God, Give Me the Sense to Heed Your Warning
Scripture Passage: Jeremiah 8:4-12 (NASB)
4 “You shall say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says:
“Do people fall and not get up?
Does one turn away and not repent?
5 Why has this people, Jerusalem,
Turned away in continual apostasy?
They hold on to deceit,
They refuse to return.
6 I have listened and heard,
They have spoken what is not right;
No one repented of his wickedness,
Saying, ‘What have I done?’
Everyone turned to his own course,
Like a horse charging into the battle.
7 Even the stork in the sky
Knows her seasons;
And the turtledove, the swallow, and the crane
Keep to the time of their migration;
But My people do not know
The judgment of the Lord.
8 “How can you say, ‘We are wise,
And the Law of the Lord is with us’?
But behold, the lying pen of the scribes
Has made it into a lie.
9 The wise men are put to shame,
They are dismayed and caught;
Behold, they have rejected the word of the Lord,
So what kind of wisdom do they have?
10 Therefore I will give their wives to others,
Their fields to new owners;
Because from the least even to the greatest
Everyone is greedy for gain;
From the prophet even to the priest,
Everyone practices deceit.
11 They have healed the brokenness of the daughter of My people superficially,
Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’
But there is no peace.
12 Were they ashamed because of the abomination they had done?
They were not ashamed at all,
And they did not know how to be ashamed;
Therefore they will fall among those who fall;
At the time of their punishment they will collapse,”
Says the Lord.
SUMMARY
God sees how broken Judah’s relationship is with Him and explains how His people are falling into sin and wickedness. They are continually going on the wrong path and not finding their way back due to their unrepentant hearts. Even the leaders who were supposed to guide Judah back to Him practiced deceit and led the people astray.
MEDITATION AND REFLECTION
Although the context of this passage is about Judah, it’s sobering to think how this might apply to God’s people today. Starting from verse 4, God asks some rhetorical questions: “Do people fall and not get up? Does one turn away and not repent?” The obvious answers are yes, but He’s pointing out that his people are doing just the opposite. They fall, they sin, they turn away from God...but they don’t get back up. They don’t repent.
What do they do then? “They hold on to deceit, they refuse to return” (verse 5). They’re so caught up in their own ways, their own “wisdom” (which is foolishness to God). God makes comparisons to animals, not in a demeaning way, but I think to make a point. We, as humans made in the image of God, have a certain level of intellect and wisdom that surpasses that of animals, which we have dominion over. However, by holding on to deceit and refusing to return to God, we are not acting as the image bearers of God. We are acting like animals, like horses charging into battle and running their own course (verse 6). In some cases, we aren’t even acting as wise as animals, like storks and other birds that know their seasons and times of migration (verse 7). Instead, we ignore the signs and seasons, we ignore the Lord’s judgment, and we continue to live foolishly.
The biggest wake-up call for me is in verse 12, in which God says “They were not ashamed at all, and they did not know how to be ashamed;”. In other words, they held so tightly onto that deceit and fell so far into their life of wickedness that they weren’t even aware of their sin and what they should be ashamed of. Reality had completely shifted in their minds and the right path was no longer visible to them. I hope that as I continue to fall onto the wrong path or go astray from God, that I will at least feel ashamed and have a sense of what direction I need to turn to. I pray this would also be a warning to any Christian who recognizes that they’re feeling numb to their sins. It’s a dangerous path to go down and they need to turn around quickly.
To touch on leaders leading people astray: I believe our pastors at HolyWave don’t lead us astray. They aren’t afraid to give us challenging truths that make us honestly reflect on our faith and walk with God. But just as the blog post for Jeremiah 7:16-28 says, the people shouldn’t solely rely on the faith of others to bring them out of their wickedness. As great as our leaders may be, we can’t solely rely on them to bring us into repentance and build our faith.
We need to reflect on what’s truly in our hearts and see where repentance is necessary, and take those steps ourselves.
APPLICATION
1. Reflect carefully on my sins and the deceit that I might be holding on to and turn to God in repentance.
2. Focus on what God is showing me so that I can let go of deceit and follow His voice.
PRAYER
Lord,
Thank you for the Word which cuts deep into our souls. Thank you for your loving patience and kindness. And thank you for warning us through your Word of how dangerous it can be to hold on to deceit and walk in our own wisdom. Forgive us for our unrepentant hearts and help us to
turn to you again and again. We know that there is love and forgiveness at the foot of the cross, so we don’t have to be afraid when we repent of our sins. Make us painfully aware of when we’re on the wrong path and give us your Spirit to guide us back to you. Please help us to recognize when you’re doing that and to trust that you have the best in mind for us. Help us respond with obedience and walk in the wisdom that comes only from You.
In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
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