Break Up The Fallow Ground!

There once was a book-burning in the palace of Judah’s king. A scroll-burning actually, but the idea is the same. For the LORD told Jeremiah to take a scroll, write on it everything He’d said—and then to have that scroll read before the king. So that’s what Jeremiah did. He wrote down God’s words, then Baruch his scribe went and read the scroll in the court of Jehoiakim.

And the king didn’t like what he heard at all. It was during the winter, and the fireplace was on in the palace. So after a few columns were read, the king sliced them off with his knife and tossed them into the fireplace—and he did that, until the whole scroll was consumed. A book burning in the place of Judah’s king! Not just any book either: the book of God’s own Word!

Were Jeremiah’s prophecies lost forever that day? They weren’t lost—we read from them this morning. Because after the king burned the scroll, God simply told Jeremiah, “Take yet another scroll, and write on it all the… words that were in the first” (36:28). Because this was a message that God’s people needed to hear. God speaks his Word, preserves his Word, and has his Word proclaimed, so we can listen to it often.

For even if we’ve heard God’s Word on Sunday—or read through it at home—even more times than we can count, we’re never done with it. It’s a message we always need to hear: like the message of God’s love in Christ, because we soon forget how great it is. And the message of our holy calling, because we forget how great that is, too! To hear the Word: this has always been the need for God’s people, also in the days of Jeremiah.

Jeremiah had a job description that few people would envy. His fellow prophet Isaiah is known for prophesying a lot about the coming Messiah; Isaiah had a message full of hope! But Jeremiah has a reputation for being a bit grumpy. He had a difficult task, calling Judah to repent and announcing that she’d soon be destroyed. During his ministry he had to endure a lot of mockery and harassment. A book-burning was just one of many setbacks he faced. But the Word had to go out. He’d be faithful, so that Judah could hear—and so that we can hear.

Break up your fallow ground, and circumcise your hearts!

1) our repentance and its results

2) God’s fury and his favour

1) our repentance and its results: “If a man divorces his wife, and she goes from him, and becomes another man’s, may he return to her again?” (3:1). That’s the question at the beginning of chapter 3. Any Israelite would answer without a moment’s hesitation, “No!” Once there’s a divorce, and even a remarriage, that’s it. The situation is already broken, without making it worse by undoing the second marriage to go back to the first. As Jeremiah says, “Would not the land be greatly polluted?” (3:1).

Yet this was how things stood in his day. God’s people had “played the harlot with many lovers” (3:1). Judah had committed adultery—and not only in some external way, but inwardly. For she had joined herself other gods in worship and devotion. And not just once, but many times, and with many gods. Wherever she could find a little loving, a little security and reward, there she went running. Judah had become a spiritual whore.

Unfaithfulness had wrecked God’s covenant with his people. Wayward Judah had divorced God, had “married” again—so that’s the question asked by the prophet: Could she return to her first love? Could she now return to the LORD, and He to her? By the letter of the law, it could never be. It’d be a terrible scandal!

But what do we see? The LORD is so faithful to his bride, He’s so determined in his grace toward us, and untiring in his love. This is why He calls in our text, “If you will return, O Israel… return to me” (4:1). Once more, God reaches out to his people. Because of who God is, He’s always interested in restoring things, in healing what’s broken.

But there needs to be change. God grants his forgiving love in Christ, without any merit of our own—yet we can’t expect to receive his forgiveness, if we’re not ready to confront the sin in our life. In short, God’s love might be free, but it doesn’t come without obligation. Imagine a marriage where you expect total commitment, total devotion from the other person, but where you won’t commit to being faithful yourself; you want to keep open the possibility of taking another lover. That’s absurd—that’s not what being in covenant is about.

No, God calls his bride to cleanse herself, and be true. And what Judah must do is clear. Verse 1: “If you will put away your abominations out of my sight…” Literally, God says, “If you put away your disgusting things.” The Hebrew word speaks of something despicable, shameful and ugly—something of great offense.