“8 She saw that for all the adulteries of that faithless one, Israel, I had sent her away with a decree of divorce. Yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but she too went and played the whore. 9 Because she took her whoredom lightly, she polluted the land, committing adultery with stone and tree. 10 Yet for all this, her treacherous sister Judah did not return to me with her whole heart, but in pretense, declares the Lord.” ~ Jeremiah 3:8-10
The LORD is speaking of the nations of Israel and Judah. He separated Himself from Israel after she worshiped other gods, placing up high-places for them and worshiping there. Once Judah saw what happened to Israel, the LORD expected Judah to learn from Israel’s mistakes, but they didn’t. Judah sinned, in the same way Israel did. When Israel was separated from the LORD, He expected them to repent, but they didn’t. They continued in their idolatry.
Sometimes we are like Israel. We are drawn away by other gods; while God is waiting for us to return, we continue in our sins and ignore the lack of His voice. The lack of His presence. The lack of Him. Yet the longer we stay in idolatry, the less we care. The more we fall spiritually asleep. We care less and less what is right and what is wrong, just what feels good, what feels right. What satisfies our desires until we are no longer asleep but spiritually dead.
And sometimes, we are like Judah. We see others go down a dangerous road. We see the repercussions. The hardships. The emptiness. Sometimes, we even witness their own death, yet we still follow in their footsteps. We still seek after the same things. We still walk away from God, who is life and gives life, to false gods, who are death and bring death. Somehow we don’t seem to learn from the mistakes of those before us because we believe we’ll be the one to get away with it. We don’t even realize that with every step we take away from God, we take towards our spiritual death.
Don’t be like Israel or Judah. Don’t seek pleasure in unrighteous acts or follow in weak footsteps. Look to God for everything, and He will provide it. He will answer you when you call. You will find Him when you seek Him with your whole heart. Don’t do as Judah did when they sought the LORD. They simply looked for a way to escape their judgment, not for a relationship. Not for repentance. But with a false mask of humility and remorse so that they could escape judgment without having to change.
Peace. Love. Go Forth and Seek With Your Whole Heart.
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