Jeremiah 4 - Our Whole Heart

 

Jeremiah 4 – Our Whole Heart

 

King Josiah was a good king and listened to Jeremiah. He began a reformation, but it was before the Books of Law were discovered so we can’t call it a revival. The Israelites heard Jeremiah and his words, and they were turning to God but only in an outward manner. They were going to the temple, and they were going through the rituals, but their heart was not in it.

I have heard the statement that our country is going through a revival because many are turning to God. Many calamities in life can bring us closer to God, but once the news of the calamity dies down, do we really remain close to God, or do we get comfortable and go back to the way we were before the calamity?

God has a great interest in the Israelites both in those days and now. He told them that He would not remove them from the land if they but had a right relationship with Him. There would be no use for a reformation if we are “casting our pearls to the swine” as it says in Matthew 7:6.

It is like planting a garden in thorny ground. We must first plow up the dirt and prepare it for a good garden. If we are not putting our whole heart into having a relationship with God then we are not preparing ourselves for eternity. We are merely going through the motions as the Israelites did.

What this nation is lacking is the message of the prophets. Instead, we receive messages of comfort, words that we want to hear, but not what we need to hear. God warns us against this.

Jeremiah warned the people that if they did not give their all to God then the enemy will come and take them away. The enemy was Babylon, and they did exactly that, they destroyed their land and took them into captivity.

Remember how Jesus came and presented Himself to the Israelites but they rejected Him, they crucified Him. When a nation, a church, or an individual rejects God, then God rejects them. Christ told the Israelites in Matt. 23:38 “Behold your house is left unto you desolate.” God gives us a free will we are free to reject God, or accept God, but be aware that if we reject Him, He will reject us. God is gracious; patient and longsuffering and waits for us all to come to Him. Once we have backslidden from His grace, He always provides opportunities to return to Him, it is up to us to recognize those opportunities.

 

 

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Nelson’s Quick Reference Commentary.

Dr. David Jeremiah Study Bible. J. Vernon McGee Through the Bible