“Are We Prepared to Restore the Old Paths?”
Jeremiah 6:16
Jeremiah preached adherence to the Mosaic covenant. The book presents Jeremiah as one who knew, appreciated and proclaimed the law. But he was not appreciated much by his own people, nor by his own family (11:21; 12:6). Jeremiah’s preaching lasted about 40 years and embraced the last four kings of Judah after King Josiah.
Jeremiah also had to stand against the coalition of priests and prophets who charged him with blasphemy for predicting the destruction of the temple (26:8-11). Jeremiah had at least two brushes with death – one under Pashur the priest who beat him (ch. 20) and when the princes of Judah left him to die in a cistern filled with mire (ch. 38).
“Only acknowledge your iniquity,” God told Israel through Jeremiah, “that you have transgressed against the Lord your God … and you have not obeyed My voice” (3:13). About 15 times, God commands or refers to Judah as “returning” to Him.
Their problem was “stubbornness of an evil heart” (3:17) – a “stubborn and rebellious heart” (5:23). So that in 4:4, God told Jerusalem to “circumcise themselves to the Lord and remove the foreskins of their heart.”
It all has to do with one’s attitude toward the Word of God – “Behold, the word of the Lord has become a reproach to them; they have no delight in it” (6:10). The prophet and the priest of their day “healed the brokenness of [God’s] people superficially, saying, ‘Peace, Peace,’ But there was no peace. Were they ashamed,” Jeremiah asked, “Because of the abomination they have done?” But Jeremiah answers his own question, “They were not even ashamed at all; They did not even know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall…” (6:14-15).
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In that context, God tells the remnant of Jerusalem: “Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; and you will find rest for your souls” (6:16).
Yes, every generation has had its faithful leaders who called God’s people back to God’s way. “Return to me,” thus says the Lord.
Every generation has its own trials and challenges. Higher criticism and evolution – both challenges are still with us. Skepticism is still a challenge. Pentecostalism and ecumenicism have come along and even now, post-modernism, have all reared their ugly heads and scared many once-faithful men and women to compromise and veer off the ancient path.
The danger of leaving God’s way is always present among us because our adversary the Devil continues prowling like a roaring lion. Every family has to make its own choices on a weekly or daily or monthly basis if it will serve God first. Every individual as he or she matures has to answer the question for himself or herself: “Ultimately, whom am I going to serve?”
Will we keep the dream to restore, to continue the process of restoring the New Testament Christianity, alive? “Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths.”
–Paul Holland
