Read Jeremiah 3
3 “If a man divorces his wife
and she leaves him and marries another man,
should he return to her again?
Would not the land be completely defiled?
But you have lived as a prostitute with many lovers—
would you now return to me?”
declares the Lord.
2 “Look up to the barren heights and see.
Is there any place where you have not been ravished?
By the roadside you sat waiting for lovers,
sat like a nomad in the desert.
You have defiled the land
with your prostitution and wickedness.
3 Therefore the showers have been withheld,
and no spring rains have fallen.
Yet you have the brazen look of a prostitute;
you refuse to blush with shame.
4 Have you not just called to me:
‘My Father, my friend from my youth,
5 will you always be angry?
Will your wrath continue forever?’
This is how you talk,
but you do all the evil you can.”
Unfaithful Israel
6 During the reign of King Josiah, the Lord said to me, “Have you seen what faithless Israel has done? She has gone up on every high hill and under every spreading tree and has committed adultery there. 7 I thought that after she had done all this she would return to me but she did not, and her unfaithful sister Judah saw it. 8 I gave faithless Israel her certificate of divorce and sent her away because of all her adulteries. Yet I saw that her unfaithful sister Judah had no fear; she also went out and committed adultery. 9 Because Israel’s immorality mattered so little to her, she defiled the land and committed adultery with stone and wood. 10 In spite of all this, her unfaithful sister Judah did not return to me with all her heart, but only in pretense,” declares the Lord.
11 The Lord said to me, “Faithless Israel is more righteous than unfaithfulJudah. 12 Go, proclaim this message toward the north:
“‘Return, faithless Israel,’ declares the Lord,
‘I will frown on you no longer,
for I am faithful,’ declares the Lord,
‘I will not be angry forever.
13 Only acknowledge your guilt—
you have rebelled against the Lord your God,
you have scattered your favors to foreign gods
under every spreading tree,
and have not obeyed me,’”
declares the Lord.
14 “Return, faithless people,” declares the Lord, “for I am your husband. I will choose you—one from a town and two from a clan—and bring you to Zion.15 Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding. 16 In those days, when your numbers have increased greatly in the land,” declares the Lord, “people will no longer say, ‘The ark of the covenant of the Lord.’ It will never enter their minds or be remembered; it will not be missed, nor will another one be made. 17 At that time they will call Jerusalem The Throne of the Lord, and all nations will gather in Jerusalem to honor the name of the Lord. No longer will they follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts. 18 In those days the people of Judah will join the people of Israel, and together they will come from a northern land to the land I gave your ancestors as an inheritance.
19 “I myself said,
“‘How gladly would I treat you like my children
and give you a pleasant land,
the most beautiful inheritance of any nation.’
I thought you would call me ‘Father’
and not turn away from following me.
20 But like a woman unfaithful to her husband,
so you, Israel, have been unfaithful to me,”
declares the Lord.
21 A cry is heard on the barren heights,
the weeping and pleading of the people of Israel,
because they have perverted their ways
and have forgotten the Lord their God.
22 “Return, faithless people;
I will cure you of backsliding.”
“Yes, we will come to you,
for you are the Lord our God.
23 Surely the idolatrous commotion on the hills
and mountains is a deception;
surely in the Lord our God
is the salvation of Israel.
24 From our youth shameful gods have consumed
the fruits of our ancestors’ labor—
their flocks and herds,
their sons and daughters.
25 Let us lie down in our shame,
and let our disgrace cover us.
We have sinned against the Lord our God,
both we and our ancestors;
from our youth till this day
we have not obeyed the Lord our God.”
Go Deeper
Jeremiah continues to speak on the topic of Israel as an errant bride. The people of God have been challenged by Jeremiah through an analogy that they understood intimately, the expectations surrounding the marriage relationship. Israel, in plain terms, is compared to a harlot who has sought numerous other men besides her one true husband. God asks plainly why a husband would even consider taking back a wife who has behaved as Israel has time and time again, from before bondage in Egypt through their behavior after entering the Promised Land.
