Deeper Commentary
Here is another allusion to the situation during the Assyrian invasion; see on Jer. 4:5,8. Hezekiah obtained forgiveness and acceptance for those who kept the Passover “otherwise than it was written”- thanks to his prayer (2 Chron. 30:18). In Hezekiah’s time, all Israel had to repent to avert total destruction- but even though they didn’t, the prayer of Hezekiah saved the nation (Jer. 26:13,19). All of Jerusalem would have been forgiven if there was even one that truly executed judgment, after the pattern of Phinehas (or is this a reference to Messiah?).
"Seeks truth" can also be "is not greedy". Jeremiah speaks of running to and fro in the streets of Jerusalem, searching her squares, to see if he could find a single man who did justice and wasn’t greedy (Jer. 5:1,5; 6:6,13; 8:10). Why get so ballistic because people are greedy and have no real sense of justice? Isn’t that part of the human deal, don’t we see it every single day? Yes we do. But the challenge of the prophets is to feel its’ awfulness and realize that for this, an awful judgment is coming from God. It is indeed hard to see the world from God’s perspective; but this is what the spirit of prophecy was and is all about.
We wonder whether there were really no other righteous in Jerusalem apart
from Jeremiah. There was Josiah, but he died in disobedience to God's
wishes, fighting against Egypt for Babylon. There was Baruch,
Jeremiah 5:2 Though they say, ‘As Yahweh lives;’ surely they swear
falsely- Josiah's reformation had clearly not touched their hearts.
Jeremiah 5:3 O Yahweh, don’t Your eyes look on truth? You have stricken
them, but they were not grieved. You have consumed them, but they have
refused to receive correction. They have made their faces harder than a
rock. They have refused to return- Jeremiah had similar oscillations
of feeling as God also had. This is his response to the command to go and
search for even one man who did righteousness (:1). He is complaining that
surely God sees the situation anyway, which he had to report- Israel had
not grieved to repentance. And they were psychologically hardened against
that possibility. But then in :4,5 his pity for them returns and he as it
were tries again.
Jeremiah 5:4 Then I said, Surely these are poor. They are foolish; for
they don’t know the way of Yahweh, nor the law of their God- See on
:3. Jeremiah apparently relents from his giving up with the people in :3.
He realizes that the people simply don't know God's way and law- because
the priests, of whom he was one, had not taught them. "Poor" is better
"lean"; skinny and foolish is the language of a misled flock. The priests
had not led them as intended. Notice how "the law" is not a set of
disconnected, discrete commandments and regulations; it was to inculcate a
way of life and thought, "the way of Yahweh", with which here it is
paralleled.
But "law" is better "judgment", as AV. Knowing God's present judgment should have a powerful practical effect upon us. If we know the judgment of God against certain types of behaviour, we will keep away from them totally. It is only the rejected who refuse to know "the judgment of their God" (Jer. 5:4 AV). We are living our lives under judgment. Knowing God's judgment-principles, we will wish to separate from all that will finally be condemned and destroyed. Israel chose to be oblivious of what they well knew; there was no (awareness of) God's judgment in their way of life (Is. 59:8) and therefore they lacked that innate sense of judgment to come which they ought to have had, as surely as the stork knows the coming time for her migration (Jer. 8:7).
Jeremiah 5:5 I will go to the great men, and will speak to them; for they
know the way of Yahweh, and the law of their God. But these with one
accord have broken the yoke, and burst the bonds- As so often, there
is an intentional ambiguity as to the speaker. This is Jeremiah's response
to the command to go and seek at least one man to stand in the gap; but by
:7 we have God speaking. Again we see how Jeremiah's feelings and
positions were so meshed with those of God; as should be with us, the
Spirit of God had become part of his spirit. Jeremiah speaks as if he had
expected that those amongst "the great men" would know Yahweh's law and
way; but he is disappointed, he finds not a single one there ("all with
one accord..."). Again we see Jeremiah's overly positive and hopeful view
of Israel; which was also a reflection of God's view, so in love with them
was He still. Breaking the bonds suggests they had broken their covenant
relationship. Judah had "broken the yoke and burst the bonds" of their
covenant relationship with God, but He by grace had broken the yoke and
bonds of those who enslaved them (Jer. 2:20; 30:8).
