12 I spoke words like all these to Zedekiah king of Judah, saying, “Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him and his people, and live! 13 Why will you die, you and your people, by the sword, famine and pestilence, as the Lord has spoken to that nation which will not serve the king of Babylon? 14 So do not listen to the words of the prophets who speak to you, saying, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon,’ for they prophesy a lie to you; 15 for I have not sent them,” declares the Lord, “but they prophesy falsely in My name, in order that I may drive you out and that you may perish, you and the prophets who prophesy to you.”
16 Then I spoke to the priests and to all this people, saying, “Thus says the Lord: Do not listen to the words of your prophets who prophesy to you, saying, ‘Behold, the vessels of the Lord’s house will now shortly be brought again from Babylon’; for they are prophesying a lie to you. 17 Do not listen to them; serve the king of Babylon, and live! Why should this city become a ruin? 18 But if they are prophets, and if the word of the Lord is with them, let them now entreat the Lord of hosts that the vessels which are left in the house of the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem may not go to Babylon. 19 For thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the pillars, concerning the sea, concerning the stands and concerning the rest of the vessels that are left in this city, 20 which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take when he carried into exile Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem. 21 Yes, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that are left in the house of the Lord and in the house of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem, 22 ‘They will be carried to Babylon and they will be there until the day I visit them,’ declares the Lord. ‘Then I will bring them [h]back and restore them to this place.’”
Just so Zedekiah and the people of Judah didn’t feel left out, God gave them the same message that He gave to all the messengers from the surrounding countries. That is, submit to the yoke of Babylon, or perish fighting again God. Still, this was a difficult word, even if it were easy to obey (which it wasn’t), as other prophets were preaching the opposite message.
These false prophets were claiming that the vessels which utensils which were carried away to Babylon would soon return. Yet God tells them in v. 22 that even those things which remain in Jerusalem would be carried off to Babylon. Even still, God says to those prophets, “If they think the vessels will come back, then let them pray for that!” But they didn’t, and wouldn’t, because they were not serving God, but themselves.
It reminds me of something I’ve heard for years, which is especially appropriate with current events, which is that we should pray for the peace of Israel. But traditionally, the peace of Israel has been a sign of the end days. In that regard, it is brought about by one who does not come from God, but is against Him. In any case, the end days are not to be one of peace, but growing conflict, war, and escalation (Matthew 24).
Should we pray for Israel? Most definitely, but not necessarily for their peace. Rather, we should pray for their salvation, by any means possible. As Paul wrote in Romans, they have been hardened that salvation may be preached to the gentiles. He hoped that his own ministry to the gentiles (non-Jews), would move them to jealousy, and that they might then turn their hearts back to God as a result.
In any case, we should pray for God’s will to be done, unlike these false prophets. We should be about our Father’s business, and while we may not have prophets preaching to us like Jeremiah, we have God’s Word written down to show us the way in which we ought to walk. We certainly have plenty of false voices, preaching all sorts of things, true or false, and we need to measure these by the Word of God.
It certainly seems as though we are living in the end days, and so it is all the more important that we read and know what God has said, so that we are not swayed by deceivers. But equally important, that we would be salt and light to the world, and to Israel, to make God’s salvation known to a world that desperately needs Him.