Isn't it fun that as a church that doesn't have a strict liturgy, we have a very strict order in which we do things.
!
Well, good morning. My name is Martin and we will this morning be looking at Jeremiah chapters 2 to 4.
I hope I haven't bitten off more than we can chew. We'll see. You can be the judge of that by the end of the talk this morning.
But you might like to start doing there, Jeremiah chapter 2 to 4.
I will say a few words by way of introduction first, but let me commit this time to the Lord in prayer.
Heavenly Father, we thank you for the scriptures through which we get to know you as our God, our Father,
through which we get to know our Saviour Jesus, that we might be reconciled to you.
We pray that you would guide us in our meditations on your word this morning.
And we pray that as we hear, we would respond from the heart. In Jesus' name. Amen.
The Apostle John concludes his first epistle with the words,
Little children, keep yourselves from idols.
Now, it's a strange way to end the letter.
The first epistle of John, if you're familiar with it, you may know it's full of the themes of God's love,
of faith, of the assurance of salvation, of Jesus' command that we love one another,
the assurance that we're God's children, loved by the Father.
In fact, in the previous sentence, the penultimate verse in the first epistle of John,
it talks about knowing God, about our union with God the Father through being united with his Son, Jesus Christ.
It talks about eternal life, the eternal life that's found in Jesus.
And then, abruptly, we have this final sentence,
Little children, keep yourselves from idols.
It's, in fact, the only use of the word idols in the book of 1 John.
We're not studying 1 John this morning, but anyway, this is just the introduction.
It's the only use of the word idols in the book of 1 John.
It seems to come from nowhere and leave nowhere.
And yet, John chose to end his letter, this message about faith and love and life,
with this short, stark warning about idolatry.
Actually, it may hearken back to something John had said earlier in his letter.
In 1 John 2, verse 15 and 16, he says,
Do not love the world or the things in the world.
If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
For all that is in the world, the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and the pride of life,
is not from the Father, but is from the world.
If John has that in mind when he says, keep yourselves from idols,
then the idolatry John is thinking about is not just the worship of Jupiter or Mars or Athena or Artemis or Isis or any of the pantheon of ancient gods.
John recognized that idolatry could take a more insidious form,
that is, a love of the world and the things in the world.
And when he speaks that way, he's not talking about the legitimate enjoyment of God's good creation.
He's talking about any inordinate, covetous, misshapen love that displaces God.
And John says,
Even though you know the Father and the Son, even though you have eternal life,
even though you're beloved children of God,
even though you have victory over the world through believing in Jesus,
even though all those things are true,
yet heed this warning,
keep yourselves from idols.
In other words,
we who believe in Jesus are not immune to the seduction and deception of idolatry.
And I wonder, like, if the Apostle John were to come here to Australia in the 21st century
and cast his appraising eye over our society,
what would he see?
Now, if he would appraise our society with its boasts and its greed and its obsessions
and its addictions and its fixations,
I think he would no doubt perceive the same danger for us in the 21st century
as he did for his first readers in the 1st century.
And he would say to us,
Little children, keep yourselves from idols.
In 626 BC, in the 13th year of the reign of King Josiah,
God called Jeremiah as a prophet to the nations
and especially to his people Judah, the nation of Judah.
And as his first assignment,
God sent Jeremiah to Jerusalem,
to the city which was the home of the Lord's temple,
the home of the king's palace,
with a message for the people,
a message that could be summed up,
why have you forsaken me to follow worthless idols?
And we're going to listen to part of that message in a moment as Beck reads it for us.
As we listen to this part of the message,
we're going to read the,
Beck will read the first half of chapter 2.
I want you to bear in mind the Apostle John's exhortation,
Little children, keep yourselves from idols.
And listen to the way God speaks to Judah here,
the way he drives home to Judah,
that it is absolute folly,
utter folly,
to forsake the Lord
in order to follow idols.
So Beck,
I'm not sure where about,
there you are.
Beck is going to come out and read
Jeremiah chapter 2 verses 1 to 19.
And think about how do we see it's utter folly
to forsake the Lord.
Thanks, Beck.
Okay, starting at verse 1 of chapter 2.
The word of the Lord came to me,
saying,
Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem,
thus says the Lord.
I remember the devotion of your youth,
your love as a bride,
how you followed me in the wilderness,
in a land not sown.
Israel was holy to the Lord,
the first fruits of his harvest.
All who ate of it incurred guilt,
disaster came upon them,
declares the Lord.
