Peace, Peace, When There Is No Peace

They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying,

'Peace, peace,' when there is no peace.— Jeremiah 6:14, 8:11

Twice in the first few chapters of the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah the above verse is presented. In each passage, the object of the Lord’s anger is Priest, and Prophet, and every one in between. Every leader was dealing falsely (6:13). The national problem was idolatry and forsaking God (1:16). Priests and prophets were the agents who should have objected to ungodliness and tried to bring Israel back into a right relationship with their Lord. But they healed the wound lightly.

A parallel would be me going to a physician, with an advanced case of cancer, and the doctor telling me, “No worries. You’ll be fine. It will pass in a day or two.” By claiming my problem was much less serious than it really was, and not prescribing aggressive, effective treatment, the doctor would have been “healing too lightly.”

In the last days of Judah, they needed a stern talking-to to bring about a complete change of direction. Their leadership failed to provide it, so the Lord enlisted Jeremiah to do what the stale leadership either could not or would not.

No one is served by our ignoring sins that separate us from our Lord. People need the truth, not false prophets who make light of real problems. Never say, “peace, peace”, when there is no peace.