TRV
Study This Verse
Public-domain commentary
Matthew Henry
From his Commentary on the Whole Bible. Henry comments on passages, not single verses — this entry covers Jeremiah 5:20–24. His three-level outline is real structure in the source text, so it is rendered as structure.
The prophet, having reproved them for sin and threatened the judgments of God against them, is here sent to them again upon another errand, which he must publish in Judah; the purport of it is to persuade them to fear God, which would be an effectual principle of their reformation, as the want of that fear had been at the bottom of their apostasy.
I.He complains of the shameful stupidity of this people, and their bent to backslide from God, speaking as if he knew not what course to take with them. For,
1.Their understandings were darkened and unapt to admit the rays of the divine light: They are a foolish people and without understanding; they apprehend not the mind of God, though ever so plainly declared to them by the written word, by his prophets, and by his providence (Jer 5:21): They have eyes, but they see not, ears, but they hear not, like the idols which they made and worshipped, Psa 115:5, Psa 115:6, Psa 115:8. One would have thought that they took notice of things, but really they did not; they had intellectual faculties and capacities, but they did not employ and improve them as they ought. Herein they disappointed the expectations of all their neighbours, who, observing what excellent means of knowledge they had, concluded, Surely they are a wise and an understanding people (Deu 4:6), and yet really they are a foolish people and without understanding. Note, We cannot judge of men by the advantages and opportunities they enjoy: there are those that sit in darkness in a land of light, that live in sin even in a holy land, that are bad in the best places.
2.Their wills were stubborn and unapt to submit to the rules of the divine law (Jer 5:23): This people has a revolting and a rebellious heart; and no wonder when they were foolish and without understanding, Psa 82:5. Nay, it is the corrupt bias of the will that bribes and besots the understanding: none so blind as those that will not see. The character of this people is the true character of all people by nature, till the grace of God has wrought a change. We are foolish, slow of understanding, and apt to mistake and forget; yet that is not the worst. We have a revolting and a rebellious heart, a carnal mind, that is enmity against God, and is not in subjection to his law, not only revolting from him by a rooted aversion to that which is good, but rebellious against him by a strong inclination to that which is evil. Observe, The revolting heart is a rebellious one: those that withdraw from their allegiance to God do not stop there, but by siding in with sin and Satan take up arms against him. They have revolted and gone. The revolting heart will produce a revolting life. They are gone, and they will go (so it may be read); now nothing will be restrained from them, Gen 11:6.
II.He ascribed this to the want of the fear of God.
When he observes them to be without understanding he asks, "Fear you not me, saith the Lord, and will you not tremble at my presence? Jer 5:22. If you would but keep up an awe of God, you would be more observant of what he says to you: and, did you but understand your own interest better, you would be more under the commanding rule of God's fear." When he observes that they have revolted and gone he adds this, as the root and cause of their apostasy (Jer 5:24), Neither say they in their hearts, Let us now fear the Lord our God. Therefore so many bad thoughts come into their mind, and hurry them to that which is evil, because they will not admit and entertain good thoughts, and particularly not this good thought, Let us now fear the Lord our God. It is true it is God's work to put his fear into our hearts; but it is our work to stir up ourselves to fear him, and to fasten upon those considerations which are proper to affect us with a holy awe of him; and it is because we do not do this that our hearts are so destitute of his fear as they are, and so apt to revolt and rebel.
III.He suggests some of those things which are proper to possess us with a holy fear of God.