Hear the word of the Lord,
O house of Jacob,
and all the clans of the house of Israel.
Thus says the Lord.
What wrong did your fathers find in me,
that they went far from me,
and went after worthlessness,
and became worthless?
They did not say,
Where is the Lord who brought us up from the land of Egypt,
who led us in the wilderness,
in a land of deserts and pits,
in a land of drought and deep darkness,
in a land that none passes through,
where no man dwells?
And I brought you into a plentiful land,
to enjoy its fruits and its good things.
But when you came in,
you defiled my land,
and made my heritage an abomination.
The priests did not say,
Where is the Lord?
Those who handle the law did not know me.
The shepherds transgressed against me.
The prophets prophesied by Baal,
and went after things that do not profit.
Therefore, I still contend with you,
declares the Lord,
and with your children's children,
I will contend.
For cross to the coasts of Cyprus and see,
or send to Kedar and examine with care,
see if there has been such a thing.
Has a nation changed its gods,
even though they are no gods?
But my people have changed their glory,
for that which does not profit.
Be appalled, O heavens, at this.
Be shocked.
Be utterly desolate, declares the Lord.
For my people have committed two evils.
They have forsaken me,
the fountain of living mortars,
and hewed out cisterns for themselves,
broken cisterns that can hold no water.
Is Israel a slave?
Is he a home-born servant?
Why then has he become a prey?
The lions have roared against him.
They have roared loudly.
They have made his land a waste.
His cities are in ruin,
without inhabitant.
Moreover, the men of Memphis and Tapanis
have shaved the crown of your head.
Have you not brought this upon yourself
by forsaking the Lord your God
when he led you in the way?
And now, what do you gain by going to Egypt
to drink the waters of the Nile?
Or what do you gain by going to Assyria
to drink the waters of the Euphrates?
Your evil will chastise you,
and your apostasy will reprove you.
Know and see that it is evil and bitter
for you to forsake the Lord your God.
The fear of me is not in you,
declares the Lord God of hosts.
This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks, Peg.
Okay, well, let's consider these verses,
this section.
The first three verses then of chapter two,
we have like this brief introduction,
which is a nostalgic recollection
of Israel's past,
the honeymoon period of Israel's relationship with God.
God remembers and he reminds his people
there in verse two of the devotion of your youth
and your love as a bride.
They're following after him in the wilderness.
And how he, in verse three, cherished them.
They were precious to him.
They were wholly set apart for him
and protected by him.
Now, you could read this
and raise an eyebrow and say,
was Israel's relationship with God
ever really like this?
It is, you might think,
a rose-coloured glasses perspective
on even Israel's beginning.
And if you were to read through the book of Exodus
and the book of Numbers,
you know, those years Israel spent in the wilderness,
there are plenty of spectacular failures of Israel
in those years.
So what we have here in verses one to three
is this idealised presentation of the past.
What Israel were made to be
and what they were supposed to be?
Maybe, you see, precise historical accuracy,
I don't think, is the point here
in these first three verses.
Rather, it's not so much about how good Israel once were.
The point of this chapter is about how far they had fallen
from what they ought to have been,
what they could have been,
what they were made to be.
Verse five,
what wrong did your fathers find in me
that they went far from me
and went after worthlessness
and became worthless?
Now, in the montage of metaphors that follow,
God makes the case
that it is utter folly to turn away from him.
It's madness to turn away from God.
And the same reasons that God gave Judah
for why it's folly to turn away from him
are just as applicable for us today.
Why it'd be folly for us to turn away from the Lord.
I've got three reasons from those verses
that Beck just read for us.
First, from verses five to eight,
it's utter folly to forsake the Lord
after all the good he has done for you.
It's utter folly to forsake the Lord
after all the good he's done for you.
How could Israel forget this?
Verse six,
they did not say,
where is the Lord?
How could they forget,
verse six,
the God who brought them up
out of the land of Egypt?
How could they forget,
again in verse six,
the God who led them in the wilderness?
How could they forget,
verse seven,
the God who brought them into a plentiful land
to enjoy its fruits and its good things?
Now maybe forget isn't even really the right word here.
Maybe they didn't exactly forget.
They just lost interest.
Even the leaders who'd been charged
with reminding the people of the love of God,
even they lost interest.
Verse eight,
the priest did not say,
where is the Lord?
Those who handle the Lord did not know me.
The shepherds transgressed against me.
