Daily Devotions
Jeremiah
"For both prophet and priest are profane"
Text: Jeremiah 23:11
SPIRITUAL LEADERS
In God’s provision, He set apart the Levites. Some would be priests, if they belonged to the Aaronic family. The others would be assistants to the priests, and would be called Levites.
God further provided prophets. Some would come from priestly families, like Jeremiah. Others could be raised up and become significant prophets of God. Many prophets were called out of their mundane occupations to serve as spokesmen of God. But in the last days of the kingdom of Judah, many priests and prophets failed miserably in their calling as servants of the Lord!
“‘For both prophet and priest are profane;
Yes, in My house I have found their wickedness,’
says the LORD.
‘Therefore their way shall be to them
Like slippery ways;
In the darkness they shall be driven on
And fall in them;
For I will bring disaster on them,
The year of their punishment,’ says the LORD.”
Jeremiah 23:11-12
1. “For both prophet and priest are profane”
a) Prophets and priests were supposed to follow a vocation.
b) Instead, they became very secular in their approach to ministry.
c) Thus, they were called “profane”.
2. “‘Yes, in My house I have found their wickedness,’ says the LORD”
a) The ministry of God was meant to be sacred.
b) To make it secular was wrong!
c) Worse than making the work of God secular was the problem of wickedness!
i) Both priests and prophets were guilty of wickedness.
ii) They were negligent in their duties.
iii) Many were led astray because of their false teachings.
3. “Therefore their way shall be to them like slippery ways”
a) This would be their punishment.
b) They were supposed to teach the way of the Lord.
c) They promoted “other ways”.
d) Their way would become “slippery ways”.
4. “In the darkness they shall be driven on and fall in them”
a) They were supposed to give light to people.
b) Light came from the Lord.
c) In abandoning light, they ended with darkness.
d) They would now be driven by darkness and they would stumble and fall.
5. “‘For I will bring disaster on them, the year of their punishment,’ says the LORD”
a) Disaster was planned for these wicked prophets and priests.
b) They will face punishment from the LORD.
i) They had failed in their God-given tasks.
ii) They did not repent when corrected.
iii) They stubbornly pursued their foolish thoughts and desires.
iv) They would reap what they had sown.