Looking for righteousness
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Bringing up to date
Bringing up to date
Chapter 1 - The call of Jeremiah
Jeremiah before he was born was called.
A key verse Jeremiah 1:5 “5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.””
Chapter 2 - A look at Israel’s unfaithfulness
God’s rebuke of Israel, a warning and a call to repent to Judah.
A key verse Jeremiah 2:4 “4 Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel.”
Chapter 3 - A call to repentance
Despite the example and judgment on Israel God invited they and Judah to repent and return.
A key verse Jeremiah 3:12 “12 “Go and proclaim these words toward the north and say, ‘Return, faithless Israel,’ declares the Lord; ‘I will not look upon you in anger. For I am gracious,’ declares the Lord; ‘I will not be angry forever.”
Chapter 4 - Impending judgment
Jeremiah calls for godly repentance, more than words to avoid the coming judgment at the hand of Babylon.
A key verse: Jeremiah 4:27–28 “27 For thus says the Lord, “The whole land shall be a desolation, Yet I will not execute a complete destruction. 28 “For this the earth shall mourn And the heavens above be dark, Because I have spoken, I have purposed, And I will not change My mind, nor will I turn from it.””
(Transition to introduction for tonight)
Jeremiah chapter 5 shows God’s lament over the peoples persistent unfaithfulness, the consequences of sin, and the importance of true repentance (a turn, return to Him).
Jeremiah will not mince words as he speaks the words given to him. It is a confrontation about the persistent sin and the coming judgment due to their unrepentant hearts
The same holds true today to the unrepentant heart there is a judgment that is coming, so repentance is necessary now.
Our Reading
Our Reading
1 “Roam to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, And look now and take note. And seek in her open squares, If you can find a man, If there is one who does justice, who seeks truth, Then I will pardon her. 2 “And although they say, ‘As the Lord lives,’ Surely they swear falsely.”
3 O Lord, do not Your eyes look for truth? You have smitten them, But they did not weaken; You have consumed them, But they refused to take correction. They have made their faces harder than rock; They have refused to repent. 4 Then I said, “They are only the poor, They are foolish; For they do not know the way of the Lord Or the ordinance of their God.
5 “I will go to the great And will speak to them, For they know the way of the Lord And the ordinance of their God.” But they too, with one accord, have broken the yoke And burst the bonds. 6 Therefore a lion from the forest will slay them, A wolf of the deserts will destroy them, A leopard is watching their cities. Everyone who goes out of them will be torn in pieces, Because their transgressions are many, Their apostasies are numerous.
7 “Why should I pardon you? Your sons have forsaken Me And sworn by those who are not gods. When I had fed them to the full, They committed adultery And trooped to the harlot’s house. 8 “They were well-fed lusty horses, Each one neighing after his neighbor’s wife.
9 “Shall I not punish these people,” declares the Lord, “And on a nation such as this Shall I not avenge Myself? 10 “Go up through her vine rows and destroy, But do not execute a complete destruction; Strip away her branches, For they are not the Lord’s.
11 “For the house of Israel and the house of Judah Have dealt very treacherously with Me,” declares the Lord. 12 They have lied about the Lord And said, “Not He; Misfortune will not come on us, And we will not see sword or famine.
13 “The prophets are as wind, And the word is not in them. Thus it will be done to them!” 14 Therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, “Because you have spoken this word, Behold, I am making My words in your mouth fire And this people wood, and it will consume them.
15 “Behold, I am bringing a nation against you from afar, O house of Israel,” declares the Lord. “It is an enduring nation, It is an ancient nation, A nation whose language you do not know, Nor can you understand what they say. 16 “Their quiver is like an open grave, All of them are mighty men.
17 “They will devour your harvest and your food; They will devour your sons and your daughters; They will devour your flocks and your herds; They will devour your vines and your fig trees; They will demolish with the sword your fortified cities in which you trust. 18 “Yet even in those days,” declares the Lord, “I will not make you a complete destruction.
