“‘In spite of all this, her unfaithful sister Judah did not return to me with all her heart, but only in pretence,’ declares the Lord.” Jeremiah 3:10 NIV
Thinking back to the end of Josiah’s reign found in 2 Chronicles 35, we read how he led the Israelites back to the Lord by destroying all the foreign gods and altars, and eventually celebrating with all the people the Passover unlike any other king had ever done.
In a commentary by Matthew Poole on this chapter, he noted that it was less than three months after Josiah’s death that the people of Judah relapsed into idolatry. It would appear that the reformation led by Josiah in his eighteenth year was not thorough on the part of the people – yes, they took part in it physically but their hearts remained unchanged.
It is not enough to simply go through the motions. In Psalm 51:16-17 David wrote, “You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it: you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.”
I will close with Psalm 51:10, 12 – and may this be our prayer. “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.”
Lock Your Wings 
This stood out for me: ““And when your land is once more filled with people,” says the Lord, “you will no longer wish for ‘the good old days’ when you possessed the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant. You will not miss those days or even remember them, and there will be no need to rebuild the Ark.”
Jeremiah 3:16 NLT
I’m longing for the good old days. When the realities of Covid world existed as a movie plot. I long for the joy I used to have in my job, in my daily interactions with people, and living without fear. This verse reminds me that all things on earth are temporary-the fear, the uncertainty, the struggle. One day I will be with Jesus and everything I once longed for will pale in comparison to what I will experience. What a good day that will be.
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