When religious leaders re-interpret Scripture to suit themselves.

How can you say, “We are wise, for we have the law of the Lord,” when actually the lying pen of the scribes has handled it falsely? The wise will be put to shame; they will be dismayed and trapped. Since they have rejected the word of the Lord, what kind of wisdom do they have?...From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit. They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. “Peace, peace,” they say, when there is no peace. (Jeremiah 8:8-11)

In this passage, Jeremiah continues his accusation that the people did not know the requirements of the Lord. But it was the Temple priesthood who were really in Jeremiah’s sights. They claimed to be the educated elite of the nation, saying; “We are wise, for we have the Torah to guide us.”

This provoked the most serious charge of actually tampering with the historic teaching given by God to Moses. It was the role of the scribes within the Temple community to copy the scrolls and to ensure the accuracy of every letter and its pointing. If their work could not be trusted because they were changing the meaning of words to suit their own interpretation, the authority of the word of God was undermined.

Tampering with Scripture

Jeremiah’s charge was that the whole priestly community was corrupt; they had very little respect for the integrity of the word of God, which they actually changed to suit their own purposes. He says that they had rejected the wisdom of God and substituted their own worldly wisdom. Sadly, this has been a predilection of theologians down the ages. They have always injected their own interpretations into Scripture.

No doubt this has often been well-meant, in order to make the teaching more understandable for readers. But this is the reason why we have so many different versions of the Bible and it is very difficult to know what the original scrolls actually said. Clearly, this is not a modern practise. Jeremiah was aware of the same activity by the scribes in Jerusalem more than 2,500 years ago.

Jeremiah’s charge was that the priests did not respect the integrity of the word of God, which they actually changed to suit their own purposes.

What is the spirit behind these practices? It is surely one of pride: that we think that our human wisdom is superior to God’s! The Apostle Paul dealt with a similar situation among the educated elite in Corinth. He said: “Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?” (1 Cor 1:20).

At root, it is the desire for power that drives human beings to want to take control away from God and to exercise it ourselves. But Jeremiah points to the foolishness of this because once human beings reject the word of the Lord, they are left with only the limited ability of human minds to foresee the outcome of decisions, or the direction in which they are leading. It was the wisdom of God that revealed to Jeremiah what was going to happen to Jerusalem and the Temple if King Zedekiah revolted against Babylon, as the Temple priests and politicians were advising.

Abuses of Power

The priests were convinced that the presence of the Temple ensured the safety of the city, because God would never allow his holy place to be desecrated by foreigners. Jeremiah knew this was a lie, because righteousness and justice were part of the very nature of God. The priests were ignoring the part of the Torah that declared, “You shall have no other gods before me” (Deut 5:7). The people did not ‘know requirements of the Lord’ and indulged in many kinds of idolatry which were deeply offensive to God.

The most serious consequence of all this was that the Temple authorities themselves spread the false belief, “Peace, Peace”, when there was no peace. This promise of peace and prosperity was deception: in fact, it was a dangerous deception because it covered up the deep theological sickness in the royal Temple community, who were mis-handling the Torah. The leaders of the nation were all part of a small elite who were “greedy for gain”. They were full of self-indulgence and were misusing their power for their own selfish ambitions.

Ezekiel spelt out the penalties against the leaders of the nation who misused their power: “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock. I will remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherds can no longer feed themselves” (Ezek 34:10).

The promise of peace and prosperity was a dangerous deception which covered up the deep theological sickness in the royal Temple community.

Deception Close to Truth

Jeremiah’s great concern was that he could foresee the terrible consequences of the deception that was consuming the whole nation. The people, who were unable to read the Torah for themselves, were easily deceived by a popular message that allowed them to do as they pleased.

Deception, of course, has to be very close to the truth, otherwise it would fool no-one. The lie that the Temple priests were spreading was close to the truth, because God would undoubtedly have protected the City of Jerusalem if the leaders and the people had put their trust fully in him and were obedient to the terms of the covenant. As Jeremiah said in his famous Temple Sermon, God did not simply give commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices (ritualistic religious practices) - he said, “Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people” (Jer 7:23).

The same requirements of trust and obedience apply today if we as individuals, and as a nation, are to enjoy the peace and prosperity of being in a right relationship with God.

This article is part of a series on the life and ministry of the Prophet Jeremiah. Click here for previous instalments.