Jeremiah 5

30. “When this spoiling shall become a reality, what wilt thou do?” No matter how delicately clad or gayly ornamented thou mayest be, thy lovers, those heathen nations from whom thou hast sought their idol gods, or (according to the figure of the prophets) with whom thou hast played the harlot, will despise thee and will seek thy very life! How little will it avail thee then to have sought them as thy lovers when they shall have become thy murderers! So in every sinner’s case there will come an hour of doom in which his sins will become his tormentors, and Satan, to whom he has sold himself to do his bidding, will drop his mask and appear plainly the sinner’s real and worst enemy!

31. These are the customary Hebrew figures to express extreme sorrow, affliction and agony. The whole people are thought of as a desolate female, the daughter of Zion, bewailing her sad lot, spreading forth her hands as if imploring help, and crying, “Woe is me now! my soul is wearied because of murderers!” Armed men are drinking the blood of all my sons and daughters! Thus closes this vivid portrayal of the desolations which were near to come on Judah and Jerusalem from the terrible Chaldean armies, unless the people should at once turn to God in penitence and find mercy. H. C.

5 : 1 RUN ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that doeth justly, that seeketh truth; and I will pardon her. And though they say, As the LORD liveth, surely they swear falsely. O LORD, do not thine eyes look upon truth? thou hast stricken them, but they were not grieved, thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return. Then I said, Surely these are poor: they are foolish; for they know not the way of the LORD, nor the judgement of their God. I will get me unto the great men, and will speak unto them; for they know the way of the LORD, and the judgement of their God. But these with one accord have broken the yoke, and burst the bands. Wherefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them, a wolf of the evenings shall spoil them, a leopard shall watch over their cities, every one that goeth out thence shall be torn in pieces: because their transgressions are many, and their backslidings are increased. How can I pardon thee? thy children have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods: when I had fed them to the full, they committed adultery, and assembled themselves in troops at the harlots’ houses. They were as fed horses in the morning: every one neighed after his neighbour’s wife. Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this? Go ye up upon her walls, and destroy; but make not a full end: take away her branches: for they are not the LORD’s. For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me, saith the LORD. They have denied the LORD, and said, It is not he; neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword nor famine: and the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them: thus shall it be done unto them. Wherefore thus saith the LORD, the God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them. Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from far, O house of Israel, saith the LORD: it is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither understandest what they say. Their quiver is an open sepulchre, they are all mighty men. And they shall eat up thine harvest, and thy bread, which thy sons and thy daughters should eat: they shall eat up thy flocks and thine herds: they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig trees: they

18 shall beat down thy fenced cities, wherein thou trustest, with the sword. But even in those 19 days, saith the LORD, I will not make a full end with you. And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Wherefore hath the LORD our God done all these things unto us? then shalt thou say unto them, Like as ye have forsaken me, and served strange gods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not yours.

20,21. Declare ye this in the house of Jacob, and publish it in Judah, saying, Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have

22 ears, and hear not: Fear ye not me? saith the LORD: will ye not tremble at my presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea, by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it? and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though

23 they roar, yet can they not pass over it. But this people hath a revolting and a rebellious

24 heart; they are revolted and gone. Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear the LORD our God, that giveth rain, both the former and the latter, in its season; that reserveth

25 unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest. Your iniquities have turned away these things,

26 and your sins have withholden good from you. For among my people are found wicked

27 men: they watch, as fowlers lie in wait; they set a trap, they catch men. As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and waxen rich.

28. They are waxen fat, they shine: yea, they overpass in deeds of wickedness: they plead not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, that they should prosper; and the right of the needy

29 do they not judge. Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?

30,31. A wonderful and horrible thing is come to pass in the land; the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?

6:1 Flee for safety, ye children of Benjamin, out of the midst of Jerusalem, and blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and raise up a signal on Beth-haccherem: for evil looketh forth from the

2 north, and a great destruction. The comely and delicate one, the daughter of Zion, will I

3 cut off. Shepherds with their flocks shall come unto her; they shall pitch their tents against

4 her round about; they shall feed every one in his place. Prepare ye war against her; arise, and let us go up at noon. Woe unto us! for the day declineth, for the shadows of the even-

5 ing are stretched out. Arise, and let us go up by night, and let us destroy her palaces.

6. For thus hath the LORD of hosts said, Hew ye down trees, and cast up a mount against Jerusa-

7 lem: this is the city to be visited; she is wholly oppression in the midst of her. As a well casteth forth her waters, so she casteth forth her wickedness: violence and spoil is heard in

8 her; before me continually is sickness and wounds. Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, lest my soul be alienated from thee; lest I make thee a desolation, a land not inhabited.

9. Thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall thoroughly glean the remnant of Israel as a vine:

10 turn again thine hand as a grapegatherer into the baskets. To whom shall I speak and testify, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of the LORD is become unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it.

11. Therefore I am full of the fury of the LORD; I am weary with holding in: pour it out upon the children in the street, and upon the assembly of young men together: for even the hus-

12 band with the wife shall be taken, the aged with him that is full of days. And their houses shall be turned unto others, their fields and their wives together: for I will stretch out my

13 hand upon the inhabitants of the land, saith the LORD. For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even

14 unto the priest every one deaieth falsely. They have healed also the hurt of my people

15 lightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace. Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: there- fore they shall fall among them that fall: at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith the LORD.

16. Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls: but they said, We will not

17 walk therein. And I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet;

18 but they said, We will not hearken. Therefore hear, ye nations, and know, O congregation,

19 what is among them. Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words; and as for my law,

20 they have rejected it. To what purpose cometh there to me frankincense from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far country? your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacri-

21 fices pleasing unto me. Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will lay stumblingblocks before this people: and the fathers and the sons together shall stumble against them; the neighbour and his friend shall perish.

22. Thus saith the LORD, Behold, a people cometh from the north country; and a great nation

23 shall be stirred up from the uttermost parts of the earth. They lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea, and they ride upon

24 horses; every one set in array, as a man to the battle, against thee, O daughter of Zion. We have heard the fame thereof; our hands wax feeble: anguish hath taken hold of us, and

25 pangs as of a woman in travail. Go not forth into the field, nor walk by the way; for there

26 is the sword of the enemy, and terror on every side. O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth, and wallow thyself in ashes: make thee mourning, as for an only son, most bitter

27 lamentation; for the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us. I have made thee a tower and a

28 fortress among my people; that thou mayest know and try their way. They are all grievous revolters, going about with slanders; they are brass and iron: they all of them deal cor-

29 ruptly. The bellows blow fiercely; the lead is consumed of the fire: in vain do they go on

30 refining; for the wicked are not plucked away. Refuse silver shall men call them, because the LORD hath rejected them.

Chap. 5. This chapter sets forth yet further the grievous iniquity of the people, both in the line of corrupt morals and of idol worship, coupled with frequent intimations that such guilt must bring down upon them the retributions of Divine justice.

1. This proposition, “Go, explore the city of Jerusalem, and search diligently for one truth-loving man who executes justice; and if you can find one such, I will pardon the city,” gives us a very strong view of the utter and universal degeneracy of the people. It reminds us of Abraham’s plea for Sodom, and the Lord’s pledge to spare it if he could find ten righteous men in it. H. C.

The Lord asks importunately that “a man” may be found, and then He defines and describes what He means by “a man,” in the words, “one that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth.” Such is His description of true manhood. So, then, the true man is he to whom truth—that which is right, that which is in accordance with the will of God—is the all-important thing. The habit of his mind, the purpose of his life, is to discover this truth—to know what is right. And when what professes to be truth comes before him, he weighs it in the balance of conscience, tests how it tallies with the mind and will of God; and according to its agreement thereto he approves or disapproves, he gives his judgment. And then, when his judgment is formed, his mind made up, as we say, he does not linger in the outer courts of mere approbation, but he presses on into the very sanctuary, the holy of holies, of corresponding action—he “executeth judgment.”

Having sought, seen, approved the right, he does it; not once now and then, but habitually. Such is the man after God’s own heart, such the Divine description of what manhood really is. P. C.

2. The men of Jerusalem swore by Jehovah, but this did not hold them to the truth. They swore falsely and perjured themselves. Scarce anything can be a surer test of the moral sentiments of a people than this. H. C.

3. The eyes, turned upon or toward an object, denote not only a diligent inspection and nice discernment of it, but also an earnest expectation or looking after it. The phrase may here be taken in both senses—that God both seeth and discerneth the truth, and also expects it from others, especially from those who call upon His name in attestation of it. Blayney.

What God requires of man. “O Lord, are not Thine eyes upon the truth?” This is better rendered, “O Lord, look not Thine eyes for fidelity?” Faith is the grand requirement. It is the condition of communion between man and God, and man and man. Scripture lays stress on this. Faith cannot be a mere logical abstraction or a condition beyond the reach of man. It must be practical—within the power of the will, and such as may be reasonably looked for in all. “Fidelity,” the Old Testament equivalent for the New Testament “faith,” has its expression in reality, honesty, thoroughness. These are the marks of the man God delights to honor, and they are the obligation of all (Mic. 6:8). P. C.

