Jeremiah Chapter Five

Justified Punishment

Virtual Pastor

In this study of Jeremiah chapter five, we look at the fact that God was justified in bringing judgment on Judah and Jerusalem.

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Jeremiah 5:1 & 2


"Roam the streets of Yerushalayim look around, observe and ask in its open spaces: if you can find anyone (if there is anyone!) who acts with justice and seeks the truth, I will pardon her. And though they say, 'As ADONAI lives,' the fact is that they are swearing falsely."


A challenge is issued to find one righteous man in the whole city of Jerusalem. God offers to spare the entire city for one man but there is not even one. We remember, from Genesis 18, how Abraham had asked God to spare Sodom and Gomorrah if ten righteous men could be found. Either Abraham did not understand the depth of their sin or the heights of God's mercy when he stopped asking at ten. We see that, in Jerusalem, there were those who were claiming to acknowledge God but it was not a reality in their lives. Jesus also said that there would be those that, on the last day, do not enter heaven even though they had done things in His name. We see from both cases that what matters is what is in the heart.

Jeremiah 5:3


ADONAI, your eyes look for truth. You struck them, but they weren't affected; you [nearly] destroyed them, but they refused correction. They made their faces harder than rock, refusing to repent.


We see that God is right in punishing them because He gave them the opportunity to turn from their ways but they refused. As we see in Hebrews 12, correction from God is a sign that we are His children.

Jeremiah 5:4 & 5


My reaction was, "These must be the poor, the foolish, not knowing the way of ADONAI or the rulings of their God. I will go to the prominent men, and I will speak to them; for they know the way of ADONAI and the rulings of their God." But these had completely broken the yoke and torn the harness off.


We see that God is right in His judgment as they could not use the "I didn't know" excuse. It was not just the uneducated people that were disobedient but also the city leaders. They are compared to oxen that had been hooked up to a load but had gone wild and broken away from the cart.

Jeremiah 5:6


This is why a forest lion kills them, why a desert wolf can plunder them, why a leopard guards their cities - all who leave are torn to pieces - because their crimes are many, their backslidings keep increasing.


In Leviticus 26, God told Israel that this would be the punishment for disobedience. Backsliding is where you know what it required but dig in your heels and resist. This is not accidentally breaking some rules but is outright rebellion.

Jeremiah 5:7


"Why should I forgive you? Your people have abandoned me and sworn by non-gods. When I fed them to the full, they committed adultery, thronging to the brothels.


The next generation had already been taught to follow the sins of their fathers. Can you imagine raising a child and providing for all of their needs but them calling another person mommy or daddy?

Jeremiah 5:8 & 9


They have become like well-fed horses, lusty stallions, each one neighing after his neighbor's wife. Should I not punish for this?" asks ADONAI. "Should I not be avenged on a nation like this?"


They had all that they needed and yet looked to other gods. The simple answer to these questions is that it is perfectly right and just for the Creator of all things to punish a disobedient creation.

Jeremiah 5:10 & 11


Go through her rows [of vines], and destroy them (but don't destroy them completely): strip away her branches, they do not belong to ADONAI. "For the house of Isra'el and the house of Y'hudah have thoroughly betrayed me," says ADONAI.


Even though all are guilty and deserving of punishment, we see that, in His mercy, God spares a remnant. This is a pattern that occurs throughout the history of Israel and continues even to this day.

Jeremiah 5:12 & 13


They have denied ADONAI, they have said, "He won't do anything, calamity will not strike us, we will see neither sword nor famine. The prophets are merely wind, they do not have the word; the things that they are predicting will happen only to them."


Their religious leaders and prophets were saying that God would not punish them because they were His chosen people. It is much the same way with the world today as many say that everyone should just get along and there are many paths to salvation. Many say that God will not judge people as long as they are trying to do the best they can. This is nonsense and we should remember that the events that are described here did happen.

Jeremiah 5:14


Therefore ADONAI Elohei-Tzva'ot says: "Because you people speak this way, I will make my words fire in your mouth, [Yirmeyahu,] and this people wood; so that it will devour them.


Fire refines and here the words the people spoke will be refined and the truth made known. They had said that God would not judge them for their idolatry but God's action would demonstrate the truth.

