Jeremiah 3 (HCSB)
Wages of Apostasy
1 If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him to marry another, can he ever return to her? Wouldn’t such a land become totally defiled? But you! You have played the prostitute with many partners—can you return to Me?
This is the Lord’s declaration.
2 Look to the barren heights and see. Where have you not been immoral? You sat waiting for them beside the highways like a nomad in the desert. You have defiled the land with your prostitution and wickedness.
3 This is why the showers haven’t come—why there has been no spring rain. You have the brazen look of a prostitute and refuse to be ashamed.
4 Have you not lately called to Me, “My Father. You were my friend in my youth.
5 Will He bear a grudge forever? Will He be endlessly infuriated?” This is what you have said, but you have done the evil things you are capable of.
Unfaithful Israel, Treacherous Judah
6 In the days of King Josiah the Lord asked me, “Have you seen what unfaithful Israel has done? She has ascended every high hill and gone under every green tree to prostitute herself there. 7 I thought: After she has done all these things, she will return to Me. But she didn’t return, and her treacherous sister Judah saw it. 8 I observed that it was because unfaithful Israel had committed adultery that I had sent her away and had given her a certificate of divorce. Nevertheless, her treacherous sister Judah was not afraid but also went and prostituted herself. 9 Indifferent to her prostitution, she defiled the land and committed adultery with stones and trees. 10 Yet in spite of all this, her treacherous sister Judah didn’t return to Me with all her heart—only in pretense.”
This is the Lord’s declaration.
11 The Lord announced to me, “Unfaithful Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah. 12 Go, proclaim these words to the north, and say:
Return, unfaithful Israel.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
I will not look on you with anger, for I am unfailing in My love.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
I will not be angry forever.
13 Only acknowledge your guilt—you have rebelled against the Lord your God. You have scattered your favors to strangers under every green tree and have not obeyed My voice.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
14 “Return, you faithless children”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“for I am your master, and I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion. 15 I will give you shepherds who are loyal to Me, and they will shepherd you with knowledge and skill. 16 When you multiply and increase in the land, in those days”—the Lord’s declaration—“no one will say any longer, ‘The ark of the Lord’s covenant.’ It will never come to mind, and no one will remember or miss it. It will never again be made. 17 At that time Jerusalem will be called, Yahweh’s Throne, and all the nations will be gathered to it, to the name of Yahweh in Jerusalem. They will cease to follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts. 18 In those days the house of Judah will join with the house of Israel, and they will come together from the land of the north to the land I have given your ancestors to inherit.”
True Repentance
19 I thought: How I long to make you My sons and give you a desirable land, the most beautiful inheritance of all the nations. I thought: You will call Me, my Father, and never turn away from Me.
20 However, as a woman may betray her lover, so you have betrayed Me, house of Israel.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
21 A sound is heard on the barren heights, the children of Israel weeping and begging for mercy, for they have perverted their way; they have forgotten the Lord their God.
22 Return, you faithless children. I will heal your unfaithfulness. “Here we are, coming to You, for You are the Lord our God.
23 Surely, falsehood comes from the hills, commotion from the mountains, but the salvation of Israel is only in the Lord our God.
24 From the time of our youth the shameful one has consumed what our fathers have worked for—their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters.
25 Let us lie down in our shame; let our disgrace cover us. We have sinned against the Lord our God, both we and our fathers, from the time of our youth even to this day. We have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God.”
PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN (verse 1): I’m not sure why this hasn’t come up until now, but in this verse I feel You are speaking directly to me, Father. I have had many partners in my past, Father, to include adultery while married. I have sinned against my wife and against You many times in this topic. I have even lusted in my mind and heart towards other women and against You and my wife even more times than I can count. Please forgive me, Father, for this sin of giving into my lustful fleshly desires far too often in this life. Please forgive me for giving into the temptations of this world, Father. Help me to remember that Your way is better than anything my flesh, this world, or the enemy can deceive me into believing.
PROMISE (verse 12b): The last part of this verse is so powerful and something I need to remind myself often about. You promise us that Your love is unfailing. How often in my life have I looked for love from others and felt disappointed? All I had to do was reach out to You for Your unfailing love and I would have been filled. Thank You so much for this promise, Father. Thank You for providing us with a love that is vastly different from any love this world and other people have to offer. Thank You for providing me with Your unfailing love no matter how many times I’ve failed to show the same love back to You throughout all of my faults, Father.
ATTITUDE (verses 16-17): In this verse, You mention that Your people will not mention nor remember the promises of the past, such as the “ark of the Lord’s covenant.” Please help me to maintain an attitude that not only remembers the promises You’ve made, Father, but lives in those promises so that others will be aware of them. Help me to glorify and expand Your Kingdom through all the promises You have made to us. Help me to never again give into the stubbornness of my heart, so that I may continue to build this relationship with You and lean on You through all things instead of stubbornly thinking I can do this on my own.
COMMAND (verse 19b): In this verse, Father, You say something that I didn’t realize I was doing and following until reading the last part of this verse. You say that we will call You, my Father, and never turn away from You. I have been calling You my Father fairly consistently for a couple of months, now, without realizing that this was a command of Yours in Jeremiah 3. Although I am calling You my Father, I do want to ask that You help me with the second part of this command which says “never turn away from Me.” I have struggled with this in the past as I feel things are going good in my life. Please remind me daily to not turn away from You, Father. Help me to remember that You are the one that got me to where I am and that I need to lean on You even more through the good times, so that with You and the preparations You’ve helped me make, I can weather the storms that may arise in my life. Thank You for being the best and most perfect Father to me, as I never had this in my life until I accepted You as my Lord and Savior. With You as my Father, I know that all things are possible for You are perfection and I must remember that Your will and Your ways are always better than my own.
EXAMPLE (verses 12-14): The example You give here, Father, is so amazing. I often have found myself lost and wandering on a path that I’ve tried to develop for myself instead of staying on the path that You want me to be on. Yet in these verses You tell us unfaithful to return to You. You tell us that we simply need to admit our transgressions and obey You, then Your unfailing love will fill us fully and You will always take us back. Help me to remember this example, Father, so that even if I do stray a bit in the future, I do not stray for long. Help me to remember to always return to You quickly, so that I can be filled with Your unfailing love. Remind me that You are my master and that I must be a good and faithful servant, but that when I do fail that You will never forsake nor refuse me. You are always there for me and will always take me into Your loving arms. Thank You, Father, for such an amazing example to follow.
*DAILY NOTE: Today You have spoken to me on so many levels about confession and love. You’ve reminded me of the importance of confession, but also to not be ashamed about nor resistant to confessing to You anything I’ve done, for Your love is unfailing and Your loving arms are always ready to take me in. Please forgive me for not remembering and living in Your love, Father. Please forgive me for often seeking love from others of this world to fill that void in my heart and constantly being disappointed with that “love.” All I’ve had to do this whole time is accept Your unfailing love through all things, but especially when I feel I am struggling. Please continue to work in me, Father, and remind me that Your unfailing love is far greater than anything this world has to offer me. Thank You for always being there for me even when I have failed so much in this life.
*GENERAL NOTE: I always "sandwich" my quiet time with God in prayer and do it in a location that I will not have any distractions so that I can be focused on my quiet time with God. Do not worry about how short or long your journal entries are for that day's quiet time. Just focus on the actual quiet time and relational conversation with God through the Holy Spirit and His Word. The journaling is an enhancement to your quiet time conversation with God, but also to allow you to reflect on things later as you can look back on your journal entries later when you do the chapters again in the future to see how you have grown. See the FAQ for more detail on how I do my quiet time.
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