God challenged Jeremiah about 2,600 years ago: “Roam to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and look now and take note. And seek in her open squares, if you can find a man, if there is one who does justice, who seeks truth, then I will pardon her” Jeremiah 5:1 Jerusalem was doomed because her people had abandoned God. His justice, having been building ever since Israel’s demise about 120 years earlier, was now looming just over the horizon. Jeremiah, not wanting his beloved city to come to ruin, seemed to plead with God for leniency, reasoning away the immorality of the man on the street saying: “They are only the poor, they are foolish; for they do not know the way of the Lord or the ordinance of their God. I will go to the great and will speak to them. For they know the way of the Lord and the ordinance of their God.” Jeremiah 5:4-5 Obviously, this made sense to Jeremiah. His view of those who lead his people was positive and optimistic. He believed that in their elevated status, they would respect God. After all, they were the “great” ones, smart, successful and influential. Wrong. Then came the lament… “But they too, with one accord, have broken the yoke and burst the bonds” , Jeremiah 5:5.
All that was needed was one who sought justice and truth. Poor, great, didn’t matter. Just someone who reverenced God by keeping His way and respecting His teachings. Such a one could not be found in Jerusalem 2600 years ago. What about today? What about you? In these days of crime among the poor and scandal among the rich and influential, will you continue to seek what is right? If Jeremiah were to come to your community looking for one who held God in reverence and kept His teachings, would he stop when he came to you, or keep looking?