“To hearken to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I sent unto you, both rising up early, and sending them, but ye have not hearkened;”
My Notes
What Does Jeremiah 26:5 Mean?
God identifies the standard Israel was judged against: "to hearken to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I sent unto you, both rising up early and sending them." The prophets were God's sent representatives. The sending was persistent ("rising up early" — the same urgency language from Jeremiah 25:4). And the people didn't listen.
The phrase "whom I sent unto you" (asher shalachti aleykhem) makes the prophets divinely commissioned agents: they didn't self-appoint. God dispatched them. The rejection of the prophets was the rejection of the sender. Refusing to listen to God's servants was refusing to listen to God — because the servants carried the sender's message.
The "rising up early and sending" (hashkem v'shaloach) personalizes God's persistence: the same human-sounding urgency from 25:4 and 7:25 reappears. God's sending wasn't casual or occasional. It was early-morning, first-thing, persistent dispatch. The prophets weren't sent as an afterthought. They were sent with the urgency of a parent who wakes early to provide for children who keep refusing the provision.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What does 'rising up early and sending' teach about the persistence and urgency of God's communication?
- 2.How does rejecting God's prophets equal rejecting God himself?
- 3.Where are you not listening to a message God has been persistently sending?
- 4.What prophetic voice in your life carries divine authorization you've been ignoring?
Devotional
I sent them. Rising early. Sending persistently. And you didn't listen. God identifies the mechanism of every warning Israel received: prophets — sent by God, dispatched early, delivered persistently. The failure wasn't in the sending. It was in the receiving.
The 'whom I sent' establishes the prophets' authority: they weren't self-appointed commentators or independent spiritual entrepreneurs. God dispatched them. Each prophet — from Samuel to Jeremiah — carried divine authorization. The message they delivered was God's message. The rejection they received was God's rejection. You weren't ignoring a person. You were ignoring the person's sender.
The 'rising up early and sending' (hashkem — to do something at dawn, to be the first thing you do) is the most humanizing description of God's prophetic ministry: God rises early to send his prophets. Before the day's business begins. Before the markets open. Before anyone else is awake. God is already dispatching the prophet who will stand at the gate or in the temple or on the street corner and say: listen.
The persistence is the love: a God who sends once and gives up doesn't love enough. A God who rises early and sends persistently — prophet after prophet, generation after generation, century after century — is a God whose communication effort vastly exceeds the audience's reception capacity. The sending never stops. The early rising never ceases. The prophets keep coming because the God who sends them keeps loving.
The failure to listen (lo shama'tem — you didn't hear, you didn't obey, you didn't respond) is the verdict that explains the judgment: the mechanism worked (God sent). The message was clear (the prophets spoke). The persistence was demonstrated (rising early, sending). The only missing element was the response. You didn't listen.
God is still rising early and sending. The prophetic voice is still speaking. The question isn't whether God is communicating. It's whether you're listening.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
To hearken to the words of my servants the prophets,.... The interpretations they give of the law; the doctrines they…
We have here the sermon that Jeremiah preached, which gave such offence that he was in danger of losing his life for it.…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture