The Poison of Personalized Prophecy Text: Jeremiah 29:15-20
Introduction: The Itching Ear Epidemic
We live in an age that has perfected the art of curating reality. We can block people we disagree with online. We can tailor our news feeds to show us only what we want to see. We can construct our own little echo chambers where our own brilliant opinions are reflected back to us, amplified and affirmed. And when it comes to religion, we are masters of this craft. We want a god who is a celestial butler, a divine therapist, a cosmic affirmation machine. We want prophets, but we want to be the ones who hire them. We want them to say what we would have said, if only we had a booming voice and a holy-sounding cadence.
This is not a new problem. This is the ancient and perennial sin of the human heart. It is the desire for a god made in our image, a religion that serves us instead of the other way around. The exiles in Babylon were neck-deep in this particular sin. They were in exile because they had refused to listen to God's true prophets for centuries. And now, having been disciplined for that very deafness, what do they do? They double down. They find new, more convenient prophets right there in Babylon who will tell them exactly what their itching ears want to hear, namely, that everything is fine, that God is on their side regardless of their behavior, and that this whole exile business will be over in a jiffy.
Into this self-deceiving spiritual marketplace, God sends a letter through Jeremiah. And this letter is not a gentle suggestion. It is a bucket of ice water to the face. It is a direct assault on their spiritual comfort zone. God's message here is a crucial diagnostic tool for the church in every age. If you want to know whether you are listening to God or to a projection of your own desires, look at how you react to the hard truths of Scripture. Do you welcome the prophet who calls for repentance, or do you prefer the one who says, "Peace, peace," when there is no peace? God here exposes the fraud of the Babylonian prophets by showing the exiles the terrifying reality of His judgment, a judgment rooted in the simple, stark fact that His people refused to listen to His Word.
The Text
Because you have said, 'Yahweh has raised up prophets for us in Babylon' for thus says Yahweh concerning the king who sits on the throne of David and concerning all the people who live in this city, your brothers who did not go with you into exile thus says Yahweh of hosts, 'Behold, I am sending upon them the sword, famine, and pestilence, and I will make them like split-open figs that cannot be eaten due to rottenness. I will pursue them with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence; and I will give them over to be a terror to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse and an object of horror and of hissing, and a reproach among all the nations where I have banished them, because they have not listened to My words,' declares Yahweh, 'which I sent to them by My slaves the prophets, rising up early and sending; but you did not listen,' declares Yahweh. You, therefore, hear the word of Yahweh, all you exiles, whom I have sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon.
(Jeremiah 29:15-20 LSB)
The Arrogance of Self-Service Religion (v. 15)
The problem begins with a boast, a proud declaration of spiritual self-sufficiency.
"Because you have said, 'Yahweh has raised up prophets for us in Babylon'..." (Jeremiah 29:15)
Notice the audacity. They are not asking God for guidance. They are informing Jeremiah of the new facts on the ground. "We've got it covered over here, Jeremiah. Yahweh has provided us with local prophets, homegrown spiritual leaders who really 'get' our situation." This is the religious equivalent of a declaration of independence. They have outsourced their spiritual authority to men who will tell them what they want to hear. They have appointed their own prophets and stamped Yahweh's name on the appointment letter.
This is the very essence of apostasy. It is not necessarily a denial of God's existence, but rather a hijacking of His authority. It is the creature telling the Creator how He will communicate, and what He will say. This happens every time a church decides that the clear teaching of Scripture on sexuality is outdated, or that the wrath of God is unseemly, or that the call to repentance is too negative. They are, in effect, saying, "Yahweh has raised up prophets for us in the university faculty lounge, or in the halls of pop psychology, or on the bestseller list." They have decided that God's appointed messengers, the prophets and apostles recorded in Scripture, are insufficient. They need new prophets for their new situation, which is really just a desire for prophets who will sanction their sin.
The Rotten Figs Back Home (v. 16-17)
God's response is a sharp, strategic pivot. He ignores their new prophets for a moment and directs their attention back to Jerusalem, the very place the false prophets were promising a swift return to.
"...for thus says Yahweh concerning the king who sits on the throne of David and concerning all the people who live in this city... thus says Yahweh of hosts, 'Behold, I am sending upon them the sword, famine, and pestilence, and I will make them like split-open figs that cannot be eaten due to rottenness.'" (Jeremiah 29:16-17)
The exiles likely thought that those who remained in Jerusalem, the ones who escaped the first wave of deportation, were the lucky ones. They still had the king, the city, the temple. The false prophets were probably telling them that this remnant was the hope for the future. God demolishes this fantasy. He says that the king on David's throne, Zedekiah, and all the people left in Jerusalem are the objects of His imminent, fierce judgment. They are not blessed; they are cursed.
