19 “Then I said,
‘How I would set you among [k]My sons
And give you a pleasant land,
The most beautiful inheritance of the nations!’
And I said, ‘You shall call Me, My Father,
And not turn away from following Me.’
20 “Surely, as a woman treacherously departs from her [l]lover,
So you have dealt treacherously with Me,
O house of Israel,” declares the Lord.21 A voice is heard on the bare heights,
The weeping and the supplications of the sons of Israel;
Because they have perverted their way,
They have forgotten the Lord their God.
22 “Return, O faithless sons,
I will heal your faithlessness.”
“Behold, we come to You;
For You are the Lord our God.
23 “Surely, the hills are a deception,
A tumult on the mountains.
Surely in the Lord our God
Is the salvation of Israel.24 “But the shameful thing has consumed the labor of our fathers since our youth, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. 25 Let us lie down in our shame, and let our humiliation cover us; for we have sinned against the Lord our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even to this day. And we have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God.”
There is a message here that we don’t often like to hear. Of course, we love to see vv. 22-23 where God calls to the faithless. They return to God and say, “Surely in the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel.” And that is 100% accurate and awesome and true. What is also 100% accurate is that we take our sin too lightly.
Maybe that’s because we forget what sin actually is, since it isn’t a word we use every day. But sin is disobedience, and even rebellion against God. It was no mistake when Samuel told Saul that rebellion was just like witchcraft. Most of us would say that we haven’t done anything so terrible. We’ve only made small mistakes…
Or perhaps we get caught in comparison, like the religious leader Jesus spoke of. He was so thankful that he wasn’t as bad as the despicable tax collector. So glad, that he never even bothered to ask God for forgiveness of his own sin. Only one man left the temple forgiven that day, and it wasn’t the one anyone expected.
Ultimately, we’ve all rebelled against God, every single one of us (Romans 3:23). Our sin and disobedience should not be something we toss aside as a mere trifle. Rather, we could learn from the sons of Israel who lay prostrate in shame, recognizing their unworthiness. Jesus didn’t come to call righteous people to repentance (because there are none), but sinners in need of a Messiah.
Now, once we’ve submitted to God, our sins are wiped clean. Yet we still disobey and rebel just like the Israelites did, we aren’t yet perfected and holy. Some day, but not yet. So we need to examine our hearts, even ask God to examine our hearts, and see where we have fallen short. Then repent, not flippantly, but sincerely, realizing we’ve taken God’s grace and love for granted once again.
Then, absolutely will God forgive and restore our hearts. We don’t get there by minimizing our sin, whether it is by comparison or carelessness. We get there by understanding our depravity, our selfishness, and our fallen state in contrast with God’s glory and splendor. It’s a good reminder to look at how Jesus taught us to pray in Matthew 6.
Notably, he told them not to be like the hypocrites, putting on a good show, or the pagans with meaningless repetition. Then He told us to remember our Father is holy, and to ask for forgiveness afterward, because nothing we can do will cover up our mistakes. God can rescue anyone, when we confess our sin fully to Him, and let Him wash us white as snow.
Every time you talk with God (which should be often), search your heart again, not by your neighbor’s standards, but by God’s. Be honest with yourself and with Him, ask for forgiveness and let Him lead you onward.