Now it happened, when Jeremiah had stopped speaking to all the people all the words of the LORD their God, for which the LORD their God had sent him to them, all these words, (2) that Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the proud men spoke, saying to Jeremiah, "You speak falsely! The LORD our God has not sent you to say, 'Do not go to Egypt to dwell there.'

Jeremiah 43:1-2

The people ask Jeremiah to find out from God what His will was regarding moving to Egypt, promising to do whatever the Lord said through the prophet. God told Jeremiah to tell them not to go. Their response is classic: “You speak falsely! The LORD our God has not sent you to say, ‘Do not go to Egypt to dwell there.’”

It is so tempting to cluck our tongues and wag our heads at how foolish they were.

But while we might not verbalize our rejection of God’s Word as flagrantly, each time we disobey what we know God’s Word says, are we not also being foolish?

We are not looking for “words from the Lord,” but are to search the unchanging verified word of the Lord in scripture. What is there to challenge?

When it comes to receiving counsel from other people, if it is not scripture, let us consider other people’s advice for what it is—advice, and then act wisely.

But when God speaks? We must either obey, or become fools.