JEREMIAH 3-4 3:1-4:42009 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Jeremiah 3-4 3:1-4:4

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2009. Let's look at verses 1 through 3. It says, They say, If a man divorces his wife, and she goes from him, and becomes another man's, may he return to her again. Would not that land be greatly polluted?

But you have played the harlot with many lovers, yet return to me, says the Lord. Lift up your eyes to the desolate heights and see, where have you not lain with men? By the road you have sat for them, like an Arabian in the wilderness. And you have polluted the land with your harlotries and your wickedness.

Verse 3, Therefore the showers have been withheld, and there has been no latter rain. You have had a harlot's forehead. You refuse to be ashamed. Verse 4,

Here as we start off this evening in Jeremiah chapter 3, we're looking at Jeremiah's prophecy. We're jumping right into the middle of the end actually. It's a continuation of what we were studying last week in chapter 2. The first few verses of chapter 3 really are attached to and part of his previous prophecy where he was talking to the nation of Judah and saying,

pleading his case or giving his charges towards them, that although they professed to know him, they were in complete rebellion to him. And so he begins by quoting them. The nation of Judah says, if a man divorces his wife and she goes from him and she becomes another man's, they say, well, she can't then come back to the original husband. That would pollute the land.

And God is pointing out some hypocrisy here within the people. Although they are involved in, well...

wretched immorality, although they're involved in things that really everybody knows that you should not participate in. They were involved in great wickedness and sin, yet they held to some type of standard of morality, their own code of conduct that they had come up with. And they decided, well, if a wife leaves a husband and goes with another man, but

But then later leaves that man, she can't come back to the original husband. And so although they were practicing wickedness, they had their false standard that they had set up and they kind of figure, see we're good, we have this code of morality and we don't allow these things and so we're okay.

But what God is pointing out, he's using their saying, what they would say about their own standards, and he's using that to show the hypocrisy of their spiritual state. He says, but you have played the harlot with many lovers, yet return to me, says the Lord. Now, God, throughout his word, very often identifies idolatry,

any type of worship of other gods as harlotry or adultery. It's spiritual adultery. To worship another god or to not give god his proper place in our lives is to commit spiritual adultery. It's to worship other gods. It's to

be loyal to or committed to those other gods instead of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And so God says, you have played the harlot with many lovers, which means that they've been worshipping many gods. Now, the worship of those many gods also involved...

and sexual immorality. And so there was kind of a combination of ideas and thoughts that were going on. But the point here that God is making is, you've played the harlot with many lovers and yet you return to me. You go out and worship those other gods, he says, and then you come back to me and you come to the temple and you come like nothing's wrong.

And God is trying to open their eyes and help them to see that they might repent from those ways. And so in verse 2, he goes on to say, lift up your eyes to the desolate heights and see where have you not lain with men? By the road you've waited for them. He says, look around. Everywhere you look,

There is idolatry going on. There is immorality going on. There is wickedness that's taking place. And he says, you've polluted the land with your wickedness. The whole land, you've impacted and affected the whole land because of your wickedness. And so God says, therefore the showers have been withheld there in verse 3. They've been experiencing some of the judgment of God as a result of their wickedness.

And the latter rains, the rains later in the season that were important for the crop, well, they had been withheld because of their harlotries. And here's really the bottom line and what God is bringing against them. He says at the end of verse 3, you refuse to be ashamed.

Through all of this, through all of their wickedness, through all of their spiritual adultery and sexual immorality, they refuse to be ashamed. There's no shame in their life. They're not ashamed of their wickedness. They're not ashamed of their lifestyles. They're not ashamed of their choices. And this is what God is bringing against them. This is one of the reasons of the judgment that has come upon them.

