Bird's-eye view
In this sobering passage, God, through His prophet Jeremiah, pronounces an irreversible sentence of judgment upon the house of Israel. The time for warnings has passed. The people’s cynical dismissal of God’s prophetic word has transformed that very word from a potential balm into a consuming fire. God declares that He will make Jeremiah’s prophecies the active agent of destruction, with the people of Judah as the kindling. The instrument of this fiery judgment will be a foreign invader, the Babylonians, described here as an ancient, relentless, and terrifying force. The destruction will be total, striking at their food, their children, their economy, and finally, the fortified cities that served as their idolatrous source of trust. This is a stark depiction of a covenant lawsuit reaching its final verdict: the covenant-breaking people will be devoured by the consequences God Himself brings upon them.
The core message is that God’s word is never neutral. It does not return to Him void. If it is not received in faith unto salvation, it will be received in judgment unto condemnation. The people thought Jeremiah’s words were just that, his words. But God says they are His words, and He is about to back them up with the full force of His sovereign power. The passage is a terrifying illustration of what happens when a people exhaust the patience of God and mistake His longsuffering for indifference.
Outline
- 1. The Covenant Lawsuit's Sentence (Jer 5:14-17)
- a. The Word Becomes Fire (Jer 5:14)
- b. The Instrument of Judgment Described (Jer 5:15-16)
- i. A Distant, Ancient, and Foreign Foe (Jer 5:15)
- ii. A Deadly and Mighty Army (Jer 5:16)
- c. The Nature of the Destruction Detailed (Jer 5:17)
Context In Jeremiah
This passage comes after Jeremiah has spent several chapters detailing the depth of Judah’s corruption. In chapter 5 alone, he has been challenged by God to find even one just man in Jerusalem (5:1). He has documented their spiritual adultery, their rejection of correction, their false oaths, and their oppression of the weak. The immediate context is the people’s flippant dismissal of the threat of disaster. In the preceding verses, they have said, “He will do nothing; no disaster will come upon us, nor shall we see sword or famine. The prophets will become wind; the word is not in them” (Jer 5:12-13). The passage we are examining is God’s direct, thunderous reply to that specific blasphemy. It is a classic example of divine irony; they say the word is not in the prophets, so God says He will make that very word a fire to consume them. This section marks a turning point from pleading and warning to the stark announcement of inescapable doom.
Key Issues
- The Power and Efficacy of God's Prophetic Word
- God's Sovereignty Over Nations
- The Nature of Covenant Curses
- The Folly of Trusting in Human Defenses
- Corporate Guilt and Generational Judgment
The Word That Bites Back
There is a modern, sentimental notion that words are just words. They are puffs of air that we can take or leave. The people of Judah certainly thought so. They heard Jeremiah’s sermons, his tearful pleas, his dire warnings, and they chalked it all up to the rantings of a religious crank. "The prophets will become wind," they said. They treated the word of the Lord like a weather report they did not like, one they could ignore by simply staying inside. But the Word of God is not an opinion piece. It is not a suggestion. The Word of God is substantive; it has heft. It is creative, as in Genesis 1, and it is also de-creative. It is the very power of God in verbal form.
What Judah failed to understand is a lesson that every generation must learn. God’s Word accomplishes what He sends it to do. It is a two-edged sword. One edge is for salvation, for healing, for life. The other edge is for judgment, for severance, for death. When you are offered the edge of life and you refuse it, you do not thereby render the sword harmless. You simply impale yourself on the other edge. That is what is happening here. The word that was sent to warn them, to save them, now becomes the very instrument of their destruction.
Verse by Verse Commentary
14 Therefore, thus says Yahweh, the God of hosts, “Because you have spoken this word, Behold, I am making My words in your mouth fire And this people wood, and it will devour them.
The pronouncement begins with the full weight of divine authority: Yahweh, the God of hosts, the commander of heaven's armies. The reason for the sentence is explicit: "Because you have spoken this word," referring to their arrogant dismissal of Jeremiah's prophecies in the previous verses. Their sin was verbal, a sin of contempt for God's Word, and so the punishment fits the crime. God says He will make His words in Jeremiah's mouth fire. The metaphor is potent. Fire is uncontrollable, consuming, and purifying or destroying everything it touches. The people, in their rebellion, have become nothing more than dry wood, fuel for the fire of judgment. Jeremiah is no longer just a watchman shouting a warning; he has become a flamethrower, and his sermons are the very instrument of God's wrath.
