Jeremiah 14.b. Disinformation in Ancient Judah

 The English term ‘disinformation’ came into everyday use in the 1980s (though it has a longer history). Its origin seems to be with the KGB who used it to describe government-driven campaigns to spread false reports in order to mislead or confuse the people. The Germans under Hitler tended to use a similar term, ‘propaganda’, which has a more neutral understanding in the long history of the Catholic Church where it means to ‘spread’ or ‘propagate’ the Gospel. 

 Disinformation today is more like the intentional use of half-truths and lies to shape people’s perception of current events. Thus, it is a form of persuasion that, in our internet age with multiple ‘news’ outlets, and with AI-driven bots, can run rampant across the globe in a day’s time. Whatever happened to RI? (real intelligence, dual meaning: ‘wisdom’ and ‘information’).

 Though the terms may be current, the practice is ancient. Ramses II put up monuments in Egypt claiming great victories when we now know, due to a variety of sources, that some of his battles ended in a stalemate and then a  retreat (the Battle of Kadesh, 1274 BC). 

 So, it is no surprise to find Jeremiah complaining to God about the other prophets in Jerusalem who were preaching the opposite of what God told Jeremiah. The government of Judah wants to silence opposing voices. 

 14: 13.  Then I said: “Ah, Lord GOD! Here are the prophets saying to them, ‘You shall not see the sword, nor shall you have famine, but I will give you true peace in this place’.”

 Jeremiah here speaks to "adonai YHWH" and thus the word ‘God’ is capitalized instead of ‘Lord’. As the time of the Babylonian invasion draws closer, the government-aligned prophets conspire to tell the people that they have "shalom emet" ‘peace true’. This is a common theme in this book where Jeremiah preaches a warning of disaster to come and the government toadies broadcast “‘Peace, peace’” and the problem is that “there is no peace” (Jeremiah 6: 14 and 8: 11). What kind of prophets are these? Let’s see what God says.

14: 14-15.  And the LORD said to me: “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name; I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds. Therefore, thus says the LORD concerning the prophets who prophesy in my name though I did not send them and who say, ‘Sword and famine shall not come on this land’, by sword and famine those prophets shall be consumed’.”

 We get the impression that Jeremiah stood alone, or with his small group of disciples, against the mouthpieces who were on the temple payroll and licking the king’s boots. 

 I wonder, is there a similar condition today? About whom might God be saying, “I did not send them, I did not tell them what to say. They are hallucinating their sermons to satisfy the perversion of their own minds”? When such false prophets and preachers ply their trade, what will be the outcome for those who listen to them?

14: 16.  “And the people to whom they prophesy shall be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem, victims of famine and sword. There shall be no one to bury them—themselves, their wives, their sons, and their daughters—for I will pour out their wickedness upon them.”

And that is the problem. People believe these false prophets and lying preachers who stray far from the word of God and, in our case, far from the words and deeds of Jesus. Who will pay the price for having listened to these false prophets? It will be the people themselves; but that is not all.

14: 17-18.  You shall say to them this word:

Let my eyes run down with tears night and day,   

and let them not cease,

for the virgin daughter of my people is struck down 

with a crushing blow,

with a very grievous wound.

If I go out into the field,   

look—those killed by the sword!

And if I enter the city,   

look—those sick with famine!

For both prophet and priest ply their trade throughout the land   

and have no knowledge.

 Is the prophet crying or is God crying? Or, as we suggested before, do they cry together over the inevitable? It is too late, and because the prophets and priests have lied, the people do not know it. They are still trying to pray.   

14: 19-22. Have you completely rejected Judah?   

Does your heart loathe Zion?

Why have you struck us down   

so that there is no healing for us?

We look for peace

but find no good,   

for a time of healing,

but there is terror instead.

We acknowledge our wickedness, O LORD,   

the iniquity of our ancestors,   

for we have sinned against you.

Do not spurn us, for your name’s sake,

do not dishonor your glorious throne;

remember, 

and do not break your covenant with us.

Can any idols of the nations bring rain,   

or can the heavens give showers?

Is it not you,

O LORD our God?   

We set our hope on you,   

for it is you who do all this.

 Well, this chapter ends abruptly and in a bad place. The people make their pleas to God, and there is no answer. Wait. Maybe ‘no answer’ is the answer for people who have tried to humbug God for far too long. Some of the pleas here seem to acknowledge the people's sins, then they blame their ancestors. Then they try to intimidate God by warning that he shouldn't let harm come to them because then his reputation would be at stake. Pitiful people; of all things, they ask God not to break his covenant with them. Cheeky, aren't they?

We will see how it turns out because the trialogue between God and Jeremiah and the people is not over yet.