In summary, the chapter flows like this:
- Exhortations to repentance (v. 1-5)
- Judah is more guilty than Israel (v. 6-11)
- But pardon is promised (v. 12-20)
- The children of Israel express their sorrow and repentance (v. 21-25)
While this seems like a very brief overview, the central theme is found in the word “yet”. Even though Israel continues to wrap itself around other gods and false idols, not to mention continuing sins that are willful and completely without repentance, God still longs to bring Israel back into covenant with Him. Once again, we see God place value in Israel as His chosen people.
God declares Himself once again ready to pardon sin, and give the blessings that will be seen with the coming of Jesus. He directs them to return by confessing their sins, and He promises to be faithful and just in forgiving them. These promises are fully to come to pass in bringing back the Jews in after-ages. God will graciously receive those that return to him; and by his grace, he takes them out from among the rest.
Simply said, if those who have forgotten Him will repent and return to walk with God, He has grace upon grace for them. This becomes even more evident with the life and sacrifice of Jesus in the New Testament, where grace is made complete, if we have the trust to abide in His truth and love.
Questions
- Where are the places you find yourself willfully engaging in sin and are you willing to repent to return to Christ?
- What can you do to ensure that you are in constant connection with God to ensure you do not backslide, or fall away?
- Who can help you stay accountable to a renewed commitment to Jesus?
Pray This
Father God,
I know that I have fallen away in the area of ________________. I repent from this and am trusting in You to restore me to a right relationship with you. Help me find ways to stay truly accountable to this renewed covenant between us. Thank you for your continued saving grace.
In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
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3 thoughts on “Jeremiah 3”
What a poignant picture Jeremiah paints of the very people God chose and set apart for himself. He labels them as faithless, perverted, rebellious, unrepentant backsliders. They wanted to engage with the world and still receive all the benefits of God. Their consciences were seared by rebellion, no longer viewing their sin as a serious offense to God. Through Jeremiah, God is calling them out, and he does the same for us. Where are we fickle, flighty and flirting with things Christ died for? We must pay attention to the things we pay attention to! Are they God pleasing and God honoring? As I read v15,
“I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding,” a wave of gratitude washed over me for the wealth of godly leaders/shepherds God has placed over HC. They are a tangible expression of God’s favor to us. One of my biggest takeaways today is that repentance is hard work that must be embraced by every believer to maintain a thriving relationship with God. It starts with humility, a lost art in our culture. In the words of Christ himself, “Learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:29).
BUT GOD, oh my, He is gracious and greatly to be praised!!!! We/me are so hard headed. BUT GOD just keeps on loving, showing, giving shepherds to lead us/me back to Him. Talk is cheap and when we get caught we kinda repent but only because we got caught. We minimize our sin. So the same thing happens time and time again. It’s only when we see the seriousness of our sin that we understand what we’ve done. And then it’s only after we’re paying for whatever decisions we made that there’s us trying to really change. BUT GOD can heal, restore, and help us grow us/me to be a whole person for His glory. Is there anything in your life at the moment you’ve pushed aside of which God is pressing in on you about? God requires confession and turning from that. God is not interested in playing games, He wants a genuine authentic relationship so we have to become broken so we can receive forgiveness. We need to lean into our LG and community for help/shepherding to complete that change. Read God’s Word, hear His voice, transformation is not easy and is sometimes slow but I am not in control BUT GOD!
God thank You for saving me and that You continue to save me. God I am so sorry for my hard headedness. Please forgive me for where I have been playing You. God show me how to continue to relinquish my controlling nature. Thank You for Your HESED love!!! Your unfailing, faithful, steadfast, loyal, covenant, undeserved, reliable, compassionate, enduring, complete, kind, generous, cherished, everlasting , flowing out of eternity and more LOVE. I am so thankful that You chase after me, and I pray for me to continually to chase after You. I want YOU in Jesus name amen.
WOOHOO!!!!!
It seems God has been whispering that I need to look at the ordinary with new eyes. That all that “small” is really BIG. We/I cannot overlook because we become numb to our conscience (Holy Spirit whispers) and sin prevails, disobedience prevails. What we/I do everyday matters more than we know, more than we see. I am encouraged in the community at HC to seek God fully and abide in His path that is set before me. Abba, I thank you for loving me so well. Keep me forever in Your family. In Jesus name, Amen. All glory to God!