Misplaced Zeal: Understanding Today’s Moral Confusion

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective

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Summary of Jeremiah 26
This chapter consists of four parts*:

1. a summary of Jeremiah’s Temple Sermon (vv. 2-6),
2. the prophet’s arrest and trial (vv. 7-16),
3. the elders’ plea for his life (vv. 17-19, 24), and
4. the incident involving Urijah and his execution (vv. 20-23).

Jeremiah 26 contains an incident out of Jeremiah’s life, as do chapters 27 through 45. In Jeremiah 26:1-19, there is a clear attempt to kill Jeremiah, though unsuccessful.

Unsuccessful Attempt to Kill Jeremiah
Jeremiah is told by God to go to the Temple and preach the exact message God gave him, without any variance. This was during the reign of King Jehoiakim (began in 609 BC).

In 26:1-6, Jeremiah is to warn everyone that they need to turn to God in repentance and follow Him. God continued to reach out to the wayward Judahites, continuing to warn them of impending disaster if they did not. This is reflective of God’s mercy toward humanity and it also applies to the Christian. We dare not take God’s mercy and grace for granted, using it as a reason to live any way we want to live.

In 26:7-11, the priests and (false) prophets heard Jeremiah speaking and said he must die because he prophesied against the city of Jerusalem. In reality, he was prophesying against the people who were stiff-necked and being obedient to the message God gave to him to speak to the people.

Jeremiah defends himself (v12), then repeats that the people must repent (v13). This is a continuing theme throughout not only the Old Testament but the New Testament as well. Yet how many believers rebel at God’s commands?

The people of Jeremiah’s day could not see their actual sin! To them right was wrong and up was down. It is like today when we have people including politicians who fight for those who are illegally in this country, flaunting the law and turning things around to make those who uphold and support the law of the land look like the real criminals.

Too many people who illegally enter America come in with their hands out and many are criminals from their own lands. These people are too often put ahead of actual American citizens yet many are so blind to actual truth. They cannot see their own blindness due to being deceived and they firmly believe their misplaced zeal (anger/bitterness), is a sign that they are correct in their beliefs. In reality, they stand with law-breakers.

The successful attempt to kill Urijah, Jeremiah 26:20-24
The prophet Urijah prophesied about 8 miles west of Jerusalem, preaching against the city and people, based on Jeremiah’s prophetic discourse to the people of Jerusalem.

King Jehoiakim did not like what Urijah was preaching and had his soldiers tracked Uriah down after he fled to Egypt. They brought him back and executed him.

It is clear that too many of Israel’s/Judah’s leaders opposed true prophets. This is historical record. The northern kingdom (Israel) had no good kings at all. The southern kingdom (Judah), had only a few.

These bad kings only wanted to hear what they wanted to hear. They were driven by their own lust for power and autonomy, believing they answered to no one, not even God (if he existed, according to them). This is too much like people today, who live the way they want to live in spite of the fact that God exists. They mistake God’s patient longsuffering (mercy, grace), for His absence. Like the Israelites of old who said, “God doesn’t see or hear us” or as in Zechariah 7:11, simply refused to hear and stopped their ears, like little children.

Yoke of Nebuchadnezzar (Jeremiah 27)
In 27:1-11, Jeremiah is commissioned by God to tell everyone that God is in charge of all the nations and gives it to whom He will give it. This is a clear nod to His absolute sovereignty and control of humanity.

God had decreed that King Nebuchadnezzar would reign and any nation that did not willingly come under his rule would be punished “with the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand.” This message also summarized the content of chapters 7-10.

If the Judahites continued to reject the LORD, and disobey the Mosaic Covenant, He would destroy the temple and Jerusalem completely. The temple would suffer complete destruction, and Jerusalem would become a curse, namely, an object of ridicule and an example of horrible suffering.

Jeremiah also warned the people about the false prophets and told them not to listen to them. Theses prophets were lying by saying the people of Judah would not serve Babylon. It’s what many wanted to hear (including the king), but it was not the truth.

Jeremiah’s Message (Jeremiah 27)
We learn a number of things from this particular chapter.

• Divine Sovereignty: God is in full control (vv12-13)
• Warning against the false prophets (vv14-15)
• Obedience through submission (vv14-15)
• Judgment and discipline for lack of submission (vv19-21)
• Hope and restoration (v22)

These concepts were not only extremely important for the Judahites to learn and live by, but they are equally important for today’s Christian to learn and live by as well. If we understand, acknowledge and do the things God requires of us, things will go well with us. If we fail to understand those five things, and diligently follow through on them, we will flounder as Christians. We must understand that God is fully sovereign, that no one can disrupt His plans. We also must avoid the growing number of people today who call themselves prophets but are not. If we follow them, we will be sidetracked every time.

It is equally important to know, understand and obey His will. Much of His will is revealed to us through Scripture, but too often, people want to go well beyond His spoken Word to inner impressions. If we do not know His Word, but prefer to rely on inner urges, we clearly cannot discern His will because we do not know His Word. Too many “revelations” we hear about today go well beyond His Word and actually add to it. We should avoid this at all costs.