Jeremiah 5:15-17


I will bring on you, house of Isra'el, a distant nation," says ADONAI, "an enduring nation, an ancient nation, a nation whose language you do not know - you will not understand what they are saying. Their quiver is like an open grave, they are all mighty warriors. They will eat up your harvest and your bread, they will eat up your sons and your daughters, they will eat up your flocks and your herds, they will eat up your vines and your fig trees; with the sword they will beat down your fortified cities, in which you trust.


Once again, God lets Judah know that it will be Babylon that is used to judge them. The judgment would affect everything from their children to their fields and cities.

Jeremiah 5:18 & 19


But even in those days," says ADONAI, "I will not completely destroy you. And when your people ask, 'Why has ADONAI our God done all these things to us?' you are to give them this answer: 'Just as you abandoned me and served strange gods in your own land, so likewise you will serve strangers in a land that is not your own.'


Once again, we see that God promises to spare a remnant from the coming destruction. We also see that this remnant is left for a reason which is to tell others about what God has done. There would be no doubt as to who brought on the judgment and that it was deserved (God was just in His judgment).

Jeremiah 5:20-22


Announce this in the house of Ya'akov, proclaim it in Y'hudah; say: 'Hear this, stupid, brainless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear: Don't you fear me? - says ADONAI. Won't you tremble at my presence? I made the shore the limit for the sea; by eternal decree it cannot pass. Its waves may toss, but to no avail; although they roar, they cannot cross it.


God uses the example of the sea to remind the people that he is the one who created all things and even the earth obeys Him. As the Creator, it is only right that God should tell the creation how it is to operate.

Jeremiah 5:23 & 24


But this people has a rebellious, defiant heart; they have rebelled and gone! They don't say to themselves, "Let's fear ADONAI our God, who gives the fall and spring rains in season, who reserves us the weeks assigned for harvest."


Even though the people had known that God was the creator and was in control of all things, they still rebelled. This reminds us that it is not merely a "head knowledge" of the things of God that is required to be saved. A change of heart is required and that change of heart is commonly called repentance.

Jeremiah 5:25


Your crimes have overturned nature's rules, your sins have kept back good from you.'


God makes it clear that the judgment of famine is due to their rejection of Him. God is not only the Creator but also the Sustainer of all things. When they rejected Him, then, God was no longer under obligation to provide for them. This is another example of how God's judgment was justified. Even as Christians, our sins can rob us of the good things that God has in store for us. We are guaranteed salvation but we are also given freedom to make choices every day. Those choices can either lead us to the good (blessings) that God has put in place for us or they can lead us in our own direction and the struggle to provide for ourselves.

Jeremiah 5:26 & 27a


"For among my people there are wicked men, who, like fowlers, lie in wait and set traps to catch their fellow human beings. Their houses are as full of fraud as a cage full of birds.


God compares the actions of His people to those who trap birds and put them in cages. At first glance, we would not think too much of this as we are familiar with keeping birds in cages as pets. It was not like that in Jeremiah's time as birds were caught for food or for sacrifices but not for pets. Although we are free to do so, it is sad to think that birds who God created to fly freely through the sky are put in a cage where they mostly just sit on a perch. Imagine how the bird that is used to soaring in the sky feels when all it can do is sit on a perch. In the same way, people can get caught up in their sin where they cannot soar like God desires for us. This is the same type of frustration. We can escape that cage through Jesus Christ and be free to soar again!

Jeremiah 5:27b & 28


They grow rich and great, sleek and bloated; they excel in acts of wickedness but do not plead on behalf of the orphan, thus enabling his cause to succeed; nor do they judge in favor of the poor.


The people of Judah and Jerusalem were blessed with wealth but did not take care of the poor and the orphans. The depth of our love for God is demonstrated in our treatment of people such as this.

Jeremiah 5:29


"Should I not punish for this?" asks ADONAI. "Should I not be avenged on a nation like this?


God has presented His case against Judah and asks if He is not right in bringing the coming judgment. The answer would have been obvious to the people as they knew that every charge that was presented was true.

Jeremiah 5:30 & 31


A shocking and horrifying thing has happened in the land: The prophets prophesy lies, the cohanim obey the prophets, and my people love it that way. But what will you do at the end of it all?


As we see, God is just in bringing the judgment on all of the people as they were all guilty. The so-called leaders and prophets were making up things and telling the people what they wanted to hear. This sounds like the same type of thing that is happening today and it is going to get even worse as the Day of the Lord approaches. Jesus answered the question of what will happen to these people when He said: "I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!" (see Matthew 7:22 & 23).

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