Jeremiah 5

CHAPTER 5

Not one Is Upright (5:1–31)

1–2 Here the Lord tells Jeremiah that if he can find at least one person in Jerusalem who deals honestly and seeks the truth, He will forgive (spare) the whole city (see Genesis 18:26–32). We know that King Josiah and Jeremiah’s secretary Baruch were two such people; but perhaps by the time the Babylonians destroyed the city forty years later, there were none. However, it is best not to take the Lord’s statement here literally; He was simply saying that virtually the entire population was corrupt.

3–6 The Lord had already been looking for truth among the people; already He had afflicted them in various ways in order to get them to repent. But they had only become harder of heart (verse 3). Jeremiah attributed the sin of the common people to their ignorance (verse 4), but he found their leaders to be faithless as well; all had broken off the yoke of God’s law (verse 5). Therefore, Jerusalem would be invaded by Babylon, an enemy strong like a lion, ferocious like a wolf, and swift like a leopard (verse 6).

7–11 Here God reasons with the people of Judah: “Why should I forgive you?” He asks them (verse 7). They have committed adultery both spiritually and physically (verse 8); they have broken God’s law (Exodus 20:14,17). Of course He will punish the people for this (verse 9).

Then God orders Israel’s enemies (the Babylonians) to go through Judah’s vineyards—representing the whole countryside—and ravage them (verse 10). But they must not destroy them completely. God had promised to give Abraham an everlasting nation (Genesis 17:7–8), and therefore He intended to leave a remnant out of which a renewed and purified nation could arise. Thus God orders the Babylonians to strip off the branches, but to spare the roots and stock.

12–13 Jeremiah comments that the people have lied about the LORD (verse 12). They say He will not carry out His threats of judgment. They say His prophets—who, like Jeremiah, speak the Lord’s word—are just wind; their threats are empty. Let the judgments they prophesy fall on them! (verse 13). To call God a liar and curse His prophets is a very dangerous thing to do!

14–17 Because the people have mocked Jeremiah’s words, God will turn those words into fire, a fire that will consume the people (verse 14). Through Jeremiah, the Lord announces to the whole nation³⁴ (Judah and Israel) that He is bringing a distant nation (Babylon) to devour them (verses 15,17). The enemies’ quivers (arrows) are like an open grave that is always looking for new bodies to “devour” (verse 16).

18–19 Again the Lord promises not to destroy Judah completely; there will be survivors, but they will be sent to serve foreigners in a foreign land (verse 19). This is Jeremiah’s first mention that Judah will be sent into exile. Even in exile the people can continue to hope in their eventual return to the land, even as the prophet Isaiah had predicted a century earlier. God’s punishments are not vindictive but rather disciplinary; their purpose is not to destroy but to restore. Even as judgment is about to fall, God—through Jeremiah—continues to urge the people to repent and thereby escape disaster.

20–25 Here God outlines His case against the people of both Jacob and Judah (verse 20), the northern and southern kingdoms.³⁵ The people are foolish and senseless (see Jeremiah 4:22). Their eyes don’t see and their ears don’t hear (verse 21); in spiritual terms, they have become like the idols they worship (see Psalm 115:4–8). It is God the people should fear (see Proverbs 1:7). Not only has He created the universe but Heal so controls it; He sets a boundary for the sea which it never crosses (verse 22). Yet His rebellious people have crossed the “boundary” He has set for them; they have violated His law (verse 23). As a result, God’s covenant blessings of rain and harvest have been withdrawn (verse 24); indeed, the people’s sins have deprived them of what is good—that is, the blessings of God’s covenant (see Leviticus 26:3–13 and comment).

26–31 In verses 26–29, God denounces the wickedness of the people, especially the oppression of the poor by the rich and powerful. God will certainly punish them for this injustice.

In verses 30–31, God reflects on what He sees—the horrible and shocking condition of His people. The leaders tell lies and follow their own law, and the people love it that way; they don’t have to answer to God—so they think! But God asks them: “. . . what will you do in the end when my judgment falls?” (verse 31). People need to think about the end of their lives; it will help them make better choices while they are living.