“For from the least to the greatest of them, everyone is greedy for unjust gain; and from prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely. They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace’” (Jeremiah 6:13–14 ESV).
Jeremiah spoke during the final decades before Jerusalem’s fall to Babylon. The people of Judah were deeply corrupt, and their leaders—prophets and priests alike—were complicit. Instead of confronting sin, they minimized it. Instead of calling for repentance, they announced “shalom” as though God were unconcerned. The people’s “wound” was not just political instability but spiritual rebellion against the Lord. The leaders applied superficial bandages, offering false assurances of peace when judgment was looming. This false cry of “peace” became a tragic refrain of Jeremiah’s ministry. Later, the apostle Paul warned that a time would come when people with “itching ears” would not endure sound teaching but would gather to hear teachers to “suit their own passions” (2 Tim. 4:3-4).
We too live in an age where voices promise peace without repentance, assurance without obedience, and comfort without the cross. How easy it is to prefer soothing words to searching truth! Yet only Christ offers real shalom. His peace is not a shallow denial of sin but a life-changing redemption secured by His blood shed at Calvary.
It’s a sad state of affairs when the prophets and priests who claim to represent God “deal falsely,” filling their congregant’s ears with lies of peace when war is at their gates. Better to hear bad news from one’s physician and be able to get help, than to hear lies and be left dying with a false prognosis. In the same way, it’s better to follow one who teaches and preaches God’s Word without apology, than one who offers human platitudes to tickle the ears.
PRAYER: Dear Father, forgive us for the times we have sought peace apart from You or listened to words that soothed but did not heal. Help us to rest in the true peace that comes through Jesus, our Prince of Peace. Give us courage to speak the truth in love, offering not superficial comfort but the saving hope of the gospel. May our lives point others to Christ, who alone offers true peace that passes understanding. In His name we pray, amen.