Jeremiah 29:20

Jeremiah 29:20 says, Hear ye therefore the word of the LORD, all ye of the captivity, whom I have sent from Jerusalem to Babylon:  God called on all the captives in Babylon to hear Him, just as He calls on all who are captive to sin to hear Him today.  Of course, He does not send us into captivity to sin as He said He set them into captivity in Babylon.  Verse twenty-one declares, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, of Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and of Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, which prophesy a lie unto you in my name; Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he shall slay them before your eyes;  God said that Ahab and Zedekiah prophesied lies to the people and would be delivered to Nebuchadnezzar to be put to death before their eyes.  Verse twenty-two adds, And of them shall be taken up a curse by all the captivity of Judah which are in Babylon, saying, The LORD make thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire;  They may have claimed to speak for God, but God said they did not and would meet a terrible fate for claiming to do so.  It is bad enough to sin, but to do so and claim to represent God while doing so is even worse.  Verse twenty-three continues, Because they have committed villany in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbours’ wives, and have spoken lying words in my name, which I have not commanded them; even I know, and am a witness, saith the LORD.  God said that they had committed villiany by committing adultery with their neighbors' wives and by lying against Him, which was even worse.  Verse twenty-four states.  Thus shalt thou also speak to Shemaiah the Nehelamite, saying,  Verse twenty-five adds. Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, Because thou hast sent letters in thy name unto all the people that are at Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying,  Shemaiah was singled out because he took issue with the letters that Jeremiah had sent to the priests, so he sent one of his own.  Verse twenty-six continues, The LORD hath made thee priest in the stead of Jehoiada the priest, that ye should be officers in the house of the LORD, for every man that is mad, and maketh himself a prophet, that thou shouldest put him in prison, and in the stocks.  God said that Shemaiah was calling on the false priests to exert their power over the people.  Verse twenty-seven continues, Now therefore why hast thou not reproved Jeremiah of Anathoth, which maketh himself a prophet to you?  Shemaiah asked why these priests had not reproved Jeremiah.  It is really bad when those who claim to represent God call on people to reprove those who really do.  Verse twenty-eight declares, For therefore he sent unto us in Babylon, saying, This captivity is long: build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them.  Shemaiah said that Jeremiah had sent the people of Judah into captivity and told them to live there, not that God had done so.  Verse twenty-nine adds, And Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the ears of Jeremiah the prophet.  Zephaniah the priest read the letter to Jeremiah.  Verse thirty states, Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah, saying,  God's word once again came to Jeremiah.  What the letter said was of no importance to Jeremiah, but what God said was all that mattered.  We do not need to be concerned what the world says today, especially those who claim to speak for God but proclaim things that are not in accordance with His written word, but we need to be concerned only with what God says.  It will never be in opposition to His written word.  Verse thirty-one proclaims, Send to all them of the captivity, saying, Thus saith the LORD concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite; Because that Shemaiah hath prophesied unto you, and I sent him not, and he caused you to trust in a lie:  God told Jeremiah to send word to the captives concerning Shemaiah, who had prophesied to the people and had not been sent by God.  He had caused the people to believe a lie.  Verse thirty-two adds, Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite, and his seed: he shall not have a man to dwell among this people; neither shall he behold the good that I will do for my people, saith the LORD; because he hath taught rebellion against the LORD.  God said that Shemaiah would not see the good that He would do among His people, because he had taught rebellion against God.  Shemaiah's name would not be carried on.  Those who will not accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord will likewise be cut out of God's kingdom.