23-24 Am I a God who is only close at hand?” says the Lord.  “No, I am far away at the same time. Can anyone hide from me in a secret place? Am I not everywhere in all the heavens and earth?”  says the Lord. 25-27 “I have heard these prophets say, ‘Listen to the dream I had from God last night’, and then they proceed to tell lies in my name. How long will this go on? If they are prophets, they are prophets of deceit, inventing everything they say. By telling these false dreams, they are trying to get my people to forget me, just as their ancestors did by worshiping the idols of Baal.” 28 “Let these false prophets tell their dreams, but let my true messengers faithfully proclaim my every word. There is a difference between straw and grain!”

29-32 “Does not my word burn like fire?” says the Lord. “Is it not like a mighty hammer that smashes a rock to pieces? Therefore,” says the Lord, “I am against these prophets who steal messages from each other and claim they are from me.  I am against these smooth-tongued prophets who say, ‘This prophecy is from the Lord!’ I am against these false prophets. Their imaginary dreams are flagrant lies that lead my people into sin. I did not send or appoint them, and they have no message at all for my people. I, the Lord, have spoken!” Jeremiah 23:23-32 New Living Translation paraphrase (English Standard Version link)

It seems that when Jeremiah lived there were other prophets who claimed that God had spoken to them in a dream. Maybe that's why God spoke the words we read in vs 23-24. The fact that God declares Himself to be everywhere, and that there is no secret hiding place from Him, means that He knew the inside truth about these prophets. So what was His verdict upon the prophets claiming to be speaking on His behalf? (vs 25-27)

He said they were false prophets who invented their own 'truth' to deceive His people, and that they were really serving Baal. That's pretty much like saying they were serving Satan. The apostle Paul faced a similar situation in New Testament days when some people claimed to be apostles of Jesus - but their message was so false that Paul said: “Those men are not true apostles. They are false apostles who lie about their work and disguise themselves to look like real apostles of Christ. Well, no wonder! Even Satan can disguise himself to look like an angel of light! So it is no great thing if his servants disguise themselves to look like servants of righteousness. In the end they will get exactly what their actions deserve.” (1 Corinthians 11:13-15)

So how can we tell the difference between true messengers of God and those who come with clever speech and bold claims of dreams and visions? Can vs 28 be of help?

It boils down to whether the message anyone is bringing is consistent with what God has made known through His true prophets as recorded in the Bible. Someone has said that the basic difference between  straw and grain is life!  Straw is an empty pod, useful to provide some comfort for bedding or kindling for a fire, but entirely useless to feed the body! Grain will not leave you hungry like straw. That's true of false teaching based on supposed dreams and visions compared to what the Bible teaches. How does God describe what His word can do and what He thinks of false prophets? (vs 29-32)

The description there of God's word is similar to what we read in the New Testament where it says: “The word of God is alive and powerful and sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.” (Hebrews 4:12-13) Yes, God can use dreams to waken people to their need of Him, but it is to His message as preserved in the Bible that we must always turn. Don't be taken in by brazen preachers who build their careers on dreams and visions. Their words are straw – God's word is the life giving grain. It’s as Jesus said: “I am the bread of life - those who come to Me will never be hungry.”