Both Jeremiah And The False Prophets Are Forbidden to Use The Phrase, ‘The Burden Of YHWH' (Jeremiah 23:33-40).
God now puts a blanket ban on speaking of a ‘burden' from YHWH. This is not just arguing about a technicality (as some have strangely suggested), but is rather indicating that the time for ‘burdens' from YHWH has passed because the future is now decided. The future is no longer ‘if' but ‘when'. Thus no prophet must now speak of having a burden about the future. They should rather recognise that YHWH's fixed and determined will was being done. And this was the case even for Jeremiah. This brings out the fact that the purpose of a prophet's ‘burden' (massa - Isaiah 13:1 etc; Nahum 1:1; Habakkuk 1:1) was in order to bring encouragement from YHWH to God's people in respect of the future in difficult times. It had the aim of providing emotional and spiritual support for them. But once given that there was no further hope or comfort to be offered to them, then for any one of them to pretend to have a ‘burden' would be deceptive. From now on therefore for either Jeremiah or the other prophets to claim to have a burden from YHWH would be to mislead the people into thinking that there was still hope, when there was in fact none. Furthermore for the false prophets to continue using the idea of the burden of YHWH would be a further insult to YHWH, for He did not give them oracles. Thus to suggest otherwise could only result in their everlasting destruction.
“And when this people, or the prophet, or a priest,
Will ask you, saying, ‘What is the burden of YHWH?'
Then you shall say to them,
‘What burden! I will cast you off,' the word of YHWH.”
In a remarkable statement (compare that of His telling Jeremiah not to pray for the people) YHWH now declares that there will at this time be no more ‘burdens' (oracles) from YHWH, for a burden suggests that YHWH has a concern for His people whereas at present His only desire is to be disburdened of them. Thus if any of the people, or a prophet, or a priest, come to Jeremiah asking, ‘What is the burden of YHWH?' (What message of comfort does He have for us?), he must immediately reply, ‘What burden? My intention is to cast you off (disburden Myself of you).' In other words he is to indicate that He no longer has any words of hope for them, and will not therefore give a prophetic ‘burden'.
“And as for the prophet, and the priest, and the people,
Who will say, ‘The burden of YHWH',
I will even punish that man,
And his house.”
In the same way if either prophet, priest or people claim to have a ‘burden' from YHWH they will be opening them and their households to punishment for making a false and blasphemous claim.
“Thus shall you say every one to his neighbour,
And every one to his brother,
What has YHWH answered?'
And, ‘What has YHWH spoken?
And the burden of YHWH you will mention no more,
For every man's own word will be his burden,
For you have perverted the words of the living God,
Of YHWH of hosts our God.”
So from now on no one must speak of ‘burdens from YHWH' (impressions laid on them by YHWH acting on His own account). Rather they must use lesser phrases like, ‘has YHWH answered' or ‘has YHWH spoken' which indicate attempts to find out what He has to say, without giving the impression that the man is a specially chosen messenger of YHWH. In other words the idea of a burden from YHWH must no longer be considered, for YHWH was giving no more such burdens to His prophets so that any such statement would be a lie. For, He adds sarcastically, otherwise every man will see his own words as ‘a burden from YHWH' because he perverts the words of the living God. So-called ‘burdens from YHWH' will be unacceptable because they will simply be perversions of the words of the living God, that is, of ‘YHWH Lord of the hosts of Heaven and earth Who is our God'.
Some see ‘For every man's own word will be his burden' as a play on words signifying, not that he will (wrongly) see his own words as a genuine prophetic burden, but that he will find them to be a burden which bows him down.
“Thus shall you say to the prophet:
‘What has YHWH answered you?
And, What has YHWH spoken?
But if you say, The burden of YHWH,
Therefore thus says YHWH,
Because you say this word, The burden of YHWH,
And I have sent to you, saying,
You shall not say, The burden of YHWH,
Therefore, behold, I will utterly forget you,
And I will cast you off,
And the city which I gave to you and to your fathers,
Away from my presence,
And I will bring an everlasting reproach on you,
And a perpetual shame, which will not be forgotten.' ”
And the same applied to the prophets. People must not ask them whether they have received ‘a burden from YHWH', suggesting that they might be genuine prophets who had been particularly and unilaterally impressed by YHWH with a message of hope. They must rather ask, ‘Has YHWH answered you?' or ‘Has YHWH spoken?' (That is, have you been able to get in touch with Him?). But if any prophet, or even anyone at all, claims to have received a burden from YHWH (giving the impression that YHWH Himself has sovereignly impressed on them His message) in disobedience to YHWH's strict command, then YHWH will forget them (dismiss them from His reckoning) and cast them off, together with their city, away from His presence. It will bring on them everlasting reproach, and perpetual and unforgettable shame. Note how they will be involving their city (Jerusalem) in their destruction. No man is an island.
We can compare with this idea of prophets being brought to account Zechariah 13:2-6, even though a different test is used. Compare also Deuteronomy 13 and Deuteronomy 18:20-22. Prophets had to be strictly controlled in what they claimed precisely because of their ability to lead men astray.