Continuing on with Jeremiah this week! Lots of great comparisons once again of just how ungrateful and hurtful Israel and Judah were. What is important to consider is that when we think of our lives as sinners, we can be labeled in the same manner! The only difference is that we have Jesus and he has wiped our slates free from all that we have done to be ungrateful and hurtful towards God! If it were not for His Son, then we would all be in the same boat as Israel and Judah – facing the wrath of God’s tough love!
A common comparison that frequents the Old Testament is describing Israel and Judah as being whores. A whore always seems like a brutal and over exaggerated term, but when you think about it, Israel and Judah were whoring themselves out to other Gods and not looking toward their always loving and wonderful Father. In response to Israel being a whore, God says that he was going to take away his protection and showers that would help them flourish. What is pointed out about Israel and Judah is also that they are whores but are not ashamed. So not only do they not care about looking towards other gods, but they also do not believe that they are doing anything-wrong aka they are not repenting and see no need to. Jeremiah then quotes God during the time of Josiah(~640-610 BC), who was actually a righteous king that brought many great reforms but was still turned down by most people, as saying that not only is Israel the whore but Judah is her sister who watches on and does nothing to stop her. God says both are at fault! God says “’Return faithless Israel, declares the LORD. I will not look on you in anger, for I am merciful, declares the LORD; I will not be angry forever,’” Jeremiah 3:12. God is saying He will forgive them yet they still refuse to admit to their sins, even when God offers them great teachers that will arise to help them grow in righteousness by showing them how to have a relationship with God again. He ends in a positive note by saying that Judah and Israel will one day be reunited under Him, but until then they need to fight for their relationship with Him and not with other gods.
So one of the first few verses of chapter 4 is referenced to my favorite verse of all time, Hosea 10:12 so I of course need to share it! “For thus says the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: ‘Break up your fallow ground and sow not among the thorns,’” Jeremiah 4:3. Sowing among the thorns would be turning to sins and other gods when you are searching to be filled with love. So sow upon righteousness, not the thorns! I thought chapter 3 was filled with great insight, and now chapter 4 begins with specific prophecies against Israel and Judah over who would conquer them and when. Jeremiah prophesizes that the North is coming and bringing disaster, and this time God will not give the power to the king of Israel of Judah or to their armies to protect them from the North. This of course upsets God, because he does not want to bring ruin upon His people, but this is the only way that His tough love will work with them! He says it wont be the end of them but rather they will be in ruin. God’s anguish truly is evident (and not just because this section of the chapter is labeled ‘Anguish over Judah’s Desolation’).
Chapter 5 starts off with Jeremiah saying how he wants to talk to the people of Jerusalem because he wants to put reason into them as to why they need to repent. He powerfully claims, “’I will go to the great and will speak to them, for they know the way of the LORD, the justice of their God.’ But they all alike had broken the yoke; they had burst the bonds,” Jeremiah 5:5. The use of the concept of the “yoke” is extremely important. The yoke is what keeps cattle in control and under control of its master! So Jeremiah is saying how the people of Jerusalem’s yoke had broken and did not want to be put back under it, even if the yoke brought them protection and guidance that they need from their master (God). Judgement will arrive to Israel for they are incapable of having reason to deny Him but choose to do so!
All of these books from various prophets from the Old Testament are still relevant to Christians, even if we have Jesus and we tend to focus on the New Testament. If we did not have Jesus, all this anguish that God’s people are causing Him would be what we would do to Him. Reading these prophecies give such great insight and should make us as Christians even more eternally grateful for Jesus.
nys time 