In Jeremiah, chapter twenty-nine, verses twenty-four through thirty-two, is about a letter to Shemaiah. Jeremiah’s letter had naturally roused the indignation of the rival prophets in Babylon, and they organised a movement, of which Shemaiah was the chief instigator, for his destruction. Shemaiah was a false prophet in Babylon who had written a letter to Zephaniah, a priest in Jerusalem, urging him to imprison Jeremiah. Evidently, Jeremiah’s letters to the exiles had angered the false prophets in Babylon. God responded by asserting that neither Shemaiah nor his descendants would participate in the return to Jerusalem.
A false prophet is an individual who claims to speak on behalf of God but delivers messages that are contrary to the truth. They are characterized by deceit, leading people away from the teachings of scripture and the true nature of God. The Bible warns believers to be aware of such people, as they can appear convincing. False is untrue, and untruth relates to lies, and lies are the seed of Satan, the devil, the father of lies.
Shemaiah, a false prophet, attempted to undermine Jeremiah’s letters by sending his own to influence, as part of verse twenty-five, and twenty-seven, “Because thou hast sent letters in thy name unto all the people in Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying, Now therefore why hast not thou reproved Jeremiah of Anathoth, which maketh himself a prophet to you?”
This letter scheme was done before by Jezebel against Naboth for his vineyard to convince the people in authority. However, now this is done by Shemaiah to get rid of Jeremiah’s letters and put him away. True and false can never come together but oppose each other. The righteous versus the unrighteous, good against evil, God differs from the devil.