Now, the latter reigns being withheld was partial judgments, but the reality of the judgment that God was going to bring upon them was coming in the form of the nation of Babylon. And Jeremiah had been sent to the nation of Judah to warn them of this judgment that was coming, that Babylon is going to come and conquer them and lead them away captive forever.

and level the city of Jerusalem and completely level the land of Judah. And so God is saying to them, you have this saying, you have this standard among you, that a wife can't leave her husband, go to another man, and then come back to the original husband. You have this saying, and that's what you say, and yet in practice, that's what you're doing with me. You're going and worshipping these other gods, and then you're coming back

And trying to think and pretend that everything is okay. And so you're beginning now to experience a little bit of judgment. You're beginning to experience a little bit of leanness. And because they're experiencing leanness, we continue in verse 4. It says, "...will you not from this time cry to me, My Father, You are the guide of My youth."

Verse 5, will he remain angry forever? Will he keep it to the end? Behold, you have spoken and done evil things as you were able. And so God says, you're beginning to experience the leanness. The rains have not been coming as well as you thought they would. You're beginning to notice a decline. There's not the prosperity that you once had and

And so now, God predicts, you're going to cry to me. And you're going to say, hey, are you not the guide of my youth? And will you remain angry forever, Lord? And will you continue to pour out your judgment upon us? He's quoting them and predicting what they are going to say because the latter rains have not come. As they begin to experience the pinch, as they begin to experience a little bit of judgment, the people of Judah are going to come back to God.

And they're going to cry out to God. And they're going to say, Oh Lord, you've been our God since we were very young. You've been our guide. You've been the one that we look to. Oh, will you remain angry forever? Lord, remember your mercy and grace. He says, you guys are going to come back to me and call out to me. But the end of verse 5, he says, Behold, you have spoken and done evil things as you were able. God here is...

revealing their hearts to them. He's just slicing it right open, laying it out for all to see so that there would be no confusion. They're running back and forth. They're not serious about their relationship with the Lord. They're not committed to God. They haven't given Him His rightful place in their life. They're, well, they're just kind of fooling around.

They're playing over here with these gods and playing over here with these gods and playing over here with these gods. Every once in a while they come back to the true and living God. And then when things get tough, then of course that's where they run to. They run to, well, they run to the Lord. But God calls them out and He says, Look, you have spoken and done evil things as you were able. You've chosen where you wanted to go. You've chosen...

what you would do. You've pursued evil things. And it's a challenging start for this evening as we pick up here in chapter 3 because, well, some of us have been in that position and situation, and maybe some of us are in that position and situation right now this evening, that we're playing the harlot. We're

Well, we're here, obviously. Or you're listening to this message, if you're listening to the message. You have some interest in the things of the Lord. You have perhaps a desire. You have some type of contact with church or with God. But the question is, are you completely sold out for Jesus Christ? Are you committed to him as a husband and wife relationship? Or are you kind of just fooling around?

You're with the Lord sometimes and in some circumstances and in certain contexts, but in other contexts and in other situations and other days of the week perhaps, well, you have a different God and God takes a different place in your life and He has a different priority in your life depending on where you're at and who you're with and what the situation happens to be.

God's place in our life, His rightful place, is to be our Lord and Master, our Lord and Savior. And we're to, as Larry was encouraging us just a few moments ago, we're to seek first the Kingdom of God. And that means that we're to seek His Kingdom first. To put His desires and His will first, His purposes first, His plans first.

And that's here on the property in the corner of Lincoln and Railroad, but that's also in your homes and at your workplaces. It's also as we walk around the aisles of the grocery store or Walmart. It's as we are at this event or that event. It's as we're at the amusement parks or the playgrounds or wherever we are to seek first the kingdom of God.

But Judah was not in that state, just as there's many who are not in that state as well. There's a great danger for the people of God. Notice that God's message to them is not a message of hope. He says, you're going to come and say to me, my father, you're the guide for my youth. Will you remain angry forever? Are you going to keep it all the way to the end? Are you going to let this judgment come upon us?

And God doesn't say, oh yeah, I know, you've been playing in sin, but don't worry about it, just relax, it's okay, my judgment's not going to be here forever, just don't even worry about it, don't even consider or give it care, it's not something for you to be concerned with. No, he says, behold, you have spoken and done evil things as you are able. God's message to those who are in sin is always the same, it's repent. Repent.

