Jeremiah (1-31) 5:30 Commentary and Bible Study

‘A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land: the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means.’ By their own power they speak and operate the synagogues – and now the churches, as it were. They prophecy falsely because they do all that they do for the praise of men. They know the people want to hear this, so that is what they tell them. The people do not want to have their sins exposed, or to be dealt with faithfully. They will turn against their ministers if they start to reprove them, and because the ministers are not called to their task, they have no backbone to stand against this, so they prophesy falsely. They make it up. The flatter the people and turn a blind eye to what is wrong. ‘The priests bear rule by their means’, or literally, ‘on their hands’, that is (probably), on the hands of the prophets, which means they go along with their false prophesies. They work hand in hand together. There is no one left to stand up for what is right. And worst of all, ‘my people love to have it so.’ So even false religion which abounds and is successful because it's what the people want. They have fashioned or altered even Christianity to suit themselves. It is as though they were all involved in a giant conspiracy. They have worked out a way of conducting their religion so that they can serve their own lusts at the same time. The people don’t want true religion and true worship of Jehovah. They don’t want to draw near to God and have him examine their hearts. They still want some form of religion to convince themselves that they have not altogether abandoned the Lord, but it is so modified and twisted, that it is not recognisable as genuine worship of God, by genuine followers of God. The people are very pleased with this compromise, and think they have the best of both worlds, but ‘if we deny him, he also will deny us: ¹³ If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself’ (2 Timothy 2:12-13).What a terrible thing to have to say; ‘What a horrible thing is committed in the land.’ Israel, that was to set an example to all the other nations of the world, had corrupted itself so that all that should have distinguished it as different was gone. ‘And what will ye do in the end thereof?’ Where is it all going? The Scripture speaks of a great apostacy at the end. ‘Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold’ (Matthew 24:12); ‘This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come’ (2 Timothy 3:1); ‘Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; ² Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron’ (1 Timothy 4:1-2); ‘For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; ⁴ And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables’ (2 Timothy 4:3-4).