (Jeremiah 23:16-18).

• Genuine ministry still begins with lingering before the Lord (Amos 3:7; Mark 3:14).

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they would have proclaimed My words

• God’s test for a messenger is simple: repeat what He says, nothing less, nothing more (Jeremiah 1:7; 26:2).

• Bypassing His council produced sermons that soothed sin rather than exposing it (Ezekiel 13:2-3).

• Paul later mirrored this standard: “I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27).

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to My people

• The flock belongs to the Lord, not the preacher (Exodus 3:10; Jeremiah 7:23).

• Misleading them is not merely poor leadership but theft from God’s own household (Ezekiel 34:2-4).

• Faithful proclamation treats listeners as treasured covenant partners, never as an audience to entertain (1 Peter 2:9-10).

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and turned them back

• God measures preaching by its power to redirect lives, not just inform minds (Ezekiel 33:7-11).

• Repentance is pictured as a U-turn—away from sin and toward God’s heart (2 Chronicles 7:14; Luke 1:16-17).

• When the Word is delivered in the Spirit’s power, wanderers come home (James 5:19-20).

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from their evil ways and deeds

• Sin is both attitude (“ways”) and action (“deeds”), and God confronts both (Jeremiah 25:5; Micah 3:4).

• He is eager to pardon but never at the expense of holiness (Proverbs 28:13; 1 John 1:9).

• Nineveh’s response to Jonah models the goal: “Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence in his hands” (Jonah 3:8).

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summary

Jeremiah 23:22 contrasts false prophets with true ones. Real servants linger in God’s presence, echo His exact words, remember the people are His, and aim for life-changing repentance. Any ministry—then or now—that skips the council of the Lord forfeits the power to turn hearts, but those who stand, speak, and shepherd under His authority become instruments of genuine transformation.