Jeremiah 5:1-19, Yahweh’s Eyes Look for Truth

The Pew Research Center polling in July of 2023 found that 66% of Americans say they place more importance on political candidates having similar political views to their own, 18% saying shared religious values is extremely important and 24% saying shared religious values is somewhat important. Interestingly, among white evangelical Protestants 74% say shared religious values are at least somewhat important, with 40% saying they are extremely important. White evangelical Protestants are looking for truth, we might say, in their political candidates. God is looking for truth in us.

^5:1 “Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem, look around and consider, search through her squares. If you can find but one person who deals honestly and seeks the truth, I will forgive this city. ² Although they say, ‘As surely as Yahweh lives,’ still they are swearing falsely.”

Abraham was told that God would spare Sodom and Gomorrah if there were ten righteous people in them, but God bids anyone to find even one righteous person in Jerusalem. This must be an exaggeration, because of course there is Jeremiah, his secretary Baruch, perhaps Daniel and his three friends, but the point is the number is very scant. Though the people are taking the oath ‘as surely as Yahweh lives,’ they don’t really mean it. They are swearing falsely.

³ Yahweh, do not your eyes look for truth? You struck them, but they felt no pain; you crushed them, but they refused correction. They made their faces harder than stone and refused to repent. ⁴ I thought, “These are only the poor; they are foolish, for they do not know the way of Yahweh, the requirements of their God. ⁵ So I will go to the leaders and speak to them; surely they know the way of Yahweh, the requirements of their God.” But with one accord they too had broken off the yoke and torn off the bonds.

Jeremiah considers that maybe it is only the poor that are being considered (though this is a somewhat jaundiced view of the poor, who might in fact be the most spiritually attuned to God), so he seeks to find out if the leaders, their priests, prophets, and ruling officials, to see if they know Yahweh, and they don’t. The yoke of God’s law and love has been rejected by them.

⁶ Therefore a lion from the forest will attack them, a wolf from the desert will ravage them, a leopard will lie in wait near their towns to tear to pieces any who venture out, for their rebellion is great and their backslidings many. ⁷ “Why should I forgive you? Your children have forsaken me and sworn by gods that are not gods. I supplied all their needs, yet they committed adultery and thronged to the houses of prostitutes. ⁸ They are well-fed, lusty stallions, each neighing for another man’s wife. ⁹ Should I not punish them for this?” declares Yahweh. “Should I not avenge myself on such a nation as this? ¹⁰ “Go through her vineyards and ravage them, but do not destroy them completely. Strip off her branches, for these people do not belong to Yahweh.

For this “lusty” rebellion, God will avenge Himself against the nation. It will be attacked by enemies from all sides, like lions, wolves and leopards. Their spiritual adultery was accompanied by physical adultery, so they deserved this. He would strip off their branches, but would not destroy the roots. He would not totally destroy the nation.

¹¹ The people of Israel and the people of Judah have been utterly unfaithful to me,” declares Yahweh. ¹² They have lied about Yahweh; they said, “He will do nothing! No harm will come to us; we will never see sword or famine. ¹³ The prophets are but wind and the word is not in them; so let what they say be done to them.” ¹⁴ Therefore this is what Yahweh God Almighty says: “Because the people have spoken these words, I will make my words in your mouth a fire and these people the wood it consumes. ¹⁵ People of Israel,” declares Yahweh, “I am bringing a distant nation against you—an ancient and enduring nation, a people whose language you do not know, whose speech you do not understand. ¹⁶ Their quivers are like an open grave; all of them are mighty warriors. ¹⁷ They will devour your harvests and food, devour your sons and daughters; they will devour your flocks and herds, devour your vines and fig trees. With the sword they will destroy the fortified cities in which you trust. ¹⁸ “Yet even in those days,” declares Yahweh, “I will not destroy you completely. ¹⁹ And when the people ask, ‘Why has Yahweh our God done all this to us?’ you will tell them, ‘As you have forsaken me and served foreign gods in your own land, so now you will serve foreigners in a land not your own.’ (Jeremiah 5:1-19, NIV)

Like the serpent in the garden, the people of Judah have denied God’s stated consequences for their disobedience, saying, “God won’t harm us.” They claim the true prophets’ messages were mere wind and not God’s word, so God will make Jeremiah’s words a fire that consumes them. And He will, indeed, bring harm to the people, sending a distant nation with foreign speech to eat up all the land produces, to eat up their children in battle, and eat up their fortified cities. Yet even then, He says, He will not totally destroy them, as perhaps they deserve to be with their willful ignorance as to why God is doing this.

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Discussion Questions:

1. What do you think is of most importance in choosing a political candidate?
2. What does God’s search for righteous people in Jerusalem tell you about His desire to spare judgment?
3. What stands out to you about the hardness of Israel’s heart toward God?
4. What possible messages from God about our faithlessness have we ignored?