Jeremiah 5:1 "Roam to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, And look now and take note. And seek in her open squares, If you can find a man, If there is one who does justice, who seeks truth, Then I will pardon her. 2"And although they say, 'As the LORD lives,' Surely they swear falsely."…
I hope you all don't get all bent out of shape that I am going to quote a song from my childhood. I remember singing it when it came on the radio because that's what we did. The station was always tuned to country. "Doesn't anybody ever stay together anymore and if love never stays together tell me, "What's forever for?" See as a child I wanted more than anything my parents together. Children are like that. They want righteousness. There is something inside of us that screams, "That's not right!". We may not know what right is but we know what it isn't. Then slowly over time the scream is silenced and we no longer feel the injustice we participate in it. "Oh, not me", you say. In Jeremiah's time it was the same.
In chapters 3-6 Jeremiah deals broadly with the themes of divorce (3:1-25); destruction (4:1-31; 6:1-3; 8-10); and disobedience (5:1-5; 7-13; 20-31).
Here in the 5th chapter Jeremiah declares Israel’s terrible sins; sins of dishonesty; among the poor and the ignorant (vv .1-4); among the leaders (v.5); and the ongoing problem of idolatry and immorality (vv.7-10). No matter what kind of revelation or discipline the people continue to worship idols and visit brothels. Included in the laundry list of sin are treachery (vv.11-13); they lie about the Lord; spiritual bankruptcy, the people have a stubborn and rebellious heart (v.23); the rich know no boundaries when it comes to wickedness (v.28) and the spiritual leaders are corrupt (v.31). Because of these sins God will visit a terrible punishment; (5:6; 14-19); the people will be set upon by wild animals (v.6); a lion, a wolf, and a leopard will tear them apart. The people of Jerusalem and Judea will be attacked and defeated by hostile enemy armies and God will bring disaster on the people and will make them serve foreigners because they refuse to listen to Him. And so it is when we refuse to listen and act on God’s warnings. We find ourselves slaves to our passions and addictions.
In spite of their wickedness God loved them. The people in Jerusalem had sadly not served the Lord for generations. The threat of judgment loomed large on the horizon. But in God’s love and grace and mercy; He was willing to postpone judgment and spare the people if the prophet could find just one person living a righteous life. One person who would be willing to deal honestly and justly with all people. As Jeremiah launched the search he soon comes to some quick conclusions; the people were involved in breath taking wickedness.
Truth (emunah) it means more than verbal accuracy; it means fidelity towards God; integrity before other human beings; and a genuineness with one’s self.
Jeremiah 5:2 (NKJV) 2 Though they say, As the Lord lives, Surely they swear falsely. The people were guilty of perjury. Lying under oath. People were given to embellishment and exaggeration. Everyday conversation had become a series of lies.
"Sometimes the lies you tell are less frightening than the loneliness you might feel if you stopped telling them” wrote Brock Clark.
In chapters 3-6 Jeremiah deals broadly with the themes of divorce (3:1-25); destruction (4:1-31; 6:1-3; 8-10); and disobedience (5:1-5; 7-13; 20-31).
Here in the 5th chapter Jeremiah declares Israel’s terrible sins; sins of dishonesty; among the poor and the ignorant (vv .1-4); among the leaders (v.5); and the ongoing problem of idolatry and immorality (vv.7-10). No matter what kind of revelation or discipline the people continue to worship idols and visit brothels. Included in the laundry list of sin are treachery (vv.11-13); they lie about the Lord; spiritual bankruptcy, the people have a stubborn and rebellious heart (v.23); the rich know no boundaries when it comes to wickedness (v.28) and the spiritual leaders are corrupt (v.31). Because of these sins God will visit a terrible punishment; (5:6; 14-19); the people will be set upon by wild animals (v.6); a lion, a wolf, and a leopard will tear them apart. The people of Jerusalem and Judea will be attacked and defeated by hostile enemy armies and God will bring disaster on the people and will make them serve foreigners because they refuse to listen to Him. And so it is when we refuse to listen and act on God’s warnings. We find ourselves slaves to our passions and addictions.
In spite of their wickedness God loved them. The people in Jerusalem had sadly not served the Lord for generations. The threat of judgment loomed large on the horizon. But in God’s love and grace and mercy; He was willing to postpone judgment and spare the people if the prophet could find just one person living a righteous life. One person who would be willing to deal honestly and justly with all people. As Jeremiah launched the search he soon comes to some quick conclusions; the people were involved in breath taking wickedness.
Truth (emunah) it means more than verbal accuracy; it means fidelity towards God; integrity before other human beings; and a genuineness with one’s self.
Jeremiah 5:2 (NKJV) 2 Though they say, As the Lord lives, Surely they swear falsely. The people were guilty of perjury. Lying under oath. People were given to embellishment and exaggeration. Everyday conversation had become a series of lies.
"Sometimes the lies you tell are less frightening than the loneliness you might feel if you stopped telling them” wrote Brock Clark.
I can not stop reading Jeremiah. I know the Lord is wanting to speak to all of us. For your continue reading here is a site that I enjoyed this morning and where most of the content for this Blog was drawn from.
file:///C:/Users/Rena/Downloads/Jeremiah-5-1-31.pdf
file:///C:/Users/Rena/Downloads/Jeremiah-5-1-31.pdf
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