Jeremiah 5:6 Therefore a lion out of the forest shall kill them, a wolf of
the evenings shall destroy them, a leopard shall watch against their
cities; everyone who goes out there shall be torn in pieces; because their
transgressions are many, and their backsliding is increased- Even in
this expression of wrath, there is the implication that the people would
still be safe within their cities [an intensive plural for the great
singular city, of Jerusalem?] if they remained within it. As explained on
Jer. 4:5,8, one of the many potential possibilities was that the cities
would be destroyed apart from Jerusalem, and if they repentantly fled into
Jerusalem they would be saved.
Jeremiah 5:7 How can I pardon you? Your children have forsaken Me, and
sworn by what are no gods-
Jeremiah 5:8 They were as fed horses roaming at large-
Our early morning thoughts are fair indicators of how we really are
with God. Interestingly, Israel are criticized for their early morning
attitudes- in the mornings (AV) they fantasized after their neighbours'
wives (Jer. 5:8; Hos. 7:6), got up and wanted to get drunk again (Is.
5:11), had unjust thoughts about others (Jer. 21:12; Mic. 2:1). That's
quite some emphasis- God was so unhappy with what His people
thought about in the mornings. And Zeph. 3:7 is perhaps the most
challenging of all- God condemned His people because they rose each
morning and cast off all their opportunities (Heb.), despite Him every
morning [potentially] revealing His word to them (Zeph. 3:5). They allowed
themselves to be simply too busy to see all that God potentially enabled
for them every single day. And what about us? God has prepared huge
potential achievement for each of us- but we tend to fritter our days away
in busyness and poor planning and lack of a self-disciplined life.
Jeremiah 5:9 Shouldn’t I punish them for these things? says Yahweh; and
shouldn’t My soul be avenged on such a nation as this?- God had been
Israel's wife and was in love with her. His deep desire for avenging was
therefore absolutely connected with His great love for her. There had to
be response from Him. This rhetorical question, enquiring as to whether
Yahweh should take vengeance on Israel, is thrice repeated in Jeremiah
(Jer. 5:9,29; 9:9). The answer of course is "Yes, God would be justified
in doing so". And that answer was perhaps the repentance which God sought
in order to avert the coming of His judgment.
Jeremiah 5:10 Go up on her walls, and destroy; but don’t make a full end.
Take away her branches; for they are not Yahweh’s- The destruction of
the branches implied that the stock of the vine [a prophetic symbol for
Israel] was to remain. This was another way of saying that a "full end"
would be made, although Jeremiah was to walk around the walls of Jerusalem
and prophecy their fall- the collapse of all human strength.
Jeremiah 5:11 For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt
very treacherously against Me, says Yahweh- This was why Jerusalem
was going to fall, and the plan for her survival as outlined on Jer. 4:5,6
was now cancelled. "Treachery" means literally to cover; they thought God
would not notice, and this was the reason for His anger with them. And we
can take a lesson from this. His omniscience requires from us a totally
open attitude toward Him and ourselves.
Jeremiah 5:12 They have denied Yahweh and said, It is not He; neither
shall evil come on us; neither shall we see sword nor famine- This
was a denial of the very essence of Yahweh, "I am that I am"; and they
said "It is not He", or "He is not". This was effectively atheism,
although they would have hotly denied that charge. The damage of false
teaching is that this is where it leads people; for it was the false
prophets who taught that there would be no evil coming, and the
predictions of sword and famine by Jeremiah and Ezekiel would not happen
(:13). To deny God's word is therefore to deny Him, to say "He is not".
For "the word was God", He is identified with His word, and our attitude
to His word is our attitude to Him.
Jeremiah 5:13 The prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them.
