The Search for an Honest Man

In Jeremiah 5 God asks Jeremiah to search the land to see if he can find one honest person.

God to Jeremiah: Search to see if you can find one who does justice and seeks truth that I may pardon her.

(Jeremiah goes and looks)

Jeremiah prays to God: "O Lord, do not your eyes look for truth?" They refuse to take correction from you. But these are the poor people. They have no sense for they do not know the way of the Lord. I will go to the great. They know the way of the Lord.

(He goes to the great.)

They all alike had broken the bonds.

Why does God have Jeremiah go through this exercise? Why does he have him try to find just one honest person so that he may pardon Judah? Perhaps Jeremiah is young and naïve. He doesn't understand the depravity of his nation. We know from chapter 4 that he doesn't understand that it is the prophets who are deceiving the people, not God. God justifies himself through this exercise. Jeremiah finds out that God's assessment of the nation is correct, and therefore the coming judgment is deserved.

So what does his prayer "O Lord, do not your eyes look for truth?" have to do with not accepting correction? Maybe truth begins with an honest acceptance of myself. Truth is what really is. It's reality. If I deny that I am a sinner, that I have a sinful heart, I am denying reality. I am not honest.

Dear Lord, help me to accept your appraisal of me. Show me where I'm wrong. Thank you for your Son's blood that cleanses me. Give me grace to change.