Jeremiah 5:24 describes a people who never stop to think about God as the one who provides the rain and the harvest, so they never reverence him for it. The prophet Jeremiah is speaking on God’s behalf to the people of Judah, and he is pointing out that their hearts have grown forgetful and rebellious toward the Lord who sustains their daily life.
They don’t say in their heart, ‘Let us now fear the LORD our God, who gives rain, both the former and the latter, in its season; who preserves to us the appointed weeks of the harvest.’
Jeremiah 5:24 (WEB)
What Jeremiah 5:24 Means
The verse is a charge against the people, not a promise. Jeremiah notes that they do not say in their hearts a simple thing: let us now fear the LORD our God. The phrase “in their heart” matters here, because the problem is not only what they do outwardly but where their inner life is turned. Fear in this sense means reverent awe, the kind that takes God seriously as the one who holds power over creation.
The reason for that awe is given in the verse itself. God is the one who gives rain in both its early and late seasons, and who keeps the appointed weeks of the harvest so that food comes in its time. The people benefit from these gifts every year, yet they do not connect the gifts to the Giver. Jeremiah is not saying that rain and harvest are a guarantee of blessing for every person in every case. He is pointing to a settled pattern of God’s faithfulness in creation and asking why the people refuse to acknowledge it.
The Context of Jeremiah 5:24
The book of Jeremiah is traditionally attributed to the prophet Jeremiah, who ministered in Jerusalem and Judah in the decades before the Babylonian exile, roughly from the late seventh century to the early sixth century BC. The audience in this passage is the people of Judah, who are called foolish and without understanding. Jeremiah begins by reminding them of God’s power over the sea, which cannot pass the boundary God has set for it. If the sea keeps to its limit, the people ought to tremble before the one who set that limit.
Just before the verse, the prophet accuses the people of having a revolting and rebellious heart. Just after it, he says their iniquities and sins have withheld good from them, and he describes wicked men who trap others and grow rich through deceit. Read in that setting, Jeremiah 5:24 is not a gentle reminder to be thankful. It is part of an argument that their failure to fear God is tied to their injustice toward one another. The verse exposes the root of their wrongdoing: a heart that does not reckon with the God who sustains them.
Key Phrases in Jeremiah 5:24
Psalm 65:9-10
9 You visit the earth, and water it. You greatly enrich it. The river of God is full of water. You provide them grain, for so you have ordained it. 10 You drench its furrows. You level its ridges. You soften it with showers. You bless it with a crop.
(WEB)
This psalm celebrates God as the one who visits the earth and waters it, providing grain and abundant harvest. It sets the same picture of God’s care for creation beside Jeremiah’s call to recognize him, showing that reverent thanks flows naturally from seeing his provision.
Deuteronomy 8:17-18
17 And lest you say in your heart, “My power and the might of my hand has gotten me this wealth.” 18 But you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth; that he may establish his covenant which he swore to your fathers, as it is today.
(WEB)
Moses warns Israel not to say in their hearts that their power and wealth come from their own hands. The warning mirrors Jeremiah’s concern that the people have forgotten God as the source of what they enjoy, and it names the same danger of pride that hides gratitude.
A Short Prayer From Jeremiah 5:24
Lord, you give the rain in its season and keep the harvest faithful from year to year. Forgive me for the times I have taken your provision for granted and failed to speak your name with thanks. Soften my heart so that the thought of you comes easily to me, not only in hard seasons but in the ordinary days of plenty. Teach me to fear you with reverent trust, and let my daily bread remind me of your constant care. Amen.
