The old path

Zion what’s the matter now

Jeremiah 6:10–16 “To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of the Lord is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it.

11

Therefore I am full of the fury of the Lord; I am weary with holding in: I will pour it out upon the children abroad, and upon the assembly of young men together: for even the husband with the wife shall be taken, the aged with him that is full of days.

12And their houses shall be turned unto others, with their fields and wives together: for I will stretch out my hand upon the inhabitants of the land, saith the Lord.

13

For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.

14 They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.

Jeremiah 6:15–17 “Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore they shall fall among them that fall: at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith the Lord.

16

Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.

17 Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken.”

10–12 The question in Jeremiah’s mind was a simple one: To whom could he speak? To whom could he give solemn warning? Who would hear? The disposition of the people was quite otherwise. Their ears were closed (lit. uncircumcised). The use of the word uncircumcised (ʾărēlâ) of the ear is unusual (cf. Acts 7:51), although it is elsewhere used of the lips (e.g., Exod. 6:12, 30) and the heart (e.g., Lev. 26:41). In each case the term denotes something which brought about the closing up of the organ. To the closed ear all admonitions were in vain. The people were insensitive and lacked the insight or understanding to comprehend the divine word (cf. 4:4). Yahweh’s word was, in fact, a reproach (ḥerpâ) in which they found no pleasure.

13–15 The inner greed of the nation touched all, from the least to the greatest. Such greed (beṣaʾ) extended to the prophets and the priests also, all of whom practiced fraud. At a time when religious leaders might have been expected to utter some words of warning, all they could say was All is well! The truth was that nothing was well. The people’s hurt was severe. There was a serious breach in the relationship between Yahweh and Israel which required urgent and radical treatment instead of superficial treatment with empty and untrue words. The religious leaders treated the people’s wound superficially while all the time their rebellious acts and continued breaches of the covenant only beckoned the forces of judgment to hasten on.

Elaborate Ritual No Substitute for Obedience

Jeremiah here makes an appeal to his audience to study the traditions of the nation to discover what conduct was pleasing to Yahweh. Israel had reached a point in its spiritual history when it did not need a new revelation from God so much as the will to respond to the revelation already given.

The importance of the covenant for Jeremiah cannot be overrated. For him the covenant was fundamental to Israel’s very life, involving as it did the acknowledgment of Yahweh as Israel’s only sovereign Lord, and the glad acceptance of the covenant obligations

If we look we will find these same things happening today

1 Thessalonians 5:17 “Pray without ceasing.”

we need to pray in the spirit

Ephesians 6:18 “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;”

Jude 20 “But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,”

2 Corinthians 4:7–10 “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.”