Jeremiah 5:1

JEREMIAH 5

A SAD PORTRAYAL OF UNRELIEVED APOSTASY OF JUDAH

One would find it difficult to exaggerate the extent of Judah's wickedness. Halley gave a summary of the chapter thus: Not a single righteous person was found in the whole kingdom; there was promiscuous sexual indulgence of all the people whose behavior was compared to that of animals; the people openly scoffed at the prophetic warnings; they were continually engaged in deceit, oppression, and robbery; they were contented with wholesale corruption in both their religion and their government.[1]

Cheyne divided the chapter into only four major divisions; but we shall break it down into smaller units.

Jeremiah 5:1-3

THE SEARCH FOR AN HONEST MAN

"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 Jehovah liveth; surely they swear falsely. O Jehovah, 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."

We may exclaim with horror over Jeremiah's inability to find an honest man in Jerusalem; but as McGee said, "Today you would probably have the same difficulty in Los Angeles or your own town!"[2]

Henderson proposed a solution to this difficulty, pointing out that:

"It is beyond dispute that there did live in Jerusalem at the time of the prophet such good men as Josiah, Baruch, and Zephaniah ... therefore we may suppose (1) either that the search was confined to certain classes of people (the magistrates, for example), or (2) that the pious had withdrawn into hiding or retirement."[3]

We do not believe any such explanation is necessary. The language here is evidently hyperbole, a figure of speech in which there is a deliberate exaggeration for the purpose of emphasis. Such figures abound throughout the Bible. A New Testament example is Matthew 3:5, "Then went out Jerusalem and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan; and they were baptized of him in Jordan!" This is hyperbole, because Luke 7:30 declares that the Pharisees and lawyers were not baptized. Making full allowance for this, however, cannot conceal the terrible state of Jewish morals at that time, shortly before the fall of the nation to Babylon.

Some have suggested that the words here are the words of Jeremiah and not the words of Jehovah, "But such a distinction is merely academic; because Jeremiah was not preaching his own thoughts, but the word of Jehovah."[4]

The purpose of these verses has been described as "a theodicy,"[5] that being, of course, an explanation of why the just and merciful God must, on occasion, severely punish and destroy sinful men. These verses fully explain why it was necessary to bring suffering and death upon God's people. It was all because of the terrible wickedness of the people.

It is of interest that the search for an honest man, recounted here, came centuries before the behavior of Diogenes, the fourth century cynic, who is supposed to have gone about with a lantern in broad open daylight, "looking for an honest man!"[6]

"I will pardon her ..." (Jeremiah 5:1). God promised Abraham to spare Sodom and Gomorrah if ten righteous persons could be found; but here he even went beyond that, showing his great love and affection for the Chosen People.

"Run to and fro through the streets ..." (Jeremiah 5:1). "The verb here is plural; and this direction is addressed to the whole city."[7]

"They swear falsely ..." (Jeremiah 5:2). "This does not refer to a judicial oath, but means that their professions of faith in Jehovah were insincere."[8]

In spite of repeated punishments by the Lord and his constant pleading with them to return to him, the people continued in stubborn rebellion.