We thank God for His Word from Jeremiah chapter 3, reminding us to return to the Lord in repentance. Today, we shall continue with Jeremiah 4:1-4, reminding us of the true repentance God requires and commands His people to do.
The Meaning of Repentance
Jeremiah 4:1 If thou wilt return (shuwb), O Israel, saith the LORD, return (shuwb) unto me: and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not remove.
Ezekiel 14:6 Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Repent (shuwb), and turn (shuwb) yourselves from your idols; and turn (shuwb) away your faces from all your abominations.
Return/Repent (Hebrew shuwb), means to turn, to return, to go back, to do again, to change, to withdraw, to bring back, to reestablish, to be returned, to bring back, to take, to restore, to recompense, to answer, to hinder. The verb is used over one thousand times and has various shades of meaning in its four stems. In the simple stem, it is used to describe divine and human reactions, attitudes, and feelings. The verb describes the possibility that Israel might change (turn) their minds and return to Egypt (Exodus 13:17). Josiah the king turned back to the Lord with all his heart, soul, and strength (2Ki_23:25; Jer_34:15) (The Complete Word Study Dictionary).
Matthew 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Repent (Greek metanoéō) means to repent, change the mind, relent. Theologically, it involves regret or sorrow, accompanied by a true change of heart toward God. (The Complete Word Study Dictionary).
Thus, true repentance is a true change of the mind and heart toward God and His Word, toward self, sin, worldliness, and so forth. Instead of running away from God and opposing His Word/will, we return to Him and submit to His Word/will. Instead of living in sins and worshipping idols, we hate sins, put away idolatry, and decide to worship and serve God alone. Instead of following men, human philosophies, and worldliness, we follow the Lord, His Word, and godliness. Instead of doing what we like to do according to our own will and in our way, we seek God's will and walk in His narrow way. Instead of loving and promoting our "self", we abhor our "self" (Job 42:6) and love and glorify God alone, and so forth. No sinful humans can have such a true change of mind and heart by themselves. True repentance is God's grace and gift through the work of the Holy Spirit (John 16:7-11; Acts 5:31; 11:18). Judah Iscariot, who betrayed the Lord Jesus, only regretted, but he could not repent nor return to the Lord because he purposely betrayed the Lord Jesus and let Satan control him (Matt 26:14-16; John 12:13:27). However, Peter, who wanted to go with his Lord both into prison and to death, although denying his Lord three times due to his weakness, he could repent and wept bitterly thanks to the Lord's grace and prayer for him (Luke 22:31-34). We must thank God for His grace that we are able to sincerely repent of our sins and return to Him, love Him, worship Him, and serve Him. We ought to pray for those who have not returned to the Lord in true repentance so that they may truly repent and be saved by God's grace some day.
God Requires and Demands True Repentance
Not many churches nowadays preach on true repentance. In the New Testament, John and Baptist started his ministry with his message of repentance, calling people to "Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance" (Matthew 3:2,8). The Lord Jesus also started His ministry with His message of repentance (Mark 1:14-15). The Lord Jesus still commands His churches to repent when they lose their first love for Him like the church in Ephesus (Rev 2:4), tolerate wrong doctrines like the church in Pergamos (Rev 2:14-16), turn to idolatry and ungodliness like the church in Thyatira (Rev 2:20-22), are spiritually dying like the church in Sardis (Rev 3:1-3), and are lukewarm like the church in Laodicea (Rev 3:16,19). God still commands all people everywhere to repent:
Acts 17:30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
What about us? Let us now mediate on God's command of repentance from Jeremiah 4:1-4.
1. Return to the Lord: "If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the LORD, return unto ME" (Jeremiah 4:1). It is not enough to return to a Bible-believing church, but to the Lord Himself personally.
2. Put away abominations out of the LORD's sight (Jeremiah 4:1). It is not enough to return to the Lord without true repentance like many churches do nowadays. They usually organise their Gospel campaigns and after the message, they call many to the stage to repeat after the pastor's prayer. However, they do not require true repentance as God does. God is holy and righteous, and He hates sins and never condones sins. He did not accept His people, who return to Him in worship with their lips but without true repentance (Jeremiah 3:1; Isaiah 1:13). He commanded them to put away all abominations out of His sight. Then, what are the abominations before the Lord?
(1) Idols and idolatry (Deuteronomy 7:25). Not only false gods and idols, but also anyone (including ourselves) or anything (including worldly values and pleasures, materialism, etc) that is loved above God and His Word.
(2) The worship and offering of unrepentant people (Isaiah 1:13).
(3) The sacrifice, ways, and thoughts of the wicked people (Proverbs 15:8, 9, 26; 24:9).