The prophets prophesied by Baal
and went after things that do not profit.
I mean, how can this be?
How can you forget God,
forsake God,
drift away from God,
just lose interest in God
when he's been so good to you?
I mean, if that's true for Israel,
isn't it even more true for us?
God forgave our sins.
God gave us his Holy Spirit.
God made us his own.
He adopted us as his children.
He will raise us up in glory.
He promises us eternity.
And now he protects us by faith as we wait.
He gifts us for service.
He places us in a community of people.
He teaches us love and humility
and self-control and righteousness.
Hasn't God been good?
To us?
How could we just lose interest in God?
It makes no sense.
I mean, what would we replace God with?
The God who's been so good to us.
Do you see what God says about it?
Like whatever we might replace God with?
Verse four,
they went after worthlessness
and became worthless.
That word worthlessness there
is the same word that's used
in the book of Ecclesiastes,
the Hebrew word hebel,
which means,
in that expression in the book of Ecclesiastes,
vanity of vanities,
or everything is meaningless.
It just means something that's vain,
it's empty,
it's vapor,
it's nothing.
They went far from
the living,
true,
good God
and went after
nothing,
worthlessness.
How could we do that?
Verse eight,
they went after things that,
end of verse eight,
that do not profit,
that give them nothing,
that,
from which no good comes.
empty idols.
Why?
It makes no sense.
There was a period last year
when I was becoming addicted
to a game on my phone.
Some of you are laughing.
Some of you are,
I don't know,
maybe looking sideways
or looking down
or something nervously.
But anyway,
I was becoming addicted
to a game on my phone
and Jen,
my wife,
she was patient with me
but not altogether silent
which was probably good.
But as I reflect back on that,
like what good
did it give me,
my attachment
to this game on my phone?
Like it just made me
more distracted,
more irritable.
I was reading less,
I was thinking about God less
and I didn't even enjoy it.
It was worthless.
It didn't profit.
And the more I went after it,
the more worthless I became.
Why would we forsake God
who brought us up
from sin and death,
who leads us in the wilderness,
who will bring us
into a plentiful land
to fill us with good things?
Why would we forsake God?
For that which is worthless
and does not profit.
It makes no sense.
Secondly,
verse 9 to 13,
it's utter folly
to forsake the Lord,
not only,
as we saw firstly,
because of the good
he's done for us,
but in verse 9 to 13,
it's utter folly
to forsake the Lord
because he himself
is our incomparable glory.
He himself
is our incomparable glory.
The best thing
about being saved by God
and belonging to God
and knowing God
is God himself.
Look at verse 10.
For cross to the coast
of Cyprus and see,
or send to Kedar
and examine with care
and see if there has been any,
if there has been such a thing.
Has a nation changed its gods?
I mean,
the other nations
don't go around
changing their gods.
Jeremiah says,
even though there are no gods,
even though they're fake
and they're nothing
and they're empty,
the nations don't change their gods.
But my people have changed,
see what God says here,
verse 11,
my people have changed
their glory
for that which does not profit.
When Israel gave up
on their God,
the God,
when Israel gave up on God,
they gave up their glory
for nothing.
The Lord was Israel's glory.
How much more is he our glory?
Of course,
we can't fully grasp
the glory of God,
but we get a sense,
a glimpse of the glory of God
when we behold his works.
See,
consider God's work of creation.
The heavens declare
the glory of God,
Psalm 19 says,
and modern science
has in no way
diminished their testimony.
You know,
an ancient Israelite
might look up
at the expansive beauty
of the night sky,
which we can't see
because we live in a city
and it's obscured
by all the lights,
city lights,
but an ancient Israelite
might look up
at the expansive beauty
of the night sky
and marvel
at the glory of God.
But do we marvel
any less
with telescopes
and satellites
peering into the depths
of the universe?
There are apparently
somewhere between
100 and 400 billion stars
in the Milky Way galaxy.
So let's take
the lower figure,
100 billion.
There are 8.3 billion people
on the planet Earth.
That means
in our galaxy alone
there are at least
12 times as many stars
as there are people.
I mean,
if we were to claim stars,
just divide them among,
we would have 12 stars each.
In the Milky Way galaxy.
I mean,
some of you think,
you know,
will you ever be able
to afford to buy a home
or something?
But you know,
there's 12 stars out there
for you
if you can get to them.
But that's just one galaxy.
