Opening illustration: We who believe that God has absolute moral standards are viewed by some segments of society as intolerant simpletons. We are cautioned not to express our disapproval over certain immoral behavior.
Television commentator Andy Rooney once announced his revulsion at the perverse sexual conduct increasingly evident in our culture. But pressure from special interest groups that promote immoral lifestyles coerced him to apologize.
Our circumstances are amazingly similar to those Jeremiah confronted 2,600 years ago. The people had no shame. No perversion made them blush. Even the religious leaders were part of this deplorable situation! Jeremiah, however, proclaimed God’s anger and warned of imminent divine judgment. The prophet pleaded for a return to the “old paths, where the good way is” (v. 16), the paths of renunciation of sin and obedience to God.
Jesus showed us the good way when He invited all who “labor and are heavy laden” to come to Him (Matthew 11: 28). And He gave us the assurance that His “yoke is easy” and His “burden is light” (v. 30). How we must be thankful to God for showing us the way that brings real happiness.
Let us turn to Jeremiah 6 and catch up with the Godly narrative on returning to our landmarks …
Introduction: The days of Jeremiah's ministry to the people of Israel were days of deep spiritual wickedness. The people had sinned against God to the point where He was ready to give them up into captivity. And, in fact, they did go into captivity in just a few short years. Yet, even while they perched on the edge of judgment, the Lord desires to see them turn back to Him.
In this passage, we are given the image of a traveler who comes to a fork in the road. He has the opportunity to go anyway he desires, but God tells him to ask for the "old paths, where is the good way." Instead of just traveling blindly on, this traveler is to stop and ask directions. The Lord wants His people to travel the right path. He wants them on a path that will lead them in His direction. While this word of correction was spoken to the Jews many years ago, there is a lesson in this passage for the modern church today.
The Lord would still have His people to ask for the old paths. My desire for you is to know that there is a right path and there is a wrong path. We must be sure we are walking the one which God has ordained, the one that He can bless, and the one that honors Him.
(A) What is Godly instruction? (Jeremiah 31: 21)
(i) Set up signposts
(ii) Make landmarks
(iii) Set your heart toward the highway, The way in which you went
(iv) Turn back, O virgin of Israel, Turn back to these your cities.
(B) How to find the good old ways (Landmarks/Ancient Path)?
1. Stand by and Look (v. 16a)
The idolatrous people of the northern kingdom influenced the people of the southern kingdom. Jeremiah condemned their idolatry. At the crossroad, he tells them, “Stop and look first at the road to destruction! The road is full of idols! These idols are stumbling blocks in this path, and you will stumble. At the end of this road, fathers and sons together, neighbor and friend shall perish” (Jeremiah 6: 21). But Judah did not pay attention.
On this same path that the Jews chose in Jeremiah’s day are Christians walking in all kinds of worship practices from the world. Pastors boast of gimmicks, talk shows, music, instruments, and all other sorts of worldly entertainment that they have presented to the people as the right path of worshiping God. These men of God are directing their people in this path full of stumbling blocks, a path which leads them to destruction.
Not only is this path full of worldly idol-gods; this is the path that most people travel. Many even say, “This is only one of the paths that leads to heaven. Whatever path you take – Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, New Age – that path will lead you to heaven.” In the days of the Roman Empire, the Roman emperors built roads from the far reaches of the empire which led to the center of the empire, the city of Rome, and they said, “All roads lead to Rome.”
This is the path that most people are taking today, the path of false worship full of innovations derived from the unbelieving world, the same syncretistic path that Israel of old walked, the path that leads to destruction.
At the crossroad, Jeremiah warns Israel, “Before you take the path of false worship, stop and look and think!” Then, before they continue their travel, he tells the people to ask, ‘Where is the ancient path, where the way of the good is?’”
2. Ask for the Way of the Good (v. 16b)
With this question, Jeremiah points the people back to the ancient path that their forefathers walked. He was not saying that because something is old and traditional, it is right and better. He was not telling Israel to bring back “the good old days” because of sentimental or nostalgic feelings. No, Jeremiah was not being nostalgic when he summoned Israel to walk the ancient paths.
