Jeremiah 3
COMMENTARY:
: 8 And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce: yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also. (4878 “backsliding” [mashuwbah] means turning away, apostasy, faithlessness, falling away, a person who is disloyal to a relationship or authority, or defection.)
DEVOTION: In the Christian life we are supposed to be moving closer to the LORD each moment. There is supposed to be growth toward being more Christlike but here we find that Israel was moving further away from the LORD instead of closer.
The LORD is watching HIS people Israel and doesn’t like what HE is seeing. They were moving away from HIM to worship the false gods of those people they had just defeated. They had forgotten where they received their strength to win the battle. They thought the life of those who didn’t love the LORD was better than obedience to the LORD and HIS commands.
This is what happened to the children of Israel and it is happening today with those who say they have made a commitment to the LORD and yet are moving away from HIM to serve the gods of this world.
Each day believers have to make a choice regarding to either serve the LORD or serve the world, the flesh or the devil. It is not hard to wander from the LORD but it takes strength to stay faithful to the LORD and that strength can come from the Holy Spirit and our personal times with the LORD.
Judah looked at what was going on in Israel and thought they could do the same without the judgment of God but they were wrong. Sometimes today’s believers think they can do what other people who claim to be believers are doing but find themselves moving further and further away from the LORD and going into a lifestyle of the world, the flesh and the devil.
Each day we make choices. Our choices are either good in the eyes of the LORD or they are not. Our goal each day should be to make choices that are pleasing to the LORD. If we fail to do that we need to confess our sin and move back into a position and actions that are pleasing to HIM.
CHALLENGE: Our choices affect our relationship to the LORD. IF we make wrong choices, we need to confess them and realize that there are consequences for not following HIM correctly, but not give up but turn back in the right direction.
: 12 Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say: ‘Return, backsliding Israel,’ says the LORD; ‘I will not cause My anger to fall on you. For I am merciful,’ says the LORD; ‘I will not remain angry forever. The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982).
DEVOTION: Israel had revealed her true self but the Lord was still willing to put aside His anger and be merciful to this adulterous and wicked nation. He stated that Israel is more righteous than Judah as she had seen what God did with her sister and yet still went into the same path!
How often we think that the judgments that God gives to others will not come to us! We believe that we are safe from the trials and sufferings because God has a love for us and has stated it unequivocally. God stated his love for the nation of Israel and Judah but still held them accountable and disciplined them when needed. Should the church expect anything differently?
God’s children will be held to the standard that He has raised for his people. He will hold us to a level of holiness and purity that exceeds those around us.
Hebrews reminds believers that the Lord is just and a righteous judge. “For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which shall devour the adversaries…. For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. And again, “The Lord will judge His people.” Hebrews 10:26,27;30-31
Do not take for granted the mercy of the Lord! He loves with a gracious, longsuffering love, but He also treats sin with a gravity and impunity that shocks people. Return today to the Lord of your salvation before you feel the discipline of a loving Father.
CHALLENGE: You know if you are being disobedient or not to the Lord’s commands in your life. As He speaks to you, take a moment to evaluate the standard God has raised for you. Are you meeting it? If not go to Him in prayer. (Brian Miller – board member)
: 15 And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding. (7462 “feed” [ra‘ah] means shepherd, pastor, herdsmen, keep, companion, pasture, graze, teacher, or tend.)
DEVOTION: The LORD valued leaders who shepherd HIS flock correctly. At present the Israelites were not being given the right nourishment. They were being led astray by their leaders. They were teaching them the ways of the world and not the ways of the LORD.
They were like a wife that was divorced and had another husband but came back to their first husband. This was unacceptable. It caused the world to be polluted. Yet Israel had gone after many lovers and thought the LORD would not care.
God had sent warnings of HIS displeasure. One of the warnings was that they didn’t receive rain for their crops to flourish. They were having a famine in the land but the people didn’t seem to get the message.
The LORD sent HIS prophet Jeremiah to remind them of their backsliding from following HIM. The problem was that Judah followed right along with Israel in her relationship to the LORD. She was as guilty as Israel.
God had even given Israel a bill of divorce but Judah didn’t take the warning that she could be next. She showed no fear of the LORD’s judgment. There seemed to be a half-hearted return to the LORD by Judah but the LORD didn’t count that as repentance.
So both Israel and Judah didn’t seem to care that the LORD wanted to give them better leaders. They were content in the way things were at present.
Our problem is that we seem to be in the same train of thought. The LORD has sent warnings to us regarding our relationship to HIM as a nation and we don’t seem to see what is going on around us. It has not only affected our nation but all the nations of the world. Some nations are experiencing many coming to the LORD but even these nations are not taking the warnings of the LORD seriously.
Those who are truly believers need to return to the LORD for instructions in what it means to be a true follower of the LORD. Part of the learning process means that we have to accept suffering for HIS name sake. God wants to know if we are willing to give our whole heart to HIM.
Only then can we revival come to the people of God and then to the families of God and finally to a nation that honors God. Is this impossible today as it seemed to be in the days of Jeremiah? It seems that way but the LORD can work miracles even today.
CHALLENGE: God is still sovereign and will still treat HIS people the same if they repent and return with a whole heart in service to HIM. It only takes a few to turn the world upside down for HIM.
: 22 Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the LORD our God. (7726 “backsliding” [showbab] means apostate, faithless, rebellious, idolatrous, forwardly, recusant, back turning or turn away.)
DEVOTION: The LORD starts with an illustration regarding someone getting divorce and then accepting their divorced spouse back after they married someone else.
The children of Israel had gone after many false gods. God is trying to talk to HIS wife, Israel. HE wants her to return to HIS service. The LORD makes a comparison between the tribes of Israel and the tribe of Judah. Judah was just like her sister nation, Israel, but they honored the LORD with their mouth but their actions were far from serving the LORD. HE wants Israel and Judah to acknowledge their sin and return to him.
There is hope in the future for both Israel and Judah. There is a promise of new shepherds. These shepherds would have a heart for God. They would feed HIS people with knowledge and understanding regarding their God. That day has not arrived yet.
In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit could leave the person never to return. In the New Testament we are told that the Holy Spirit indwells us at salvation and never leaves us.
Does that mean we don’t sin anymore? NO! It means that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit and if we grieve or quench HIM too much HE will cause weakness, sickness and premature death. Some are going to be saved “yet so as by fire” or all their works after salvation will be burned but they will be in heaven.
Some people, however, that think they are a follower of Christ but their works show that they are not – might never have entered into a proper relationship with the LORD. Just walking forward and saying a prayer doesn’t “save” anyone if there isn’t a lifestyle change that goes along with it. We don’t base our salvation on just going forward in church and saying a prayer. There is a life change that is necessary.
Have we all experienced this life change of direction? Did we mean business with the LORD when we committed our life to HIM? We are not going to be sinless but we should be sinning less. This only happens by taking the time to meditate on the Word of God, attend a Bible believing church and using our gift or gifts to serve the LORD until HE takes us home to HIMSELF in glory or the LORD returns. People can see that there is something different in us and some will even come to us and ask what it is.
CHALLENGE: Backsliding is real for those who are believers. Israel and Judah as nations were far away from the LORD. HE was calling them back. HE is calling us back to faithful service to HIM.
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