Jeremiah continues to rip the people here in this passage. He starts with an allusion to Sodom and Gomorrah.
As you may recall, Abraham asked if God would spare them if he found just ten righteous people in the city, and while God agreed, ten righteous people were not to be found.
Here, God says that if he found just one righteous person, he would spare Jerusalem, but there was none.
Either none of the prophets lived in Jerusalem, or this is a bit of hyperbole. Jeremiah was certainly one man that sought God, and there were other prophets as well, such as Zephaniah and perhaps Nahum.
King Josiah had also started seeking the Lord as well, although perhaps he hadn’t started at the time this prophesy was written. But the point is that there were precious few who were seeking God, from the high on down to the low.
What was the problem? Nobody feared the Lord. Everyone took him lightly, and thought that even if he noticed what they were doing, that he wouldn’t do anything about it.
Jeremiah said of them,
They have lied about the Lord; they said, “He will do nothing! No harm will come to us; we will never see sword or famine.
The prophets are but wind and the word is not in them; so let what they say be done to them. (Jeremiah 5:12-13)
So many people live that way today. They live their own way, believing that God will not ever bring judgment.
“God’s a God of love. Surely he wouldn’t bring judgment down on us, would he? All those people that talk about his judgment are just trying to scare us. Don’t pay any attention to what they say.”
And so instead of listening to those who bring God’s word and warnings of judgment, they listen only to those who make them feel good.
As Jeremiah said,
The prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way.
But what will you do in the end? (31)
Everyone loves to hear about God’s love and mercy. No one likes to hear about God’s judgment. But if we refuse to listen to those warnings, we are deceiving ourselves because judgment is coming.
He judged the people of Judah through the Babylonians. And the day will come when Jesus will come back and judge each person both the living and the dead. All will stand before him and give an account to him.
How about you? Are you living your own way, deceiving yourself into thinking that judgment will never come?
God is patient, but judgment will come. You may like to only hear words of God’s love and mercy, but if you ignore his warnings of judgment and refuse to repent, what will you do when you stand before him?
There’s only one way to be ready for judgment day. To turn from your sins, and receive Jesus as your Lord.
As Paul wrote,
If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. (Romans 10:9-10)
Let us not deceive ourselves. Judgment is coming. Let us get ready now before it’s too late.
Moment to Moment (Bible blog) 