Jeremiah Chapter 5

Chapter 5 highlights Judah’s hypocritical and idolatrous conduct.

God commands Jeremiah to search for one righteous man in Jerusalem. He promised that if one righteous man could be found, He was willing to spare Judah from judgment. Only one man? It might be difficult to find ten righteous men in the city of Sodom. But to find one righteous man in the holy city of Israel – Jerusalem, what was so difficult? God must be setting the target too low, isn’t this target easy to achieve? Yes, God has set the target so low because He is a merciful God. 

Unfortunately, Jeremiah found none, not even one man. Even if Jeremiah could find many religious people in Jerusalem who would swear by the LORD and say, “As the LORD lives.”, but they swear falsely and pretend to be righteous. Their actions denied what they claimed. One may proclaim righteousness but be completely wicked on the inside. Despite appearances, God sees through us.  Nothing is hidden in His sight and only honesty and sincerity are acceptable to God. 

Jeremiah felt that perhaps the poor people had rejected God because of their ignorance. So, he thought let me find one man among the great men, they are more educated people who knew the way of the Lord. Surely, they would be willing to submit to God’s truth. However, he discovered that they, too, wilfully rejected God and His righteousness (Jeremiah 5:4-5).

God would not only judge their sins, but He also held these people responsible for the sins of their children because the children had followed their parents’ bad example (Jeremiah 5:7). Children are trusting by nature. Because they trust adults, they are easily led to faith in Christ. God holds parents and other adults accountable for how they influence these little ones. In Matthew 18:6, Jesus warned that anyone who turns little children away from faith in Him will receive severe punishment.

Have you ever spoken to someone only to realize that the person didn’t hear a word you are saying? The people of Judah and Israel were foolishly deaf when God promised blessings for obedience and destruction for disobedience. These people were very ignorant. They have eyes but do not see, they have ears but do not hear (Jeremiah 5:21). When the people questioned why God had sent such harsh judgment, Jeremiah was to remind them that it was because they had forsaken God and turned to false gods. 

With the exception of Jeremiah, most of the prophets prophesied falsely and the priests ruled by their own power rather than God’s commandments. Sadly, the people loved it that way, and God’s question, “What will you do in the end?” (Jeremiah 5:31)

So, let us learn a lesson from Judah’s failure, and be a good example especially for our young ones. 

God has blessed us so much and He certainly is worthy of our respect. He wants His people to listen, understand, and then respond to His Word. When God speaks to us through His Word or His messengers, do not harden our hearts. Because if we fail to listen, not only we will harm ourselves, but we will also bring God’s judgement upon us. God’s Word will never change us unless we heed His Word. So, let us be sensitive to His voice.

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