It's not relax and just kick back and chill out and don't even worry about it. It's repent. He doesn't give them a message of hope that says, yeah, just continue playing the harlot. It's okay. Continue worshiping those other gods. No, he says, behold, you have spoken and done evil things as you are able. Something very serious for us to consider if we're living in sin.

If we're playing around with sin, if we're dabbling in it and just kind of worshipping God as part of, well, one of the many gods that we worship. Where our heart's devoted to many things instead of the King of Kings. And so we start out in Jeremiah with the conclusion of his previous prophecy, but it leads right into the next one. And so we continue on in verse 6 of chapter 3.

Verse 8.

Then I saw that for all the causes for which backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a certificate of divorce. Yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but went and played the harlot also. Let's stop there for a moment. Here as we begin now this new section, this other prophecy of Jeremiah, he's referencing, referring to,

Israel and Judah. Now, if you don't remember, the nation of Israel at one time was united under King Saul, under King David and King Solomon. It was united as one kingdom, the kingdom of Israel, the nation of Israel.

But after Solomon, under the reign of Solomon's son, the nation was divided in two. There was kind of a civil war that took place. And so the northern part of the nation kept the name Israel, and the southern part of the nation took the name Judah. And so it became two nations or two kingdoms, Israel and Judah. Both of them were God's people, and God intended for them to be united, but Israel separated from Judah.

Now, as Jeremiah is writing these things and proclaiming these things, the nation of Israel, the northern part, they had already been conquered by the Assyrian army. And they had been conquered by the Assyrian army because, well, they were from the very beginning, from the very beginning of that separation and that nation of Israel, they were in rebellion against God because...

Well, the city of Jerusalem where the temple was, the rightful place to worship God for the Jewish person, was in the city of Jerusalem, which was in the nation of Judah to the south.

And so, since Jerusalem was not in the northern part of the kingdom, automatically, they were in rebellion against God because they would not go down to Jerusalem to worship. And so immediately, what they did was they set up golden calves, one at the top of the nation, one at the bottom of the nation, and that's where the people went to worship. They began immediately in idolatry. And so, they continued on for...

Well, a couple hundred years, but they continued to decline. They grew worse and worse, more wicked, more wicked, would not repent. God sent prophets, he sent messengers, and they refused to repent. And so finally, the Assyrian army came and delivered God's judgment and the nation of Israel, the northern kingdom, was completely wiped out, taken captive, and spread out and dispersed among the Assyrian empire.

The nation of Judah held out, although they were not completely right with God. They had good kings, they had bad kings, they had times of revival, but the overall trend was, well, they were declining as well. And that is why Jeremiah is writing to them, because they're following the path of the same pattern of the nation of Israel.

And they're on the same route. It's the same conclusion. It's the same bridge out ahead path that their sister Israel was on. And they're just walking down the same path thinking that it won't happen to them. And so Jeremiah is sent to them to warn them, just like Israel was judged, you are going to be judged as well.

And so we see in verse 6, the Lord spoke to Jeremiah during the days of Josiah the king and say, have you seen what backsliding Israel has done? Now, I like this a little bit because he changes Israel's name and throughout this passage calls Israel backsliding Israel. Backsliding Israel at this point is completely conquered, dispersed. There's a few people left in the land, but most of them are dispersed throughout the world.

He says,

In verse 7, God says, I said, after she had done all these things, return to me. And so God speaks to Israel as they're going out and playing the harlot, as they're worshipping these false gods. God gives them an opportunity to repent. And he says, return to me.

He sent to them, well, we saw Isaiah the prophet had some words that we had studied previously in the book of Isaiah to warn the nation, to bring them back. God said, return to me. But she did not return. And Israel was destroyed as a result. But here's the point of what God's saying at the end of verse 7. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it. So he calls Israel, backsliding Israel, he calls Judah Israel.

Now what he's saying here is Judah saw all this going on. Judah saw all this taking place. Judah got to see the nation decline, God send the prophets, then refuse to hear the prophets, and then ultimately be judged by God. Judah watched the whole thing. They were right next door. They were neighbors. They were neighbors.

