Return to Me


I am in the middle of a training on the in-depth crystallization study of the books of Jeremiah and Lamentations. We just got done with the first two messages. I have to admit that I have not adequately prepared for this study. I only began reading Jeremiah this week and indeed the chapters were lengthy. But I was overwhelmed with how moving and emotional the beginning chapters of Jeremiah were.

Jeremiah 2:13 - For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, to hew out for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, which hold no water.

Jeremiah 2:19b - ...Know therefore and see that it is an evil and bitter thing, that you have forsaken Jehovah your God and that My fear is not in you, declares the Lord Jehovah of hosts.

Jeremiah 2:37 - For Jehovah has rejected those in whom you trust, and you will not prosper by them.

Jeremiah 3:1b - ...But you have committed fornication with many lovers. Yet return to Me, declares Jehovah.

Jeremiah 3:12 - Go and proclaim these words to the north, and say, Return, O Israel the apostate, declares Jehovah; and I will not let My countenance fall toward you; for I am merciful, declares Jehovah; I will not keep My anger forever.

Jeremiah 3:14a - Return, O apostate children, declares Jehovah, for I am a Husband to you;...

Jeremiah 3: 15 - And I will give you shepherds according to My own heart, who will feed you knowledge and understanding.

Jeremiah 4:1-2 - If you will return, O Israel, declares Jehovah, Return to Me; and if you put away your detestable things from My presence and do not wander, and swear, As Jehovah lives, in truth and in justice and in righteousness, then the nations will bless themselves in Him, and in Him they will glory.
Jeremiah 2:13 - For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, to hew out for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, which hold no water.
Many know Jeremiah as the weeping prophet because he was often found weeping, in tears, even wailing in his writings. He wrote another book in the Bible called Lamentations. Yet his weeping was not a mere human sadness. In his weeping, Jeremiah expressed Jehovah's emotions to the children of Israel. Therefore, he not only conveyed Jehovah's words but he conveyed the feelings of Jehovah in His tenderheartedness and compassion toward Israel. He was one with God in his emotions. 

Although Jehovah's righteousness required Him to chastise the children of Israel due to their iniquity and apostasy, Jehovah's strong compassion was always with the people and He suffered alongside them in their chastisement. Just like a loving father who has to discipline his own children. Moreover, He was also a loving Husband who was grossly betrayed by His wife, yet still desperately appealing for His wife to return to Him.

The book of Jeremiah is an Old Testament book. This writing may seem distant to us who live in the present, but I was always reminded of 1 Corinthians 10:11 when the Apostle Paul clearly pointed out, "Now these things happened to them (the children of Israel) as an example, and they were written for our admonition, unto whom the ends of the ages have come."
Jeremiah 3:14a - Return, O apostate children, declares Jehovah, for I am a Husband to you;...
Here we are today, in the midst of a pandemic, in the midst of a social unrest, in the midst of a fragile economy, in the midst of utter confusion in all stages of society, in the midst of the crumbling of anything deemed stable. Does Jeremiah's call for us to return to God so easily dismissible? Do we have a realization how far-off we have gone? I think it is more than obvious that we have forsaken Jehovah and have painfully struggled to create another foundation on which we stand and bank all our trust in. At least in this country, we have done exactly that, don't you think?

Jesus means "Jehovah the Savior" or "Jehovah our salvation". I won't beat around the bush. Let us return to Him personally and together as a people. Let us confess our evil, our forsaking Him, and return to God. God is righteous to judge our iniquity but He is also faithful and righteous to forgive us when we confess our sins and return to Him (1 John 1:9). 

My heart is quite distressed and fearful that we, as a people, do not yet heed the warnings. It's true that I am just a small voice in this already noisy platform of the online world. But allow me to appeal to you: Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the day when the children of Israel provoked Jehovah in their rebellion, in their unbelief.

Dear Lord, soften our hearts, turn our hearts. Cause us to return to You, our Fountain of living waters. May we take You as our satisfaction. You are the only One who can quench our deepest thirst. Lord Jesus, give us to drink of You.

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