During the days when Jeremiah lived and prophesied, the people's wickedness could not be blamed on a shortage of preachers, for they had plenty. The problems existed because they had too many who were preaching the wrong message. In Jeremiah, chapters 5 and 6, we learn that both prophet and priest had failed, and the nation's spiritual strength had dissipated. The people had relied on those who lied to them. God, through Jeremiah, plainly tells us the manner of the error and how it affected the hearers. Today, the effects of wrong teaching have not changed, no matter how honorable the teacher's motive may be.
The false assurance of the prophets resulted in vain hope. In Jeremiah 23:16 we read, "Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, 'Harken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they teach you vanity...'" There is no substitute for truth. All the world's eloquence, emotion, and pleasant platitudes can never do what truth can. Jesus taught, "Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:32)
Sincerity is not a substitute for truth. In Acts 23:1 Paul stood before the Jewish council and said, "Brethren, I have lived before God in all good conscience until this day." As he continued his defense before Agrippa, he said, "I verily thought with myself that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth..." (Acts 26:9ff) Sincerity does not make that which is false truthful. When the prophets of Jeremiah's day said to the people, "Ye shall have peace ... no evil shall come upon you" (Jeremiah 23:16), their words conveyed a vain hope. We must have hope that truly "anchors the soul." (Hebrews 6:19) That hope is rooted in God's word, not in what men say.
The prophets of Jeremiah's day preached their own ideas and opinions. Jeremiah said, "They speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of Jehovah." (Jeremiah 23:16) Perhaps they felt that what they said was right, but that is subjective faith--faith from within one's own heart and mind. Ours must be an objective faith--faith from outside ourselves, delivered from God. Paul said, "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17) Too many allow their own feelings to guide them. Often, what we feel is the result of what someone has taught us to feel. If the teaching is wrong, the feelings will also be wrong. The only way to be certain that what you feel about a spiritual matter is reliable is to base it on what God said in His inspired word (Cf. James 1:21).
The prophets of Jeremiah's day preached themselves, not the Lord. Jeremiah said, "I sent not these prophets, yet they ran: I spake not unto them, yet they prophesied." (Jeremiah 23:21) These false prophets were not listening to God; yet, they were telling the people, "The Lord hath said..." (vs. 17) What better way to "blind the minds of the unbelieving" (2 Corinthians 4:4) than to convince the people they are following the Lord, when in fact they are not? Paul, when he wrote to the church in Corinth, said, "And I, brethren, when I came unto you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God, for I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power; that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God." (1 Corinthians 2:1-5)
Paul repeatedly warned about following men. "Wherefore let no one glory in men." (1 Corinthians 3:21) "This I say, that no one may delude you with persuasiveness of speech." (Colossians 2:4)
Whatever their motives, the false prophets turned people from God. Jeremiah said these false prophets "Cause my people to forget my name by their dreams, which they tell every man to his neighbor, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal." (Jeremiah 23:27) Indeed, God warned that in every generation, there would be those who teach error (2 Peter 2:1; 1 Timothy 4:1-2; 2 Timothy 4:3-4; Acts 20:30). Do the intentions of those who teach error really change the results of their teaching? The call of Jeremiah went forth to all Judah, "Thus saith the Lord, 'Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.' But they said, 'We will not walk therein.'" (Jeremiah 6:16)
Application: God's rule for marriage is simple--one man,, for one woman, for life. In Genesis 2:24, God said, "Therefore, shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh." This rule requires that there be one man for one woman. (Notice, "a man" and "his wife.") This "one flesh" relationship between "a man" and "his wife" forbids fornication, adultery, polygamy, concubines, homosexuality, and bestiality. These things would desecrate the union, and Jesus said they are grounds for one who is innocent to put away the guilty (Matthew 19:9). Therefore, the put-away fornicator is excluded from marrying another. Some teach, incorrectly, that he may marry another. Jesus said if he does, he commits sin.
Throughout history, there have been many deviations from this divine pattern. In Genesis 4:19 we read of the first case of bigamy. Later, in Genesis 12:10-20 we read of one offering his wife to another. Further, in Genesis 16:1-3 one had a child by a household maid. In Genesis 25:1-6 we read of a man taking concubines. Moses even made a concession to the regulations for Jews who were divorcing their wives (Deuteronomy 24:1-4). All this prompted the Jews to ask Jesus, "Is it lawful (for a man) to put away his wife for every cause?" (Matthew 19:3) Jesus ended the Mosaic concession and commanded, "What God hath joined together, let not man put asunder." (Matthew 19:6) and explained God's original marriage law, "But from the beginning it hath not been so." Jesus gave only one exception, "fornication." He allows one who is innocent to put away his/her guilty companion and "marry another." In every other case except this one, Jesus said if one marries another, it is adultery. Isn't that simple?
Jesus dealt with two forms of putting away--one FOR fornication, and one NOT FOR fornication. Both refer to the same action; one allows a man or woman, NOT guilty of fornication, to remarry without sin. The other does not allow for either to remarry without sin. Jesus specified the cause of putting away. If "fornication" is not the cause, divorce results in no right for either to remarry. The "putting away" or "divorce" must be the result of fornication--not the fornication the result of the divorce! This order is just as important as faith, repentance, confession, baptism, and salvation. When we fail to respect divine order, the result is always sin. Specifically, to answer the proposition, "When a man puts away his wife for any cause other than fornication (bad breath to burned biscuits; no fornication involved), and he subsequently marries another, his first wife may then put him away for fornication and claim Scriptural right to marry another. No, brethren. The divorce was for the wrong cause; the order is wrong, and the result is sin, because the teaching is wrong.