This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday evening, August 5, 2007, and was taken from Jeremiah 5:1-19
Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, look and take note!
Search her squares to see if you can find a man,
one who does justice and seeks truth, that I may pardon her.
Jeremiah 5:1 (ESV)
Nations rise and fall. As a nation comes to power and becomes satisfied with itself, corruption sets in and then collapses under its own weight of moral decay. What are the signs of a nation on the brink of destruction? In the passage before us this evening Jeremiah is given the task of finding just one individual who seeks justice and truth. God promises Jeremiah that Jerusalem will be spared destruction if he can accomplish this task.
- A nation cannot long stand when it is marked by moral corruption at every level. Even a casual look at our own culture tells us we are in danger. Just ask yourself what are the kind of things that make us laugh. Are they the kind of things that anger God? Ask yourself just how easily you run to slander?
- A nation is ripe for judgment when it is marked by false worship, open defiance, and is mired in depravity. In our passage before us the people would say “As the lord lives,” but their actions were wicked. They were misusing the name of God. Their lives did not match up with their lives. Does our lives match our words? Those who are in the greatest danger are those who are closest to the word of God; those under the regular preaching of the gospel.
- Such a nations’ only hope is a truly righteous man. Jeremiah would be equally disappointed if he walked the streets of Tulsa today. Paul recognized this fact when, quoting the Old Testament, he states that there is none righteous, not even a single individual.
Thank God there is such a righteous man; Jesus Christ the truly righteous one. When we flee to Jesus there is forgiveness and protection from ultimate judgment. There is grace for nations as well as for individuals who turn and repent. Christ is our only hope.