Swearing Falsely in God’s Name?

Jeremiah 5:2
Although they say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives,’
still they are swearing falsely. ”

New Living Translation
But even when they are under oath, saying, ‘As surely as the
LORD lives,’ they are still telling lies!”

Good News Translation
Even though you claim to worship the LORD, you do not mean what you say.

Not everyone who swears in the name of God is telling the truth. When people swear in God’s name, we tend to think they are truthful. But the Bible tells us today that there are people who swear in God but they are not telling the truth!

Jeremiah 5:1
“Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem,
look around and consider,
search through her squares.
If you can find but one person
who deals honestly and seeks the truth,
I will forgive this city.

God tells Jeremiah that He will punish and destroy Jerusalem because there is no one who seeks the truth. No one deals honestly. God challenges Jeremiah that if he finds anyone who is truthful, He will not punish Jerusalem.

Can you imagine a community where nobody deals honestly? A community where even what appears truthful has a degree of falsehood. A community where you are safe doubting everyone and everything. A community where you can’t even trust a promise made in God’s name!

A community where people sit down to discuss a problem yet it is a formality to confirm an answer they had secretly developed. Sitting down is to create an impression that everything is above board. A community where they call for job interviews yet the person to be employed is already determined. A community where academic qualifications can’t be trusted. A community where God finds no one truthful. Yet this is not some heathen city but Jerusalem, the city of God! Are we better than them today?

God tells Jeremiah that even those who swear in Jerusalem are not truthful. To swear means you are making God a guarantor of your promise. To swear means you are asking God to harm you if you fail to fulfill your promise. God is all-powerful and all-knowing yet these people still swear falsely? Can it get worse than that?

Politicians of our time swear to uphold the constitution and the welfare of the people, but they have schemes up their sleeves to do none of that which they are swearing in God’s name. They are like conmen and conwomen who tell you a lot of sweet things but in the end rob you. The swearing is not meant to invoke God into the deal but to deceive us that everything is truthful and honest.

God says that He knows all those who swear falsely and He will punish them. The same God who punished those who swore falsely is the same God today. God observes and notes all of us who act falsely in His name. Unless we repent, we will be punished for swearing falsely in God’s name. May God help us in Jesus’ name, Amen!

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