3-6. Chastisement thwarted by universal stubbornness. The chastisements are evidently indicated as severe, and the reason of the severity is hinted in the preliminary question. God is looking for truth, looking for it in the midst of oaths broken and despised. He looks for faithfulness in all the ways in which it can be shown. There must be correspondence between promises and performances; there must be stability of character; the character must be such that men will be the same out of sight as in sight, working as ever in the Great Taskmaster’s eye. Moreover, God cannot be put off by the most plausible appearance of fidelity; He knows always whether the heart is steadfast in its affection and zeal. And thus seeing all this insincerity among His people, this carelessness about truth, He chastises them to make them feel their wrong, attend to His will, and alter their deceiving ways so as to correspond with it. Y.

4,5. There may be some hope, even for a wicked nation, while the fear of God remains in any considerable number of the wealthy and ruling part of it; but when once they come to be thoroughly corrupted, then everything is ripe for ruin. And therefore the prophet, after complaining very pathetically of the sinfulness and impiety of the bulk of his countrymen, still thought there was one resource left. But when he found that those of high condition were as bad or worse than the rest, he immediately gives up all, and pronounces their destruction. Apb. Seeker.

11. This verse gives a reason why they can no longer be accounted the Lord’s people. They have been exceedingly treacherous toward God, breaking their covenant with Him in ways most insulting and abusive.

14. The meaning of this is that all the words of the Lord against them by the prophet should be fearfully fulfilled, to their sure destruction.

15-17. Here, again, we have the Chaldeans. They are surely coming to lay the land desolate. They are both powerful and ancient; in power, coming up at that time to be the conquerors of all Western Asia; in antiquity, running back to the earliest ages after the flood. Their language bore some affinity to the Hebrew, yet was so unlike that the Jews would not understand it. The comparison of their quiver to an open sepulchre is graphic, significant of death and destruction. It is remarkable that the prophet returns so often to this fearful prediction of invasion and ruin from the north, the Chaldean power. No doubt it was the merciful design of God to appeal to the fears of the people, and thus arouse them to serious consideration of their danger, and so of their great sin. For the same reason the Bible, and especially the New Testament, reveals the fearful doom of the wicked in the world to come.

18. Again we have this merciful limitation, “I will not make a full end with you.” Fearful as this destruction and captivity were to be, a remnant would survive, and Judah be again restored. So God is wont to blend mercies with His judgments all along through this world of probation. But no such limitation appears in the testimony given in the Scriptures as to the final destiny of the lost! Nowhere does the Lord say, Nevertheless, I will not make a full and final end of your hopes and happiness!

21. To have noble capacities for attaining all needful moral truths, and glorious opportunities for doing all duty, and yet to use neither, but deliberately to paralyze the one, and neglect or even spurn away the other—this is the great sin of all sins; this it is that dooms to hopeless sinning and woe. H. C.

No man ever yet offended his own conscience but first or last it was revenged upon him for it. So that it will concern a man to treat this great principle awfully and warily, by still observing what it commands, but especially what it forbids; and if he would have it always a faithful and sincere monitor to him, let him be sure never to turn a deaf ear to it; for not to hear it is the way to silence it. Let him strictly observe the first stirrings and intimations—the first hints and whispers of good and evil, that pass in his heart; and this will keep conscience so quick and vigilant, and ready to give a man true alarms upon the least approach of his spiritual enemy, that he shall be hardly capable of great surprise.

On the contrary, if a man accustoms himself to slight or pass over these first motions to good, or shrinkings of his conscience from evil, which originally are natural to the heart of man, conscience will by degrees grow dull and unconcerned; from carelessness it shall fall into a slumber, and from a slumber it shall settle into a deep and long sleep, till at last perhaps it sleeps itself into a lethargy that nothing but judgment shall be able to awaken it. South.

There is no greater mistake in the world than to suppose that we believe what we do not disbelieve. The common state with many of us is to do neither the one nor the other. Neither to think that Christ’s word is true, nor yet that it is false; but to think nothing at all about it. But this is truly unbelief—truly,

and in the scriptural sense of unbelief; because, although neither our tongue nor our understanding consciously says that Christ’s word is false, yet our whole being says so daily; it gives its witness against Christ’s truth, silently indeed, but quite decisively. T. Arnold.