Propaganda Wars – Truth Can’t Be Cut Off

by Terry Wane Benton

We have the book of Jeremiah only because truth wins in the end. But think of the propaganda that seemed to prevail when Jeremiah was trying to preach to the corrupt establishment. God had an important mission for Jeremiah, "to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant" (Jeremiah 1:10). Demolition before reconstruction.

The leadership of Israel all the way to the kings and priests were corrupt, while padding their pockets, telling people what they wanted to hear, but never telling the truth. They were content to lead the nation into moral ruin and depravity, spreading propaganda that all was well, "peace, peace, when there is no peace" (Jeremiah 6:13-15). The people were willing to swallow the lies (propaganda) and the leaders were willing to keep feeding them such (Jeremiah 7:24). "Truth has perished and has been cut off from their mouth" (Jeremiah 7:28).

Jeremiah mourning over Jerusalem Lamentations 1:1-2

As for Jeremiah, when he tried to share the truth of God they "devised schemes against him" (Jeremiah 11:19) and planned to "cut him off" that his name would be remembered no more (Jeremiah 11:19). When you hate the truth you have to devise schemes to keep it from exposing you. The leaders pretended that Jeremiah was the bad guy and that the priests were the good guys (Jeremiah 18:18). Jeremiah was committed to truth, and the leaders of Israel were committed to propaganda wars to make people think Jeremiah was the troubler and deceiver.

King Jehoiakim cut the scroll of God's message and threw it into the fire (Jeremiah 36). This was their censorship effort. But Jeremiah just rewrote it. They threw him into prison (Jeremiah 37), a dreary dungeon for many days. But truth cannot be suppressed forever. Jeremiah was calling for repentance, but the nation did not like that message. Jeremiah told of the doom they would experience from the Babylonians, but they remained in denial. Jeremiah was right. The Babylonians did come and destroy Israel. Jerusalem was left in ruins. Jeremiah wrote "Lamentations" to lament the needless ruin and destruction. It all could have been avoided if the people had been interested in truth over propaganda.

The Jews came to realize that Jeremiah was right, that God was using Jeremiah to write the truth, and to this day the Jews have acknowledged the books of Jeremiah and Lamentation are truly books of truth, and they forever show what happens to a nation when they prefer propaganda to the truth. His truth is marching on!

Are you a seeker of truth? Or do you prefer to dismiss the truth-tellers and hold to lies and propaganda? The truth will set you free!

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