Amplified Bible (AMP)
9 And My hand shall be against the prophets who see empty, false, and delusive visions and who give lying prophecies. They shall not be in the secret council of My people, nor shall they be recorded in the register of the house of Israel, nor shall they enter into the land of Israel; and you shall know (understand and realize) that I am the Lord God.
10 Because, even because they have seduced My people, saying, Peace, when there is no peace, and because when one builds a [flimsy] wall, behold, [these prophets] daub it over with whitewash,
11 Say to them who daub it with whitewash that it shall fall! There shall be a downpour of rain; and you, O great hailstones, shall fall, and a violent wind shall tear apart [the whitewashed, flimsy wall].
"Whitewashing" is used to symbolically describe the false prophets speaking Peace, when the Lord was not saying peace. These prophets spoke what was comfortable for the people to hear, rather then speaking the truth. God was angry with this practice, because "wishful thinking" is not a "wall" that protects God's people from an attack of the enemy.
It was "politically correct" for these false prophets to "prophesy" peace. It seems that these leaders were more concerned with their own popularity then with pleasing God.
SOBRIETY CHECK!
Lord, have I "whitewashed" what You have instructed me to speak? I do believe prophesy is for encouragement, but can one encourage AND speak the truth? An observation of human behavior is that we (myself included) don't enjoy being called out for wrong behavior.
BUT would love allow others to continue down the wrong path? NO!
This is a touchy subject. I think we tend to get messed up in the extremes. We either fall into speaking only "whitewashed" words, contrary to what God is saying or we condemn others with words of truth, but with no hope of forgiveness.
Another aspect, just as displeasing to God as "whitewashing" is using someone's past against them. Labeling, ignoring, disregarding others is not the way of Jesus. Remember Jesus called out wrong behavior, then exhorted these people to walk in righteousness. Jesus ate with and hung out with people with "pasts."
The awesome thing about a relationship with Jesus is that He speaks the truth, because He doesn't want any sin to build a wall of separation. He loves us too much to sugar-coat truth.
We have a great deal to learn about how to speak and act like Jesus, don't we?
Holy Spirit, I appreciate Your honestly and personally know we have missed the mark, whitewashing the truth to make others feel comfortable when conviction was Your purpose. Teach us the difference between speaking the truth to injure a soul, instead of speaking the truth as a faithful friend, who then assists in binding up the wounds in order to assist in the healing process. Empower us not to hold the past of a person against him, but to call a person up and out of sin. Empower us to love each other for the treasures that You have uniquely created. "Political correctness" is wrong in Your eyes. Empower us with "Heaven's correctness" in word and in deed, knowing that all of us have a past, and the judgement we use against others comes back upon ourselves. In Jesus' name, AMEN!
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