Jeremiah Chapter 3 – Returning to God

When we feel that we are far away from God, the main feeling we have might be shame and fear.

I’m such a bad Christian and I find it so hard to go back.

Ah, people from church will judge me.

I don’t feel comfortable at all in church.

God doesn’t love me anymore. God will be angry.

If we find ourselves feeling like this, Jeremiah 3 is really written for us.

This chapter shows us God’s heart for you and me. It reminds us to turn our eyes upon God and His love, bringing our shame and sinfulness to His mercy.

Even when we have gone away from Him, God says: Come back, please. Be near to Me. Let Me love you.

Jeremiah 3 shows the relationship between God and His people as being one of a marriage, an image that the New Testament continues (Ephesians 5:25, 29).

For our hearts to love another person romantically more than we love our spouse would be a betrayal.

And the betrayal universally acknowledged as the most painful is being cheated on in marriage.

The way God’s people betrayed Him was public, shameless, and non-stop (Jeremiah 3:2, 3:6). On every high mountain, under every green tree! How embarrassing it would be for any one of us to be the victim of such blatant disloyalty!

All we might want to do is to put the person and relationship away from us. Forgiveness? Perhaps impossible.

This isn’t how God’s heart was to His beloved people – to you and me.

Calling upon Israel, God says, “You have played the harlot with many lovers; yet return to Me.” (Jeremiah 3:1)

Return. To. Me.

This is God’s call for us today too.

The thing about God is that He has perfect knowledge of all our imperfections – whether past, present or future.

Whatever sin you have committed today, God already knew it when He chose us before the foundation of the world.

When Jesus died for us, we had yet to know Him. But already He knew the ways we would hurt Him.

And yet He still chose us.

If Jesus is a God who died for the ungodly, how much more can we trust His merciful and loving heart when we return to Him?

“For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:6-8)

God’s willingness to pour His abundant love and forgiveness on us doesn’t grant us the impunity to keep sinning, though. He gives us freedom not as an opportunity for the flesh (Galatians 5:13).

It also doesn’t mean only looking like we are good Christians. This is a particularly important reminder for those of us who, in practice, have ticked the boxes of Christianly habits, such as going to church, or participating in church work.

In the chapter, the Lord points out Israel’s duplicity. Despite knowing the mercy of God, they did not embrace God’s righteousness in a response of love, but continued doing evil (Jeremiah 3:4).

He also points out how Judah was insincere in going to God: “And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah has not turned to Me with her whole heart, but in pretense” (Jeremiah 3:10).

In fact, this pretense continues on for at least another 15 years. In Ezekiel 8, God reveals to prophet Ezekiel in a vision how Judah was “in” the house of the Lord, but nothing about their faith in God was genuine: they were worshiping idols there.

Knowing that someone we love only pretends to love us is hurtful.

God, who knows all things, knew that His beloved would continue to hurt Him. But He did not give up on them.

This all the more reinforces how deep God’s love for you and me are.

Despite knowing how His believers would continue to sin against Him even up to Ezekiel’s ministry … despite the pleas God would make to them through His prophets …

God still called them to go back to Him.

Turning the lens onto us believers: What aspects of our life does God calls you and me to return to Him?

Do you know and trust in the magnanimous love of God, and will you respond to it with repentance?

This Thursday, our Spiritual Meeting begins and runs till Sunday evening.

This will be a rich spiritual feast, full of God’s word, and a chance for us to renew our commitment to God.

He promises to sanctify and cleanse us through His word (Ephesians 5:26-27). He will help you and me to fully return to Him.

“Return, you backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings.” (Jeremiah 3:22)

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