(5) Blemish sacrifices/offerings to the LORD (Deut 17:1).
(6) The prayer of those who turn their ears from hearing God's Word (Proverbs 28:9).
(7) Offering children in burnt offerings (Deut 18:10, 12).
(8) Using divination, an observer of times, an enchanter, a witch, a chanter, a consulter with familiar spirits, a wizard, a necromancer (Deut 18:10-12).
(9) Judgement without justice and righteousness, "He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the LORD" (Proverbs 17:15). Nowadays, we sometimes see that those who do not support homosexuality and same-sex marriage may be condemned in some countries! Christians who live a righteous life may be persecuted and condemned in some anti-Christian countries as well.
(10) Homosexuality, "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination" (Leviticus 18:22). We are living in the end times like in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 13:13; 19:4-5; Luke 17:28-29). Many nowadays including the Pope do not see homosexuality abominable as the holy and righteous God sees. They abuse God's love to accept abominations in God's sight and regard it as a lifestyle! Their conscience is so insensitive and seared/hardened that they do not see it abominable (1 Tim 4:1-3). What about us?
(11) Sexual immorality, adultery, fornication, incest, "And one hath committed abomination with his neighbour's wife; and another hath lewdly defiled his daughter in law; and another in thee hath humbled his sister, his father's daughter" (Ezekiel 22:11). We are also living in this immoral world full of sexual immorality! Many do not see it abominable to commit adultery or fornication. Young people just live together without marriage! Husbands and wives may have their love affairs with their colleagues and friends in their work places or on their business trips. We have to pray for our children who are exposed to so many temptations around them from the mass media and the Internet even in their smart devices.
(12) Putting on opposite gender's clothes (Deut 22:5).
(13) A proud look, a lying tongue, shedding innocent blood (including abortion), wicked imaginations, running to mischief, false witness, sowing discord among brethren (Proverbs 6:16-19).
(14) A false balances and different weights (Proverbs 20:23).
Those who do abominable things without repentance will be condemned in the lake of fire, "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death" (Rev 21:8). That is why God commands His people to repent and put away abominations out of His sight. What about us?
3. Trust in the LORD and honour His Name in truth, judgement, and righteousness (Jeremiah 4:2)
Jeremiah 4:2 And thou shalt swear, The LORD liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness;…
In the days of Jeremiah, people used the name of the LORD to swear with their lips to make others trust that their words, promises and statements were true, but they just lied to one another, to the judges and to the LORD! Here, God commanded them to swear with His Name in truth, in judgement, and in righteousness (according to God's law). The Lord Jesus teaches us not to swear, but just to say "Yes" or "No," "But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil" (Matthew 5:37). We can put our hands on the Bible to swear in court or at an installation/inauguration ceremony on request.
4. Break up the fallow ground of the heart (Jeremiah 4:3): To make the soil of our heart soft like a good soil/ground for God's seed/Word, we are to break up and remove the hardness of self-will, pride, stubbornness, and things unacceptable to God and His Word, "But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty" (Matthew 13:23).
5. Not sow among thorns (Jeremiah 4:3): Thorns refer to "the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches" that choke the word (Matthew 13:22). Sadly, many churches nowadays bring thorns/worldliness (like worldly music and entertainments, worldly ways of worship on stage, etc.) into the church to choke God's Word unawares!
6. Die to the sinful nature (circumcision of the heart) (Jeremiah 4:4): The circumcision in the Old Testament has been replaced with the baptism in the New Testament, that means, to die to the sinful flesh (old man, old nature) through water baptism, "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me" (Galatians 2:20), and "In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: 12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead" (Colosians 2:11).
God's Blessings upon His People Who Truly Repent
1. Not remove (Jeremiah 4:1): in Hebrew nûḏ, it means to flee, to wander, to mourn. It refers to a person moving about aimlessly without a home (The Complete Word Study Dictionary). They would be settled down.
2. Bless themselves in the Lord and in the Lord shall they glory (Jer 4:2). God's presence with them is their glory.
3. Prayer is answered, sin is forgiven, the land is healed from pestilence and natural disasters
2 Chronicles 7:13 If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people; 14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
4. Receive the gift of the Holy Spirit
Acts 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
5. Be reconciled to God the Father, stay in His house, enjoy His fellowship, joy and blessings like the prodigal son
Luke 15:22 But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: 23 And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.
May the Lord help us truly repent of our sins, prepare our heart for God's Word, separate ourselves from idolatry, abominations and things against God and His Word, and return to the Lord and His Word alone. Amen. HN.
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