8/12/2019 1988 Issue 7 - Jeremiah: Judgment and Restoration,
Part VII - Counsel of Chalcedon
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INTRODUCTION
1. This chapter renrinds us that the.
basic cause
of
Judah's destruction by
Jehovah was her blatant and inexcusable
rejection
of
the sovereignty and cove
nant of the Lord; and her u b ~ s s i o n to
another sovereignty in Baal. When this
happens, it is inevitable that the curses
of
the covenant, (Lev. 26 and Deut.
28), become operative. .
2.
Ute
indictment
of
Judah has a
different emphasis in chapter than t
did in chapter 2 . In chapter 2 God in
dicted
I
udah for her idolatry. In chapter
God
indicts Judah for her personal and
social immorality. Faithfulness
of
Jeho
vah and submission to his sovereignty
not only show themselves in purity
of
worship, but
alsQ in
careful
a d t e r e n c ~
to the laws
of
God's covenant
in
both
personal morality
and
public justice.
EXPOSIDON
A. (5:1-3) The Absence of Faith
1.
The two most important factors
in
a person's life were absent from the
whole population o Judah. These two
things
God
looks for
in
us
more than
anything else.
a.
The doing
of
justice. This is
the doing and establishing of what is
right
in
God's sight in our own lives
and our society. It is
to
do that which
God has establi shed as the norm for all
to follow, 23:5, revealed in biblical
law. It means to make judgments, s
sessments, and value judgments, solely
in terms
of
God's revealed standard of
right and wrong in
the
Bible.
b.
The
seeking of faith. The He
brew word translated, "truth," in the
NASV, is "emtinah," meaning the
faithful holding fast
to
God and his
Word." t is the same word used in Hab.
2:4, where i t means "faith" and not "the
faithfUl performance of good deedS,
which will, however, always come with
true "faith." The just shall live by faith
in Christ, not by dependence upon the
faithful observance
of
the Law. This is
the central message of Paul
in
Rom.
1:17,
where he quotes
as
a proof-text,
Hab. 2:4. And this. faith, this firm ad
herence to God's gospel promise
.missing
m
udah.
c. Judah, in her apostasy, shout-.
ed, No to the demands ofGcxrs .Law,
and they shouted, No to the offers
of
God's Gospel.
2. These preliminary judgments
. upon Judah, instead of softening them, ,
moved them to harden their hearts in un- .
belief and disobedience . g i i t ~ t t h ~ i r
Creator, Redeemer, and Covenant
taw
giver; They deliberately refused to "trust
and obey.
B. (5:4-6) The Guilt
of
People ~ d
Leaders
1. (5:4) The Sin
of
the People
(The people werespiritually pover
t y ~ s t r i c k e n .
They were absorbed with
external
and
ritualistic purity, but they
knew nothing of ethical purity and
wholehearted commitment to the .
et)
tirety of God's covenant. They had com
partmentalized life. Religion applies
only to the worship practices. Religion
does
not
apply to the m lrket place, ,the
class room, the recreation center, the
court room, or the political
a r e n a ~
But
religion is life, . and Judah's apostate
religion was prejudicing her entire life;
Cowpartrnentalization
of
life is an .
tempt to avoid the pressure of the
de-
mands
of a divine
Law
man does .not
want to obey.)
2. (5:5) The Sin of the Leaders
(The leaders, on the other hand,
are not seen as ignorant, but as deliber- .
ate in . heir defiant rebellion against
God. They know better. They are not
atheists who do
not
believe in Jehovah .
They are deliberate anti-theists, who re-
cognize his existence but who hate his
supremacy.)
3. (5:6) The Ter:ror of Righteous
Judgment
(The consequences
of
breaking
God's covenant and rejecting his supre
macy over all of life are depicted as the
vicious attacks of wild animals, which ;
tear apart their victims wimout rer
st:J:aint. God's judgment is terrifying, be
cause Judah's sins are even tnorehid
eous and terrifying.)
C.
(5:7-9)
The
Justice ofJudgment
1. .Despite Josiah's reforms, the.
apostasy
of
.Manasseh was so deeply.
r09ted in the hearts of the people and.
the leaders, that divine judgment was
evitable.
z How could
God
pardon them fo(
forsaking him for empty idols, for aban-:
doning themselves to adultery against.
him who, through the years, had so lov
~ n g l y
~ for
all
their needs?
3. Jeremiah is describing a rumb.
ling society in open revolt againsi the
commandments
of
Jehovah.
D.
(5:10-13} The
Danger
of
False
Security
1.
1udah is often portrayed as Je>
hovah's vineyard, which he has planted
and cultivated, only to have it bear
no
grapes. So, he, as the liusbandmah,
prunes
off
the dead and fruitless
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8/12/2019 1988 Issue 7 - Jeremiah: Judgment and Restoration,
Part VII - Counsel of Chalcedon
2/2
branches, for they do not belong to
him.
The
vine itself, however, is not
to
be
totally uprooted.
