August 7 - Jeremiah 3,4
Sometimes reading the Prophets in the Old Testament can be depressing, if we just concentrate on the sin and God's punishment for sin. One of the keys to seeing the whole picture is to look for God's attitude in the whole process. That is what we will look at today as we consider these two chapters.
God is just so He must punish His people for their sin, but He is always ready to forgive. This forgiveness can't be achieved fully unless the people return to Him completely. (3:1) The wonderful fact is that He is ready to receive them if they will return. This is true after their spiritual harlotry. He will still take them back. This was true for the nation of Judah, who still sinned even though they saw what happened to their relatives in Israel. God says, "I will not be angry forever, only acknowledge your iniquity." They had to be willing to confess their sins to Him and repent. This satisfies the justice of God, and it frees Him to show His love and mercy. I hope you realize the same thing about God. He loves you. He will accept you back, if you have strayed from Him. You must admit your sin, and return your heart to Him in love and faith. Then, He will embrace you and renew your relationship.
The picture is of hard hearted people. Therefore, God says to "break up the fallow ground." (4:3b) This is a reference to farm land that had not been plowed for a year or more. It was hard, so it had to be broken up before the seed would sink in and have a chance to germinate. This is exactly like the human heart. If we let our hearts get hard, God's word will not stick with us. We will lose it. However, God is calling us in love to break up our hard hearts because He wishes to pour out His word into our hearts. Then, He uses the picture of washing a dirty heart. (4:14) Sin makes us dirty. It blocks our view of God like a dirty windshield on a car. We must clean it off, so we can see Him and follow Him.
Yes, God was about to send a great punishment on His people by having Babylon come from the north to destroy them, but this was just happening because of the actions of His people. If they would repent, He would relent. He was eager to forgive and restore. God never changes. He is the same way today. I hope you are experiencing His love and mercy instead of His wrath. If not, it is up to you to return to Him.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Jeremiah 5-7.
God is just so He must punish His people for their sin, but He is always ready to forgive. This forgiveness can't be achieved fully unless the people return to Him completely. (3:1) The wonderful fact is that He is ready to receive them if they will return. This is true after their spiritual harlotry. He will still take them back. This was true for the nation of Judah, who still sinned even though they saw what happened to their relatives in Israel. God says, "I will not be angry forever, only acknowledge your iniquity." They had to be willing to confess their sins to Him and repent. This satisfies the justice of God, and it frees Him to show His love and mercy. I hope you realize the same thing about God. He loves you. He will accept you back, if you have strayed from Him. You must admit your sin, and return your heart to Him in love and faith. Then, He will embrace you and renew your relationship.
The picture is of hard hearted people. Therefore, God says to "break up the fallow ground." (4:3b) This is a reference to farm land that had not been plowed for a year or more. It was hard, so it had to be broken up before the seed would sink in and have a chance to germinate. This is exactly like the human heart. If we let our hearts get hard, God's word will not stick with us. We will lose it. However, God is calling us in love to break up our hard hearts because He wishes to pour out His word into our hearts. Then, He uses the picture of washing a dirty heart. (4:14) Sin makes us dirty. It blocks our view of God like a dirty windshield on a car. We must clean it off, so we can see Him and follow Him.
Yes, God was about to send a great punishment on His people by having Babylon come from the north to destroy them, but this was just happening because of the actions of His people. If they would repent, He would relent. He was eager to forgive and restore. God never changes. He is the same way today. I hope you are experiencing His love and mercy instead of His wrath. If not, it is up to you to return to Him.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Jeremiah 5-7.