“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)
In 2013 a movie, “Lone Survivor,” came out in the theaters. It was based on a true story of a Navy SEAL team operation in Afghanistan where only one SEAL team member survived and needed to be rescued. A group of United States Army Rangers were dispatched to the location to rescue the lone SEAL Team member from the enemy territory. Their mission was a success.
Here in this passage, the Lord told Jeremiah to see if there is one person “who does justice and seeks truth.” One commentator said that God sent Jeremiah on a divine scavenger hunt in Jerusalem. The challenge was to find just one righteous person, one honest person who would seek the truth. It is sad to think that he might not find one.
As we look at this verse, we must understand that the issue is the propensity of evil in the nation at that time. While there were some, perhaps only a handful, of righteous people in the city, virtually everyone followed the ways of evil. This was a sad commentary on the state of a people chosen by God.
However, the question that remains is this. Is this statement applicable for us? Granted, today we know of born-again believers who epitomize people who deal justly with others and pursue God’s truth as His devoted followers. Yet a day is coming when things will be different. There is a time to come when the opportunity for people to be saved by faith will come to an end. It will be a time when the last soul comes to saving faith. This person will be the last survivor in a fallen world. You see, we are called to a rescue mission.
We must realize that we live in a time, the church age, where the message of hope has been entrusted to us. It is our calling to proclaim this message of salvation by faith in Jesus Christ alone. So, our challenge is to preach the word in season and out so that we may reach some with the only message offering hope. Remember Paul’s words.
“All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us.” (2 Corinthians 5:18–20, ESV)
Renewing the Heart 