It is to Them an Object of Scorn

Jeremiah 6:10-11 ESV

 

“To whom shall I speak and give warning,

    that they may hear?

Behold, their ears are uncircumcised,

    they cannot listen;

behold, the word of the Lord is to them an object of scorn;

    they take no pleasure in it.

Therefore I am full of the wrath of the Lord;

    I am weary of holding it in.”

 

In context, the people of God were living in open rebellion against the Lord. Although they spoke as though they were worshipers of the one true God and that they were following after righteousness, yet they spoke falsely. They were not seekers of truth, they did not speak truthfully, they did not practice justice, they refused to take correction from God, they had become hardened in their hearts, and they refused to repent of their sins.

 

Although God gave them chance after chance to repent, and he showed much patience and mercy with them, yet they still broke their bonds with the Lord and did evil in his sight. For they and their children had forsaken the Lord, and they were swearing by false gods. They were living in spiritual adultery against the Lord and they were engaged in sexual immorality in willful and deliberate defiance against the Lord and against his commands.

 

And history repeats itself, for this is where the vast majority of those claiming to be believers in Jesus Christ in America are today (and perhaps in other nations, too). Although they make verbal confessions of faith in Jesus Christ and they claim that they believe in Jesus to be Lord and Savior of their lives, many are ignoring the commands of God and are living in rebellion against the Lord in deliberate and habitual sin against God.

 

So, when they claim to be followers of Jesus, or when they claim to be in fellowship with God and to love their Lord, they speak falsely. For they are not seekers of truth, but they are following after the lies of humans by the hordes. And they are unwilling to hear the truth or to test what they are hearing against the truth of the Word of God, and instead they are defending what they believe is their right to continue in their sin without guilt.

 

So, they also are refusing to take correction from the Lord and from his word, and they also are refusing to truly repent – to turn away from their sins to follow Jesus Christ wholeheartedly in obedience to his commands. And even though God has been longsuffering with them and has spoken to them over again through his servants, and through his word, yet they refuse to bond with the Lord in humble surrender to him as Master of their lives.

 

So, not unlike God’s people of old, many of those professing faith in Jesus Christ today, who are following after man-made gospels, will not listen to the truth. They stop up their ears, and they refuse to listen, and so they are combative and resistant and they will attack the Scriptures and its messengers to try to prove that they are right in their refusals to repent of their sins, to obey the Lord, and to submit their lives to Jesus as Lord.

 

Yet, the Lord is still speaking through his word and through his servants who are willing to speak the truth to the people and to warn them of the consequences of their refusals to obey the Lord and to repent of their sins. And those who have been called of God to take these warnings to the rebellious professers of faith in Jesus Christ who are calling themselves “the church,” they cannot hold it inside, but they must speak these warnings.

 

Jeremiah 6:16 ESV

 

“Thus says the Lord:

‘Stand by the roads, and look,

    and ask for the ancient paths,

where the good way is; and walk in it,

    and find rest for your souls.’”

 

This is one of my favorite Bible passages. I love the rich truth contained within. “By the roads” really should say “at the crossroads.” And the meaning of crossroads is “a point at which a crucial decision must be made that will have far-reaching consequences.” This is the point where a critical decision must be made to go one way or another. If we choose the way of righteousness, it ends in eternal life. But if we choose the way of deliberate and habitual sin, it ends in eternal punishment in hell.

 

So, the “ancient paths” have to do with the paths of righteousness and holiness, the ways of God which he had planned for us to walk in them even before the creation of the world. So, when we get to those crossroads, where we must choose which way to go, we are to seek God and his paths of righteousness and not the ways of the world and of the sinful nature. And we are to follow our Lord in obedience, and not follow our flesh to destruction.

 

And we are to walk in the “good way,” which is the way of righteousness. We are to forsake our sinful practices, and we are to follow our Lord in obedience to his commands, and to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit speaking truth to our hearts, and we must yield to the Spirit, and walk in the ways of God and of holiness, and it will go well for us. But if we refuse, and we follow the flesh and sin, instead, it will end in the destruction of our lives.

 

[Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Co 6:9-10, 19-20; 2 Co 5:10, 15; Tit 2:11-14; Jas 1:22-25; Rom 12:1-2; Eph 2:8-10; Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; Matt 7:21-23; Heb 10:26-27; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10]

 

Jeremiah 6:16-19 ESV

 

“But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’

I set watchmen over you, saying,

    ‘Pay attention to the sound of the trumpet!’

But they said, ‘We will not pay attention.’

Therefore hear, O nations,

    and know, O congregation, what will happen to them.

Hear, O earth; behold, I am bringing disaster upon this people,

    the fruit of their devices,

because they have not paid attention to my words;

    and as for my law, they have rejected it.”

 

But even though many (or some) of us are clearly and precisely teaching the truths of the gospel as Jesus taught them, and as the New Testament apostles taught them, and even though some of us are taking care to post the Scripture references which support and back up what we are teaching, so that what we are teaching can easily be tested to make sure it is truth, still many professers of Christ are saying that they will not walk in that truth.

 

They will not pay attention to the truth, although some will verbally resist it and mock it and attack it and try to discredit it. Yet, there are those who support and encourage the truth, thank the Lord! But it appears that the large majority are convinced that they do not have to repent of their sins and that they don’t have to obey Jesus nor do they feel as though they have to submit to him as Lord. And since they will not listen, God is bringing judgment on them. I think it is quite obvious.

 

The Prayer

 

Written by David Foster, Carole Bayer Sager,

Alberto Testa and Tony Renis

 

I pray you'll be our eyes

And watch us where we go

And help us to be wise

In times when we don't know

 

Let this be our prayer

When we lose our way

Lead us to a place

Guide us with your grace

To a place where we'll be safe.

 

I pray we'll find your light

And hold it in our hearts

When the stars go out each night

Remind us where you are.

 

Let this be our prayer

When shadows fill our day

Lead us to a place

Guide us with your grace

To a place where we'll be safe.

 

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