They Do Not Know Me

“Yea the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle(dove) and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming: but my people know not the judgement of the Lord.”  Jeremiah 8:7  

Birds instinctively know when to migrate south and when to return to northern nesting areas.  They keep these appointed times without argument or attitude, but God’s people do not act so wisely.

The people of Judah were religious.  They were pleased with their outward forms of worship.  Yet their sins had become so common in society, so engrained in their hearts that they no longer discerned or valued truth.  The day of grace was over for them because they forsook the covenant of the Lord their God (Jeremiah 22:9).

The prophet Jeremiah was sent to warn Judah that judgement was coming because of their shameful and persistent sins.  The false prophets spoke of peace when there was no peace (Jeremiah 8:11), but Jeremiah spoke honestly appealing to his brethren to return to the Lord and warning them of the horrors of the impending judgement.

Many today think that attending services once or twice a week satisfies our Christian duty.  Certainly, corporate worship is God’s design for His church; yet do we see parallels between today and Jeremiah’s time?  A mere form of godliness without a heart of faith and without repentance and obedience has never been accepted by God.

Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near (Isaiah 55:6)