1.We must fear the Lord and his greatness, Jer 5:22. Upon this account he demands our fear: Shall we not tremble at his presence, and not be afraid of affronting him, or trifling with him, who in the kingdom of nature and providence gives such incontestable proofs of his almighty power and sovereign dominion? Here is one instance given of very many that might be given: he keeps the sea within compass. Though the tides flow with a mighty strength twice every day, and if they should flow on awhile would drown the world, though in a storm the billows rise high and dash to the shore with incredible force and fury, yet they are under check, they return, they retire, and no harm is done. This is the Lord's doing, and, if it were not common, it would be marvellous in our eyes. He has placed the sand for the bound of the sea, not only for a meer-stone, to mark out how far it may come and where it must stop, but as a mound, or fence, to put a stop to it. A wall of sand shall be as effectual as a wall of brass to check the flowing waves, when God is pleased to make it so; nay, that is chosen rather, to teach us that a soft answer, like the soft sand, turns away wrath, and quiets a foaming rage, when grievous words, like hard rocks, do but exasperate, and make the waters cast forth so much the more mire and dirt. This bound is placed by a perpetual decree, by an ordinance of antiquity (so some read it), and then it sends us as far back as to the creation of the world, when God divided between the sea and dry land, and fixed marches between them, Gen 1:9, Gen 1:10 (which is elegantly described, Psa 104:6, etc., and Job 38:8, etc.), or to the period of Noah's flood, when God promised that he would never drown the world again, Gen 9:11. An ordinance of perpetuity - so our translation takes it. It is a perpetual decree; it has had its effect all along to this day and shall still continue till day and night come to an end. This perpetual decree the waters of the sea cannot pass over nor break through. Though the waves thereof toss themselves, as the troubled sea does when it cannot rest, yet can they not prevail; though they roar and rage as if they were vexed at the check given them, yet can they not pass over. Now this is a good reason why we should fear God; for,
(1.)By this we see that he is a God of almighty power and universal sovereignty, and therefore to be feared and had in reverence.
(2.)This shows us how easily he could drown the world again and how much we continually lie at his mercy, and therefore we should be afraid of making him our enemy.
(3.)Even the unruly waves of the sea observe his decree and retreat at his check, and shall not we then? Why are our hearts revolting and rebellious, when the sea neither revolts nor rebels?
2.We must fear the Lord and his goodness, Hos 3:5. The instances of this, as of the former, are fetched from God's common providence, Jer 5:24. We must fear the Lord our God, that is, we must worship him, and give him glory, and be always in care to keep ourselves in his love, because he is continually doing us good: he gives us both the former and the latter rain, the former a little after seed-time, the latter a little before harvest, and both in their season; and by this means he reserves to us the appointed weeks of harvest. Harvest is reckoned by weeks, because in a few weeks enough is gathered to serve for sustenance the year round. The weeks of the harvest are appointed us by the promise of God, that seed-time and harvest shall not fail. And in performance of that promise they are reserved to us by the divine providence, otherwise we should come short of them. In harvest mercies therefore God is to be acknowledged, his power, and goodness, and faithfulness, for they all come from him. And it is good reason why we should fear him, that we may keep ourselves in his love, because we have such a necessary dependence upon him. The fruitful seasons were witnesses for God, even to the heathen world, sufficient to leave them inexcusable in their contempt of him (Act 14:17); and yet the Jews, who had the written word to explain their testimony by, were not wrought upon to fear the Lord, though it appears how much it is our interest to do so.
Historical interpretation
Historical Reception
One surviving comment on this verse from the historical church.
(Verse 22 onward) So you will not fear, says the Lord, and you will not be in pain before me? (or will you fear?) I have set the sand as a boundary for the sea, an eternal decree that will not pass. And the waves of the sea will be disturbed, and they will not be able to pass through it. This people has become stubborn and rebellious in their heart: they have turned away and gone, and they have not said in their heart: Let us fear the Lord our God, who gives us rain in its season, both the early and the late rains, preserving the harvest for us. He narrates the benefits to accuse the ungrateful. 'Will you not fear me,' he says, 'who have bestowed such great favors upon you? I do not desire the love of the perfect, but the fear of beginners, who have set the shore as a boundary to the sea; who, by my command, have restrained the powerful element and the immense masses of waves, according to what is written: 'He has placed a boundary, and it shall not pass.' (Ps. 148:6) They hear and perceive me, who do not possess the capacity to hear; and my foolish people, having become foolish by their own fault, not only despise me, but also provoke the gentle God. They turned away from me, he said, and they turned their backs on me, and they left quickly; and their conscience did not withhold them, to say in their hearts: Let us fear him, who gives us temporary and late rain. Through all these things it shows the good abundance of the annual harvest, for which the first edition of the Aquila, and Symmachus, have interpreted as weeks. In Hebrew, it is written Sabaoth, which signifies both weeks and abundance due to the ambiguity of the word.