So Judah saw it. Then in verse 8, Then I saw that for all the causes for which backsliding Israel committed adultery, I put her away and given her certificate of divorce. Yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but went and played the harlot also. So the point that God is making is, Judah, well Judah's in a worse condition than Israel was. Because Judah saw the example of Israel and did not learn from it. Judah saw Israel.

what God had done with Israel. Judah saw what Israel had done with God. And Judah saw the results. And yet, knowing all that and seeing all of that, they continued in the same path. They're held accountable for that knowledge. It's much like Belshazzar. If you remember in Daniel, the book of Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar was a powerful king, a great king, and yet God humbled him.

God gave him a warning, hey, if you don't honor me, if you don't recognize that I'm king and heaven rules on earth, that you're going to become like a beast and you're going to live out in the field for seven years and you're going to be like that until you recognize and realize and understand that I am God and that heaven rules on earth.

And all of this happens to Nebuchadnezzar. He lives out in the field for seven years and it takes that amount of time for him to come to his senses. He comes back and God restores to him his kingdom. Well, his grandson, Belshazzar, later becomes ruler of Babylon. And Belshazzar...

You remember the story of Belshazzar because that's where we get the writing on the wall, where there was a handwriting on the wall because he's throwing a banquet and he calls in for the instruments of the temple. He's defiling the instruments of the temple. And God pronounces judgment. He sends the hand to write upon the wall. God pronounces judgment upon him immediately because he saw...

Nebuchadnezzar. And he saw what God did with Nebuchadnezzar. And he saw the warning that God gave to Nebuchadnezzar. And he saw what happened for the seven years. And he saw him restored and returned back to power. He saw that God is truly God, that heaven rules. And yet, well, he followed the same course. He didn't change direction. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 10 that the things that have been written are written for our examples. We have in the Scriptures...

for us. We have as examples the nation of Israel, the nation of Judah. We have as examples the many men and women that are spoken about. And we are held accountable for those examples when we follow in those same paths, in those same footsteps. So if like Judah, if like Israel, we commit spiritual adultery, understand that we're on the same path as they were.

As we are worshiping other gods and involved in this idolatry and not giving God his rightful place in our lives, we're on the same path. He said, her treacherous sister Judah did not fear but went and played the harlot also. And God's coming against Judah. He's pronouncing this against Judah because although they knew, although they got to see, they were well informed, they were well educated, they continued to rebel against God. They refused to turn and to repent.

God gave Israel a chance to repent, but they did not. So they were judged. Judah watched it, and they were held accountable for it because they chose the same path. Look at verse 9. So it came to pass through her casual harlotry that she defiled the land and committed adultery with stones and trees. And yet for all this, her treacherous sister Judah has not turned to me with her whole heart, but in pretense, says the Lord.

Then the Lord said to me, Backsliding Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah. So Judah now saw all of these things, saw all of these harlotries, saw all of this idolatry that was taking place, and yet Judah did not turn to the Lord with her whole heart. What did Judah do? Judah turned in pretense. Judah pretended to turn to the Lord.

In other words, the nation of Judah, they went to the temple, they sacrificed, they worshipped, they went to church, they did the outward things that they were supposed to do, but they didn't turn. They didn't stop their idolatry. They didn't turn from their wickedness. They just pretended to turn to God. They didn't turn to God with their whole heart. And so God says, backsliding Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah. Because at least Israel didn't pretend...

to follow the Lord. Israel didn't pretend to be right with the Lord. They didn't pretend like, oh yes, we're God's people. They didn't go to the temple and worship and sacrifice and pretend that they were right with God. They knew what they were doing was wrong and they continued to do it and that was wickedness. But God says, I'd rather have that than someone who is involved in wickedness and refuses to repent but pretends to walk with me and pretends to be right with me.