I mean,
apparently,
I don't know
how on Earth
astrophysicists
come to this figure,
but apparently
there are perhaps
2 trillion galaxies
in the observable universe.
2,000 billion galaxies.
That's,
you can not only have
your 12 stars
in the Milky Way galaxy,
you can have
240 galaxies
in the observable universe.
I mean,
consider God's work
of creation
and he spoke
and it came into being,
isn't the Lord
glorious?
Consider God's work
of redemption.
The God
who created
all this.
The God
who is,
let me read some
words from the
Baptist Confession
of Faith,
which is just
summarizing Scripture.
The God
who is
infinite
in being
and perfection,
immutable,
immense,
eternal,
incomprehensible,
almighty,
every way,
infinite,
most holy,
most wise,
most free.
Again,
also from the
Baptist Confession,
he is alone
the fountain
of all being,
of whom,
through whom,
and to whom
are all things
and he hath
most sovereign
dominion
over all creatures
to do by them,
for them,
or upon them,
whatsoever
he himself
pleases.
Eternal,
almighty,
all powerful,
dominion
over all,
the fount
of all being
and yet
this same
God,
this very same
God in the
person of his
son entered
into his
creation,
subjected
himself
not only
to become
a man,
but to
suffer at
the hands
of men,
to suffer
the malice
and cruelty
of men,
whom he
himself had
made.
the God
who is
grieved
by our
sin
shed the
tears
that should
have been
ours.
The God
whose anger
is aroused
by our
sin
drank the
cup of
wrath
that should
have been
ours.
The God
whom we
had forsaken
was himself
forsaken
for us.
we have
seen his
glory,
the glory
of the
one and
only
son
who
came
from
the
father
full of
grace
and
truth.
You know,
someone will
be,
you know,
chuffed,
a bit
pleased with
themselves
when they
know a
reliable
mechanic
or plumber
that they
can recommend
to their
friends.
You know,
hard to
find.
we know
the living
God,
immortal
and
invisible.
He is
ours.
The vast
heavens
themselves,
God says,
the vast
heavens which
obey every
command of
their creator,
they shudder
at our
idolatry.
Verse 12,
be appalled,
O heavens,
at this.
Be shocked,
be utterly
desolate,
declares the
Lord,
for my
people have
committed
two evils.
They have
forsaken
me,
the fountain
of living
waters,
and hewed
out cisterns
for themselves,
broken cisterns
that can hold
no water.
It's utter
folly to
forsake the
Lord,
for he
himself
is our
supreme
glory.
Thirdly,
verse 14
to 19,
it's utter
folly to
forsake the
Lord,
because to
do so
leads to
our own
ruin.
Verse 14,
is Israel
a slave?
Is he a
home-born
servant?
Why then
has he
become a
prey?
The lions
have roared
against him,
they have
roared loudly,
they have
made his
land a
waste,
his cities
are a
ruin
without
inhabitant.
Israel
was not
redeemed
from Egypt
only to be
enslaved
again.
They were
not given
the plentiful
land,
only to have
it plundered
by the
nations
surrounding
them,
and yet
that is
what had
happened.
And God's
people had
no one to
blame but
themselves.
Verse 17,
have you
not brought
this upon
yourself by
forsaking the
Lord your
God when he
led you in
the way?
Verse 19,
your evil
will chastise
you,
and your
apostasy
will reprove
you.
Know and
see that it
is evil
and bitter
for you
to forsake
the Lord
your God.
The fear
of me
is not
in you,
declares
the Lord
God of
hosts.
See that it
is evil
and bitter
to forsake
the Lord.
Forsaking
the Lord
is evil,
it's wicked,
it's treacherous.
You know,
Aussies tend
to think
that,
you know,
our lives
are our
own,
we just
belong to
ourselves,
and,
you know,
maybe we'd
be doing
God a
huge favour
if we
were to
give him
a wave
or a nod
every now
and then.
But of
course,
that's
deception.
We belong
to him,
he owns
us,
we owe
him our
worship,
our love,
our obedience,
our devotion,
our trust.
God is not
a stranger
in the
universe,
he is the
owner of
the universe,
he is our
maker,
our master,
our Lord
and our
God,
our Father,
and it
is evil
to forsake
him.
But also,
it's bitter
to forsake
him.
For that
way leads
only to
desolation
and death
and misery
and ruin.
There's no
life apart
from the
fountain,
there's no
joy apart
from his
blessedness,
there's no
peace apart
from his
love.
