Jeremiah 5:1-2
It is unclear who this challenge is given to; it may be rhetorical, offered to no one particular. There is some thought it was given to the heavenly council. The streets would be the place of business as well as judicial actions at the gate. It was the place where people met other people, where craftsman and merchants conducted business. If there was one dealing honestly and a seeker of truth, he would be seen and found in the street. Outwardly they swear by the Lord, but in reality, they are lying. They play the role of honest and truthful but their heart is dark.
The challenge is similar to Gen 18:22-33 where, for the sake of 10 righteous then the city would be spared. Abraham failed to find the righteous people to spare the city. A different concept is show in Ezekiel 14:12-14; the righteous can only save themselves.
Jeremiah 5:3-6
Jeremiah seems to ask the Lord if something has changed; surely the Lord is looking for truth. He didn't feel it would be found there because they had already failed to turn when feeling the pain of being stricken; they had failed to be corrected upon being crushed. The Hebrew word from 'correction' is to be trained, learn discipline. The discipline brought on them did nothing to soften them, but further hardened them in rebellion. They knew the truth, they sinned knowingly, in rebellion.
Jeremiah then wondered if maybe they were looking among the wrong people. Were they the poor and foolish and incapable of seeing or understanding? Surely the leaders would know the Lord's ways and make corrections. But he found the same among them. They had collectively decided to reject the rule of Yahweh among them.
We arrive at a 'therefore' in response to the knowledgeable rejection of the Lord. Deuteronomy 31:10-13 lay down that the law was to be read to all of Israel and all were accountable for keeping it. The consequences are the attack of wild beasts (Lev 26:22); here, the Babylonians were presented as wild beasts to bring judgment for their evildoing and apostasy.
Jeremiah 5:7-9
The Lord speaks to the city or the nation here, asking the rhetorical question. In spite of the Lord's provision, they committed adultery. The people are portrayed as collectively running off to the brothel as a crowd.
The lusty stallions was a reference to their sex drive. Their zeal for idolatry is likened to a promiscuous passion. It may also indicate idol worship that was sexual in nature.
Jeremiah 5:10-11
Israel if often portrayed as the Lord's vineyard. Jeremiah would portray the judgment that would leave a remnant. The nation's apostasy would cause them to be cut off like useless, dead branches. The phrase 'utterly unfaithful' is the same word repeated twice, as if saying they were unfaithful, unfaithful.
Jeremiah 5:12-13
Who is 'they'? Apparently, Judah and Jerusalem as a whole. If no righteous could be found, they all, to a degree, believed the false prophecy. They chose to trust in their understanding of God, not on what God had taught them or revealed to them. Did they say, 'God is love' and he'll forgive us? After all they were His chosen people in His Promised Land. He wouldn't drive them out or harm them. They trusted tomorrow will be like today because today was like yesterday. Yet, the Lord was warning them, calling for repentance. They saw the words of the prophets as empty, carrying no meaning or value. There is an understood wordplay; the prophets were full of wind with no spirit. The word for 'wind' could mean 'spirit'.
Jeremiah 5:14-17
The debt was due for Israel's complacency. The 'therefore' of verse fourteen begins to describe what their complacency has brought to them. Words have meaning; the words of their complacency were offered in a passing, almost flippant way. God will show them the value and meaning of His words. His words would become like a fire the people like wood to be consumed by it. God's words do a work: the aroma life to those being saved, the aroma of death to the dead and dying.
Notice that Jeremiah receives this message as an agent to the people. The words would be a fire in him that would consume the word of those he delivered the message to.
The Lord would bring a nation as the instrument of His judgment. They were a people who spoke a language they didn't know. The Jews would not be able to communicate with them. There would be no treaty, compromise or reason. Likewise, when this nation spoke to them, the Jews would not hear and understand. Strangely enough, this is the problem they were having in hearing and perceiving the Lord. It's as if they didn't speak his language, nor did they understand when the Lord spoke to them
This nation was one of great warriors, they would fill many graves. The total devastating work of verse seventeen is consistent with the covenant curses of Deut 28:30-33.
Jeremiah 5:18-19
The purpose of the judgment was always for correction and restoration; through all this, the Lord has always maintained a remnant of the faithful and He would do so again. Their job is to remember and give testimony when asked how and why this happened. Israel chose to serve other Gods so they would serve a foreign people in another land. This was foretold in Deut 28:47-48.
Jeremiah 5:20-25
They had no eyes to see or ears to hear from the Lord. Yet, once again, the Lord gave them a word to hear, one that would bring new understanding when it came about. The questions of v.22 were to be answered with the understanding that Yahweh set created the heavens and earth, it was Him who set the boundaries of the sea. Ingrained in the Israelites worldview was an understanding of Canaanite mythology; the god Yam battled against the storm god Baal for control of the sea. The Lord set the record straight that He did this work alone. They should 'see' the sight of the rolling waves at the boundary determined by God. They should 'hear' the roar of waves brought to submission by God.
Their failure amounted to not linking their blessing and care to their obedience.
Jeremiah 5:26-29
The wicked are characterized as though they were hunters setting traps to bind and enslave others for their benefit. It was like catching birds; and their house is like a cage, full of them. The birds, deceived by the trap, were sold for profit; likewise, the people, deceived by the trap, are captured for profit. There was no limit to their evil; the word 'limit' is used for the sea in which God has set a limit. This probably should be understood as God establishing a limit on this evil also.
The basic justice of the leaders was to include caring for those who could not care for themselves; in this case portrayed as the poor and orphan. This shows how they failed at the most basic things.
Jeremiah 5:30-31
The leaders, priest and prophets failed in every aspect of what the Lord had entrusted to them. The Promised Land had become a wasteland of sin; what a horrid thing to comprehend. But the most shocking of all was that the people loved it this way. Their own personal sin and personal responsibility was lost in a sea of moral failure. However, their was an end coming. And then what? Asked the Lord.
©2018 Doug Ford
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