20150828 Friday, August 28 2015
Jeremiah 05: Backsliding The Way To The Top

by Wayne Blank
See also 1 Year Holy Bible Reading Plan

"Wherefore gloriest thou in the valleys, thy flowing valley, O backsliding daughter? That trusted in her treasures, saying, Who shall come unto me?"

"Backsliding" is generally regarded to mean sliding backwards i.e. simply the opposite direction from forward. That's a reasonable and logical conclusion, but the origin of the English-language word and term, and the actual meanings of the Hebrew words that "backsliding" is used to translate, provide the full intent of the words that were spoken by the LORD (see The LORD God Our Saviour).

The English-language word "back" originated from an Anglo-Saxon word, bak, that meant "the posterior part of the trunk; the hinder part of the body of man" (The Consolidated Webster Encyclopedic Dictionary). The term "backsliding" originally referred to sliding on one's back - in any direction. From that, it became terms of morality and/or religious fidelity in which people can "backslide" their way to the top (if wrong is accepted as right by "society" i.e. iniquity; see Iniquity In History And Prophecy) as much as they can backslide their way to the bottom (personal and national destruction by means of loser behavior i.e. decadence; see Decadence In History And Prophecy).

"Backsliding" is used to translate two Hebrew words of the Holy Scriptures - both of which hold the same directionlessness - people can backslide their way to the top as much as they can backslide their way to the bottom. Many of Israel's corrupt kings and religious officials, the "leaders" and perceived "winners" of the nation, were "backsliders" - as are many of the false-church "leaders" of today (the reason that they are collectively called the "great harlot" and her "daughters"; see The Bride Of Christ and The Great Harlots).

The Hebrew word, pronounced mesh-oo-baw, that meant apostasy by the leaders - turning away from the LORD and going their own way to the "top" of their society. Example:

"3:6 The LORD said also unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel hath done? she is gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there hath played the harlot." (Jeremiah 3:6 KJV)

The Hebrew word, pronounced show-bawb, that meant apostasy by the general public - an "it's not wrong if we do it" attitude. Example:

"49:4 Wherefore gloriest thou in the valleys, thy flowing valley, O backsliding daughter? that trusted in her treasures, saying, Who shall come unto me?" (Jeremiah 49:4 KJV)

When Jeremiah was commissioned by the LORD to prophesy to the Kingdom of Judah (see Why Didn't Jeremiah Live In The Kingdom Of Israel?), he began a forty-year ministry to a backsliding self-righteous people (see A Faithful Winner Among Unrepentant Losers).

"5:1 Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it. 5:2 And though they say, The LORD liveth; surely they swear falsely.

5:3 O LORD, are not thine eyes upon the truth? thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved; thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return. 5:4 Therefore I said, Surely these are poor; they are foolish: for they know not the way of the LORD, nor the judgment of their God. 5:5 I will get me unto the great men, and will speak unto them; for they have known the way of the LORD, and the judgment of their God: but these have altogether broken the yoke, and burst the bonds. 5:6 Wherefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them, and a wolf of the evenings shall spoil them, a leopard shall watch over their cities: every one that goeth out thence shall be torn in pieces: because their transgressions are many, and their backslidings are increased.

5:7 How shall I pardon thee for this? thy children have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods: when I had fed them to the full, they then committed adultery, and assembled themselves by troops in the harlots' houses. 5:8 They were as fed horses in the morning: every one neighed after his neighbour's wife. 5:9 Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?

5:10 Go ye up upon her walls, and destroy; but make not a full end: take away her battlements; for they are not the LORD'S. 5:11 For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me, saith the LORD.

5:12 They have belied the LORD, and said, It is not he; neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword nor famine: 5:13 And the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them: thus shall it be done unto them.

5:14 Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them. 5:15 Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from far, O house of Israel, saith the LORD: it is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither understandest what they say. 5:16 Their quiver is as an open sepulchre, they are all mighty men. 5:17 And they shall eat up thine harvest, and thy bread, which thy sons and thy daughters should eat: they shall eat up thy flocks and thine herds: they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig trees: they shall impoverish thy fenced cities, wherein thou trustedst, with the sword.

5:18 Nevertheless in those days, saith the LORD, I will not make a full end with you. 5:19 And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Wherefore doeth the LORD our God all these things unto us? then shalt thou answer them, Like as ye have forsaken me, and served strange gods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not yours.

5:20 Declare this in the house of Jacob, and publish it in Judah, saying, 5:21 Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not: 5:22 Fear ye not me? saith the LORD: will ye not tremble at my presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it? 5:23 But this people hath a revolting and a rebellious heart; they are revolted and gone. 5:24 Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear the LORD our God, that giveth rain, both the former and the latter, in his season: he reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest. 5:25 Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you.

5:26 For among my people are found wicked men: they lay wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men. 5:27 As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and waxen rich. 5:28 They are waxen fat, they shine: yea, they overpass the deeds of the wicked: they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, yet they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge. 5:29 Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?

5:30 A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land; 5:31 The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?" (Jeremiah 5:1-31 KJV)

Fact Finder: What does "wicked" mean?
See What Does No Rest For The Wicked Mean?