He was urging them to go back to the faith of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and to read, study and meditate on the law of Moses which they have neglected, but where true worship can be found. They were not to seek new revelations from God to tell them where the way of the good is, the ancient paths, because God’s will could be found in two well-trodden ways:
(a) First, they could read the law of Moses to tell them which path to take. It tells them, “You shall have no other gods before me.” And then, “You shall not make for yourself a carved image… [to] bow down to them or worship them.” Every time they read those words, they knew which path not to take – the path full of the stumbling blocks of idol-gods. In the Holy Scriptures, God clearly tells them what kind of worship was pleasing to him, first in the tabernacle and later, in the Temple. But they rejected God’s law.
(b) Second, they could find the way of the good by asking the prophets – men of God who tell them what God’s will is. Jeremiah told them which path to take. Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and all the other prophets told them where to find the way of the good. But they would not pay attention.
“Ask for the ancient paths, where the way of the good is” (v. 16). This instruction is for us too.
Our culture tells us to always look for the new and improved; the latest is always the greatest. We look at the cell phone stores and crave for the latest cell phone models. Pastors are always on the lookout for new methods, new gimmicks, and worst of all, new doctrines. Worship teams are always seeking new songs and music. But the way of true worship is to be found in two simple ways:
(i) First, we are to seek for answers to our questions about worship in Scriptures. Is a song, prayer, or sermon biblical? Compare it with the Scriptures. Are certain kinds of music, shouting, dancing, clapping, and other disorderly practices appropriate? Apply principles from Scriptures.
As well, we are to inquire from the Bible what God commands us to do in our worship. What did God command Moses in their tabernacle worship? What did God command David and Solomon in their temple worship? What does Jesus and the apostles tell us about the true worship of God?
(ii) Second, we are to ask our forefathers in the faith. What did they do in their worship? The last person to consult about worship is a person who is not a worshiper of God – the unbelieving in the world. But this is what churches do today. They look around them, and then imitate what the world does to attract people to their popular concerts and seminars.
Instead of consulting the present evil generation, ask the early church fathers what they did in their worship. This is what the Protestant Reformers did. What did they find out? The Reformers found out several things that were very different from their medieval worship:
Early church worship was simple, and was divided into two parts – the service of the Word and the service of the Holy Communion. Their worship was Christocentric – they preached Christ and his death and resurrection. Their worship was immersed in Scriptures; they read, studied, prayed, and sung the word of God. Their worship was joyful but reverent because God is a merciful but holy God. Their worship was out-of-this-worldly – they did not adopt Greek and Roman cultural and religious practices.
Illustration: The problem Israel faced is a problem people have faced down through the ages. During World War II, during the Battle of the Bulge, there was a group of German soldiers who dressed themselves in the uniforms of the Allies. These German soldiers used American military vehicles and went through the German countryside changing the road signs. When the American troops came to the various crossroads, they were often fooled and lead off in the wrong direction. This deception by the Germans almost gave them the victory in this very decisive battle from the second world war. Just like those German soldiers caused confusion and death by changing a few signs, so many in our day are leading millions off into Hell because they are changing some of the road signs of the faith.
© What to Do After Finding the Landmarks/Ancient Path?
(i) Walk in it (v. 16b): After finding the ancient path, Jeremiah says, Israel must “walk in it, and find rest for your souls.” He calls them to obedience to God’s covenant laws. He calls them to return to the ways of their forefathers Abraham, Moses, and David. It is the path of love of God and love for one another.
(ii) Heed to God’s Instructions (v. 18): During the time of their forefathers, the Israelites knew the right path. But repeatedly, they rejected this knowledge and willfully took the wrong way. God punished them time and again to turn them back to the right path. Jeremiah says that God’s judgment is coming to them because they walked in the way full of idol-gods, “But my people have forgotten me; they make offerings to false gods; they made them stumble in their ways, in the ancient roads, and to walk into side roads, not the highway” (Jeremiah 18: 15).
