Jeremiah 5 (HCSB)
The Depravity of Jerusalem
1 Roam through the streets of Jerusalem. Look and take note; search in her squares. If you find one person, any who acts justly, who seeks to be faithful, then I will forgive her.
2 When they say, “As the Lord lives,” they are swearing falsely.
3 Lord, don’t Your eyes look for faithfulness? You have struck them, but they felt no pain. You finished them off, but they refused to accept discipline. They made their faces harder than rock, and they refused to return.
4 Then I thought:
They are just the poor; they have played the fool. For they don’t understand the way of the Lord, the justice of their God.
5 I will go to the powerful and speak to them. Surely they know the way of the Lord, the justice of their God. However, these also had broken the yoke and torn off the chains.
6 Therefore, a lion from the forest will strike them down. A wolf from an arid plain will ravage them. A leopard keeps watch over their cities. Anyone who leaves them will be torn to pieces because their rebellious acts are many, their unfaithful deeds numerous.
7 Why should I forgive you? Your children have abandoned Me and sworn by those who are not gods. I satisfied their needs, yet they committed adultery; they gashed themselves at the prostitute’s house.
8 They are well-fed, eager stallions, each neighing after someone else’s wife.
9 Should I not punish them for these things?
This is the Lord’s declaration.
Should I not avenge Myself
on such a nation as this?
10 Go up among her vineyard terraces and destroy them, but do not finish them off. Prune away her shoots, for they do not belong to the Lord.
11 They, the house of Israel and the house of Judah, have dealt very treacherously with Me.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
12 They have contradicted the Lord and insisted, “It won’t happen. Harm won’t come to us; we won’t see sword or famine.”
13 The prophets become only wind, for the Lord’s word is not in them. This will in fact happen to them.
Coming Judgment
14 Therefore, this is what the Lord God of Hosts says:
Because you have spoken this word, I am going to make My words become fire in your mouth. These people are the wood, and the fire will consume them.
15 I am about to bring a nation from far away against you, house of Israel.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
It is an established nation, an ancient nation, a nation whose language you do not know and whose speech you do not understand.
16 Their quiver is like an open grave; they are all mighty warriors.
17 They will consume your harvest and your food. They will consume your sons and your daughters. They will consume your flocks and your herds. They will consume your vines and your fig trees. They will destroy with the sword your fortified cities in which you trust.
18 “But even in those days”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“I will not finish you off. 19 When people ask, ‘For what offense has the Lord our God done all these things to us?’ You will respond to them: Just as you abandoned Me and served foreign gods in your land, so will you serve strangers in a land that is not yours.
20 “Declare this in the house of Jacob; proclaim it in Judah, saying:
21 Hear this, you foolish and senseless people. They have eyes, but they don’t see. They have ears, but they don’t hear.
22 Do you not fear Me?
This is the Lord’s declaration.
Do you not tremble before Me, the One who set the sand as the boundary of the sea, an enduring barrier that it cannot cross? The waves surge, but they cannot prevail. They roar but cannot pass over it.
23 But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts. They have turned aside and have gone away.
24 They have not said to themselves, ‘Let’s fear the Lord our God, who gives the rain, both early and late, in its season, who guarantees to us the fixed weeks of the harvest.’
25 Your guilty acts have diverted these things from you. Your sins have withheld My bounty from you,
26 for wicked men live among My people. They watch like fowlers lying in wait. They set a trap; they catch men.
27 Like a cage full of birds, so their houses are full of deceit. Therefore they have grown powerful and rich.
28 They have become fat and sleek. They have also excelled in evil matters. They have not taken up cases, such as the case of the fatherless, so they might prosper, and they have not defended the rights of the needy.
29 Should I not punish them for these things?
This is the Lord’s declaration.
Should I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?
30 A horrible, terrible thing has taken place in the land.
31 The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own authority. My people love it like this. But what will you do at the end of it?
PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN (verse 21): For the vast majority of my faith walk with You, Father, I have foolishly pretended or chosen to be blind and deaf to Your will for me. Please forgive me for this rebellion, Father. Forgive me for thinking and living in a self-righteous way of not seeing or hearing You and Your will for me. Forgive me for thinking my ways are better than Yours even though I know from experience that is far from the truth. Help me to keep my eyes and ears not only open, but also focused intently on You at all times, Father. Help me to ensure that I do not return to my selfish ways by reminding me to see You and hear You through ALL things.