Remember what Jesus said to the church of Laodicea in Revelation 3.16? He says, because you're lukewarm, I'll spew you out of my mouth. I could wish that you were hot or cold. Hot on fire, right with God, or cold, completely against the things of God. Those are preferred. The middle, it's even worse. It's the worst of all three options. To pretend this hypocrisy is something that God detests and He hates.

It's hypocrisy that Judah is practicing. And so he calls her treacherous Judah. Treacherous Judah. And so with this understanding, understanding the difference between the two nations, God focuses his attention back to Israel for a moment. And he gives them another opportunity. Look at verse 11.

He says,

Verse 13, Only acknowledge your iniquity, that you have transgressed against the Lord your God and have scattered your charms to alien deities under every green tree, and you have not obeyed my voice, says the Lord. Return, O backsliding children, says the Lord, for I am married to you. I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion."

Here God shows His incredible, never-ending, abundant mercy. And I love this chapter because of what He is starting to do right here. Although the pronouncement of judgment is severe and it's very serious, what we've just been talking about, and the issue with hypocrisy is a very dangerous one. Don't pretend to follow the Lord. Don't be hypocritical. Turn to the Lord with your whole heart or don't turn to Him at all. But here He gives an opportunity.

For that nation. Israel had already been conquered and dispersed. Israel had already experienced the judgment of God. And yet, what does He say to them? He says, go to the north, the northern part, the northern kingdom, the nation of Israel, and say, backsliding Israel, return to Me. For I am merciful and I will not remain angry forever. This is so incredible to me.

Because although Israel had opportunity after opportunity after opportunity to repent before they experienced the judgment of God, God gives them another opportunity. Even after they'd experienced the judgment of Assyria coming to conquer them. Even after, I'm sure they thought, man, it's all over. It's done. There's nothing that we can never come back to. I'm sure that they thought they could never be where God wanted them to be again.

But God says, look, Israel is more righteous than Judah. Judah's turned to me in pretense. Israel's been in rebellion against me. But Israel, check this out. Even where you're at, wherever you are, even if it's just a few of you, one's here, one there, a couple here from this family, a couple from that family, return to me because I'm merciful and I will not remain angry forever. God's mercy, it's everlasting, it's never ending. His mercies are new every morning.

And today is a day where you and I, even if we've been in rebellion against God, even if we've been like Judah in pretense following God, today is an opportunity to return to the Lord, to return to Him with our whole heart. Here's the condition that God gives in verse 13, Only acknowledge your iniquity that you have transgressed against the Lord your God. Acknowledge that you've scattered your charms to alien deities.

Acknowledge that you've not surrendered yourself completely to the Lord. Acknowledge that you've been involved in wickedness and turned against God. Acknowledge. This is what I require. This is what you must do. Return to me. But in order to return to me, here's what you need. You need to acknowledge your sin. We would term this, we would describe this as confession. To acknowledge or to confess. Same type of thought.

And of course, you're probably thinking of 1 John 1.9. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. This is what God requires. He requires for us to acknowledge, to confess, to agree with Him about our sin. Judah pretended to turn to God, but they didn't agree with God about their sin.

They came to the temple and they worshipped and they offered sacrifices, but they held on. They didn't return to the Lord. And so he calls out to Israel, Israel, I give you another opportunity. Return. My mercy endures forever. Return. Just acknowledge your sin. In order for you to return to me, God says, you need to acknowledge. Now, this is incredible because, well, there's no... It doesn't seem right for us.

There's no, I mean, you would think that, God, wouldn't you want to make them, you know, have to jump through some hoops first? When someone wrongs us, you know, we have the term, you know, being in the doghouse. Have you guys ever been in the doghouse? The idea behind that term is, okay, the husband did something wrong. I guess it doesn't have to be a husband, but generally it is.

The husband did something wrong and he has to go through some type of duration of penalty he's in the doghouse for, whatever duration of time, to compensate for it and make up for whatever wrong that he did. And that's natural thinking for us. They have to make up for those things that they've done. But God says, here's what I want you to do. Return to me.

