Albert Barnes Commentary Jeremiah 5:20-31

"Declare ye this in the house of Jacob, and publish it in Judah, saying, Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; that have eyes, and see not; that have ears, and hear not: Fear ye not me? saith Jehovah: will ye not tremble at my presence, who 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. But this people hath a revolting and a rebellious heart; they are revolted and gone. Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear Jehovah our God, that giveth rain, both the former and the latter, in its season; that preserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest. Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good from you. For among my people are found wicked men: they watch, as fowlers lie in wait; they set a trap, they catch men. As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and waxed rich. They are waxed fat, they shine: yea, they overpass in deeds of wickedness; they plead not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, that they may prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge. Shall I not visit for these things? saith Jehovah; shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this? A wonderful and horrible thing is come to pass in the land: 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?" — Jeremiah 5:20-31 (ASV)

They sin against the God:

1. Of Creation (Jeremiah 5:22), and
2. Of Providence (Jeremiah 5:24).

They sin not merely by apostasy, but by a general immorality extending to all classes (Jeremiah 5:25–28). It is in this immorality that their idolatry has its root.

Jeremiah 5:22: The sea is the symbol of restless and indomitable energy, chafing against all resistance, and dashing to pieces the works by which humanity endeavors to restrain its fury. Yet God has imposed upon it laws which it must obey, and keeps it in its appointed place, not by barriers of iron but by a belt of sand. Modern science has shown that the resisting power of sand is enormous. A wave that would shatter rocks fails powerless upon sand.

Can they not prevail – This is the opposite of thou couldest (Jeremiah 3:5). The sea, the mightiest of God’s works, cannot prevail, cannot break God’s laws, because He has not endowed it with free will. Man, physically impotent, can prevail because, being made in God’s image, he is free.

Jeremiah 5:23: The heart, or will, of the Jews was first revolting (literally, a will that “drew back” from God because it disliked His service); and secondly, it was rebellious (a will that actively resisted Him). Compare to Deuteronomy 21:18, 20.

Jeremiah 5:24: As God’s Providence addresses itself chiefly to the thoughtful, Jeremiah says in their heart. By the intelligent study of God’s dealings, men perceive that they are not merely acts of power but also of love.

The appointed weeks – Literally, He guards, maintains, for us the weeks which are the statutes or settled laws “of the harvest.” These were the seven weeks from the Passover to Pentecost, and were as important for the ingathering of the crops as the rainy seasons for their nourishment.

Jeremiah 5:25: It was not that the rains did not fall, or that the harvest weeks were less bright; the good was there, but the wickedness of the community blocked up the channels through which it should have reached the people. The lawlessness and injustice of the times kept the mass of the people in poverty.

Jeremiah 5:26: Rather, he spies about like the crouching down of fowlers; they have set the fatal snare; they catch men.

Trap – Literally, “The destroyer;” it was probably a gin, which strangled the birds caught in it.

Jeremiah 5:27: Deceit – The wealth gained by deceit and fraud.

Jeremiah 5:28: Fatness is admired in the East as a sign of wealth.

They shine – This word is used of the sleekness of the skin, soft and smooth as ivory.

They overpass the deeds of the wicked – Literally, “They have overpassed words of wickedness,” that is, they go to excess in wickedness.

Yet they prosper – Or, that they (the orphans) may prosper, enjoy their rights.

Jeremiah 5:30: Rather, a terrible and horrible thing has happened in the land.

Jeremiah 5:31: Bear rule by their means – Rather, “The priests” rule at their hands, that is, govern according to their false prophecies, guidance, and directions.

My people love to have it so – False teaching lightens the yoke of God’s Law, and removes His fear from the conscience: and with this, man is ready to be content.