Jeremiah gives tremendous insight into the behavior of God’s people. There are verses that truly pull back the veil & give us a glimpse into the heart of God. We can hear the pain in His voice as He addresses His people. Listen:
“Have I been a desert to Israel or a land of great darkness? Why do my people say, “We are free to roam; we will come to you no more? Does a maiden forget her jewelry, a bride her wedding ornaments? Yet my people have forgotten me, days without number.” (Jeremiah 2:31-32 NIV)
Basically God is asking His people to explain to Him how He has failed them. The question is rhetorical in nature as the truth is that He had been nothing but faithful to them. Yet God reveals to us that He has felt forgotten by His people. For days.
God makes this observation about His people:
“How skilled you are at pursuing love! Even the worst of women can learn from your ways.” (verse 33).
God’s very own people felt free to roam. The New American Commentary puts it this way:
The OT frequently compares Israel’s faithlessness to harlotry. The people of Judah had become so skilled in their harlotry that they had forfeited their amateur status! They could have taught others to imitate their wicked ways. (page 69)
“How skilled you are at pursuing love!”
We are skilled at pursuing other things as well. Seriously. What are we pursuing after other than God? Perhaps even more than God? It can be a myriad of things. Perhaps…a relationship – a job – a career – a house – a child – food – an education – status – sex – alcohol – sports – TV – money. You get the point.
I am reminded of my wandering heart every time I hear the old hymn, “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing”. The words of the last stanza say this:
O to grace how great a debtor
daily I’m constrained to be!
Let thy goodness, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
prone to leave the God I love;
here’s my heart, O take & seal it,
seal it for thy courts above.
May today mark the end of our wandering. May our hearts be sealed for Him alone. If we are going to be skilled at pursuing anything, may we be skilled at pursuing Him & Him alone!