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Summary
Jeremiah 5:23 delivers a profound and somber assessment of the spiritual state of the people of Judah, characterizing their inner being as fundamentally rebellious and resistant to God's will. This verse serves as a stark indictment, revealing not merely isolated acts of disobedience but a pervasive, deep-seated disposition of unfaithfulness that has led them to decisively turn away from their covenant relationship with the Lord, ultimately foreshadowing the severe divine judgment and impending Babylonian exile.
Context
Literary Context
Jeremiah 5:23 is strategically placed within a sustained and escalating prophetic indictment against Judah and Jerusalem. The preceding verses (Jeremiah 5:20-22) establish God's immense power and sovereignty over creation, particularly His control over the vast and restless sea, which implicitly obeys His divine decree. This serves as a powerful contrast to the people's abject failure to fear or revere Him. If the natural world submits to God's command, how much more should His covenant people. This sets the stage for the severe accusation in verse 23, where their lack of reverence and obedience is attributed to an internal spiritual defect—a "revolting and rebellious heart." The verses immediately following (Jeremiah 5:24-31) then elaborate on the specific manifestations of this core rebellion, detailing their ingratitude for God's provision, their pervasive social injustice, and the corruption of their religious leaders, all stemming from this deep-seated spiritual malady.
Historical & Cultural Context
Jeremiah's prophetic ministry unfolded during a tumultuous and pivotal period in Judah's history, approximately from 627 BC to 586 BC, encompassing the reigns of its last five kings before the devastating Babylonian exile. This era was characterized by profound political instability, as Judah navigated the shifting geopolitical landscape dominated by declining Assyrian power, a resurgent Egypt, and the rapidly rising Babylonian Empire. Spiritually, despite King Josiah's earlier reforms, the nation quickly reverted to widespread idolatry, syncretism, and pervasive social injustice after his death. Culturally, the people had deeply assimilated the pagan practices of surrounding nations, including the worship of Baal and even child sacrifice, in direct violation of the Mosaic covenant. Jeremiah's unwavering message was a desperate, divinely ordained attempt to call Judah back to exclusive faithfulness to Yahweh amidst this profound spiritual apostasy and impending geopolitical catastrophe. The "people" in this verse refers specifically to the inhabitants of the southern kingdom of Judah, whose actions mirrored a long and tragic history of Israel's unfaithfulness, a pattern observed from the wilderness generation through the era of the divided kingdom.
Key Themes
Jeremiah 5:23 powerfully contributes to several overarching themes central to the book of Jeremiah and the broader biblical narrative. The most prominent is the theme of Persistent Rebellion and Covenant Unfaithfulness. The verse highlights that Judah's disobedience was not an isolated or accidental transgression but a deep-seated, continuous state of defiance rooted in their very being. This "revolting and rebellious heart" points to an internal disposition that actively resists God's will and truth, demonstrating a profound abandonment of their covenant relationship, a pattern warned about by Moses himself in Deuteronomy 31:27. This stubbornness leads directly to Spiritual Apostasy, signifying a complete and decisive turning away from God. The declaration "they are revolted and gone" underscores the finality and extent of their spiritual straying, indicating a definitive break from the path of righteousness. This unyielding spiritual hardening prevents them from turning back, a concept echoed in Proverbs 28:14. While not explicitly detailed in this single verse, the broader prophetic context of Jeremiah clearly links this pervasive rebellion to Divine Judgment and Consequences of Disobedience, serving as a solemn warning against such profound spiritual departure and highlighting God's righteous response to unrepentant sin, a theme found throughout Jeremiah 7.