19 “It shall come about when they say, ‘Why has the Lord our God done all these things to us?’ then you shall say to them, ‘As you have forsaken Me and served foreign gods in your land, so you will serve strangers in a land that is not yours.’ 20 “Declare this in the house of Jacob And proclaim it in Judah, saying,
21 ‘Now hear this, O foolish and senseless people, Who have eyes but do not see; Who have ears but do not hear. 22 ‘Do you not fear Me?’ declares the Lord. ‘Do you not tremble in My presence? For I have placed the sand as a boundary for the sea, An eternal decree, so it cannot cross over it. Though the waves toss, yet they cannot prevail; Though they roar, yet they cannot cross over it.
23 ‘But this people has a stubborn and rebellious heart; They have turned aside and departed. 24 ‘They do not say in their heart, “Let us now fear the Lord our God, Who gives rain in its season, Both the autumn rain and the spring rain, Who keeps for us The appointed weeks of the harvest.”
25 ‘Your iniquities have turned these away, And your sins have withheld good from you. 26 ‘For wicked men are found among My people, They watch like fowlers lying in wait; They set a trap, They catch men.
27 ‘Like a cage full of birds, So their houses are full of deceit; Therefore they have become great and rich. 28 ‘They are fat, they are sleek, They also excel in deeds of wickedness; They do not plead the cause, The cause of the orphan, that they may prosper; And they do not defend the rights of the poor.
29 ‘Shall I not punish these people?’ declares the Lord, ‘On a nation such as this Shall I not avenge Myself?’ 30 “An appalling and horrible thing Has happened in the land:
31 The prophets prophesy falsely, And the priests rule on their own authority; And My people love it so! But what will you do at the end of it?
Is there a key verse that sticks out to you in this passage?
Our overview from chapter
Our overview from chapter
The search for righteousness (vv.1-5)
God asks Jeremiah to search for “one” righteous person so can pardon the city.
You can see how deeply corrupt the society had become when there is a search for “one.”
Despite religious practices true justice and sincerity are missing
Application: Personal integrity matters. In a world where compromise is common, choosing to live rightly can have a profound impact. - Be a voice of truth even when others are not.
Sin’s consequences (vv.6-9)
Judah’s rebellion brings an illustration of the judgment to come in a lion, wolf, and leopard attack.
Because of unrepentant sin, judgment is certain. God’s warnings are not empty threats. Mercy is available through repentance, but justice follows rebellion.
Application: Take God’s warnings, God’s discipline seriously. Use conviction of sin be a call to turn back before consequences (judgment) arrives.
False prophets and false security (vv.10-13)
Judgment is coming, it will not be total destruction.
Prophets are deceiving the people falsely promising peace
Application: Test all teachings against the word of God, be a good Berean, test the word, test the spirits. God will never contradict God.
God’s coming judgment through foreign nation (vv.14-18)
God’s word is like a consuming fire through Jeremiah. Gods’ word can purify or destroy. His justice uses real-world events as tools.
A foreign nation will come and devour Judah (Babylon).
Application: Do not ignore God’s messengers, His world is not just for inspiration, it can bring change and confrontation.
Forgetting God’s goodness (vv.19-24)
Judah’s downfall is due not learning from Israel’s example, an ungrateful heart causing spiritual blindness.
They lost reverence, fear of the Lord despite the evidence seen in creation and his providence.
Application: Cultivate of good godly holy fear, a reverent awe of God. Do not let familiarity or comfort to dull your spiritual sensitivity
Injustice and corruption (vv.25-29)
Rebellion, sin hinders God’s blessings. They are not helping, but exploiting the needy, the poor, the afflicted, they are dishonest and have a lack of justice
Righteousness affects not just a person, but the surrounding society too.
Application: Be an advocate for justice. Let your faith be reflected in how you love others and treat others, especially the marginalized.
Lying prophets, believing people (vv.30-31)
There are false prophets proclaiming peace, they are complicit to the truth.
People want to hear and believe good things, so they are hearing and believing the lies that leave them comfortable in their sin, their rebellion.
Application: Seek truth, crave truth. Keep in mind eternity.
Summary of chapter 5
Summary of chapter 5
In this chapter we have seen both a warning and a mirror. It shows a rebellious people who will not turn and repent. God’s desire is for man to turn (repent).
We are called to evaluate our own lives and see if there is any rebellion in us. Are we walking in the truth even when it is difficult? Will we be counted as the faithful at the end?