15 Behold, I am bringing a nation against you from afar, O house of Israel,” declares Yahweh. “It is an enduring nation; It is an ancient nation, A nation whose tongue you do not know, Nor can you understand what they say.
Here the abstract fire of the Word is given a concrete instrument: a foreign nation. God leaves no room for misunderstanding His sovereignty. He does not say, "a nation is coming." He says, "I am bringing a nation." The Babylonians may march under Nebuchadnezzar's authority, but they are on a leash held by Yahweh. This nation is described in terrifying terms. It is "enduring" and "ancient," not some upstart tribe but a historic, established military power. The detail about their foreign language is particularly chilling. There will be no communication, no negotiation, no pleading for mercy. The cries of the conquered will be met with the incomprehensible shouts of the conquerors. It emphasizes a complete and terrifying alienation between the judge and the judged.
16 Their quiver is like an open grave; All of them are mighty men.
The description of the invaders continues. A quiver is a container for arrows, for potential death. To say it is an "open grave" is a masterful and grim piece of poetry. It means their capacity for dealing death is as vast and insatiable as the grave itself. Every arrow they possess is destined for a victim. The grave is open, waiting. There is no question about their skill or courage; "all of them are mighty men." Judah would not be facing a disorganized rabble, but an elite, professional army of killers. This is meant to strip away any last vestige of hope in military resistance.
17 They will devour your harvest and your food; They will devour your sons and your daughters; They will devour your flocks and your herds; They will devour your vines and your fig trees; They will demolish with the sword your fortified cities in which you trust.
This verse catalogues the totality of the coming destruction. The repetition of the word "devour" paints a picture of a locust swarm, leaving nothing behind. The judgment is comprehensive. It will strike their sustenance (harvest, food), their future (sons, daughters), their wealth (flocks, herds), and their long-term prosperity (vines, fig trees). God is systematically deconstructing the blessings of the covenant. But the final stroke is the most important. They will demolish the fortified cities in which you trust. This gets to the heart of Judah's idolatry. Their trust was not in Yahweh, but in their military defenses, their walls, their human ingenuity. God says that He will not just bypass these defenses; He will utterly demolish them, proving them to be the worthless idols they truly are. The very thing they trusted in for salvation will be ground to dust.
Application
It is a great temptation for Christians in the comfortable West to read a passage like this as ancient history, a cautionary tale for a stubborn people long ago. But that is to misread our own Bibles and misunderstand our own hearts. The principles here are timeless because the God who speaks is unchanging. The Word of God comes to us today with the same two edges it came with to Judah.
First, we must fear treating the Word of God lightly. When Scripture confronts our pet sins, our cultural compromises, or our political idolatries, do we listen and repent, or do we explain it away? Do we say, in effect, "That preacher is just wind"? To treat the Bible's hard sayings with contempt is to make ourselves kindling for a fire. The Word that is preached for our salvation, if rejected, will stand as a witness against us in judgment.
Second, we must examine what we truly trust. Judah trusted in its fortified cities. What are ours? Is our trust in our 401k, our political party, our military strength, our technological prowess? All these things are gifts from God, but they make for terrible gods. God has a habit of demolishing the idols in which men trust, so that they might learn to trust in Him alone. The only fortress that will stand in the day of judgment is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is our rock and our high tower.
Finally, this passage shows us the terror from which Christ has saved us. The devouring fire of God’s wrath against sin is real. The invading army of God’s judgment is relentless. But on the cross, Jesus stood in the place of His people. He became the wood for the fire. He was devoured by the wrath we deserved. He faced the open grave for us. Because He endured that judgment, all who are in Him are safe. The fire of God’s Word is for us now a refining fire, burning away our sin, and not a destroying fire. Our response should be one of profound gratitude, humble obedience, and a holy fear of the God who is, in fact, a consuming fire.