When Hearts Harden in Sin, Where Do Suffering and Comfort Meet?

Roam the streets of Jerusalem,Search its squares,Look about and take note:You will not find anyone engaged; There is no one who acts justly,Who seeks integrity—That I should pardon her. Even when they say, “As GOD lives,”They are sure to be swearing falsely. O ETERNAL One, Your eyes look for integrity.You have struck them, but they sensed no pain;You have consumed them, but they would accept no discipline.They made their faces harder than rock,They refused to turn back. Then I thought: These are just poor folk;They act foolishly;For they do not know the way of GOD,The rules of their God. So I will go to the wealthyAnd speak with them:Surely they know the way of GOD,The rules of their God.But they as well had broken the yoke,Had snapped the bonds. Therefore,The lion of the forest strikes them down,The wolf of the desert ravages them.A leopard lies in wait by their towns;Whoever leaves them will be torn in pieces.For their transgressions are many,Their rebellious acts unnumbered. Why should I forgive you?Your children have forsaken MeAnd sworn by no-gods.When I fed them their fill,They committed adulteryAnd went trooping to the prostitute’s house. They were well-fed, lusty stallions,Each neighing at another’s wife. Shall I not punish such deeds?—says GOD—Shall I not bring retributionOn a nation such as this? Go up among her vines and destroy;Lop off her trailing branches,For they are not of GOD.(But do not make an end.) For the House of Israel and the House of JudahHave betrayed Me—declares GOD. They have been false to GOD And said: “It is not so! No trouble shall come upon us,We shall not see sword or famine. The prophets shall prove mere windFor the Word is not in them;Thus-and-thus shall be done to them!” Assuredly, thus said GOD,The God of Hosts:Because they said that,I am putting My words into your mouth as fire,And this people shall be firewood,Which it will consume. Lo, I am bringing against you, O House of Israel,A nation from afar—declares GOD;It is an enduring nation,It is an ancient nation;A nation whose language you do not know—You will not understand what they say. Their quivers are like a yawning grave—They are all mighty warriors. They will devour your harvest and food,They will devour your sons and daughters,They will devour your flocks and herds,They will devour your vines and fig trees.They will batter down with the swordThe fortified towns on which you rely. But even in those days—declares GOD—I will not make an end of you. And when they ask, “Because of what did the ETERNAL our God do all these things?” you shall answer them, “Because you forsook Me and served alien gods on your own land, you will have to serve foreigners in a land not your own.” Proclaim this to the House of JacobAnd announce it in Judah: Hear this, O foolish people,Devoid of intelligence,That have eyes but can’t see,That have ears but can’t hear! Should you not revere Me—says GOD—Should you not tremble before Me,Who set the sand as a boundary to the sea,As a limit for all time, not to be transgressed?Though its waves toss, they cannot prevail;Though they roar, they cannot pass it. Yet this people has a wayward and defiant heart;They have turned aside and gone their way. They have not said to themselves,“Let us revere the ETERNAL our God,Who gives the rain,The early and late rain in season,Who keeps for our benefitThe weeks appointed for harvest.” It is your iniquities that have diverted these things,Your sins that have withheld the bounty from you. For among My people are found evildoers,Who lurk, like fowlers lying in wait; They set up a trap to catch other people. As a cage is full of birds,So their houses are full of guile;That is why they have grown so wealthy. They have become fat and sleek;They pass beyond the bounds of wickedness, And they prosper.They will not judge the case of the orphan,Nor give a hearing to the plea of the needy. Shall I not punish such deeds—says GOD—Shall I not bring retributionOn a nation such as this? An appalling, horrible thingHas happened in the land: The prophets prophesy falsely,And the priests rule accordingly; And My people like it so.But what will you do at the end of it?

Jeremiah 5:1–20 is a courtroom indictment. God commands a search of Jerusalem for one righteous person — and none is found. The people have hardened their faces 'harder than rock' (v. 3), broken the divine yoke (v. 5), and denied that any trouble will come (v. 12). God's response is to send a nation from afar as discipline, but the command 'do not make an end' (v. 18) preserves hope beyond judgment.