What
utter
folly
to forsake
the Lord
our God.
The rest
of chapter
two
continues in
the same
vein,
we won't
look at
it.
I had
a few
verses
I was
going to
show you
but we're
shortish on
time so we'll
skip over
those.
But it
continues in
the same
vein.
Can you
see,
brothers and
sisters,
what utter
folly it is
to forsake
the Lord
after all
the good
he's done
for us
because he
himself is
our incomparable
glory when
forsaking him
leads only to
misery and
ruin.
Exchanging
the fountain
of living
water for
broken
cisterns is
never a
good deal.
I have
a friend
who forsook
the Lord
for a
relationship
with a
non-believer.
Another
friend who
forsook the
Lord out
of intellectual
pride and
in order to
fit in with
the world.
Another
friend who
forsook the
Lord as
academic and
professional
accomplishment
gradually
squeezed out
his love
for God.
God
and what
did any
of them
gain by
forsaking
the Lord?
Nothing.
And yet
aren't we
prone to
the same
defection?
Little
children
keep
yourselves
from idols.
and what
are we
tempted to
go after
worthlessness?
How often
do we
exchange our
glory for
that which
does not
profit?
How often
are our
hearts
captivated by
trivial things
rather than
the grandeur
and splendor
of God?
Jeremiah 2
has many
metaphors for
Israel's
relationship
with God
but there's
one central
recurring
metaphor
throughout
these chapters
and that
is of
Israel as
an unfaithful
bride
estranged
from her
husband.
And by
the time
we get
to chapter
3 God
asks the
question
have
Israel
and Judah
passed
the point
of no
return?
To look
just briefly
at a few
verses here
in chapter
3 verse
1
if a man
divorces
his wife
and she
goes from
him and
becomes
another
man's
wife
that's
what Israel
had done
left the
Lord and
married
someone else
gone after
other gods
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?
See what
God's saying
here?
He's saying
is it too
late?
God
would he
return?
God won't
return to
them.
They won't
return to
him.
Have they
passed the
point of
no return?
God
says
even if
you
make a
pretense
of
returning
to
me
it
won't
be
sincere.
Verse
4
Have you
not
just
now
called
to
me
my
father?
You're
the
friend
of
my
youth.
Will
he
be
angry
forever?
Will
he
be
indignant
to
the
end?
Behold
you've
spoken
but you
have done
all
the
evil
that
you
could.
Was
it
too
late
for
Israel
and
Judah?
Does
idolatry
push
us
past
the
point
of
no
return?
By
all
rights
it
does.
We
have
no
power
to
return
to
God.
We
have
no
right
to
expect
that
he
should
return
to
us.
Such
is
the
treachery
of
idolatry.
And
yet
and
yet
in
the
rest
of
chapter
three
we
hear
the
Lord
calling
to
Israel
again
and
again.
Chapter
three
verse
twelve
return
faithless
Israel.
Three
verse
fourteen
return
O
faithless
children.
Three
verse
twenty
two
return
O
faithless
sons.
Chapter
four
verse
one
return
O
Israel.
The
word
faithless
in
each
of
those
verses
in
chapter
three
twelve
fourteen
and
twenty
two
is
a
word
which
means
those
who
have
turned
those
who
have
turned
back
those
who
have
turned
away.
So
God
is
saying
you
who
have
turned
away
turn
back
to
me.
You
have
turned
away
Israel
my
sons
return
now
there's
a
complexity
to
Jeremiah
chapter
three
that I
don't
want
to
ignore
but
also
which
I
don't
want
to
distract
us.
So
let's
make
a
deal
I
want
to
make
a
deal
with
you
I
will
do
my
best
to
explain
it
as
briefly
as
I
can
and
I
want
you
to
do
your
best
to
be
patient
with
me
as
I
do
try
and
explain
it.
