Jeremiah 5:20 says, Declare this in the house of Jacob, and publish it in Judah, saying, Verse twenty-two adds, Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not: Jeremiah was to publish, or I believe proclaim more than write down, this warning to God's people. God said that they had eyes but couldn't see and ears but couldn't hear. This was not referring to physical sight and hearing, but to spiritual. Verse twenty-two asks, Fear ye not me? saith the LORD: will ye not tremble at my presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it? God asked if His chosen people did not fear Him, or have respect for Him. God said that His power was so great that He created the sand for a perpetual decree and that even the sea could not destroy it. Verse twenty-three declares, But this people hath a revolting and a rebellious heart; they are revolted and gone. God said that His people had a revolting and rebellious heart and were gone from Him. Whenever we are out of God's will. it is because of our revolting and rebellious heart, and if we find our self in that situation, we need to repent and return to following God. Verse twenty-four adds, Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear the LORD our God, that giveth rain, both the former and the latter, in his season: he reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest. God said that the people of Israel and Judah, since they were a divided nation at this time, neither one put their faith in Him, though He blessed them with the rain needed for growing crops. If we have blessings from God today, do we thank and praise Him for them, or do we simply feel that we deserve them for some reason? Verse twenty-five continues, Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you. God said that their sins caused them to not have His blessing and that the good things of God were withheld from them. Verse twenty-six says, For among my people are found wicked men: they lay wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men. God said that His chosen people were now wicked men who set traps for others. Being one of God's people in name only will never be worth much spiritually, and it doesn't matter who ones parents are, because we must have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ in order to be saved. Verse twenty-seven states, As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and waxen rich. God said that the people of Israel had become great and rich in the eyes of the world, but at the same time they had turned their backs on Him. Their riches had trapped them like a cage full of birds are still trapped, no matter how many of them there may be. Verse twenty-eight continues, They are waxen fat, they shine: yea, they overpass the deeds of the wicked: they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, yet they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge. God said that even though the people had grown fat that they did not care for those in need. God does not call us to live in million dollar houses while those around us go hungry. Verse twenty-nine asks, Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this? This was a rhetorical question asked by God. He was basically asking if the people did not realize that He saw these things. We need to realize that God not only sees all that we do but knows why we do it as well. We will never fool God. Verse thirty declares, A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land; Then verse thirty-one concludes, The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof? The wonderful and horrible thing that God spoke of was the fact that even the priests did not obey God, but prophesied by their own understanding and power. We, as followers of Christ, cannot afford to begin to proclaim the things of this world as God's word.
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