Jeremiah 5   The Lord makes an offer, " If you can find a man, if there is one who does justice, who seeks truth, the I will pardon her."

But, there are none to be found.  Jeremiah searches through streets of Jerusalem and finds many who will say "As the Lord lives,".. but they are swearing falsely.  They are using the Lord's name in vain. There is no truth in them. They have hard hearts and "faces harder than rock".  They refuse to repent.

Then Jeremiah goes to the "great". Those who "know the way of the Lord".  The leaders, the priests, or the prophets... "But they too, with one accord, have broken the yoke and burst the bonds." 
Sin has completely consumed the land.  They are rebellious.  They have forsaken the Lord their God.
Idolatry.
Adultery.
Deceit.
Oppression.
"They are fat, they are sleek, they also excel in deeds of wickedness." 
( Sounds familiar doesn't it).

The people of God have no knowledge of Him.
They don't fear Him. They don't listen to Him.
They don't believe He will punish them for their sins.
They lie about Him.
And,  they refuse to heed the warnings that He has given them.

"Shall I not punish these people? declares the Lord, on a nation such as this shall I not avenge Myself?" ( v29)

There is a question that ends this chapter that should ring in the ears of our nation too.. "But what will you do at the end of it?" Because judgement did come. And they were swept away into exile.

Our nation began with godly men and godly principles.
But now, the majority of people have no knowledge of Him.
There is no fear of God.  No belief that He will one day punish sin.
The man on the street and the rich and powerful have all gone their own way... rebelling against God's authority.. refusing to repent, lying about Him or completely ignoring Him. They refuse to even believe that He exists.

The truth is needed once again. The truth that we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God.
Paul's letter to the Romans makes this clear:
"There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God."
Therefore, " because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to every man according to his deeds. "
Judah couldn't believe that God would bring destruction to Jerusalem or that He would punish His people for their sinfulness.  But, He did.
We may not think that God will bring judgement upon America, but He will.  He has said it and He will do it.
We may not think that God will judge our sins.. but He will.  Paul writes, " Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?" 

 If we continually refuse to turn back to Him with all our hearts, souls, minds, and bodies.. then we deserve the judgement that comes. We do not know the day or hour when we will be called to give and account to the Lord our God.  We must live in utter humility, submission, and dependance upon Him.

O, how thankful we are that despite our failures and weaknesses, we have a Savior Who paid our debt, Who covers us with His shadow, and Who lives in us so that we can walk in Truth.. so that we can Know Him, and so that we can be ready for that day when we meet Him face to face. Praise to Jesus Christ our Advocate and to the Father who accepts us because of Him.

Father in Heaven,  holy, holy, holy.. the Lord God Almighty, who was and is, and is to come. May our hearts seek Your will.  May You rule and reign over us completely.  May Your righteousness be our breastplate, Your truth our belt, Your salvation our helmet, Your peace our shoes.  May faith be our shield and the Spirit and the Word our sword.  May we stand in this day of evil.. steadfast in our Lord Jesus Christ.. and deeper in love with You.
Amen.