“Turn Now…”

BIBLE READING: Jeremiah 24-26

“You have neither listened nor inclined your ears to hear, although the LORD persistently sent to you all his servants the prophets, saying, 'Turn now, every one of you, from his evil way and evil deeds, and dwell upon the land that the LORD has given to you and your fathers from of old forever.”

         -Jeremiah 25:4-5

The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah concerning the upcoming seventy years of captivity that they were facing at the hands of the Babylonians, came with a hope of salvation.  If they were to repent or “turn now” from their evil ways, God would allow them to return home to the land God had promised them.  The phrase “turn now”, in the original Hebrew implies that you “return to your starting point.  God certainly does forgive us when we earnestly seek His forgiveness and He willingly places us back to a new starting point as if we never strayed away in the first place.  Yet our repentance must be one that is genuine and earnest.  We cannot seek forgiveness if our heart isn’t truly convicted of our sin.  We have all heard the expression, “they are not sorry they did it, they are just sorry they got caught.” However, we are not in a position to determine the intent of someone’s heart.  They will, however, have to give an account for their behavior before God, and He knows what is within the heart of man and whether or not he is sincere and honest.  There is an old Hebrew parable that explains the difference in someone sorry for their sin and sorry for getting caught.  Two men dug a tunnel to enter the King’s treasury with the intention to steal from the King.  One’s tunnel led to the wrong chamber and when he entered, he found no treasure, so he quickly made his escape.  The other dug a tunnel to the treasury, but when he started to fill his bags with the King’s wealth, he suddenly realized that what he was doing would dishonor the king, so he emptied his bags and escaped without anything.   Both men were caught, arrested, and brought before the king.  Both confessed to their crime and repented.  The man who entered the wrong chamber was sent to prison, however, the man who had the opportunity to steal but did not out of honor and love for the king, was released and even rewarded. The story teaches us that true repentance comes out of a desire to honor and please God, not out of trying to save your own skin.  Therefore, in Jeremiah 25:5 there is indeed a reward for our repentance.  That reward is a right relationship with God, the right to enjoy a love relationship with Him                        -MH