Judah did not return to me with all her heart, but only in pretense," declares the LORD. (Jeremiah 3:10)
If you read the Prophets quickly, you may get the impression that it just repeats the same thing over and over again. Years ago I heard someone summarize the message of these books as "Shape up or ship out!", but a careful read reveals that the Prophets address a wide variety of situations. As we study how they confronted and console the people of Israel in ancient times, there is much for us to glean for our own day.
Jeremiah lived in a terrible time in Israel's history (the southern kingdom of Judah in particular) as he anticipated the beginnings of the exile to Babylon and the destruction of first temple in Jerusalem. In the opening chapters of his book, he harshly criticizes Judah's spirituality. It seems that at this particular time, the people were using the right kind of spiritual language, but their lives demonstrated their absolute unfaithfulness. In the verse quoted about, this is called pretense.
This helps us to see that spiritual enthusiasm is not the same as spiritual reality. Saying the right words does not make us right with God. Many people confuse faith with mental and even emotional assent. Claiming we believe in Yeshua (along with other forms of spiritual expression and emotion) without a changed life is nothing short of a mockery of the faith we claim to possess.
1 comment:
I own a cd called "If You Love Me", based on the ten commandments. One of the songs, referring to not taking the name of the LORD in vain, says: "If we say we belong to Him, never turning from our sin; His law we do profane, and bring Him grief and shame." She equates "pretense" (calling ourselves by His name but not acting according to His character) with taking His name in vain. I believe she's right.
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