Just acknowledge your iniquity. He doesn't say, you've got to go run around the temple 150 times and make sure you do it on your knees and make sure you do it until you're bleeding and make up a lot of pain and go through and endure a lot of things so that you can... He says, return to me, I'm merciful. But you need to acknowledge.

It doesn't mean that there's no consequences, don't get me wrong, but God's not making them run around and jump through hoops and go through things in order to be able to return to Him. He says, no, you have an opportunity. Here's what you need to do. Acknowledge your iniquity. Confess your sins. He's faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. God wants us to return to Him, but we can't return to Him in pretense. We can't return to Him

in hypocrisy, pretending and playing around and acting like we're turning to Him, but in reality we're not. We need to acknowledge, to recognize where our heart is at, the state of our heart, the state of our rebellion. We need to acknowledge and recognize. We need to agree with God, yeah, my heart has not been true towards you. I haven't been committed to you. And I've allowed these other things to consume me. He says, acknowledge your sin. In verse 14, He calls them children. Return, O backsliding children.

For I'm married to you. I will take you, one, from a city, two, from a family, and I will bring you to Zion. God says, I'll begin to restore you. Even if it's just a few of you. Just a little bit here, just a little bit there. I'll bring you back. I'm married to you. You're my children. God says, I'm committed to you. I know you've been unfaithful, but I'm committed to you. And when we're faithless, He's faithful. So He has faith.

for them, for Israel, this invitation to repent. And if they do, if they come back, he says, I'll bring you to Zion, but that's not all. Verse 15, I will give you shepherds according to my heart who will feed you with knowledge and understanding. He says, look, if you return to me, I'm going to provide for you shepherds. I'm going to take care of you. I'm going to give you leadership and they're going to equip you. They're going to

feed you my knowledge and understanding. They're going to teach you my ways. If you'll return to me, God says, I'll fill you with more of me. And I'll give to you what you need and the instruction that you need, the encouragement, the hope, the edification that you need.

Not only that, verse 16, Verse 17,

At that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the Lord, and all the nations shall be gathered to it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem. No more shall they follow the dictates of their evil hearts. So God says, look, if you return to me...

I'll bring you to Zion. Not only that, but I'll give you shepherds. Not only that, you're going to be multiplied in the land. There's going to be a multitude of you. You're going to be blessed. Not only that, but the Ark of the Covenant will not be named among you anymore. Now, the Ark of the Covenant was the single most important piece of Jewish history.

I mean, it was the place where God said He was going to meet with them, there in the tabernacle, there in the temple. It was a place where He would dwell between the wings of the cherubim. God says, look, if you'll return to Me, the work that I'm going to do is going to be so great, you're not even going to think about or consider or worry about the Ark of the Covenant any longer.

Because the Lord will be there. And my name is going to be among you. My presence is going to be among you. My throne is going to be among your presence in such a way that no one will ever even think to look for the Ark of the Covenant any longer. I would do such an incredible work. You wouldn't even have to worry about or consider. This is mind-blowing to these guys.

Incredible what God is promising here. Verse 18, In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given as an inheritance to your fathers. God says, If you come to me, if you'll return to me,

I'll bring you to Zion. Not only that, but I'll give you shepherds. Not only that, you're going to be multiplied. Not only that, but my presence is going to be among you in such a way the Ark of the Covenant will not even be sought after. Not only that, but Judah and Israel will be united once more. Judah and Israel will walk together. This is all the blessings that God was desiring to pour out upon Israel if they would return. Now God's primarily dealing with Judah through Jeremiah.

But He gives this message. He gives this opportunity. He gives this incredible word to the people of Israel. If they would return to Him, He has all these things in store for them. If they would return to Him, they would be blessed abundantly more than they could ever ask or think. In Jeremiah chapter 5, verse 25, we'll get there in a couple of weeks, but Jeremiah 5, 25 says,

There it declares, Here's the reality. God had some great things in store for Israel. He had some things in store that if they would have returned to Him, well, things would have been much different. Our world today would have been much different. But their sin withheld good from them. Because they... Well, we know that history tells us Israel didn't turn. Israel didn't return.