Okay
we'll
get
to
the
main
point
soon
I
realise
we
haven't
read
out
chapter
three
I'm
not
going
to
read
it
out
in
full
I'll
show
you
some
verses
that
you
need
to
see
here's
the
complexity
right
you
see
there
in
chapter
three
verse
six
the
first
it's
the
Lord
said
to
me
in
the
days
of
King
Josiah
now
we'll
come
back
to
that
but
you
might
remember
Josiah
is
the
king
who
was
king
when
Jeremiah
was
called
as
a
prophet
the
first
of
the
five
kings
that
Jeremiah
would
outlast
and so
this
is
early
days
in
Jeremiah's
ministry
we'll
come
back
to
King
Josiah
but
then
in
verses
six
to
ten
we
have
this
extended
metaphor
of
two
sisters
there
is
in
verse
six
one
sister
whom
God
calls
faithless
Israel
and
the
second
sister
whom
God
calls
in
verse
eight
treacherous
Judah
Israel
and
Judah
two
sisters
now
the
background
to that
is the
history
of
Israel
around
1000
BC
David
King
David
was
king
over
all
of
Israel
and
as
was
his
son
Solomon
but
after
Solomon's
death
and this
is
some
300
years
before
Jeremiah
after
Solomon's
death
Israel
split
in
two
the
northern
part
the
northern
kingdom
confusingly
continued
to be
called
Israel
and the
southern
kingdom
was
called
Judah
so
when we
have
this
extended
metaphor
of
these
two
sisters
faithless
Israel
treacherous
Judah
it's
talking
about
the
northern
kingdom
and the
southern
kingdom
after
Israel
split
in
two
what
happened
to
Israel
well
verse
six
to
eight
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
and I
thought
after
she
has
done
all
this
she'll
return
to
me
but
she
did
not
return
and her
treacherous
sister
Judah
saw
it
she
saw
that
for
all
the
adulteries
of that
faithless
one
Israel
I
had
sent
her
away
with
a
decree
of
divorce
Israel
was
faithless
in
Jeremiah
day
Israel
was
overthrown
by the
Assyrian
empire
the
people
of
Israel
were
deported
and
Israel
the
northern
kingdom
ceased
to
exist
as a
geopolitical
entity
other
people
were
moved
into
the
land
it
was
effectively
wiped
out
as a
nation
but
what
about
Judah
the
southern
kingdom
where
Jeremiah
lived
well
verse
8
you know
she'd
seen
what
happened
to
Israel
and
yet
her
treacherous
sister
Judah
did
not
fear
but
she
too
went
and
played
the
whore
committing
adultery
Indeed
God
goes on
to make
the
shocking
claim
in
verse
11
faithless
Israel
has
shown
herself
more
righteous
than
treacherous
Judah
the
people
that
had
already
been
wiped
out
by
the
Assyrians
God
said
are
better
than
you
who
remain
from
verse
12
to
the
end
of
the
chapter
God
continues
to
rebuke
Judah
but
he
does
it
in
a
kind
of
strange
way
verse
12
God
says
to
Jeremiah
go
and
proclaim
these
words
toward
the
north
and
say
return
faithless
Israel
declares
so
proclaim
these
words
towards
the
north
so
from
Jerusalem
from
Judah
Jeremiah
is
facing
north
toward
Israel
and
proclaiming
God's
message
to
Israel
that
northern
kingdom
that's
no longer
there
you with
me
but
he's
doing
it
in
Jerusalem
so
that
actually
the
people
who
are
listening
to
this
proclamation
to
Israel
are
Judah
for
hearing
the
message
the
prophecy
that
Jeremiah
is
saying
to
Israel
and
it
and
what
God
says
to
Israel
is
return
it
would
be
a bit
like
to
give
you
a
trivial
illustration
like
if
I
had
sent
my
eldest
daughter
Hannah
to
her
room
for
answering
back
and
being
disobedient
perish
the
thought
and
you
know
I've
sent
her
off
to
her
room
and
then
Evie
my
second
daughter
has
seen
that
take
place
and
then
she
starts
behaving
even
worse
and
so
I
say
right
Evie
you
go
to
your
room
Hannah
you
can
come
back
you
know
that's
kind
of
what's
going
on
here
in
chapter
three
but
the
message
that
Judah
hear
God
proclaiming
to
the
north
Jeremiah
proclaiming
to
the
north
is
magnificent
again
and
again
the
Lord
calls
faithless
Israel
to
return
now
we
can't
look
at
all
the
details
but
I
want
to
point
out
the
main
features
first
the
basis
of
God's
call
to
Israel
to
return
is
God's
own
character
look at
verse
12
return
faithless
Israel
declares
the
Lord
I
will
not
look
on
you
in
anger
for
I
am
merciful
declares
the
Lord
the
basis
of the
call
to
return
is
the
mercy
of
God
his
grace
his
faithful
love
to
his
people
brothers
sisters
that
is
the
grounds
on
which
we
may
confidently
hope
to be
welcomed
back
by
God
we
have
no
right
to
expect
that
God
would
take
us
back
and
yet
he
will
because
of
who
he
himself
is
return
for
I
am
