Immerse: Prophets - Flipbook - Page 221
3:6-17
J eremiah
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During the reign of King Josiah, the Lord said to me, “Have you seen
what fickle Israel has done? Like a wife who commits adultery, Israel has
worshiped other gods on every hill and under every green tree. I thought,
‘After she has done all this, she will return to me.’ But she did not return,
and her faithless sister Judah saw this. She saw that I divorced faithless
Israel because of her adultery. But that treacherous sister Judah had no
fear, and now she, too, has left me and given herself to prostitution. Israel
treated it all so lightly—she thought nothing of committing adultery by
worshiping idols made of wood and stone. So now the land has been pol
luted. But despite all this, her faithless sister Judah has never sincerely
returned to me. She has only pretended to be sorry. I, the Lord, have
spoken!”
Then the Lord said to me, “Even faithless Israel is less guilty than
treacherous Judah! Therefore, go and give this message to Israel. This is
what the Lord says:
“O Israel, my faithless people,
come home to me again,
for I am merciful.
I will not be angry with you forever.
Only acknowledge your guilt.
Admit that you rebelled against the Lord your God
and committed adultery against him
by worshiping idols under every green tree.
Confess that you refused to listen to my voice.
I, the Lord, have spoken!
“Return home, you wayward children,”
says the Lord,
“for I am your master.
I will bring you back to the land of Israel—
one from this town and two from that family—
from wherever you are scattered.
And I will give you shepherds after my own heart,
who will guide you with knowledge and understanding.
“And when your land is once more filled with people,” says the Lord,
“you will no longer wish for ‘the good old days’ when you possessed the
Ark of the Lord’s Covenant. You will not miss those days or even remem
ber them, and there will be no need to rebuild the Ark. In that day Jeru
salem will be known as ‘The Throne of the Lord.’ All nations will come
there to honor the Lord. They will no longer stubbornly follow their
