Jeremiah 26:16-19
What is written? (ESV)
Then the officials and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, This man does not deserve the sentence of death, for he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God. And certain of the elders of the land arose and spoke to all the assembled people, saying, Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and said to all the people of Judah: Thus says the Lord of hosts, Zion shall be plowed as a field; Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the house a wooded height. Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? Did he not fear the Lord and entreat the favor of the Lord, and did not the Lord relent of the disaster that he had pronounced against them? But we are about to bring great disaster upon ourselves.
What does it say?
Some officials are speaking up against Jeremiah’s death sentence saying he is speaking for God. They are comparing his message to that of Micah’s, another prophet that also prophesied of Jerusalem’s destruction. King Hezekiah's fear of God and petition for His favor averted the destruction, but Micah’s message was no less from God. The elders warn that they are about to bring great disaster upon themselves.
What is its immediate context?
Jeremiah has been declaring God’s word of Judah’s/Jerusalem’s destruction and captivity at the hands of Babylon and telling them not to resist. In this instance, the “priests and prophets” question his message from God and want him dead. Some other “officials” are stepping in to evaluate his message by comparing it to past prophets’ message – prophets that had proven to be true prophets of God – Micah (lived over 100 years earlier) and Uriah (a contemporary that fled to Egypt but was still executed).
How Jeremiah 26:16-19 is applied across Bible answers
How were false prophets identified?
There are several important concepts demonstrated in this passage. First, the officials are acknowledging the uniformity of God's message (even character). They understand that what God said in the past would still apply, and can therefore use it to evaluate Jeremiah's message.
They also understand that even though Micah's prophecy did not come true (since Hezekiah repented and God therefore relented), he was still a true prophet of God.