How did Israel forget the Lord God and his covenant? It was not only because they willfully rejected it. Since the children of Abraham, Moses and David rejected God’s covenant, they did not teach God’s laws to their children. God constantly reminded Israel how they should remember his covenant for generations, “You shall them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise” (Deuteronomy 6: 7). And again in Psalms 78: 5-7, “From generation to generation, Israel was to teach God’s laws to their children,” but Israel did not heed Yahweh’s instruction. So they forgot the mighty works God did for them.
Is not this what is being done by God’s people today? They do not teach God’s word to their children. They do not teach their children to sing God’s word; there is no knowledge of the great hymns of the church, much less of Psalm-singing. They do not teach their children to memorize the ancient creeds of the church and familiar Bible texts such as the Ten Commandments, the Lord’s Prayer, Psalm 23 or the Beatitudes.
Is it any wonder then that the church today are like the Jews in Jeremiah’s day, who soon forgot the word of God and his mighty works? Is not the worship of today a meaningless routine of trite and mindless “praise and worship” ditties and equally mindless, Christ-less, Scripture-less sermons?
The Jews thought that by merely going through their ceremonies, God would always be pleased with them. But it’s not only knowledge of God and required sacrifices that counts; obedience is also most important. In the same way, Paul’s prayer for us is that we “may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Colossians 1: 9-10). As we walk in the right path of obedience to Christ, we please God, bear much fruit, and increase in the knowledge of God.
In the portion of the Sermon on the Mount that we read, Jesus teaches us what to do at the crossroad. The narrow way, even how hard and unpopular it may be, leads to eternal life. But the wide road, the easy road, the popular road, leads to eternal destruction.
Just because a church has hundreds or thousands of attendees, numerous programs, popular music, and big, nice buildings, does not mean that it is pleasing to God. The Bible is full of warnings to God’s people that the popular way of the world is the way that leads to destruction, “The Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish” (Psalms 1: 6).
Do not be dismayed that there are only a few of us! Persevere in the ancient path of true worship, though it may be narrow and hard and unpopular. Be faithful in walking the ancient path of obedience and true worship. And Christ promises not only a harvest of other souls, but rest for your own souls.
(D) What do people want to do with the good old ways (landmarks) even today?
1. Do NOT Walk (v. 16)
2. Do NOT Listen (v. 17)
3. Do NOT Accept (vs. 18-19)
4. Remove the Godly Landmarks (Job 24: 1-2)
However, those who fail to ask for the old paths will find themselves walking in the ways of destruction and misery. When we turn our backs on the way God has chosen as the right way we will find that the way is difficult, there is no peace or safety and the destination is ever in question. There is a reward for those who will walk in the Lord's pathway!
Illustration: Revisiting my birthplace (Delhi) after many years makes me to lose the way …
(€) What are the Repercussions (end result) for disobedience? (Jeremiah 6: 20-21)
(i) Offerings unacceptable to God
(ii) Sacrifices unacceptable to God
(iii) God will lay stumbling blocks before this people
(iv) The fathers and the sons together shall fall on them
(v) The neighbor and his friend shall perish
Application:
• The old paths are the good way
• Walking therein brings rest for your soul
• Failing to walk therein brings destruction
• Walk in the old paths
Regardless of which signs the world changes, it does not change the road! The Word of God is still settled in Heaven. We still know the "old paths". There is no question about what way is the right way. And, God's requirement has not changed: ask for the old ways and walk therein!
The old way isn't the popular way! It is being abandoned daily by people who have decided that new is better. They are leaving the Bible, the old songs of the faith, old fashioned worship, praising the Lord, and preaching. Seeker services are replacing old time worship of the Lord. Yet, God has not changed, Hebrews 13: 8. I can find no room to change myself. I think I'll ask for the old paths and walk in them. How about you? The enemies are changing the signs, but the Lord will lead us through the way. (Acknowledge Him all your ways and He will … paths)
Note: You can’t go crooked as long as you stay on the straight and narrow way.