The imagery God uses is visceral and disgusting. They are like "split-open figs that cannot be eaten due to rottenness." In the ancient world, figs were a staple, a sign of blessing and prosperity. But these figs are not just bruised or a little past their prime. They are vile. They are split open, their inner corruption exposed for all to see, so utterly putrid that they are useless. This is God's assessment of the covenant people who have rejected His Word. From the outside, they may still have the trappings of religion, a king and a temple, but inwardly they are rotten to the core. This is a picture of total spiritual decomposition.
The Relentless Pursuit of a Holy God (v. 18)
God's judgment is not a passive affair. It is an active, terrifying pursuit.
"I will pursue them with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence; and I will give them over to be a terror to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse and an object of horror and of hissing, and a reproach among all the nations where I have banished them..." (Jeremiah 29:18)
God Himself is the pursuer. There is no escape. He will hunt them down with the classic covenant curses of sword, famine, and pestilence. And the purpose of this judgment is public. They were called to be a blessing to the nations, a kingdom of priests that would display the glory of Yahweh to the world. But because of their rebellion, God will make them the exact opposite. He will make them a "terror," a "curse," an "object of horror and of hissing."
When the pagan nations look at the fate of Judah, they will not be drawn to Yahweh; they will be horrified. They will hiss in derision. The name of God's people will become a reproach, a byword for disaster. This is the tragic reversal of the Abrahamic covenant. Instead of being a source of blessing, their unfaithfulness has made them a global cautionary tale, a demonstration of what happens when a people who are lavished with God's grace trample it underfoot.
The Simple Reason for Utter Ruin (v. 19)
God leaves no room for misunderstanding. The reason for this comprehensive, horrifying judgment is laid bare, and it is devastatingly simple.
"...because they have not listened to My words,' declares Yahweh, 'which I sent to them by My slaves the prophets, rising up early and sending; but you did not listen,' declares Yahweh." (Jeremiah 29:19)
This is the charge. This is the indictment. It all comes down to this: they would not listen. It was not for lack of warning. God emphasizes His own diligence in the matter. The phrase "rising up early and sending" is a beautiful and poignant anthropomorphism. It pictures God as a diligent master of a household, getting up before dawn day after day to send His messengers out with an urgent word. God was not silent. He was not distant. He was earnestly, repeatedly, patiently pleading with His people through His prophets.
Their sin was not one of ignorance, but of insubordination. They heard the words, and they rejected them. The repetition at the end, "but you did not listen," is like the final, solemn verdict of a judge. All the excuses, all the rationalizations, all the religious posturing are stripped away, and the raw nerve of their rebellion is exposed. They simply refused to submit to the authority of the Word of God.
The Final Command (v. 20)
After detailing the fate of the rotten figs in Jerusalem, God brings the message home to the exiles in Babylon.
"You, therefore, hear the word of Yahweh, all you exiles, whom I have sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon." (Jeremiah 29:20)
The "therefore" is crucial. It connects the terrifying judgment on Jerusalem directly to the exiles. The message is this: "Look at what is happening to your brothers who refused to listen. Do not make the same mistake. Your only hope is to stop listening to your hand-picked, ear-tickling prophets and to start listening to Me." He commands them to hear. This is the fundamental imperative of the covenant relationship.
And notice how He describes them: "all you exiles, whom I have sent away." He reminds them of His absolute sovereignty. They are not in Babylon because Nebuchadnezzar was mighty. They are in Babylon because Yahweh sent them there. Their exile is a divine act of judgment and discipline. The same God who is sovereign over their punishment is the only one who can be sovereign over their restoration. But that restoration will only begin when they are ready to do the one thing their brothers in Jerusalem refused to do: hear the Word of Yahweh.
Conclusion: Hearing is Life
The choice presented to the exiles is the same choice presented to us today. Who will be your prophet? Will it be the voices from the cultural Babylon that surrounds us, promising health, wealth, self-fulfillment, and an easy, affirming religion? Or will it be the authoritative, unchanging, and often demanding Word of God?
By nature, we are all rotten figs. Our hearts are deceitful, and we are experts at manufacturing our own "prophets" to justify our rebellion. We are all guilty of not listening. The judgment described here, a horrifying separation from the presence of God, is what we all deserve.
But God, in His astonishing mercy, did not leave us to rot. He did not just send prophets; He sent His Son, who is the Prophet, Priest, and King. Jesus is the very Word of God made flesh. And what did men do to Him? They refused to listen. They treated Him like a rotten fig, casting Him out of the city and killing Him. But on the cross, He took upon Himself the curse of the rotten figs. He became the "object of horror and of hissing" so that we, through faith in Him, might become the good figs, pleasing to God.
The call of the gospel is the same as Jeremiah's call to the exiles: "You, therefore, hear the word of the Lord." Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. To hear the word of the gospel is to turn from the lies of the Babylonian prophets in your own heart and to receive the truth that you are a sinner, that Christ died for sinners, and that He was raised for your justification. To hear this Word is to be saved. To refuse to listen is to remain a rotten fig, destined for the fire. Therefore, hear the Word of the Lord.