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Israel's Unfaithfulness
1The Lord told me 2to go to Jerusalem and tell everyone that he had said:
When you were my young bride,
you loved me and followed me
through the barren desert.
3You belonged to me alone,
like the first part of the harvest,
and I severely punished
those who mistreated you.
4Listen, people of Israel,
5and I, the Lord, will speak.
I was never unfair
to your ancestors,
but they left me
and became worthless
by following worthless idols.
6Your ancestors refused
to ask for my help,
though I had rescued them
from Egypt
and led them through
a treacherous, barren desert,
where no one lives
or dares to travel.
7I brought you here to my land,
where food is abundant,
but you made my land filthy
with your sins.
8The priests who teach my laws
don't care to know me.
Your leaders rebel against me;
your prophets
give messages from Baal
and worship false gods.
The Lord Accuses His People
9I will take you to court
and accuse you
and your descendants
* 10of a crime that no nation
has ever committed before.
Just ask anyone, anywhere,
from the eastern deserts
to the islands in the west.
11You will find that no nation
has ever abandoned its gods
even though they were false.
I am the true and glorious God,
but you have rejected me
to worship idols.
12Tell the heavens
to tremble with fear!
13You, my people, have sinned
in two ways—
you have rejected me, the source
of life-giving water,
and you've tried to collect water
in cracked and leaking pits
dug in the ground.
14People of Israel,
you weren't born slaves;
you were captured in war.
15Enemies roared like lions
and destroyed your land;
towns lie burned and empty.
16Soldiers from the Egyptian towns
of Memphis and Tahpanhes
have cracked your skulls.
17It's all your own fault!
You stopped following me,
the Lord your God,
18and you trusted the power
of Egypt and Assyria.
19Your own sins will punish you,
because it was a bitter mistake
for you to reject me
without fear of punishment.
I, the Lord All-Powerful,
have spoken.
20Long ago you left me
and broke all ties between us,
refusing to be my servant.
Now you worship other gods
by having sex
on hilltops or in the shade
of large trees.
21You were a choice grapevine,
but you have become
a wild, useless vine.
Israel Is Stained
22The Lord said:
People of Israel,
you are stained with guilt,
and no soap or bleach
can wash it away.
Reflect
When life was difficult, when you felt all alone, when you weren’t sure what the next step to take in your life was, you trusted the Lord your God. Since then has God blessed you, has God brought you to a safe place? Are you still trusting in the Lord? Or have you abandoned God for the idols of the place where you live? Have you become ensnared in the sins of the place where you live and work? Do you realize the seriousness of what you have done by no longer trusting in the Lord, by trusting in your own abilities or in the seductive promises of the world?
If this is what you have done, then you have rejected the source of living water. Even though life may be going well, you are trying to collect water in cracked and leaking pots. God protected you, God has delivered you, yet now you are trusting in your own abilities. Be warned: the Lord will punish you. It is a bitter mistake to reject the Lord without fear of punishment. These are the words that Jeremiah warns the people of Jerusalem with, for they had done the same thing. If you don’t believe that God will punish you, look what happened to the people of Jerusalem – Babylon came and almost totally wiped them out, except for a remnant that God preserved by his grace.
Repent, return to the Lord your God. You cannot wash the stain of your sinful life away on your own. Only Christ can cleanse you from your sin. Jesus, the shepherd of your soul is looking for you, his lost lamb, and longs to carry you home.
Respond
Gracious Father, before you and you alone we have sinned. Forgive us for our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Restore to us the joy of our salvation, through the blood of your son Jesus Christ. Amen.

James Bruyn
Dr. James Bruyn is a bi-vocational visionary leader, writer and speaker who enjoys helping individuals integrate their faith in God with their daily life. James is passionate about connecting the rich promises of our loving Heavenly Father that we find in the Bible, with the joys and challenges of living out our faith in the workplace. James leads a ministry to Christians in the marketplace in Calgary, provides leadership coaching, and consults for the rail industry. Publications: God With Us At Work; Gifted To Do Our Work (Word Alive Press)