Hananiah’s Falsehood and Doom (Jeremiah 28)
Here is a perfect example of a false prophet in the person of Hananiah. Claiming to speak for God, he did not (vv1-4). Yet, many listened to him to their own demise. He was saying the exact opposite of what Jeremiah said, but because what Hananiah said was music to the ears of many to most Judahites, his words were embraced, while Jeremiah’s were rejected. There was no discernment among most of the Judahites.

Jeremiah responded to Hananiah’s words that if what Hananiah said was God’s will, wonderful. Jeremiah actually said, “Amen.” However, Jeremiah knew what Hananiah prophesied was absolute falsehood. Jeremiah then prophesied against Hananiah.

Hananiah then took the yoke from around Jeremiah’s neck and broke the yoke (to symbolize Babylon’s doom). Again, Hananiah was opposed to the truth of what God was prophesying through Jeremiah by issuing lies, things he had not actually heard from God Himself. This happens way too often today with charlatans and deceivers who have become very adept at controlling other people through their falsehoods.

Jeremiah then speaks against Hananiah and pronounces the Lord will kill the false prophet (vv15-17), which did occur later in that year.

Here are just some of today’s false prophets as highlighted by Mike Winger, who served as a pastor for 14 years. His YouTube channel seeks to educate people against all the problems associated with NAR (New Apostolic Reformation), which is the latest rendition of the Charismatic Movement.

I’ve mentioned it before, but NAR boasts 500 prophets/apostles living today. The movement was largely begun by C. Peter Wagner, who is deceased and knows the absolute truth now. The people claiming to be either prophets or apostles are believed to have the same authority as the original twelve apostles and the prophets of Scripture. The unfortunate part is that these people are always adding to God’s written Word with their new “revelations.” While the true prophets of old as well as the apostles did add to God’s Word, it was by God’s design. Because of it, we have the full canon of Scripture today.

But it is interesting that in today’s Christendom, more and more people are claiming to hear from God. They gain hundreds of thousands of followers and it doesn’t even matter to many or most if their pronouncements are 100% correct or not. Need I remind readers of the most recent failures predicting the Rapture?

Here are three “prophets” that Winger discusses. Interestingly, Brandon Biggs, was the guy who allegedly predicted that Trump was going to be the recipient of an assassination attempt and that it would hit his ear. There are numerous problems and inaccuracies with Biggs’ prophecy, which Winger brings out.

• Mike Winger on Todd White:
  • https://youtu.be/FyoR5HQjI6w?si=AMVZEVlMtzFlcWYG
• Winger on Shawn Bolz:
  • https://youtu.be/GH05S53QlY0?si=k3FZ45scKnahyBFZ
• Winger on Brandon Biggs:
  • https://www.youtube.com/live/hwisXDKSwdM?si=ogUDHOlb9j8fh8eL

Jeremiah’s Letter to Captives (Jeremiah 29)
In this chapter, Jeremiah writes a letter to captives who had been taken to the kingdom of Babylon, advising them to settle down, build homes and be good citizens of Babylon while in captivity (vv4-7). He also once again condemns false prophets (vv8-9; 20-32), for their lies.

Jeremiah also speaks of God’s promise that He will return after 70 years (vv10-14) and bring the captives back to the Land of Israel.

The truth is that God will be found when the people turn and seek Him (vv12-14). This applies to non-Christians who seek Him as well as Christians who return after a time of falling away through careless thinking and living.

Jeremiah promises again that God will judge those who disobeyed and remained in Jerusalem (vv15-20). Many likely thought that they were bravely defending Jerusalem against invaders and that God would be pleased. However, they completely rejected the notion that God was not happy with their lifestyle and would take them into captivity because of a complete lack of repentance.

Application for Christians Today
Jeremiah 26-29 help us understand:

• God’s sovereignty
• God’s care and concern
• The importance of trusting the Lord by following Him regardless of how things may look to us
• We should avoid surrounding ourselves with “prophets” who tell us what we want to hear instead of what God’s Word actually says to us
• We should diligently look forward to the time we are permanently with Jesus in eternity
• We should look for stability and purpose in difficult situations

As Christians, it is sometimes too easy to sit back on our perceived laurels and slide into auto mode. We are saved. We cannot lose our salvation. We’re good. The truth is that we always need to be growing in His grace and knowledge so that our lives conform more and more to His will in every way. Some of the above bullets are more difficult than others like trusting Him regardless of how we might actually feel about a particular situation.

One of the things that helps to keep us moving in the right direction is when we consistently look forward to the time we will be permanently with Jesus in eternity. This mindset provides a purpose and stability in the many difficult situations that God allows into our lives.

I cannot imagine being Jeremiah. Talk about having a ministry that looks like it failed. He faced death from people who didn’t believe him or didn’t want to hear what he had to say. He was reviled, ridiculed and harassed over his prophetic utterances. Surely, God was with him and strengthened him, but consider that he was opposed virtually all the time from all sides.

Yet, Jeremiah obeyed the Lord and God honored that.

* from Dr. Constable’s Notes on Jeremiah

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective

Source: https://studygrowknowblog.com/2026/02/02/misplaced-zeal-understanding-todays-moral-confusion/