The betrayal and gravity of sin sunk in today as I read Jeremiah 3. The whole passage God calls Israel and Judah (His people..of which I am a part of…Romans 11) a prostitute. Yup. You heard me. He calls them dirty rotten whores, so to speak.
So! For me, since I have claimed my hope and professed my trust in Jesus Christ, anytime I run to other lovers to satisfy me when I should be going to God….I am the the adulterous one.
This picture is good for me to remember. Hits home. I do not want to betray My First Love. So when I am tempted to sin, it is not just about choosing what is easy or satisfying at the moment….it is the picture of a wife turning her back on her loving husband.
Dear Lord, give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name (Psalm 86:11b)
Jeremiah 3:1-5 (but you should really read the rest of the chapter to see what else he tells Israel)
“If a man divorces his wife
and she leaves him and marries another man,
should he return to her again?
Would not the land be completely defiled?
But you have lived as a prostitute with many lovers —
would you now return to me?”
declares the Lord.
2 “Look up to the barren heights and see.
Is there any place where you have not been ravished?
By the roadside you sat waiting for lovers,
sat like a nomad in the desert.
You have defiled the land
with your prostitution and wickedness.
3 Therefore the showers have been withheld,
and no spring rains have fallen.
Yet you have the brazen look of a prostitute;
you refuse to blush with shame.
4 Have you not just called to me:
‘My Father, my friend from my youth,
5 will you always be angry?
Will your wrath continue forever?’
This is how you talk,
but you do all the evil you can.”