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Commentary on Jeremiah 5 verses 25–31
Here, I. The prophet shows them what mischief their sins had done them: They have turned away these things (Jer 5:25), the former and the latter rain, which they used to have in due season (Jer 5:24), but which had of late been withheld (Jer 3:3), by reason of which the appointed weeks of harvest had sometimes disappointed them. "It is your sin that has withholden good from you, when God was ready to bestow it upon you." Note, It is sin that stops the current of God's favour to us, and deprives us of the blessings we used to receive. It is that which makes the heavens as brass and the earth as iron.
II. He shows them how great their sins were, how heinous and provoking. When they had forsaken the worship of the true God, even moral honesty was lost among them: Among my people are found wicked men (Jer 5:26), some of the worst of men, and so much the worse they were for being found among God's people. 1. They were spiteful and malicious. Such are properly wicked men, men that delight in doing mischief. They were found (that is, caught) in the very act of their wickedness. As hunters or fowlers lay snares for their game, so did they lie in wait to catch men, and made a sport of it, and took as much pleasure in it as if they had been entrapping beasts or birds. They contrives ways of doing mischief to good people (whom they hated for their goodness), especially to those that faithfully reproved them (Isa 29:21), or to those that stood in the way of their preferment or whom they supposed to have affronted them or done them a diskindness, or to those whose estates they coveted; so Jezebel ensnared Naboth for his vineyard. Nay, they did mischief for mischief's sake. 2. They were false and treacherous (Jer 5:27): "As a cage, or coop, is full of birds, and of food for them to fatten them for the table, so are their houses full of deceit, of wealth obtained by fraudulent practices or of arts and methods of defrauding. All the business of their families is done with deceit; whoever deals with them, they will cheat him if they can, which is easily done by those who make no conscience of what they say and do. Herein they overpass the deed of the wicked, Jer 5:28. Those that act by deceit, with a colour of law and justice, do more mischief perhaps than those wicked men (Jer 5:26) that carry all before them by open force and violence; or they are worse than the heathen themselves, yea, the worst of them. And (would you think it?) they prosper in these wicked courses and therefore their hearts are hardened in them. They are greedy of the world, because they find it flows in upon them, and they stick not at any wickedness in pursuit of it, because they find that it is so far from hindering their prosperity that it furthers it: They have become great in the world; they have waxen rich, and thrive upon it. They have wherewithal to make provision for the flesh to fulfill all the lusts of it, to which they are very indulgent, so that they have waxen fat with living at ease and bathing themselves in all the delights of sense. They are sleek and smooth: The shine; they look fair and gay; every body admires them. And they pass by matters of evil (so some read the following words); they escape the evils which one would expect their sins should bring upon them; they are not in trouble as other men, much less as we might expect bad men," Psa 73:5, etc. 3. When they had grown great, and had got power in their hands, they did not do that good with it which they ought to have done: They judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, and the right of the needy. The fatherless are often needy, always need assistance and advice, and advantage is taken of their helpless condition to do them an injury. Who should succour them then but the great and rich? What have men wealth for but to do good with it? But these would take no cognizance of any such distressed cases: they had not so much sense of justice, or compassion for the injured; or, if they did concern themselves in the cause, it was not to do right, but to protect those that did wrong. And yet they prosper still; God layeth not folly to them. Certainly then the things of this world are not the best things, for often-times the worst men have the most of them; yet we are not to think that, because they prosper, God allows of their practices. No; though sentence against their evil works be not executed speedily, it will be executed. 4. There was a general corruption of all orders and degrees of men among them (Jer 5:30, Jer 5:31); A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land. The degeneracy of such a people, so privileged and advanced, was a wonderful thing, and to be viewed with amazement. How could they ever break through so many obligations? It was a horrible thing, a thing to be detested and the consequences of it dreaded. To frighten ourselves from sin, let us call it a horrible thing. What was the matter? In short, this: (1.) The leaders misled the people: The prophets prophesy falsely, counterfeit a commission from heaven when they are factors for hell. Religion is never more dangerously attacked than under colour and pretence of divine revelation. But why did not the priests, who had power in their hands for that purpose, restrain these false prophets? Alas! instead of doing that they made use of them as the tools of their ambition and tyranny: The priests bear rule by their means; they supported themselves in their grandeur and wealth, their laziness and luxury, their impositions and oppressions, by the help of the false prophets and their interest in the people. Thus they were in a combination against every thing that was good, and strengthened one another's hands in evil. (2.) The people were well enough pleased to be so misled: "They are my people," says God, "and should have stood up for me, and borne their testimony against the wickedness of their priests and prophets; but they love to have it so." If the priests and prophets will let them alone in their sins, they will give them no disturbance in theirs. They love to be ridden with a loose rein, and like those rulers very well that will not restrain their lusts and those teachers that will not reprove them.
