Jeremiah 2:2 (NET) “Go and declare in the hearing of the people of Jerusalem: ‘This is what the Lord says: “I have fond memories of you, how devoted you were to me in your early years. I remember how you loved me like a new bride; you followed me through the wilderness, through a land that had never been planted."
I often find myself praying for the wandering hearts of those I know, and myself. It is a mystery to me on why and how we are so prone to wander from the God who loves us and gave everything to prove His love for us! I know that His love is unconditional and that we can do nothing to escape its never-ending grip over our lives, but I do know too that God gets discouraged as He watches His children choose other “gods” to replace Him in our lives. So, let’s talk about that today.
Israel’s rejection of God
God has some very harsh things to say about His children in the second chapter of Jeremiah as He reflects upon the constant lack of faithfulness showed by the Israelites. He was actually in awe of this, and He tells us that we should be amazed at this truth too (Jer. 2:12)! He cannot imagine His children resorting to someone or something else to fulfill them, because He has never done anything to cause them to question His faithfulness towards them (Jer. 2:5).
He says that the Priests of Israel did not really know Him, the rulers were rebelling against Him, their prophets were prophesying in the name of Baal, and they all worshipped idols that could not help them at all (Jer. 2:8). He says that they have replaced Him – their glorious God – with “gods” that cannot help them at all (Jer. 2:11)!
They are going to other nations for help, instead of going to God (Jer. 2:18), and by doing so they are rejecting God’s blessings and exchanging them for curses. How could they have gotten to this point? How did the children who witnessed first hand the provision and power of God towards them become so estranged to Him?
God’s path is the right path
The answer to the questions asked above is given in Jeremiah 2:17, where it says “You have brought all this on yourself, Israel, by deserting the Lord your God when he was leading you along the right path.” Just like Israel of old, we can always look to a point where we deserted the right path of God for our own path whenever we find ourselves drifted from His closeness and direction. Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us that we should not trust in our own understanding of things and that we need to trust in Him with all of our hearts so that He will make our paths straight. Whenever we stray from the path He has for us, we inevitably either become “god” in that situation or we look to someone or something else to be what only the True God can be for us.
It is important to recognize these tendencies we all have to wander and stray from God in order to establish our own path. The real danger for some of us is to reject the reality that we can fall into this trap, because this is prideful and the Scripture tells us that pride comes before the fall (Prov. 16:18). We are all susceptible to falling, or following a path not laid out by the Father, so let’s be alert and prayerful as we make our decisions!
What do I do if I find myself on the wrong path?
I am reminded of Jesus’ words found in Revelation 2:5, it says to remember from where you have fallen and repent. Repentance is a complete 180 degree turn in direction. Completely changing our mind/direction and choosing to turn back to God’s ways instead of continuing to follow our own way.
Sometimes that line is clearly crossed and we know that we are not following God’s path, but other times it is not so clear and we are not sure what path we are on. At that point it will be helpful to fast and pray, to dedicate an extended period of time seeking the Lord through His Word and prayer in order to receive instruction from Him on how to proceed. God will answer you and direct you as you seek Him for the right direction, that is a promise (Ps. 32:8)!
God has fond memories of us!
My heart melts when I read this verse in Jer. 2:2, because God is being vulnerable with us about how much He misses us when we decide to reject Him and follow after other so-called gods. It breaks His heart to see us not have the life that He so desperately wants us to have. He wants us to return to Him and stay connected with Him in order to walk in the blessings that He desires to lavish upon us.
The reason He has memories of us, or that He misses us, is because He does not follow us down those wrong paths. God never changes. His ways are fixed and pure. He will not lead us into evil and we cannot lead Him into evil either! He told Moses that if him and the Israelites want to go into a land to overtake it they will have to do it without His provision and presence with them (see Exo. 32-34), because He knew that wasn’t His plan/way and that they were going to do so without His direction. So, God doesn’t move with us, we are to move with Him! We need to have our ear to the wind (Isa 28:23), our eye to the path (Ps. 119:105), our heart to prayer (Eph. 6:18), and our hand stretched out to Him allowing His right hand to guide us (Ps. 73:23, Isa. 41:10)!
Some of us can associate with the strong feelings of rejection because a spouse has left us, whether physically or emotionally they have deserted us and chosen another “love” to give the best of themselves to. It hurts and causes strong longings of what used to be stir in our hearts. Can you imagine the fact that God feels that for any and all of His children that choose to drift from Him?
Listen to how He describes what He feels, Jer. 2:2 says “I remember how you used to love me like a new bride.” A newly wedded couple is very passionate about time together and being close with one another, and God says that He wants that for us too! He also says that He remembers how they “followed Him through the wilderness”, and that they were “devoted” to Him in those early years. These things remind me of the teaching that my wife and I are going through regarding marriage.
Marriage has four main laws, according to Jimmy Evans, that must be followed in order for that relationship to be successful. These laws are:
- Priority
- Pursuit
- Possession
- Purity
When I hear what the Lord is saying to Israel, I can hear Him declaring that they are not prioritizing Him in their lives, and therefore are pursuing other things for their fulfillment that can ultimately only be found in Him. He also seems to be indicating that they are His possession and that He sees their acts of rebellion as someone who is impure in their relationship with their spouse. God is using these four laws to describe His hurt and to define exactly where the children of Israel have been unfaithful to Him.
If you have wandered from God, please hear His words in Jeremiah 2. Please understand that He misses you and desires to be reconciled to you through your decision to devote yourself to Him and His ways again. Repent, confess your sins, and walk in His closeness again my friend. He loves you! For that we can all be grateful during this Thanksgiving season!
God Bless you!