Jeremiah 8

One purpose of the Old Testament is to remind us of man’s depravity. It is easy to forget the degree to which sin has affected us. Israel’s relationship with God reflects in many ways, a (New Testament) believer’s relationship with God.  Understanding our depravity is important because only with a proper understanding of it can we properly understand the depths of God’s love, compassion, mercy, and faithfulness.

Therefore we must allow the Spirit to shine light into our spiritual blind spots. We can compare ourselves with others and conclude that we’re not that bad. But when the Holy Spirit is at work, He will use God’s holy standard to measure us. It is then that we realize that, “all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment.” As we grow in our knowledge (experience) of God, we’ll also grow in the knowledge of ourselves.

The prophets use excellent word pictures to describe Judah’s sin. In Jeremiah 8:4-5,

You shall say to them, Thus says the Lord: When people fall, do they not get up again? If they go astray, do they not turn back? Why then has this peopleturned away in perpetual backsliding? They have held fast to deceit, they have refused to return. (NRSV)

Later in verse 7,

Even the stork in the heavens knows its times; and the turtledove, swallow, and crane observe the time of their coming; but my people do not know the ordinance of the Lord. (NRSV)

Jeremiah uses a simple analogy, someone who has fallen, to show the absurdity of Israel’s response to sin. A fallen person does what is natural – he/she gets up.  Judah has fallen (into sin), but instead of “getting up,” she wallows in that sin. She holds fast to deceit and refuses to repent.  In the second analogy, Jeremiah uses migratory birds. These birds know at certain times of the year, to migrate to certain destinations.  The birds follow the inherent rules God gave them. How is it that Judah does not follow the laws that God gave her? In Isaiah 1, God says, “An ox recognizes its owner, a donkey recognizes where its owner puts its food; but Israel does not recognize me, my people do not understand.” Compared with animals, the people of God are found lacking.

As we read the Old Testament, the sins of Israel and Judah are plain and clear. We should use these historical events as a mirror so that we may gaze at ourselves. As we gaze, may we pray, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. See if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” The sins committed by the Israelites are not beyond us. We too commit similar sins, e.g. rebellion, unfaithfulness, pride, deceit, greed, cold-heartedness, etc. It’s not merely the actions that are sinful, the more significant sins are the attitudes and motivations behind the actions. These are the ones we can easily hide but they are as deadly, and even more deadly than murder and adultery.

Today, we take sin lightly and there’s little teaching or discussion regarding sin. If there is any teaching on sin, it is in regard to the external sins, i.e. sinful acts. Pretending the patient is not sick does little for the patient. Likewise, this pretension has done little for the strength and health of the church. The church may look healthy on the outside, with its large crowds, whirlwind of activities, and gleaming buildings, but on the inside the unchecked cancer of sin has taken root and begins to metastasize. Sins such as rebellion, unfaithfulness, pride, deceit, greed, cold-heartedness must be rooted out. The prevailing thought is, “Christ died for our sins and we are now forgiven.” This “sin” issue is put behind us and now we move forward to greater things.  This is not what the Bible teaches.

Yes, Christ died for our sins and we are forgiven. This means we will not face eternal judgment at the end times because Christ has paid that penalty. Let’s look at what transpires when someone is born again.

• Sins forgiven, eternal judgment for the believer is canceled.
• We are transfer from the domain of darkness to His kingdom.
• We became a new creature, i.e. made alive to God.
• The Holy Spirit indwells us.
• The enmity with God is removed. We can now have a relationship with Him.

Not on this list is the absence of sin in the believer’s life. Believers still sin and we must confess it and repent. The apostle Paul writes in Philippians 2 that we are to, “work out our salvation.” This refers to the process of sanctification, a process that is ongoing as long as we live. We must deal with sins in our present lives if we are to know Him, just as Peter urges, “Be holy for I [God] am holy.” Our sins cannot be ignored, they must be crucified. Key to the sanctification process is putting these sins to death, both the sinful external behaviors and the internal attitudes and motivations. Sin that we may deem as “no big deal” may well be a serious matter. The standard against which we’re measured is not the world’s, but God’s holy standard. Thus lust is a sin just as adultery is a sin. Hatred is a sin just as murder is a sin.

As we begin to grasp the depravity of humanity and of our own sinfulness, we shall begin to see God’s love, compassion, mercy, and faithfulness in a whole new light. We begin to swim in the immensity of His compassion and grace. The depth of His mercy and faithfulness begins to overwhelm us. We are awed by the breadth of His love and forgiveness.