Exposition and Analysis
Key Word Analysis
This term, "lêb," is used here in its figurative sense, referring not merely to the physical organ but to the very core of a person's being—their intellect, will, emotions, and moral character. In Jeremiah 5:23, it signifies that the rebellion of the people is not superficial or accidental but originates from their innermost disposition. Their "lêb" is the seat of their persistent unfaithfulness and resistance to God's commands, indicating a fundamental corruption of their moral and spiritual center.
The Hebrew word "çârar" conveys the idea of turning away or being refractory. It describes a stubborn, unruly, or backsliding disposition. When applied to the heart, as it is here, it emphasizes an inherent inclination to deviate from the path of righteousness and obedience. It's not just a momentary lapse, but a deep-seated tendency to resist divine guidance, akin to a stubborn animal refusing to be led, or a child who is habitually disobedient.
This primitive root, "yâlak," means "to walk" or "to go." In the context of Jeremiah 5:23, particularly when paired with "revolted" (çûwr), it signifies a complete and decisive departure. It implies that their turning away is not merely an internal disposition but has manifested in their actions, leading them far from God's ways. The combination suggests a definitive and active movement away from their covenant obligations, indicating a profound and perhaps irreversible spiritual straying.
Verse Breakdown
"But this people hath a revolting and a rebellious heart"
This clause directly identifies the core problem of Judah. The conjunction "But" introduces a stark contrast to the preceding verses which highlight God's awesome power and their lack of fear. The phrase "this people" (H5971, ʻam) refers specifically to the covenant people of God, making their condition all the more tragic. Their "heart" (H3820, lêb) is not merely disobedient in action, but fundamentally corrupted at its core. It is described as "revolting" (H5637, çârar), meaning stubborn and refractory, and "rebellious" (H4784, mârâh), indicating a deliberate and active resistance to God's authority, often implying bitterness or provocation. This signifies an internal disposition of unyielding defiance against divine will.
"they are revolted and gone."
This second clause amplifies and confirms the state described in the first. The verb "revolted" (H5493, çûwr) here means "to turn off" or "remove," emphasizing a definite turning away or withdrawal from God. The addition of "and gone" (H3212, yâlak) signifies that this turning away is not just a disposition but a completed action, a decisive departure. The repetition and pairing of these terms ("revolted" and "gone") intensify the meaning, conveying a sense of finality and completeness in their spiritual apostasy. They have not merely strayed; they have definitively walked away from their covenant relationship with God, illustrating a profound abandonment of divine principles and a definitive break from the path of righteousness.
Literary Devices
Jeremiah 5:23 employs several powerful literary devices to convey the severity of Judah's spiritual state. Repetition is evident in the use of similar concepts: "revolting" (çârar) and "rebellious" (mârâh) describe the heart, and then "revolted" (çûwr) and "gone" (yâlak) describe their actions. This repetition, particularly the pairing of "revolted and gone," creates an emphatic sense of finality and thoroughness in their apostasy, underscoring that their turning away is not partial or temporary but complete and decisive. Furthermore, the verse uses Metaphor by attributing a "revolting and rebellious heart" to the people. The heart, as the seat of intellect, will, and emotion, metaphorically represents the very core of their being, indicating that their rebellion is not merely external behavior but an internal, fundamental disposition. This internal corruption is the root cause of their outward departure from God. The language also carries an element of Hyperbole in its description of their "gone" state, suggesting an extreme and perhaps irreversible distance they have put between themselves and God, emphasizing the gravity of their unfaithfulness.
