In Jer 27:16-22, the prophet Jeremiah had a message his audience did not want to hear. The Babylonians were threatening the Jewish nation and had already taken many of the temple’s treasures to Babylon. There had been two deportations of people as well. The people left behind wanted to know when the treasures and the people would return. The people were, after all, family members.
Jeremiah had told the people to submit to Babylonian rule. They should not resist what was about to happen. The rest of the nation would be taken away, along with the vessels that remained in the temple. They would remain in Babylon for seventy years.
That is not what the people wanted to hear. Jeremiah was aware that other “prophets” were giving a different message. They said that “the vessels of the Lord’s house will now shortly be brought back from Babylon” (Jer 27:16). This meant that their family members would soon return as well. And it meant that the Babylonians would not defeat them. They would keep their homes. They would stay in their homeland. The previous deportations were only a momentary setback.
If you were in the audience, which message would you be more likely to accept? Jeremiah was proclaiming terrible news. The other “prophets” were giving them comforting news—news they wanted to hear.
These men had some credibility. Jewish religious tradition had long held that the temple in Jerusalem could not be destroyed. It was, after all, God’s house. He would not allow a pagan nation to desecrate it completely.
These words and traditions were comforting. But they were lies. And they were dangerous. Failure to obey God’s command to submit to Babylon would cause the coming destruction to be much worse (27:16-17).
Believers can fall into this trap. They can desire good news more than truth. They can want to hold on to traditions that make them comfortable. This problem has existed among God’s people in every age. Paul told Timothy that Christians will desire teachers who tell them what they want to hear, tickling their ears (2 Tim 4:3). Jeremiah not only rebuked these false prophets but also gave a message that contradicted them. False teaching would have catastrophic consequences for the nations around Judah, for the king, and for the people. It is the same today. Christians should seek teaching that rightly divides God’s Word, even if it challenges us and tells us things we do not want to hear (2 Tim 2:15). Sometimes the Word takes us out of our comfort zone.
There are many examples of this in our age. I will address one. Most believing Evangelicals reject the doctrine of rewards. Such a rejection might even be in the doctrinal statement of their church. Most mainstream Bible teachers certainly teach it. The idea that all believers will be equal in the kingdom is comforting to many. They might not want to be great in the kingdom. They picture an eternity where they rest in relative solitude. Who wants to work? Subconsciously, at least, it means that they will not have to give an account of their lives. That is what they have heard, and that is what they want to hear.
But such teachings are false. Even if a Bible teacher realizes that the NT teaches rewards, he might refuse to teach the doctrine. Why not tell the people what they want to hear? What harm can come from it? Besides, he might lose his job if he rocks the boat.
The harm can be great. It will cause believers to misinterpret the Scriptures. They will lose a powerful motivation to live a godly life. This, in turn, will result in eternal riches.
We all want to hear what we want to hear. We want to be comfortable. Instead, we should say, “Give it to me straight. Tell me what God’s Word says.”
