Jeremiah 3:19, 20

“I planned what I’d say if you returned to me:
    ‘Good! I’ll bring you back into the family.
I’ll give you choice land,
    land that the godless nations would die for.’
And I imagined that you would say, ‘Dear father!’
    and would never again go off and leave me.
But no luck. Like a false-hearted woman walking out on her husband,
    you, the whole family of Israel, have proven false to me.”
God’s Decree.’’ The Message

All our sin and backsliding is a sin against love.

It is also irrational. It is like a woman leaving a good and loving husband for another man, or other men who have proved false. She has come to see ‘’where her bread is buttered’’. She knows that at home she has the kindest of men and the best of providers, yet she will not return. It’s the triumph of hope over experience, but she would prefer to take her chances ‘playing the field.’

God had always been a good and faithful Spouse to His people; the best of Husbands. But still they abandoned Him. None of this makes sense, but it’s what we do.

If you have slipped away from God, or if you have never come to Him, please hear and heed the pleading words of longing in Jeremiah 3.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us our trespasses.