Posted on Jun 27, 2018 in Jeremiah: A Walk of Sorrow for a Sinful People |
Read Jeremiah 4:1-18
Jeremiah told the people to plow up the hardness of their hearts as a plow breaks up unplowed ground; soil that has not been tilled for a season. Good kings like Josiah had tried to turn the people back to God, but the people had continued to worship their idols in secret. Their hearts had become hardened to God’s will. Jeremiah said the people needed to remove the sin that hardened their hearts before the good seed of God’s commands could take root. Likewise we must remove our heart-hardening sin if we expect God’s Word to take root and grow in our life.
Posted on Jun 15, 2018 in Jeremiah: A Walk of Sorrow for a Sinful People |
Read Jeremiah 3:11-25
Israel was not even trying to look as if it were obeying God, but Judah maintained the appearance of faith without a true heart. Believing the right doctrines without heartfelt commitment is like offering sacrifices without true repentance. Judah’s false repentance brought Jeremiah’s words of condemnation. To live without faith is hopeless; to express sorrow without change is hypocritical. Being sorry for sin is not enough. Repentance demands a change of mind and heart that results in changed behavior.
Posted on Jun 15, 2018 in Jeremiah: A Walk of Sorrow for a Sinful People |
Read Jeremiah 3:6-10
The northern kingdom, Israel, had fallen to Assyria, and its people had been taken into captivity. The tragic lesson of their fall should have caused the southern kingdom, Judah, to return to God, but Judah paid no attention. Jeremiah urged Judah to return to God to avoid certain disaster. This message came between 627 and 621 B.C., during Josiah’s reign. Although Josiah obeyed God’s commands, his example apparently did not penetrate the hearts of the people. If the people refused to repent, God said He would destroy the nation because of the evils of Josiah’s grandfather, King Manasseh (2 Kings 23).
Posted on Jun 15, 2018 in Jeremiah: A Walk of Sorrow for a Sinful People |
Read Jeremiah 3:1-5
This law, found in Deuteronomy 24, says that a divorced woman who remarries can never be reunited with her first husband. Judah divorced God and married other gods. God had every right to permanently disown His wayward people, but in His mercy He was willing to take them back again.
Posted on Jun 15, 2018 in Jeremiah: A Walk of Sorrow for a Sinful People |
Read Jeremiah 2:23-37
The people are compared to animals who search for mates in mating season. Unrestrained, they rush for power, money, alliances with foreign powers, and other gods. The idols did not seek the people; the people sought the idols and ran wildly after them. Then they became so comfortable in their sin that they could not think of giving it up. Their only shame was in getting caught. If we desire something so much that we’ll do anything to get it, it is a sign that we are addicted to it and out of tune with God.
