Read Jeremiah 5 at Bible Gateway.
The Hebrew paragraphs:
5:1-9 {s} No one seeks truth or receives correction, but have forsaken YHVH and increased in transgressions
5:10-13 {s} Destroy but not completely, take away her offshoots, they have not believed YHVH’s word
5:14-19 {p} My word shall devour you, by a mighty far off nation, but not a complete end
5:20-29 {s} YHVH’s foolish people who do not fear Him/ their iniquities have turned away good from them
5:30-6:5 {p}…
The Strong theme:
5:1-19 {s+s+p} They have all forsaken YHVH and not believed His word, therefore it will devour them, but not a complete end
The Chiastic structures:
Jeremiah 4:22-5:9 Chiasm
Jeremiah 5:10-19 Chiasm
Jeremiah 5:20-29 Reverse parallelism
Declare this in the house of Jacob, and proclaim it in Judah, saying, ‘Hear this now, O stubbornly foolish people, and without an understanding heart; who have eyes and do not see, who have ears and do not hear: “Do you not fear Me?” declares YHVH. Jer 5:20-22a
YHVH’s dilemma echoes every parent’s nightmare: faithfulness versus backsliding. David, a man after God’s own heart, fathered Solomon, the first apostate (1 Sam 13:14, 1 Kin 11:4-6). Hezekiah, with a heart like his father David, fathered Manasseh, Judah’s worst king (2 Kin 18:3-6, 21:2-9).
Commandments on stone tablets outside the man cannot change a sin nature ruling inside the man, blocking obedience from the heart (Jer 4:14). Circumcision, the cutting away of the flesh, is a Natural Picture for cutting away the fleshly layer of the heart (Deu 10:16; Rom 2:29). God’s solution is a heart transplant (Eze 36:26; Jer 31:33), the new birth in the Spirit (Joh 3:3-6). The heart transplant is only something He can do, but parents can prep the soil.
Engrave Torah on your heart and theirs, by talking of it (and reading it, and hearing it) while sitting, walking, lying down, rising up—that is, at all times, in all places, modeling wholehearted love (Deu 6:5-7). We constantly sow the good seed of God’s Word through our children’s eyes and ears (Mar 4:1-20, Rom 10:17) into their hearts; eyes and ears being the gates of the mind. So we guard inputs (Pro 4:23), for the thoughts of the mind act as programming code for the heart. Don’t neglect fervent prayer (Jam 5:16)! Solomon and Manasseh show that every child has free will and is responsible for their own choices. But, both Solomon and Manasseh repented late in life (Ecc 12:13, 2 Chr 33:12-15).
So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. 1 Cor 3:7
The promise: we plant and water, and God gives growth. Simple? Yes—sow His Word relentlessly to produce the fruit of faithful, circumcised hearts after His own (Gal 6:7). ♥
If there are questions, this is a good resource:
The Mind and Heart Connection – Christine Miller
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