Theological and Thematic Connections
Jeremiah 5:23 stands as a profound theological statement on the nature of human depravity and the consequences of unrepentant sin. It reveals that the ultimate problem is not merely external actions but an internal disposition—a heart that is fundamentally opposed to God's will. This "revolting and rebellious heart" is a manifestation of humanity's fallen nature, which consistently chooses self-will over divine obedience, leading to a broken covenant relationship. The verse underscores the biblical truth that true repentance must originate from a change of heart, and without it, judgment is inevitable. It foreshadows the New Covenant promise where God would provide a new heart and spirit, addressing the very root of this rebellion.
Reflection and Application
Jeremiah 5:23 serves as a timeless mirror, inviting believers across generations to examine the condition of their own hearts. It challenges us to confront any tendencies towards spiritual stubbornness, self-will, or a gradual drifting away from God's truth. Just as ancient Judah faced severe consequences for their persistent defiance, we are reminded that ignoring God's word, resisting the Holy Spirit's conviction, and refusing to repent can lead to spiritual decline, a hardened conscience, and separation from the abundant blessings of God. This verse calls for a humble and responsive heart, one that is quick to acknowledge sin, eager to obey God's guidance, and willing to turn from any path that deviates from His righteous ways. It underscores the critical importance of active spiritual vigilance to avoid the deceitfulness of sin and to cultivate a heart that truly delights in the Lord and His commands.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
What does "revolting and rebellious heart" truly signify in this context?
The phrase "revolting and rebellious heart" describes a profound internal disposition of unyielding defiance against God. "Revolting" (Hebrew: çârar) implies a stubborn, unruly, and backsliding nature, a tendency to turn away from the right path. "Rebellious" (Hebrew: mârâh) signifies an active, deliberate resistance to authority, often carrying connotations of bitterness or provocation. Together, they indicate that Judah's disobedience was not accidental or superficial, but originated from the very core of their being—their will, intellect, and emotions. It means their hearts were fundamentally set against God, unwilling to submit to His covenant demands or respond to His prophetic warnings, as seen in their consistent rejection of Jeremiah's message recorded in Jeremiah 7:23-28.
Why is this verse important for understanding Jeremiah's message?
Jeremiah 5:23 is crucial because it diagnoses the root cause of Judah's impending judgment, which is the central theme of Jeremiah's prophecy. It moves beyond merely listing their sins (idolatry, injustice) to pinpoint the underlying spiritual condition: a hardened, unrepentant heart. This verse explains why Jeremiah's persistent calls to repentance were largely futile—because the people's core disposition was one of rebellion. It highlights the divine justice in God's decision to bring judgment, as their unfaithfulness was not a momentary lapse but a deep-seated, persistent rejection of their covenant Lord. It underscores that God's judgment is a righteous response to a people who have decisively "revolted and gone" from Him, despite His long-suffering patience and numerous warnings, as detailed in passages like Jeremiah 3:6-10.
Christ-Centered Fulfillment
Jeremiah 5:23, with its stark portrayal of a "revolting and rebellious heart" that is "revolted and gone" from God, powerfully sets the stage for the absolute necessity of Christ's redemptive work. The Old Covenant, though perfectly righteous, could not fundamentally change the human heart; it merely exposed its inherent rebellion and inability to conform to God's perfect standard, as stated in Romans 8:3. The prophetic longing for a divine solution to this deep-seated spiritual problem finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ. He is the one who inaugurates the New Covenant, prophesied in Jeremiah 31:31-34, where God promises to write His law not on tablets of stone but on the hearts of His people, providing a new heart and a new spirit, as foretold in Ezekiel 36:26-27. Through Christ's atoning sacrifice on the cross, the power of sin that hardens and rebels is broken, and through His resurrection, new life and a transformed heart become possible. The Holy Spirit, given to believers, empowers them to walk in obedience, replacing the "revolting and rebellious heart" with one that is responsive and desirous of God's will, making us "new creations" in Him, as celebrated in 2 Corinthians 5:17. Thus, Christ is the divine answer to humanity's inherent rebellion, offering not just forgiveness for past sin but a radical transformation of the very core of our being, enabling us to truly "walk" with God rather than being "revolted and gone."