From
that root will
spring the Messiah and his New Israel,
John 15 and Romans 11.
2.
Judah was committing a danger
ously treacherous sin
by
misrepresent
ing their unchanging Lord. They pre
sumed that, because they were his cove
nant people, he could not turn against
them, even if they
were
utterly faith
less. They were convinced that God
would not touch
them
with punish
ment. This is blind complacency.
3 The
people, forgetful tha t breach
of
covenant would result
in
the opera
tion
of
the curses
of
the covenant, that
is, divine judgment,
and
stressing rather
the privileges
of
covenant membership
than its obligations, had deluded them
selves into thinking
that
somehow the
God of
the
covenant would overlook
breaches
of
the covenant." -Thompson
4.
The
people
were
lulled and tran
quilized into this attitude
by
the preach
ing of false prophets, 14:13-15. This is
why
God
calls them "windbags, full
of
hot
air."
What
the true prophets
had
spo
ken will come to pass.
E. (5:14-17) The Burning Fury
of
God's Word
1 (5
:14)
God
identifies himself here
as "Jehovah, the God of Hosts." He is
the
Lord
of
the
hosts
of
heaven and
earth,
i.e., the entire created universe.
This title speaks
of
the fulness
of
Jeho
vah's power throughout creation. He is
the ultimate
power and
authority in the
universe. He speaks through Jeremiah.
He is the one against whom Judah's
sins. And he is the one who is angry
with Judah. Only a fool would resist
him. . .
2.
(5:15) The judgment is fast ap
proaching.
3. (5: 16-17) The judgment is com
plete,
in
that
it
will
purge every area
of
Judah's life
and
society.
4.
Everything Judah trusted in
would be totally demolished, because
God will not share his glory with anoth
:
He tolerates no rivals.
F. (5:18-19)
The
Glinuner of Hope
(The destruction
of God
's judgment
on Judah will not be total nor final. AI-
though the judgment is severe and just,
there is a ray
of
hope. Judah's exile will
not
be a final rejection. God's people
will
be
restored historically in Ezra and
Nehemiah, and fully in Jesus Christ.
The God of ustice is also a God of mer
cy.)
G.
(5:20-24)
The
Disappearance of
Awe
1 (5:20-23) Judah
had
become in
sensitive to the many evidences of Je
hovah's sovereignty, majesty,
and
omni
potence. They forgot that the Lord,
not
Baal, controls
the
energies of creation
and the movements
of
history. What
stupidity and blasphemy not to stand
in
awe before the almighty Jehovah.
2.
(5:22, 24)
The
stupidity
of
Judah
consisted
in
this: they did not reverence
Jehovah,
who
controls the
sea
and the
weather. Everything is under the control
of Jehovah, so his faithful people have
nothing to fear in creation or history.
What Baal could not control, Yahweh
could
. It was therefore a cause of as
tonishment that the people should fail
to
bring
to
Yahweh the profound rever
ence
that was due him." -Thompson
H. (5:25-29) The Disappearance
of
Public Justice
1 (5:
25)
Because Judah had wan
dered away from the
Lord
and had
missed
the goal he set for her, Jehovah
would withhold life-sustaining bless
ings from her. This withholding
of
blessings proved that God was still be
ing faithful to his covenant, which they
were disregarding, Deut. 28: 15-68.
2. (5:26-29) Judah's economy was
dominated
by
dishonesty, greed, love-of
money, and
neglect
of the poor;
and
her
political structures failed
to
deal with
the
gross injustices throughout the
land.
When
a
people turns
from God's
law, they call
good
evil and evil good.
So Jehovah
will have
his vengeance
on
them.
I (5:30-31)
The
Appalling Horror
of
the Ages
1
Jeremiah
was
horrified at the
grossest
of
all sins: the unholy alliance
of
prophets
and
rulers, (preachers and
politicians) in
conunon
rebellion
against
God
. The prophets refused to
preach the word
of
God; and the
politicians refus
ed
to enforce the law of
God.
And
the people loved it that way
2.
In
America
in
1988, preachers
refuse to preach
the
pure word of
God
and politicians refuse to enforce biblical
law; and the citizenry want
it
that way.
An unrighteous people will not elect
righteous leaders.
The
biggest problem
today is
not
in Washington, D.C., it is
in
the living rooms
of
America.
3. To
Judah and to America
God
asks: WHAT Wll L YOU DO AT
TilE
END
OF IT ALL??? When the lies
of
the false preachers are exposed?
When
the
bankruptcy of false politicians is
obvious
to
everybody?
When
the
day
of reckoning for
our
nation finally
comes? When God begins to pour out
his wrath on a rebellious people?
When
the day
of
disillusionment comes and
the day
of
repentance is past?
WHAT
WILL YOU DO TiffiN?
Daddy
ay I Take
Communion?
Paedoco
un
on vs The Bible
by Leonard J. Coppes
Available E EE
for
a
$45.00 donation to
The Counsel
of
Chalcedon
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The Counsel of Cbalcedon, July,
1988 Pa g e 5
