God used this picture to describe the spiritual condition of His people. Then God accused the false prophets and priests of saying, "Peace, peace," when no peace existed. The priests and prophets attempted to cover up the true failures by proclaiming that everything was ok. God said that despite the declarations of Israel's leaders no peace existed. These leaders had fixed the problems only slightly.

In addition to this text, Scripture records other places where God warned the leaders of Israel of their similar failures to address the true problems of His people. In Jeremiah 23, God likens the false prophets and priests to shepherds who scatter and destroy their sheep. Furthermore, in Ezekiel 34, God described them as shepherds who fed and cared for themselves, but left the diseased and broken sheep without care.

Today, false prophets, pastors, and teachers act in the same fashion. They proclaim the same message: "Peace, peace. Everything is ok. It's just wonderful." By avoiding the emphasis upon sound doctrine, God's people have become spiritually sick and malformed. Seldom do you hear a preacher over television or radio point out sin and call for repentance and reformation of life in conformity to God's demands. They heal the wounds of God's people only slightly. As in Jeremiah's day, this deceit fails to minister to the real hurts of God's people. They provide false help and hope.

The fifth characteristic reveals how far the false leaders had fallen from God. When God chastised them for their sinful acts, they responded with defiance of guilt from their sinful behavior. They experienced no shame for their sins. In fact, when their behavior failed to bring satisfactory results, they felt no disappointment or per-plexity for their failures. Neither did these false prophets and priests sense any humiliation that could lead to repentance. They did not even blush.

Sadly, this same attitude, which permeates many false prophets and teachers today, helps to identify them. They indulge their fleshly appetites for money and possessions. They act as if they deserve them. They even attempt to defend their practices with Scripture. When discovered in their sin, they immediately excuse their sinful be-havior and make allowances for it. They deflect shame for their actions and reveal a disinterest in correction and repentance. Ultimately, they defend themselves with the mantra, "The ends justify the means," as if stated spiri-tual aims can justify evil practices. They do not.

Finally, the false prophets and priests of Jeremiah's day showed their true colors by a denial of God's ways. In verses 16 and 17, God instructed them through Jeremiah to return to the old ways and walk in them. Further, He set watchmen to warn them to hearken to God's directions. However, they rejected them and refused to walk in them. In addition, they rebuffed the calls of God's watchmen.

In our day, popular television and radio teachers prefer the world's methods to God's ways. In their pursuit for crowds, they adopt worldly schemes that contradict God's word. They teach that our new day demands confor-mity to its mores in order to reach the populace of today. They reject the old ways of God and replace them with new tactics from business and politics. Calls for reform from Godly leaders to return to Biblical mandates go unheeded.

You might be tempted to say, "Well, now, that is Old Testament. That doesn't have anything to do with us." To a certain extent that is true. It is Old Testament, and God was dealing specifically with the sins of Israel and of Judah at the time. He pointed out how the priests and the prophets had failed their responsibilities. The kings had their hand in it, too. They set up the groves, the high places, and the idols to worship and did not seek after God.

Nevertheless, God has not changed. Although this prophecy pertains specifically to a time in the history of Is-rael, it gives us a glimpse into the heart and mind of God. He views the pastors and church leaders of our day just as He did then. He will not going to put up with the foolishness that is going on presently in the Church. He is the same today as He was back then. He is not winking at the pastors and the spiritual leaders of our day who abuse the sheep.

There is coming a day when God will hold accountable the false prophets and leaders of our day for their sins. They have led people astray and have refused to repent of their sinful behavior. They have not healed the hurts of God's people, and He will judge them. He will raise up shepherds who will feed the sheep and not them-selves, who will heal the hurts of people fully. They will take care of believers and seek after the lost, too.

The church today desperately needs revival. I remember a few years ago talking with a pastor who talked blithely about revival. He said, "I have read a couple of books on revival, and isn't it interesting?" Then he asked me the question. "Why do you think we don't see revival?"

I looked him right in the eye and said, "It is because the pastors of our day don't have enough courage to stand up for the truth." He turned his head a little bit and moved the discussion to another topic. It takes some sacri-fice to stand up for the truth. Many do not want to do that today. They want the easy life style, popularity, pres-tige, and adulation.