Beguiling False Prophecy

Ezekiel gives a picture of how heathenism had crept into the prophetic office and made it an instrument of falsehood. He speaks of women prophetesses who, in their vanity, spoke not from divine inspiration but from their own inspiration. Clothed with magic bands and veils, possibly imitating the mantles of the prophets, they practiced some form of divination to give the impression they were prophetesses from God. Their lies threw suspicion on the pious but strengthened the hands of wicked men. Their false message produced a good feeling in those who were facing judgment. God’s name was profaned by their lies. Such support from lying prophetesses tended to bring life to the evil and to endanger the righteous. Instead of always announcing good to people, the true prophet had to predict war, famine, death, and judgment. These precede the message of life. It is better to follow the message of death to life from the true prophet than the path of life to death of the false.

Taken from The Devotional Daily Bible