Sefer Yirmiyahu is taught by Rabbi Harold Sutton, Rabbi of Congregation Hochma U'Mussar; Rosh Yeshivat Magen David Yeshivah; Rabbi at the Sephardic Rabbinical College.
Yirmiyahu says: Go walk through the streets of Jerusalem and see whether you can find a righteous man there. If you do, God will forgive the nation. The people swear in the names of their idols; if you hear someone swear in the name of God, he’s trying to deceive you into thinking he’s righteous.
God pays heed to those who are faithful to Him, so why do so many turn on Him? He punishes them, but they refuse to listen to Him. Yirmiyahu says that the people simply lack understanding and he goes to their leaders to convince them to lead the people back on the proper path. Unfortunately, they paid him no mind. Because of this, a “lion” (Nebuchadnezzar) will strike them, a “wolf ” (the Medes) will pillage them and a “leopard” (Greece) will attack their cities. Anyone who ventures out will be torn apart because of their sins.
The people do not deserve to be forgiven. They turned on God and followed non-gods. He gave them every- thing, but they cheated on Him. They were adulterous with one another’s wives, like wild stallions. How can God overlook such behavior? (As in the previous chapter, God says that He will destroy, but not completely.) The people denied God. They figured He doesn’t care what we do and there won’t be any payback; they dis- regard the words of the prophets. What God says through His prophets will, in fact, happen to such people. Therefore, God put His Word in Yirmiyahu’s mouth like flame, to consume people like wood. A nation is coming from the distance, whose language the Jewish nation doesn’t know. They are crack shots with a bow and arrow - every shot is a kill. They will eat the harvest, kill the children, capture the herds and flocks, and destroy the vineyards and orchards. They will ruin the cities with their swords.
God says that, despite all this, He will not allow the Jewish people to be eradicated. If you ask why He allowed all this evil to come upon us, the answer is: Just as they served foreign “gods,” now let them serve foreign na- tions! Let the fools finally see, hear and understand Who God is. He made the sand a boundary for the ocean - no matter how hard the waves churn, they cannot pass it. If the sea cannot hope to revolt against God’s will, how can a rebellious nation expect to do so? God gives them rain in its proper time to ensure the harvest schedule, and still they refuse Him! Their sins brought about these troubles.
There are evil people in the nation, who set ambushes for others. They are rich with possessions obtained illicitly and they don’t turn down any opportunity to sin. They don’t stick up for orphans or poor people, who need their help. How can God overlook this? It’s mind-boggling that prophets lie, telling the people that there will be peace, and the priests rule through them. And the people like this arrangement! If that’s how things are now, imagine what they will be like later.
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