Prophets vs. the Bible

     Have you ever thought about what a treasure it is that we have the Bible- the Word of God- to guide our lives? Many times it becomes too easy to take it for granted. Today, that was brought to my attention when I read Jeremiah chapter 23.
     Before I elaborate, I encourage you to go read it so you have an idea of what I'm talking about. In a nutshell, the chapter is about prophets who have led God's people astray through their false teachings. They prophesy from "the deceit of their own heart" (verse 26), rather than the word of the Lord (see verse 16). They tell everyone "I had a dream!" along with other untrue prophesies. These dishonest prophets even tell evildoers that they will have peace and no evil will ever come to them (verse 17).  As a result, the prophets and the people had forsaken God's commandments and turned to wickedness. God was utterly appalled by their actions.
     What does this have to do with the Bible? I'll tell you. The wicked prophets of Jerusalem were supposed to bring messages from God to His people. The people relied on them to honestly speak the words God had told them. Because of their deceit, however, those who listened to their words were led astray. Those prophets were how God communicated with His people, how He told them how to live. Today, we have the blessing of the Bible. Our Sword is how God communicates with us now. The people of Jerusalem did not have an Old and New Testament to verify what they were being taught, but we do.
     There is still the danger of men teaching from their own deceived hearts rather than the word of God. Unlike Jerusalem, however, we can stand against being led astray by false teachings if we are grounded in Scripture. We don't even have to rely on prophets to bring us the word of the Lord. We have His words and messages in the pages of our Bibles.  Let us be like the church members in Berea in Acts chapter 17, who searched the scriptures to test the validity of what they were taught. Let us also thank our gracious Lord daily for the blessing of the Bible, the freedom to read it, and the freedom to talk about it.

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.  (Hebrews 4:12)