III. He shows them how fatal the consequences of this would certainly be. Let them consider,
1.What the reckoning would be for their wickedness (Jer 5:29): Shall not I visit for these things? as before, Jer 5:9. Sometimes mercy rejoices against judgment: How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? Here, judgment is reasoning against mercy: Shall I not visit? We are sure that Infinite Wisdom knows how to accommodate the matter between them. The manner of expression is very emphatic, and denotes, (1.) The certainty and necessity of God's judgments: Shall not my soul be avenged? Yes, without doubt, vengeance will come, it must come, if the sinner repent not. (2.) The justice and equity of God's judgments; he appeals to the sinner's own conscience, Do not those deserve to be punished that have been guilty of such abominations? Shall he not be avenged on such a nation, such a wicked provoking nation as this?
2.What the direct tendency of their wickedness was: What will you do in the end thereof? That is, (1.) "What a pitch of wickedness will you come to at last! What will you do? What will you not do that is base and wicked. What will this grow to? You will certainly grow worse and worse, till you have filled up the measure of your iniquity." (2.) "What a pit of destruction will you come to at last! When things are brought to such a pass as this, nothing can be expected from you but a deluge of sin, so nothing can be expected from God but a deluge of wrath; and what will you do when that shall come?" Note, Those that walk in bad ways would do well to consider the tendency of them both to greater sin and utter ruin. An end will come; the end of a wicked life will come, when it will be all called over again, and without doubt will be bitterness in the latter end.
(Verse 25) Your iniquities have turned these things away, and your sins have withholden good things from you. Therefore, if at any time the sea shall pass its bounds, and the rain shall be kept back, verily the hand of the Lord is not shortened, that it cannot do these things: but your sins, being present, have turned away good things from you, that they should not come unto you, but should go to others who have not sinned. And it is said that they have withholden the good things that were coming to us, according to that which is written in the literal sense: I will command the clouds, that they rain not upon it (Isaiah 5:6). But we can receive both the temporary and the late rain, the Law and the Gospel, and various vocations from the first hour until the eleventh, in which the owner of the vineyard promises one reward of eternal life to the workers (Matthew 20).
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SUMMARY
Jeremiah 5:25 stands as a profound divine indictment against the unrepentant people of Judah, unequivocally declaring that their pervasive moral perversity and rebellious disobedience were the direct catalysts for the calamities they endured and the withholding of God's intended blessings. This verse powerfully encapsulates a foundational principle of divine justice, illustrating that the severe consequences of sin are not arbitrary acts of retribution but rather the just and inevitable outcome of human choices, leading directly to the forfeiture of peace, prosperity, and divine favor.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Jeremiah 5:25 masterfully employs several potent literary devices to convey its stark and profound message. The most prominent is Synonymous Parallelism, where the second clause ("and your sins have withholden good [things] from you") powerfully reiterates and intensifies the meaning of the first clause ("Your iniquities have turned away these [things]"). "Iniquities" and "sins" function as parallel concepts, as do the verbs "turned away" and "withholden," and the objects "these [things]" and "good [things]." This deliberate repetition serves to emphasize the direct, undeniable, and inescapable link between Judah's actions and their devastating consequences. The verse also utilizes a form of Personification, attributing active agency to abstract concepts: "iniquities" and "sins" are vividly depicted as powerful, active forces that "turn away" and "withhold." This vivid imagery underscores the profound and detrimental impact of sin as a barrier to divine blessing. Furthermore, the entire verse functions as a clear and concise statement of Cause and Effect, presenting a direct and logical correlation between Judah's moral and spiritual state (the cause) and the withdrawal of God's abundant blessings (the effect). This logical structure renders the divine judgment both understandable and undeniably just.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Jeremiah 5:25 is a profound theological statement on the very nature of God's justice, the inviolable integrity of His covenant, and the inescapable consequences of human sin. It reveals that God's blessings are not dispensed unconditionally but are intrinsically linked to a people's faithfulness and obedience to His revealed will. When a nation, or indeed an individual, persistently deviates from God's righteous standards, they actively create a spiritual barrier that obstructs the natural flow of divine favor. This is not an act of divine capriciousness or arbitrary punishment, but rather a righteous and just response from a holy God who desires genuine relationship and faithful adherence to His ways. The "good things" God desires for His people—peace, prosperity, security, and His intimate presence—are tragically forfeited when the covenant is broken through widespread iniquity and sin. This verse serves as a timeless and sobering reminder that while God is infinitely gracious and merciful, He is also perfectly just, and there are real, tangible, and often severe consequences for rebellion against His divine will.