merciful
declares
the
Lord
second
observation
the
condition
of
return
the
basis
of
return
is
God's
character
his
mercy
his
grace
the
condition
of
return
is
confession
verse
13
only
acknowledge
your
guilt
that
you've
rebelled
against
the
Lord
your
God
and
scattered
your
favors
among
foreigners
under
every
green
tree
and
that
you've
not
obeyed
my
voice
declares
the
Lord
says
return
only
acknowledge
your
guilt
confess
your
sin
confess
your
idolatry
we
cannot
come
back
to
the
Lord
in
pride
we
only
have
ourselves
to
blame
for
our
estrangement
we
only
have
God
to
thank
for
our
restoration
if
we
say
we
have
no
sin
we
deceive
ourselves
and the
truth
is
not
in
us
but
if
we
confess
our
sins
he
is
faithful
and
just
to
forgive
us
our
sins
and
to
cleanse
us
from
all
unrighteousness
the
only way
back
to
God
is
through
God's
faithful
love
and
through
our
humble
confession
third
observation
the
outcome
of
return
is
complete
restoration
complete
restoration
I
mean
let's
fly
through
some
verses
that
we'd
love
to
spend
more
time
on
but
we
won't
but
we'll
fly
through
them
and
just
try
and
try
and
soak
them
up
verse
14
return
o
faithless
children
declares
the
Lord
for
I
am
your
master
I'll
take
you
one
from
a
city
and
two
from
a
family
and
I'll
bring
you
to
Zion
and
I
will
give
you
shepherds
after
my
own
heart
who
will
feed
you
with
knowledge
and
understanding
and
when
you've
multiplied
and
increased
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
what's
going
on
there
well
there's
an
allusion
there
to
a
new
covenant
God's
going
to
make
when
I
bring
you
back
the
Lord
says
you're
not
going
to
be
talking
about
the
ark
of
the
old
covenant
this
is
a
new
I'm
doing
something
new
a
new
covenant
!
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
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
Judah
and
Israel
restored
the
nations
coming
in
the
presence
of
God
people's
hearts
changed
the
pleasant
land
their
heritage
restored
complete
restoration
if you've
seen the
movie
love
actually
you'll
remember
a scene
towards
the
end
of
the
movie
where
Karen
who is
played
by
Emma
Thompson
confronts
her
husband
Harry
played
by
Alan
Rickman
about
Harry's
unfaithfulness
she's
discovered
that he
has been
unfaithful
and she
confronts
him
about
it
and
Emma
Thompson
says to
Alan
Rickman
when she
confronts
him
she
poses
him
the
question
that
she's
now
asking
herself
would
you
stay
knowing
that
life
would
always
be
a
little
bit
worse
or
would
you
cut
and
run
see
after
that
great
betrayal
of
their
marriage
she
says
even
if
some
reconciliation
!
may
be
possible
life
would
always
be a
little
bit
worse
life
will
forever
be a
little
bit
worse
she
says
there
can
be
no
complete
restoration
that
the
past
cannot
be
undone
the
stain
can
never
be
fully
taken
away
a
shadow
always
remains
life
would
always
be
a
little
bit
worse
but
that's
not
how
it
is
with
God
the
restoration
promised
here
is
complete
and
full
and
perfect
there's
no
shame
or
grief
to
dull
its
glory
the
people
are
fully
turned
to
God
verse
22
return
faithless
sons
I
will
heal
your
faithlessness
behold
we come
to you
for you
are the
Lord
our
God
the
people
are
fully
turned
to
God
is
fully
turned
to
his
people
verse
12
I
will
not
look
on
you
in
anger
for
I
am
merciful
I
will
not
be
angry
forever
even
to
the
extent
that
Israel
is
vocation
and
high
calling
would
be
fulfilled
to
bring
blessing
to
the
nations
we
saw
the
nations
coming
in
chapter
4
verse
1
if you
return
Israel
declares
the
Lord
to me
you
should
return
if you
remove
your
detestable
things
from my
presence
and do
not
waver
and if
you
swear
as
the
Lord
lives
in
truth
in
justice
and
in
righteousness
then
nations
shall
bless
themselves
in
him
in
the
Lord
and
in
him
shall
they
glory
Israel's
calling
to be
a
blessing
to
the
nations
would
be
fulfilled
now
all of
this
was
dramatically
proclaimed
in
Judah
to
the
north
towards
Israel
but
it
was
heard
in
Judah
and
in
Jeremiah's
day
the
point
was
Judah
you've
heard
God's
promise
and
call
and
invitation
to
Israel
what
about
you
Judah
and
Jerusalem
what
are
you
going
to
do
chapter
4
verse
3
for
thus
says
the
Lord
to
the
men
of
Judah
and
Jerusalem
break
up
your
fallow
ground
and
sow
not
among
thorns
circumcise
yourself
to the
Lord
remove
the
foreskin
of
your
hearts
O
men
of
Judah
and
inhabitants
!