Judah didn't return. Judah didn't turn back to God after watching all these things happen to Israel. No, they continued on. They persisted on. Their sin withheld from them all that God wanted to do because they insisted on rebelling against God. They insisted on walking in their own ways and they refused to acknowledge their sin. These are some very important things that we need to take heed to because these are examples for us. God says, return to me. Return to me.

I have great things in store for you. I have wonderful plans. I want to work miraculously in your life. Return to me. You can see the internal struggle of God. Look at verse 19. He says, But I said, How can I put you among the children and give you a pleasant land and a place to live?

A beautiful heritage of the hosts of nations. And I said, You shall call me my father and not turn away from me. Verse 20, Surely as a wife treacherously departs from her husband, so you have dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, says the Lord. You can kind of see this internal conflict of God. He's got this desire to bless. But he says, How can I do this? How can I give you this pleasant land and a beautiful heritage and give you the ability to say my father?

When you deal treacherously with me as a wife departs from her husband, God desires to bless. He wants to work in their lives, but how can He when they are dealing so treacherously with Him? Verse 21,

A voice was heard on the desolate heights, weeping in supplications of the children of Israel. For they have perverted their way. They have forgotten the Lord their God. Verse 22. Return, you backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings. God is crying out to them. He says there's a voice on the desolate heights weeping and crying out. Why? Well, they've perverted their way.

God says, return to me. And they have perverted the way they've chosen. They've forgotten their God. And God says, return to me. I will heal your backslidings. This is something that we often say. No matter how far you walk away from God, all you've got to do is turn around. He's just one step back.

You can run from him for years and years and years, but you just turn around and he's right there. God's pursuing them. They're spread out. They've been dispersed. They've been judged. They're weeping because of their perversion, their desolation. They've forgotten God, but he's right there saying, return. I will heal your backslidings. I'll heal you. I'll restore you. I'll renew you. I'll give you spiritual life once again. I'll give you a relationship with me once again.

Now, not to be confused with no consequences and no punishment, no consequences for their actions. That's not what God's saying. But He's saying, look, I'll restore you. He's continually inviting them. You can still have relationship with Me. You may have blown it. You may be experiencing great judgment. But you can still have relationship with Me and I'll get you through this. I'll heal your backslidings. I'll work in your heart. I'll renew you. You could be born again. This is what God is saying.

And how do the people respond? Well, we see at the end of verse 22, Indeed we do come to you, for you are the Lord our God.

Verse 23,

This is an awesome and incredible response. But here's the question. Whose response is it? This might be Jeremiah's response because it seems in his day, well, he was the only one who sought the Lord. There was very few. I suggest to you that it's the response of the nation, the nation of Judah. They turned in pretense. God says, return. And they said, indeed, we do come to you for you are the Lord our God. But they don't mean it.

They're words that they say, but they don't mean. On Sundays as we're talking about the subject of faith, we're dealing with a similar issue. It's one thing to say, I believe in God. It's a whole other thing to live like you believe in God. These people, they say, hey, we do come to you. You said return to me? Okay, here we are.

Our fathers, you know, we recognize their shame and it's devoured them. And our reproach covers us and man, we've sinned. We don't like the situation that we're in. We've not obeyed the Lord our God. This is what the people are saying. But do they mean it? We can look back at history and see those blessings that God promised, that God said, this is what I want to do for you. Those haven't been fulfilled. They haven't turned back. They haven't returned. Now, one day they will.

One day when Christ returns, they will. There will be a great returning and there will be a great renewal and God will fulfill all these things that He said He planned to do. But that generation, those people, and many generations since, they did not return to the Lord. Although they said these things, these words sound great, but they're only words. And how many times have you and I said wonderful words to the Lord? Wonderful promises we've made. Wonderful things that we've said. And

Yes, and it seems, it sounds perfect, it's right in line, and it fits perfectly, and it seems that, man, we've made a real conversion, something real has taken place here. But that's all they were, was just words. Look what God says as we continue on in chapter 4. Just want to look at the first couple of verses here. Chapter 4, verse 1, He says, If you will return, O Israel, says the Lord, return to Me. And if you will put away your abominations out of My sight, then you shall not be moved.

