Thursday 3rd September
Read Jeremiah 6:13-15
“‘From the least to the greatest,
all are greedy for gain;
prophets and priests alike,
all practise deceit.
14 They dress the wound of my people
as though it were not serious.
“Peace, peace,” they say,
when there is no peace.
15 Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct?
No, they have no shame at all;
they do not even know how to blush.
So they will fall among the fallen;
they will be brought down when I punish them,’
says the Lord.” (NIVUK)
Greed, deception and promiscuity – the story of Jerusalem’s sin is familiar this far into Jeremiah. We may roll our eyes somewhat at the repetitive nature of the message. The people and their leaders certainly were.
Their lip service response to the serious accusations made will ultimately be their downfall. Putting a band-aid over an amputation is unlikely to turn out well – infection will take over and will eventually kill you.
How often do we fail to treat sin seriously? ‘I will change my ways tomorrow, plenty of time.’ Yet repeated, untreated sinfulness will wear us down in the end. We will drift away. Drastic action will be needed to discipline us and turn us around. We eventually forget ‘how to blush’.
Confessing sin is not just a good idea. It is a habit we must cultivate assiduously!