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Jeremiah 5:25 offers a sobering yet profoundly vital truth for believers today: our actions, choices, and spiritual condition profoundly impact our experience of God's blessings and favor. While the New Covenant brings unparalleled grace and forgiveness through Christ, the underlying principle that sin creates distance and obstructs the fullness of God's intended "good things" remains profoundly relevant. This verse serves as a powerful call for deep and honest self-examination, prompting us to prayerfully assess areas of our lives where "iniquities" (referring to twisted character, unrighteous attitudes, or habitual patterns of sin) or "sins" (specific acts of disobedience against God's revealed will) might be present and unaddressed. It challenges the common misconception that difficulties or a lack of spiritual flourishing are always external or random, instead inviting us to consider our own personal responsibility. When we experience a lack of peace, joy, spiritual vitality, or a sense of disconnect from God, this verse encourages us to look inward, confess our sins, and repent, trusting that God's ultimate desire is always to restore, reconcile, and bless His children. It reminds us that genuine repentance and a humble turning back to God's ways are the indispensable pathways to experiencing the abundant life and spiritual "good things" He promises.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Does God actively "punish" believers by taking away good things when they sin?
Answer: While Jeremiah 5:25 clearly describes God's just response to a nation's persistent rebellion, implying a withholding of blessings, it is crucial to interpret this through the lens of the New Covenant for individual believers. For those who are in Christ, the ultimate penalty for sin—eternal condemnation—has been fully paid through His atoning sacrifice on the cross (Romans 6:23). Therefore, God does not punish believers with condemnation for their sins. However, sin still carries natural, relational, and spiritual consequences. Unconfessed sin can indeed hinder our intimate fellowship with God (1 John 1:6), diminish our spiritual vitality, and disrupt the flow of God's peace and joy in our lives. Furthermore, God, as a loving and wise Father, may also allow disciplinary consequences, not as a punitive measure for salvation, but to correct, refine, and lovingly draw us back into closer communion with Himself, as vividly illustrated in Hebrews 12:5-11). So, while He does not "punish" us in the sense of condemnation, He does allow consequences and discipline to lead us to repentance, growth, and restoration.
What kind of "good things" are being referred to in this verse?
Answer: In the specific context of ancient Israel and the Old Covenant, the "good things" (Hebrew: ṭôwb) primarily referred to tangible, covenantal blessings promised by God for obedience. These included national peace and security, abundant agricultural prosperity (such as timely rain and bountiful harvests), physical health, fertility, military victory over enemies, and the general well-being and flourishing (shalom) of the nation. It encompassed the holistic state of peace, wholeness, and prosperity that God desired for His people when they walked in faithful obedience to His covenant commands. For Judah, their rampant iniquities and sins directly led to severe drought, widespread famine, devastating military defeat, and ultimately, the traumatic Babylonian exile, which were the antithesis of these divinely intended "good things."
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Jeremiah 5:25, with its stark declaration that "Your iniquities have turned away these [things], and your sins have withholden good [things] from you," finds its ultimate fulfillment and profound resolution in the person and work of Jesus Christ. The Old Testament consistently and tragically reveals sin as an impenetrable barrier between humanity and God's blessings, leading inevitably to separation, judgment, and the forfeiture of divine favor. However, the glorious news of the Gospel is that Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, came precisely to remove this very barrier. His perfectly sinless life, His atoning death on the cross, and His victorious resurrection fully and definitively dealt with the "iniquities" and "sins" that had separated humanity from God's "good things." Through faith in Christ, believers are no longer under the condemnation of the law, for Christ Himself has become our righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). The "good things" that were justly withheld from rebellious Israel are now, in Christ, freely and abundantly given to all who believe. We receive not merely temporal blessings, but "every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ" (Ephesians 1:3), including the complete forgiveness of sins (Colossians 1:14), perfect reconciliation with God (Romans 5:10), and the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit (John 14:16-17). Thus, where sin once brought separation and withheld goodness, Christ's finished work has opened the floodgates of grace, allowing God to "withhold no good thing" from those who are in Him (Romans 8:32).