And you shall swear the Lord lives in truth and judgment and righteousness. The nations shall bless themselves in him and in him they shall glory. God gives his response here at the first part of chapter 4. We see his response to Israel right here and then in a moment we'll see his response to Judah.

So the people respond and say, oh yes, indeed, we do return to you. And we're not going to look to the hills. We're not going to look to Egypt to save us. We're not going to look to the people around us or these other gods to save us. Lord, we're going to look to you. We're going to return to you. And so God says, look, if you will return, then return. It's not about just saying that you'll return. If you're going to return, then do it. Then return. Then put away your abominations.

See, faith without works is dead, as we've been talking about on Sundays. There's action that's involved. If we believe God, if we say, I'm returning to God, and you are really returning to God, well, it's not just going to be words. There's going to be a lifestyle change. There's going to be, well, some habits that are done away with or replaced. There's going to be some new life that happens. There's going to be some activity that results from

God says, "Look, if you'll return to Me, then return. Do it. Put away your abominations. Turn away from those other gods." He says, "Then you shall not be moved." And then He goes on to say, "You'll swear the Lord lives. You'll be able to testify. You'll be able to proclaim, 'The Lord lives. He's alive.' Not because I read it somewhere, but because I know, because I've had an encounter with Him."

God says, look, if you'll turn, if you want to return, then return. Do it. Put away those things. And you'll encounter the true and living God. And you'll experience Him in truth and in judgment and righteousness. And in Him the nations will glory. God will do an amazing work. If you will return, then do it. Return, He says to Israel. To Judah, in verse 3, He goes on to say, For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem,

So he says to Judah...

who's following the path of Israel, who's continuing down, even though they saw the judgment, they saw everything, they knew everything, but they continued on in rebellion. He says, break up your fallow ground, your untilled ground, and do not sow among thorns. He says, it's time for a revival. It's time for you to circumcise your hearts.

to break up the hardness of your heart, where you've grown callous because of sin, where you've grown callous because of rebellion. You need to break up that untilled ground, that hardened ground, that hardened soil of your heart. And you can think of the parable of the sower. As the sower went out to sow and the seed fell,

And it fell on the different soils. Here he's saying, look, prepare yourself. Prepare your heart so that when the word comes, it falls on good soil, that you receive it and that it produces fruit. Prepare yourself. Break up that fallow ground, that untilled ground. Do some heart work so that you're able to receive the word of God. He says, circumcise yourselves to the Lord and take away the foreskins of your hearts. Cut away the flesh. Cut away those things that God has given

Well, he's told you to cut out of your life. Cut them away. Put them away. And separate yourself unto the Lord. And notice what he says, lest my fury come forth like fire and burn so that no one can quench it because of the evil of your doings. Here, chapter 3 of Jeremiah, the first part of chapter 4, we see the incredible mercy of God. But don't mistake the mercy of God for an acceptance or an allowance of disobedience to him.

He gives us opportunity after opportunity after opportunity. And tonight for us is an opportunity to return to the Lord. Don't think that you can play around, that you can goof off. Don't think that you can mess around with sin, that you can fool around with other gods, that you can be half-hearted, partially devoted. Don't think that you can get away. You have the example of Israel. You have the example of Judah.

Turn to God. Don't continue lest you experience His judgment. But even if you've experienced His judgment, and even if right now you've already experienced the rain not falling on the land, you've already experienced God's judgment in your life, God still gives the opportunity. And that's what I see here. That's what spoke to me so clearly in this chapter. The amazing nature of God, that He would reach out, that He would call out, that He would send a messenger to Israel, already destroyed,

Fully in rebellion. Full promises of blessings to them. He says, return to me. God says, return to me. He extends to us his mercy. He gives us opportunity after opportunity. Let's not pretend. Let's not fake it. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of his word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.