Thus shall it be done to them- This appears to be a statement of the
people and false prophets about Jeremiah and the faithful prophets (so :14
implies). "Spirit" and "wind" are the same word in Hebrew. They treated
the spirit within Jeremiah as just air, a wind that would pass away. This
is why God responds in :14 by saying that His word in Jeremiah would
become a fire and not simply wind. Again there is the implication that it
was Jeremiah's words which would bring the fire of destruction upon
Jerusalem, and this accounts for Jeremiah's psychological breakdown in
Lamentations when he views the results of that fire.
Jeremiah 5:14 Therefore thus says Yahweh, the God of Armies, Because you
speak this word, behold, I will make My words in your mouth fire and this
people wood, and it shall devour them- See on :13.
Jeremiah 5:15 Behold, I will bring a nation on you from far, house of
Israel, says Yahweh. It is a mighty nation. It is an ancient nation-
Babylon was "ancient" in that God had raised it up for this time and
purpose. Whatever the geopolitical issues of the day, it was Yahweh who
would bring this distant nation against Israel. We wonder why Babylon is
not named at this point, whereas it clearly is in Jeremiah's later
prophecies. Perhaps it was because these prophecies were still
conditional; they were capable of fulfilment in peoples other than the
Babylonians, had Judah at that time repented; although the judgment for
their sins had to come at some point. But the channel of those judgments
was still flexible, depending upon their repentance. See on Jer. 6:3.
Jeremiah 5:16 Their quiver is an open tomb, they are all mighty men-
The idea was that every arrow in their quiver would bring death; but this
was because the tongue of the Jews had been as deadly arrows (Jer. 9:8). They were
"mighty men" in that they were the earthly representatives of the Angelic
elohim, God's "mighty ones". Ezekiel makes the same point- the
Angel cherubim chariots were to be the chariots of Babylon.
Jeremiah 5:17 They shall eat up your harvest and your bread, which your
sons and your daughters should eat. They shall eat up your flocks and your
herds. They shall eat up your vines and your fig trees-
Jeremiah 5:18 But even in those days, says Yahweh, I will not make a full
end with you-
Jeremiah 5:19 It will happen, when you say, ‘Why has Yahweh our God done
all these things to us?’ Then you shall say to them, ‘Just like you have
forsaken Me and served foreign gods in your land, so you shall serve
strangers in a land that is not yours’- Jeremiah was commanded to
prophecy this when the judgment happened. Perhaps he did, but Lamentations
records him struggling with the "Why, God...?" questions, and concluding
that it was all unreasonably severe judgment. He really is portrayed as a
man in struggle with God, despite being of His mind and Spirit in so much.
Jeremiah 5:20 Declare this in the house of Jacob, and publish it in Judah
saying- This was to go to all Judah and not just Jerusalem, as
previous prophetic words.
Jeremiah 5:21 ‘Hear now this, foolish people, and without understanding;
who have eyes, and don’t see; who have ears, and don’t hear- These
words are quoted about the Jews in the Lord's day. But it is not to say
that they were incapable of hearing or seeing, for this is part of an
appeal to hear and respond (:22). The idea is that they had the eyes to
see, but wouldn't. It's like the appeal to break up their fallow ground
(Jer. 4:3)- they were to use their potential. They were without
understanding because they chose not to open their eyes and ears. Not
understanding Divine teaching therefore has a moral basis to it; it's not
mere intellectual failure, but is rooted in a deep psychological desire
not to repent.
Jeremiah 5:22 Don’t you fear Me?’ says Yahweh ‘Won’t you tremble at My
presence, who have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual
decree, that it can’t pass it? and though its waves toss themselves, yet
they can’t prevail; though they roar, yet they can’t pass over it’-
They refused to fear God and sense His presence because they were
persuaded that they had done nothing wrong (:12). This is the narrative
story that is endlessly repeated in the hearts of so many: 'I am a good
person, I don't sin, the problem is with us, get off me and stop trying to
make me feel my behaviour displeases God'. They had the potential to
understand this (:21), but refused to live according to it. The reference
to the sea and waves being limited as to their destructive effect is
clearly a reference to the seas of the Gentile invaders; God had promised
not to make a full end of Israel, and so the waves of the invaders would
not be allowed to totally destroy the land / eretz. This was part
of God's covenant with Israel, His "perpetual decree". It was this
experience of grace which ought to have made Judah tremble at the presence
of the God of such grace.
