Oracle of Jeremiah: You only deceived yourselves when you sent me to the LORD your God. Jeremiah 42:20

The Book of Jeremiah tells of the last days of King Zedekiah as ruler of Judah, and what happened in the promised land after the conquest of the entire country by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. This story attributed to one of the major prophets teaches us the importance of prophetic activity for the spiritual guidance of a nation, and how when people lose common sense due to hardness of heart, there is no future or blessing.
The Book of Jeremiah relates that Zedekiah had been appointed king of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar, but then Zedekiah rebelled and broke his oath to the king of Babylon and this led to a second siege of the city of Jerusalem. In this situation, Jeremiah suffered oppression, because he had to prophesy the destruction of Jerusalem, just as God had announced to him.
The city, Jeremiah wrote, eventually fell to Nebuchadnezzar, and Zedekiah was deported to Babylon along with a great part of the people who were living in Jerusalem. In Jerusalem and its surroundings, only the poorest of the city remained, and strangely Jeremiah was treated well by the order of Nebuchadnezzar. Zedekiah was the last king of Judah and in his place Gedaliah was appointed governor of the region. But the Bible relates that Gedaliah did not live much longer and was murdered by Ishmael who was of royal lineage, as a result of this, many Jews, fearing Nebuchadnezzar, decided to escape to the country of Egypt.
It was then that the prophet Jeremiah was consulted by the leaders of the people who told him that they would accept whatever God answered. After ten days the Lord spoke to the prophet, and Jeremiah told the leaders of the people that they should not flee to Egypt, because Nebuchadnezzar would pursue them and occupy the country, thus unleashing disaster. But because of the hardness of hearts, Jeremiah's words were rejected. To which Jeremiah responded: "You only deceived yourselves when you sent me to the LORD your God and said, ´Pray to the LORD our God for us, and tell us everything that the LORD our God says, and we'll do it.´". Jeremiah 42:20.
Finally, Jeremiah's oracle was fulfilled in its entirety, making it clear that the words of a prophet cannot be taken in vain.

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