Jeremiah 5:25-29

5. Social injustice (Jeremiah 5:25-29)

TRANSLATION

(25) Your iniquities have turned away these things and your sins have withheld good from you. (26) For wicked men are found among My people. They watch, with the crouching of fowlers; they set the traps; they catch men. (27) As a cage full of birds so their houses are full of deceit. Therefore they become great and they become rich. (28) They have become fat, they are sleek, they have surpassed the deeds of the wicked. They do not plead the case, the case of the orphan that they might prosper and the cause of the poor they do not judge. (29) On account of these things shall I not punish (oracle of the LORD)? Shall not My soul take vengeance on a nation which is like this?

COMMENTS

The iniquities of the people of Judah have deprived them of continued divine blessing (Jeremiah 5:25). The judgment envisioned by Jeremiah was not wholly in the future. A foretaste of that judgment was already being given in the form of disciplinary disasters designed to shake the people up and bring them to repentance (cf. Amos 4). These judgments are necessary because there are wicked men among the people of God, men who will stop at nothing to enrich themselves. Like the fowler (cf. Micah 7:2) they crouch and wait until an innocent and helpless victim is ensnared in their trap. By wicked and diabolical schemes they are attempting to catch men (Jeremiah 5:26). As the home of the successful fowler is full of caged birds, so the homes of these wicked schemers give evidence of their prowess. Their homes are full of deceit, i.e., objects obtained through deceit, ill-gotten gain (Jeremiah 5:27). These wicked men grow fat and sleek as their riches increase. Their wickedness grows ever more bold and reprehensible. They exceed or go beyond the deeds of the most wicked men. No crime is out of the question if it serves to enhance their wealth and power. They were totally inconsiderate of the rights of helpless minorities, the poor and the fatherless. Never would one of these powerful men intervene to help the less fortunate get justice in the courts (Jeremiah 5:28). Repeating the rhetorical question of Jeremiah 5:9 the Lord asks, Shall I not take vengeance on such a nation as this? Acts of injustice are offences against God and He must avenge them. The intervention of God on behalf of the helpless and in judgment upon those who oppress them is one of the major themes of prophetic literature.

6. Intentional deception (Jeremiah 5:30-31)

TRANSLATION

(30) An astonishing and horrible thing has come to pass in the land. (31) The prophets have prophesied falsehoods and the priests rule at their side and My people love it so! And what shall you do at its end?

COMMENTS

That which is commonplace among men often is shocking in the eyes of God. As the Lord evaluated the religious situation in Judah He regarded what was taking place as astonishing and horrible (Jeremiah 5:30). Not only the political rulers (Jeremiah 5:28) but the spiritual rulers as well were utterly corrupt. Jeremiah was both prophet and priest and he criticized those who held both offices. The prophets were prophesying falsehoods, promising the people that God was on their side and no ill would befall their nation. They peddled a false security based on empty forms and rituals. It was a superficial religion, a religion which did not get in the way of one's everyday life. The priests rule at their side, i.e., at the beck and call of the prophets. But the people were as guilty as their religious leaders for they encouraged and supported them. Falsehood is generally far more pleasant to the ear than truth and the men of Judah were quite anxious to hear the assurances of peace and prosperity. But what will all of these men do at the end when they ultimately face the God of judgment and truth? The word end might refer to the death of the individual apostates or to the end of the national existence when Judah would as a nation stand face to face with God.