of
Jerusalem
lest
my
wrath
go
forth
like
a
fire
and
burn
with
none
to
quench it
Jerusalem
what
will
you
do
will
you
return
we
saw
that
this
word
of
the
Lord
came
in
the
days
of
King
Josiah
and
you
may be
familiar
with
the
reign
of
King
Josiah
or
you
may
not
but
the
thing
about
King
Josiah
is
he
kind
of
stands
out
in
the
line
of
Judah's
kings
as
a
bit
of
a
exception
a
bit
of
a
shining
light
and
at
the
very
time
as
Jeremiah
was
proclaiming
this
word
of
the
Lord
the
king
was
also
attempting
to lead
a
national
spiritual
revival
six
years
before
Jeremiah
was
commissioned
we're
told
in
second
chronicles
Josiah
himself
began
to
seek
the
Lord
two
years
before
Jeremiah
was
commissioned
Josiah
began
to purge
Judah
of
idols
four
years
after
Jeremiah's
commission
Josiah
began
to
repair
the
temple
and
found
the
book
of
the
law
and
restored
some
of
the
religious
calendar
of
Judah
the
question
for
Judah
though
was
as
both
king
and
prophet
sought
to
lead
the
nation
in
returning
to
the
Lord
the
question
for
Judah
was
how
wide
and
how
deep
would
this
return
be
how
wide
would
it
go
would
it
extend
from
the
king
throughout
the
kingdom
how
long
would
it
last
would
it
continue
into
the
next
generation
how
deep
would
it
be
would
it
go
to
the
heart
!
tense
conflicted
atmosphere
of
our
society
political
atmosphere
of
our
society
at
present
there
is
among
many
a
sense
of
nostalgia
there
is
in
our
society
in
some
corners
a
resurgent
conservatism
even
at
some
places
a
form
of
Christian
nationalism
we're
seeing
the
rise
in the
profile
of
a
political
party
like
One
Nation
there
is
among
many
in
our
country
a
pining
for
liberal
democracy
for
western
ideals
for
traditional
family
values
for
cohesive
community
life
with
shared
values
and a
sense
that that
might be
being
eroded
and so
there are
calls
in our
society
to
return
to
the
way
things
once
were
but
look at
what
God
says
he
says
in
verse
one
if
you
return
O
Israel
to
me
you
should
return
what
God
calls
us
to
is
not
to
return
to
conservatism
or
to
the
traditions
of
western
civilization
or
to
religion
he
calls
us
to
return
to
him
to
him
to
the
Lord
our
God
and
we
who
still
need
to
hear
the
warning
little
children
keep
yourselves
from
idols
we
also
need
to
hear
the
call
if
you
return
then
to
me
you
must
return
we
brothers
and
sisters
need
to
be
people
who
constantly
turn
to
the
Lord
to
him
daily
weekly
continually
even
habitually
but
from
the
heart
together
individually
turning
to
the
Lord
our
God
for
he
is
good
he
has
been
good
to
us
and
he
is
our
supreme
unrivaled
glory
if
you
return
to
me
will
you
pray
with
me
heavenly
father
you
have
been
so
good
to
us
how
can
we
thank
you
for
all
that
you
have
done
for
us
through
your
son
!
no
words
or
praise
are
ever
sufficient
and
above
all
you
have
made
us
your
own
precious
people
your
children
you
have
given
us
yourself
even
your
spirit
dwelling
with
us
!
Lord
you
are
our
supreme
glory
Father
please
keep
our
hearts
turning
to
you
please
save
us
from
idols
our
world
is
full
of
idols
and
we
feel
their
allure
but
Lord
we
ask
by
your
mercy
that
you
would
keep
turning
us
to
you
for
we
know
in
your
grace
you
will
have
us
back
in
Jesus
name
Amen