Wednesday, August 3
Ask about the ancient paths
Scripture: Jeremiah 5-6, Revelation 6
Jeremiah 6:16–17
16 This is what the Lord says:
Stand by the roadways and look.
Ask about the ancient paths,
“Which is the way to what is good?”
Then take it
and find rest for yourselves.
But they protested, “We won’t!”
17 I appointed watchmen over you
and said, “Listen for the sound of the ram’s horn.”
But they protested, “We won’t listen!”
Observation
Jeremiah was predicting the fall of Judah and an invasion from the north. He pictured the people like travelers who lose their way, come to an intersection and don’t know which way to go. “Ask about the ancient paths.” He is pointing them back to the law of Moses, to their covenant with God, which was “the way to what is good.” They had strayed into idolatry and it was killing them, and God was calling them back to the ancient path. But their response was stubborn refusal. “We won’t!”
So God sent prophets (watchmen) to call them back (the sound of the ram’s horn), but their response was the same: “We won’t listen!”
Application
Two things:
First, we are at a crossroads. We have abandoned “the ancient paths” (the values and teaching of Scripture), and it’s killing us.
Recently I’ve read a couple books that address our technological advances and the unacknowledged harm and loss it causes. We have made technological progress a god that we follow without question. There are great advances for which I’m grateful, but there are also costs and loss. One tiny example: I used to have dozens of phone numbers memorized. Now I have none. I rely entirely on my phone for those. I have gained some ease, but am losing the ability to memorize. Studies have shown that our phones and computers are rewiring our brains. Note: I am not against technology. I am only saying that for every gain, there is a loss, and that we should be aware of what we’re losing as much as what we’re gaining.
I’m using this as an example of a larger issue: our unthinking acceptance of the new gods of our culture. Like the Israelites before us, we have lost our way. God is calling us back to Himself, to His word and His ways and His values. The ancient way is best—the way of God, the way of repentance and faithfulness, truth and love.
Second, their response was stubborn refusal: “We won’t.” And it cost them everything. Don’t make that same mistake. When God corrects you, what is your response? If you feel yourself bristling, take note. If you feel yourself being dismissive, stubborn, take note.
The Christian life is one of ongoing repentance. We are constantly adjusting back to God, returning to the ancient paths, to what is good. But if your heart is hard and stubborn, you’ll miss the way and the good it provides.
Prayer: Lord, sometimes I react to correction and resist it. Give me a teachable and responsive heart so that when You speak, I listen and say “Yes.” Never “I won’t.”