Jeremiah 3
Bible Passage: Jeremiah 3
I thought reading the book of Isaiah was hard. Just 3 chapters into Jeremiah and I must admit that it is just as hard, if not harder.
Why?
Elder James said this…
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.
~ James 1:22-23
Reading this chapter is really like looking in a mirror.
Israel had sinned against God by playing the harlot with idols. God have her a certificate of divorce and sent her away.
You would think that Judah would learn from the harsh lesson and judgment pronounced on his brother. But sadly he did not. Instead he was worse.
He too committed spiritual adultery… and when chastened, he returned …. only in pretense and NOT with all his heart.
And to God, Judah was worse than Israel.
Now back to the mirror.
What do you see when you look at the Word of God today?
Are we merely a hearer and not a doer? Are we like the people of Judah who see and hear what Israel did and did not learn anything from it? Instead of doing what God’s Words demand, we do the opposite. Instead of truly repenting of our ways, we only deceive ourselves with our false or half hearted repentance?
Elder James tells us to look carefully into the Word of God and continue in it. Do it! Act on it! Don;t be forgetful… we will be blessed then.
Now what if we do not like what we see in the mirror today?
12 Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say:
‘Return, backsliding Israel,’ says the Lord;
‘I will not cause My anger to fall on you.
For I am merciful,’ says the Lord;
‘I will not remain angry forever.
13 Only acknowledge your iniquity,
That you have transgressed against the Lord your God,
And have scattered your charms
To alien deities under every green tree,
And you have not obeyed My voice,’ says the Lord.~ Jeremiah 3:12-13
The problem with many of us is that when we know we have done wrong, we do not like to admit it. In fact, it is one of the hardest thing for us to do.
That is… until we get caught.
We do not like to admit we have sinned because we are ashamed of what we did and believe that others would look down upon us.
Sometimes, the very sin we struggle with are those sins that we have seen others committing and look down upon them.
At times, we are afraid that the person we sinned against will never forgive us for what we have done.
So rather than face them… we try to escape and pretend it never really happened. And after some time, our senses are numbed and sensitivity to sin is dulled.
These are all valid and real emotions that race through our minds after we have sinned and try to figure out how to get back on track with God.
Again in the Epistle of James, we are called to confess our sins and pray for each other even though it won’t be easy (James 5:16). But, we should never have a hard time confessing our sins before God.
In today’s passage, God called Jeremiah to bring Israel to repentance through admitting their sin.
God has called them faithless. Adulterers. Prostitutes.
But because of His great love and mercy for them, He still desires for them to return to Him.
Jesus paid the price for our sins and in Him there is no more condemnation (Rom 8:1).
So let us cry out to a merciful God and admit the sin in our lives.
Truly turn back to Him in all honesty and obey Him once again. Words to reflect upon as we prepare for the Holy Communion service tomorrow.
One Comment
YSL
This chapter makes me wince because God knows and sees EVERYTHING. Just because we can’t seem him doesn’t mean he isn’t watching. So who knows what he says about the way we lead our everyday life? It is important to keep praying for forgiveness and working to improve ourselves conscientiously.