Jeremiah (1-31) 5:2 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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Jeremiah (1-31) 5:2

Comments

Even among the religious it is no better. ‘And though they say, The LORD liveth;’ – they are very fond of making oaths – they utter the name of the Lord falsely; he isn't in their minds; there is no seriousness or sincerity. It is an act, a lie; it is a lightweight thing to say. There is no respect or reverence for him. The name of the Lord is a common oath used to convince men or themselves, but there is no real intention that God should scrutinise their honesty. This is somebody who presents as being religious among the Jews of the time, and they have a profession of faith, but so much religion is proud and consists in trusting their own works: ‘I can please God; I can do it.’ In so much religion there is no conception of God's great holiness, and there is no relationship with God. It is formal; it is ceremonial or something like that, and there is no real life and relationship with him. ‘O LORD, are not thine eyes upon the truth? thou hast stricken them,’ – they have already been punished – ‘but they have not grieved.’ ‘Thou hast consumed them with blight upon their crops’ – they have half-starved, but they have refused to connect these things with divine correction, even though the Lord had promised to supply all their needs if they obeyed him. ‘They have made their faces harder than a rock’ – they have become so impenetrable, so obstinate, so determined not to listen to their prophets.

Application

As we go through this chapter, we remember that it is Judah that is being addressed. Israel has already fallen. It is Jerusalem; it is the church, the typical church of the times, and there will be an application throughout this chapter. What about the professing church of our time? Let’s say, professing Bible Christianity. Does it have a parallel with this? Is there a serious problem amidst Bible Christianity? The problem here is that the church of Jeremiah’s time has been punished, but so has the Bible believing church of the present day. Churches have shrunk, and shrunk, and lost their voice and their impact on society. Now the norm is to be an unbeliever, an atheist. Now Bible believing churches are obscure and unknown. It is a parallel. At that time the people of Judah and Jerusalem simply would not accept that there was any kind of judgment going on, that God had withdrawn his blessing, and allowed their enemies to prevail, and so they were in a serious situation. They wouldn't accept it: they were absolutely obstinate. But it is the same today. There are all kinds of things going on in Bible Christianity, which are completely contrary to the Scripture: the whole tidal wave of worldliness and contemporary music; all these things completely contrary to the principles of Scripture. But you cannot persuade anybody that God is in this great diminution of influence, and voice, and numbers and impact. They are determined not to see any kind of withholding of the hand of blessing on God's part! We just keep that in mind as we go through these verses.

It is the same when we preach the gospel. There is this idea of universal salvation: ‘Everybody will get to heaven and deserves to be there in the end. If there is a God, he will not make fine distinctions between people.’ There are so many examples of this. Years ago, when President Reagan was president of the United States, there was that terrible event when there was an attack on an American embassy, and many marines died. He was on the television worldwide assuring everybody, and all the people connected, that these good wonderful marines would all now be in heaven. That is what people want to believe, and to lose all notion of a holy God who we have deeply offended. So Jeremiah had to argue about these things, even in those days.

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Jeremiah (1-31) 5:2 Commentary and Bible Study