Jeremiah 5:14-31

14 Therefore thus says the LORD God of hosts:
“Because you speak this word,
Behold, I will make My words in your mouth fire,
And this people wood,
And it shall devour them.
15 Behold, I will bring a nation against you from afar,
O house of Israel,” says the LORD.
“It is a mighty 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 tomb;
They are all mighty men.
17 And they shall eat up your harvest and your bread,
Which your sons and daughters should eat.
They shall eat up your flocks and your herds;
They shall eat up your vines and your fig trees;
They shall destroy your fortified cities,
In which you trust, with the sword.
18 “Nevertheless in those days,” says the LORD, “I will not make a complete end of you.
19 And it will be when you say, ‘Why does the LORD our God do all these things to us?’ then you shall answer them, ‘Just as you have forsaken Me and served foreign gods in your land, so you shall serve aliens in a land that is not yours.’
20 “ Declare this in the house of Jacob
And proclaim it in Judah, saying,
21 ‘ Hear this now, O foolish people,
Without understanding,
Who have eyes and see not,
And who have ears and hear not:
22 Do you not fear Me?’ says the LORD.
‘Will you not tremble at My presence,
Who have placed the sand as the bound of the sea,
By a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass beyond it?
And though its waves toss to and fro,
Yet they cannot prevail;
Though they roar, yet they cannot pass over it.
23 But this people has a defiant and rebellious heart;
They have revolted and departed.
24 They do not say in their heart,
“Let us now fear the LORD our God,
Who gives rain, both the former and the latter, in its season.
He reserves for us the appointed weeks of the harvest.”
25 Your iniquities have turned these things away,
And your sins have withheld good from you.
26 ‘For among My people are found wicked men;
They lie in wait as one who sets snares;
They set a trap;
They catch men.
27 As a cage is full of birds,
So their houses are full of deceit.
Therefore they have become great and grown rich.
28 They have grown fat, they are sleek;
Yes, they surpass the deeds of the wicked;
They do not plead the cause,
The cause of the fatherless;
Yet they prosper,
And the right of the needy they do not defend.
29 Shall I not punish them for these things?’ says the LORD.
‘Shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?’
30 “An astonishing and horrible thing
Has been committed in the land:
31 The prophets prophesy falsely,
And the priests rule by their own power;
And My people love to have it so.
But what will you do in the end?
Jeremiah 5:14-31 NKJV

God's words were to be like fire coming from Jeremiah and those who heard would be like dry wood. Those who hear the word of the Lord and refuse to listen to it and take it to heart will be devoured by the word. Like dry trees, the fire will burn them up completely. For Judah, the fire that would destroy them was in the form of Babylon. God warns them that everything they need for survival in the land of promise will be destroyed by the coming armies of Babylon. Their food, which should be eaten by their children, will be eaten by the attacking foreigners and they will destroy their fortified cities with the sword. All will be taken from them.
In verse 18, God once again reminds them that He will not make a complete end of them. A word of hope comes in the midst of the words of doom. He will not preserve some for the sake of those He saves, but He will preserve them because He still has a plan for His nation of Israel. The people who rebel against Him deserve only the death that all of us who rebel against God deserve. Just as Jesus has taken on Himself the results of our sins and taken the punishment that we deserve, so God said He would have some to carry on to fulfill His plans for them. While Jeremiah spoke God's words to them they ignored him and denied that Jeremiah spoke the word of the Lord. Later when the things Jeremiah told them came to pass and they asked, "Why does the LORD our God do all these things to us?", Jeremiah was to tell them that they had brought their fate on themselves. Choices have consequences. They foolishly chose to put their trust in rocks and sticks and turn their backs to their God. Fire would now cleanse them. By loving the sins they cherished and by refusing to listen to the words of His prophets, they separated themselves from God and His protections were removed. They had evidence after evidence of God's love and protection for them. They had eyes to see the hand of god on them, but they refused to see it. They had ears to hear of His love and caring for them, yet they refused to hear it. God gives them examples from nature of God's power and caring. The sea is bound by the sand and the roaring waters will not overtake the earth. The rains come when needed for the harvests of the food they need to survive. God has blessed them over and over, they have let the sins of their hearts turn the blessings into despair. They have grown rich and fat. Their wickedness surpasses that of those around. The land of promise should be a shinning light for justice and harmony. Other nations should be able to look at Judah and see where those who are downtrodden and poor are cared for and given the help that they need. The weak should be defended. Instead they prosper at the expense of the poor and needy. God says He must punish them for their neglect of the poor and helpless.
Then God speaks to the false prophets and says that it is an astonishing and horrible thing. The prophets lie, the priests rule by their own power instead of God's power, and worst of all the people want it to be so. They want to be lied to and to be ruled over by the arbitrary whims of man instead of being ruled over by the justice of a righteous God who will protect and save them. They would rather believe lies that they think are pleasant than obey the truth that God gives them. So they believe what their hearts desire, but God asks them, 'what will you do in the end?' The lies are just that, lies. The reality of the truth will happen whether they refuse to believe it or not. So will it be for us today. We can deny the final days of the earth are coming, but what God has spoken will come to pass. Let us believe the truth and obey our God.

Lord,
Help me today to believe the truth You give me. Help me to share Your truth to those to whom You send me. Open my eyes and my ears and my understanding so that I will see and hear and trust and believe the truth as You present it to me. Help me to see You in nature and help me to hear You in Your word.