Jeremiah 5:23 But this people has a revolting and a rebellious heart; they
have revolted and gone- Again the issue is with their heart; they
were the stubborn and rebellious son of Dt. 21:18,20 (s.w.) who had to be
slain. Their refusal to understand (:21) was not therefore a case of
intellectual failure, but was rooted in a desire to revolt from the God
who had so loved them and walk away ("gone") from Him.
Jeremiah 5:24 Neither do they say in their heart, ‘Let us now fear Yahweh
our God who gives rain, both the former and the latter, in its season; who
preserves to us the appointed weeks of the harvest’- Yet again the
emphasis is upon the heart. They failed to perceive that the rains in
Palestine were arranged by God for the optimal times- just after sowing
and just before harvesting, and then no rain during the harvesting season.
Those "weeks of the harvest" were appointed by God for them. But they
refused to "see" that (:21).
Jeremiah 5:25 Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins
have withheld good from you- The rains, so carefully designed to give
them an optimal growing season and harvest (see on :24), were turned away
from them because these were the blessings of the covenant which they had
broken. The potential good that was planned would not come. This failure
to realize potential is such a major theme of the prophets, and it can be
seen in human life just as much today.
Jeremiah 5:26 For among My people are found wicked men. They watch, as
fowlers lie in wait. They set a trap. They catch men- God had told
Jeremiah at the start of his ministry that He would watch over His word to
perform it; but in the false Israel, there were false prophets who
likewise watched over the fulfilment of their evil plans. "Trap" is the
same word used about the "mount of corruption" in Jerusalem which Josiah
had destroyed (2 Kings 23:13). But his reforms were only tokenistic; the
false prophets remained, setting up similar traps of corruption. It is the
same word translated 'destruction', which the Babylonians would bring
(Jer. 51:25; Ez. 5:16). But as the Babylonians would entrap Jerusalem in
the siege, so they had in essence done to themselves already.
Jeremiah 5:27 As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of
deceit. Therefore they became great and grew rich- The bird traps
featured live birds within them, encouraging other birds to fly in to the
trap or cage. This is how advertising works- see how this wonderful thing
happened to this person, so why not join them within the cage. The wealth
of the false prophets attracted the people to act like them.
Jeremiah 5:28 They have grown fat. They shine; yes, they excel in deeds of
wickedness. They don’t plead the cause, the cause of the fatherless, that
they may prosper; and they don’t judge the right of the needy- The
"wicked men" of :26 were therefore the spiritual and civil leadership, and
their wealth was gained through oppressing the poor. This was mentioned
rather than their idolatry, because it is attitudes to the poor which are
of such huge significance to God. The very same reasons are given by
Ezekiel for the Babylonian judgment at this time (Ez. 22:29).
Jeremiah 5:29 Shall I not punish for these things? says Yahweh. Shall not
My soul be avenged on such a nation as this?- See on :9. The judgment
was against the "nation", whereas :26-28 appear to condemn the ruling
classes. God does not judge the righteous along with the wicked. The
corruption of these men had spread throughout society; as noted on :27,
they were a self-advertisement for getting wealth by abusing others, and
all society were attracted to it. The abuse of the leadership was 'loved'
by the people (:31).
Jeremiah 5:30 An astonishing and horrible thing has happened in the land-
God was 'astonished' in that again, He limited His omniscience in
order to enter fully into relationship with His people. He had higher
hopes for His people, and is portrayed as shocked and shattered when those
hopes were dashed. The false prophecies uttered in His Name and supported
by His priests were particularly shocking to Him (:31).
Jeremiah 5:31 The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their
own authority; and My people love to have it so-
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