Chaos in Israel - Jeremiah 5

Chaos in Israel

Before you start, take time to focus yourself. Take some deep breaths. Quiet the distractions. Don’t let anything disrupt this time. Prepare to hear and learn from God. Ask Him to teach you through his living Word.

Once you’ve done that, read Jeremiah 5

This chapter starts by telling us how sinful Jerusalem has been. Not one of them can be found sinless (verse 1), and they speak hypocrisy (verse 2). Everyone is caught in sin: rich or poor, Jew or Gentile. Jeremiah tells us that the poor do not know the ways of the Lord and they are ignorant of God (verse 4), and so they sin. He also says that the rich are taking their prosperity for granted and committing adultery (verse 7-8). Neither group of people has an excuse for their sin. Although the poor don’t know any better, they are still found guilty in the eyes of God. Romans 1:20 tells us that God’s qualities and all of creation and clearly visible and evidence for God, so men are without excuse. Because God’s existence is made clear to the world, there is no excuse for sin. The rich have no excuse for their sin either. They are well off, high on the social ladder, and living prosperous lives, but that does not justify their sin. Do you make excuses for your sin? It’s easy to try and make our sin seem less ugly and dirty than it is: “it was just a small lie”, “it’s only one homework assignment that I just forgot to do”, or “it’s only one swear, and it’s not even that bad of a swear”. We can try and make our sin seem like its not so bad or tell, but in the eyes of God, sin is sin no matter how big or small. Any sin separates us from God, and we cannot hide any sin from God. All over the Bible, God tells us to own up to our sin and repent in order to receive forgiveness. Because of what Jesus did on the Cross, we don’t have to hide our sin or make excuses for it; we can openly confess and be forgiven knowing that we are saved.

Everything is whack in Jerusalem: they take God’s wrath too lightly (verse 12), they doubt God (verse 19), they are blinded (verse 21), and they do not fear God (verses 22, 24). The people are stubborn, arrogant, and full of sin (verses 23, 25-28). In the ESV, Jerusalem is described as “appalling and horrible” (verse 30). All of this mayhem is happening, but why doesn’t God strike them all down like he did in the story of Noah? He can’t use a flood anymore, but he could definitely use some other method to kill all of mankind. It says in verse 15 that God will bring judgment on Israel and allow a foreign nation to invade them because of their sin. It seems just given what the people are doing, but God displays his mercy. In verse 18 (ESV), it says, “but even in those days, declares the Lord, I will not make a full end of you”. Even though Israel is so messed up and the people are focusing on everything but God, God is still merciful to them. We are no better than Israel; we are sinful and in need of God the same. We deserve punishment and wrath that none of us can even comprehend, but our God is a merciful and forgiving God. I don’t know about you, but that just makes me so much more thankful and in awe of God. He could smite all of humanity easily with justification, but he loves us and chooses to be merciful.

What does God want you to learn today? Do you need to repent of any unconfessed sin and come clean with God? Do you need to stop taking God’s mercy and forgiveness for granted even though we are all deserving of God’s wrath? Take this time to pray and allow the message to soak. Let the Holy Spirit move in you, challenge you, and teach you.