Jeremiah 23:25 Meaning: When ‘I Had a Dream’ Becomes a Lie

The Hebrew word for “I have heard” is shama. It means more than sound reaching the ear. It carries the sense of paying close attention, of really listening. God is not vaguely aware of the false prophets, He has heard everything they said, every boastful claim. The word for “lies” is sheker, which means deception, something that betrays the one who trusts it. These men weren’t just mistaken. They were actively misleading people in the name of God. And the verb “I dreamed” appears twice in a row (chalamti, chalamti). The repetition sounds like someone insisting, “I had a dream. I had a dream!” But volume and confidence don’t make something true. God hears the repetition, and He knows the heart behind it. The word for “prophesy” (naba) is itself neutral, it can describe a true prophet or a false one. The title alone does not guarantee the message. What matters is whether the words match the character and revealed will of God.

Christian writers across traditions have seen this verse as a warning about the seductive power of confident claims. John Calvin, writing from a Reformed perspective, noted that these impostors flattered the ungodly, making it a “most grievous trial” for the faithful to see false prophets speaking in God’s name. Matthew Henry, a Presbyterian minister, pointed out that they pretended to have divine dreams to gain credit with the people. The Barnes commentary, a respected Protestant work, observed that God communicating through dreams was “too easy to counterfeit”, the very thing that made it prone to abuse. Across these traditions, there is agreement: the test of a prophet is not the claim but the content. Does the message lead people away from sin and toward God? The surrounding verses (23:28-29) make it clear, God’s word is like fire and a hammer, not a cozy dream that leaves everything as it is.

A common misreading of this verse is that it condemns all dreams or all claims of divine communication. Some people conclude that God never speaks through dreams. In fact, the Bible records many instances of God giving true dreams to prophets (Numbers 12:6, Joel 2:28). The problem here is not the dream itself but the lie: using the phrase “I had a dream” as a way to claim God’s authority for a message that contradicts His revealed word and leads people away from repentance.

When you hear someone say “God told me” or “I had a dream,” listen with care. Not with cynicism, God can still speak however He chooses, but with discernment. Does the message match what Scripture reveals about God’s character? Does it lead people toward holiness or just comfort them in sin? The false prophets gave soothing words. Jeremiah gave hard truth. Ask yourself: am I more drawn to the message that leaves me comfortable, or the one that calls me to change? This week, test every “word from the Lord” against the whole counsel of Scripture. Let God’s word be the fire that burns away the straw.