PROMISE (verses 3, 9, 18): You give us a promise here that I may not be comfortable with accepting at all times, but as a parent I do fully understand the necessity of it. You promise us that at times You will bring discipline upon us, but that You will not finish us off. For me, I think of this as a parent who spanks their child a couple of times after explaining to them what they had done wrong and why they’re disciplining them in the moment. If You were to “finish us off” to me I see that as a parent that goes overboard in this life and disciplines their children in a way that completely destroys their identity with words or even becomes physical abuse. Thank You so much, Father, for the promise of proper and well-balanced discipline. Thank You for knowing the balance that is needed for us to learn from Your discipline in a way that isn’t overboard like us worldly parents often do. Thank You for being the perfect Father.
ATTITUDE (verse 23): Again, Father, I feel You’re speaking directly to me about my stubborn and rebellious heart. I know I have gotten far better at this than I once was, but I’m still not where I need to be. Please help me to break this habit that I’ve formed over my lifetime of rebellion and stubbornness so that my heart is open to You through all things, Father. Help me to have an attitude that mirrors Jesus in the sense that no matter what was going on around Him, He never once rebelled against You nor did He ever allow the stubbornness that comes with our flesh dictate what He would do for You, Father. Help me to be more aligned with His attitudes than my own.
COMMAND (verses 22-24): Multiple times in these verses, Father, You tell us that we should be fearful of You. From my perspective on this, it isn’t a fear in the sense of an actual terrifying “I’m scared of You” type of fear. It’s more like a fear of disappointing You. A fear of the discipline and correction You may bring upon us if we aren’t following Your commands and aren’t in Your will for us. This is a healthy fear that we are to live by so that we live in a way that is pleasing to You in this life, Father. Help me to remember to live in this fear of disappointing You, Father. Help me to remember to live in this fear of Your discipline and correction on me, Father. Help me to always remember that a healthy and righteous fear of You is the best way to live so that I actually want to always do the things that are pleasing to You, Father.
EXAMPLE (verses 3, 7-8, 12-13, 21-25): There are so many examples You give us to live by in this Scripture, Father. You provide Jerusalem’s rebellious ways as an example of how NOT to act in this life. You say that You seek faithfulness, yet they failed at that and were disciplined for it. You say that we should not commit adultery nor lust over another woman that is not our wife, yet Jerusalem failed at this as well and You punished them for it. You tell us not to contradict Your word nor tempt You by saying things like “harm won’t come to us” and Jerusalem failed many times at this as well, receiving Your discipline as a result. You tell us to see, hear, and fear You, yet Jerusalem opted to live in their own selfish, stubborn, and rebellious ways which led to punishment from You. Please help me to follow this example that You give from Jerusalem in the sense that I learn from their mistakes so that I no longer repeat those mistakes in my life. Help me to be faithful to You and my wife both internally and externally; help me to have a healthy and righteous fear of You; help me to live in a way that my eyes and ears are always open and focused on You; help me to be a doer of Your word and not just a knower, Father. Thank You for always giving me good, practical examples of how to live this life in a way that is pleasing to and glorifies You, Father.
*DAILY NOTE: It is so tough to change old ways and long-term defaults of mine, Father. Just like the old saying goes, “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” I have lived in this mentality for so long, thinking that my old ways are just who I am and that they are my identity. I know, now, that my identity is not in my past hardships and mistakes, but through You. Thank You for providing me healing through all the past hurts that I’ve encountered. Thank You for always providing me with a correct and righteous path to walk on instead of the trap-laden path that I have been stuck on for so long in my life. Please continue to shine Your light in front of my steps, so that I can always remain on the path that You provide to me, Father. If I do stray again, please shine Your light to help me get back on track.
*GENERAL NOTE: I always "sandwich" my quiet time with God in prayer and do it in a location that I will not have any distractions so that I can be focused on my quiet time with God. Do not worry about how short or long your journal entries are for that day's quiet time. Just focus on the actual quiet time and relational conversation with God through the Holy Spirit and His Word. The journaling is an enhancement to your quiet time conversation with God, but also to allow you to reflect on things later as you can look back on your journal entries later when you do the chapters again in the future to see how you have grown. See the FAQ for more detail on how I do my quiet time.
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