July 8, 2021
What does it say?
Judah had been given the Law of the Lord, but the people rejected it. Jeremiah grieved over God’s judgment that would fall on the nation.
What does it mean?
God’s people had been given the gift of the Law of the Lord – the foundation of wisdom. The Law, however, had become more of a cultural symbol than a standard to live by. Rather than apply what it said, they hid behind it like a good luck charm. The scribes, who studied, copied, and communicated the Law became puffed up by their own wisdom and twisted God’s Word for their own purposes. This pattern of false wisdom affected the entire nation. Jeremiah mourned because his countrymen had abandoned God’s Word and stubbornly followed their own ideas and desires instead.
How should I respond?
God’s Word is a gift to the entire world. Cultures and governments have been founded on Judeo-Christian thought and ethics. But little by little, people have replaced God’s wisdom with their own. Chaos and corruption are bound to follow when people cease to recognize or follow God’s laws. Impacting your society for Christ starts with a decision to submit to Scripture as the ultimate authority for your life. How might you be living by your own thoughts and opinions rather than following His wisdom? True wisdom comes only from the Lord and must be lived out to be effective.