God's Heart

Here we go again. Read the words of Jeremiah 5:30-31:
    "An appalling and horrible thing has happened in the land: 31  The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule on their own authority; and My people love it so! But what will you do at the end of it?"

First the Lord evaluates what is happening. It is "appalling and horrible." So with that perspective, what is so bad? Prophets are speaking falsely. False prophets are horrible and appalling. But the second appalling and horrible thing is that "My people love it!" That is the real tragedy.

Second Timothy 4:3 says people will have "itching ears." They want to hear pleasant things and the false prophets accommodate them. False prophesies can be tailored to massage peoples' wants and desires. The people love it.

"But...what will you do at the end?" (Ellipsis added.) If we are depending on false facts, then what will happen when reality strikes? There will be nothing to support or hold up our interests. A contemporary example would be people who invested in some Ponzi scheme. At the end, when it comes crashing down, there is no recourse. And it is even worse than financial disaster when our beliefs and doctrines are exposed as failures.

Is it any wonder that God said that He hates lying tongues? (Proverbs 6:16, 17) As I was reading that, I also was looking at David's life. A "minor" incident is recorded in 2 Samuel 9. David wants to honor his promise to Jonathan and seeks any of his family that David can help.

Why would this be important to David? Acts 13:22 records God's own evaluation of David. "He is a man after My own heart." It is clear  that David's shenanigans in Gath were not part of that characterization when he lied and deceived King Achish. (1 Samuel 21) It also does not include the incident with Uriah's wife and his ultimate murder.

But God's heart is for truth. We saw that in Proverbs. And David repented. He reformed and began to value truth. And he demonstrated that in his treatment of Saul's survivors. It was especially manifested in Mephibosheth, Jonathan's son. In a society that was based on health and strength, this crippled son of his friend was accorded a prominent position. David, here as much as anyplace else in his life, trained his heart to follow the Lord.

Again, the details of Scripture are inserted for a reason. God is using every possible means to point us to the life that pleases Him, and more importantly, shows Him to others.

This may be a little of a stretch, but a lesson we can learn from this is, "If your beliefs, and consequently, behavior, are not shaped by the Scripture and theology, your theology will be shaped by your behavior. The people in Jeremiah's day were shaping their desired prophesy on falsehoods. Specifically they were told that Babylon would leave them alone. Therefore, it was "lovely," but deadly wrong. David's behavior was driven by a desire to honor God's word. His behavior was indeed, lovely and loving.

Our goal should be to be named, "A man after God's own heart." (Or woman.)