Day 687: Jeremiah 3:6-25~ Invitation To Return

“If a man divorces his wife
    and she goes from him
and becomes another man's wife,
    will he return to her?
Would not that land be greatly polluted?
You have played the whore with many lovers;
    and would you return to me?
declares the Lord.
2 Lift up your eyes to the bare heights, and see!
    Where have you not been ravished?
By the waysides you have sat awaiting lovers
    like an Arab in the wilderness.
You have polluted the land
    with your vile whoredom.
3 Therefore the showers have been withheld,
    and the spring rain has not come;
yet you have the forehead of a whore;
    you refuse to be ashamed.
4 Have you not just now called to me,
    ‘My father, you are the friend of my youth--
5 will he be angry forever,
    will he be indignant to the end?’
Behold, you have spoken,
    but you have done all the evil that you could.”
Faithless Israel Called to Repentance6 The Lord said to me in the days of King Josiah: “Have you seen what she did, that faithless one, Israel, how she went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and there played the whore?7 And I thought, ‘After she has done all this she will return to me,’ but she did not return, and her treacherous sister Judah saw it.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.”
11 And the Lord said to me, “Faithless Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah. 12 Go, and proclaim these words toward the north, and say,
“‘Return, faithless Israel,
declares the Lord.
I will not look on you in anger,
    for I am merciful,
declares the Lord;
I will not be angry forever.
13 Only acknowledge your guilt,
    that you rebelled against the Lord your God
and scattered your favors among foreigners under every green tree,
    and that you have not obeyed my voice,
declares the Lord.
14 Return, O faithless children,
declares the Lord;
    for I am your master;
I will take you, one from a city and two from a family,
    and I will bring you to Zion.
15 “‘And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding. 16 And when you have multiplied and been fruitful in the land, in those days, declares the Lord, they shall no more say, “The ark of the covenant of the Lord.” It shall not come to mind or be remembered or missed; it shall not be made again. 17 At that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the Lord, and all nations shall gather to it, to the presence of the Lord in Jerusalem, and they shall no more stubbornly follow their own evil heart. 18 In those days the house of Judah shall join the house of Israel, and together they shall come from the land of the north to the land that I gave your fathers for a heritage.
19 “‘I said,
    How I would set you among my sons,
and give you a pleasant land,
    a heritage most beautiful of all nations.
And I thought you would call me, My Father,
    and would not turn from following me.
20 Surely, as a treacherous wife leaves her husband,
    so have you been treacherous to me, O house of Israel,
declares the Lord.’”
21 A voice on the bare heights is heard,
    the weeping and pleading of Israel's sons
because they have perverted their way;
    they have forgotten the Lord their God.
22 “Return, O faithless sons;
    I will heal your faithlessness.”
“Behold, we come to you,
    for you are the Lord our God.
23 Truly the hills are a delusion,
    the orgies on the mountains.
Truly in the Lord our God
    is the salvation of Israel.
24 “But from our youth the shameful thing has devoured all for which our fathers labored, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. 25 Let us lie down in our shame, and let our dishonor cover us. For we have sinned against the Lord our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even to this day, and we have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God.”
 
Meditation
The heart of our Father calls us to return home. The intense heart of the Lord invites His people to return to intimate relationship with Him.
 
“Return” is a key word in Jeremiah, carrying the freight of hope and steadfast love. God had hoped Israel would leave her lovers and return to Him (7) but she continued to give herself away as a prostitute (6-10).
 
God continues to call out through Jeremiah, “Return, oh faithless Israel… (12) Return oh faithless children…” (14) God promises to look with mercy on those who return, those who come to their senses, acknowledge their guilt, and return to relationship with all their heart. As a father longs to love his wayward children so God’s love will welcome us home (12, 25).
 
Woven into the invitation to return are cosmic promises of God’s covenant care. God will give shepherds after his own heart, feed His people toward fruitfulness, and secure His presence among His people forever. All nations will one day worship the Lord as King (15-18)! And to return is to have a foretaste of all the blessings His covenant promises will bring.
 
The imagery of the invitation is intense: The love of a husband, the heart of a Father, the will of a king, and the compassion of a shepherd. Grace compels our hearts to return to the Lord.
 
Richly Dwelling
-Which imagery of God’s heart for you to return home to His love stands out to you the most? Why?
 
-What keeps us from coming to our senses and returning home? Do you trust false loves of this life more than the love of the Lord?
 
-Jesus is the ultimate revelation of God’s love. Jesus makes a way back to the Father, reveals the heart of our Heavenly husband, and is the hope of shepherd-King who seals God’s eternal promises! How can your heart be more steadfast for Jesus?
 
Key Verse
 12 Go, and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, “‘Return, faithless Israel… 15 “‘And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.