Jeremiah 16:8-13: a reflection

8“You shall not go into the house of feasting to sit with them, to eat and to drink.” 9For the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel says: “Behold, I will cause to cease out of this place, before your eyes and in your days, the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride. 10It will happen, when you tell this people all these words, and they ask you, ‘Why has the LORD pronounced all this great evil against us?’ or ‘What is our iniquity?’ or ‘What is our sin that we have committed against the LORD our God?’ 11then you shall tell them, ‘Because your fathers have forsaken me,’ says the LORD, ‘and have walked after other gods, have served them, have worshiped them, have forsaken me, and have not kept my law. 12You have done evil more than your fathers, for behold, you each walk after the stubbornness of his evil heart, so that you don’t listen to me. 13Therefore I will cast you out of this land into the land that you have not known, neither you nor your fathers. There you will serve other gods day and night, for I will show you no favor.’

God tells Jeremiah that when the people ask why such disaster has come upon them, what their sin is, he is to answer plainly: because your fathers forsook me and went after other gods, and you have done worse than they, each following the stubbornness of his own evil heart. The trouble was the fruit of forsaking God; and the people, asking what they had done wrong, were reluctant to hear it. Their question assumed innocence; God's answer named the sin.

Notice the diagnosis God names: not merely their fathers' sin, but their own, each walking in the stubbornness of his own evil heart. It would have been easy for them to blame their fathers, or to plead ignorance of any wrong; but God pointed to their own stubbornness, their own following of their own evil hearts. The problem was not only inherited, but personal; each was walking in his own stubbornness. God named their own sin, not letting them hide behind their fathers or plead innocence.

That naming of personal stubbornness is one we can need. We can blame our troubles, or our sins, on others, on our upbringing, our circumstances, those who came before us; or plead a kind of helplessness. But God pointed the people to their own stubbornness, each following his own evil heart. When you consider your own sin, do not hide behind others or blame your circumstances; be willing to own your own stubbornness, your own following of your own heart, rather than shifting the blame. The people walked in the stubbornness of their own evil hearts; and we too can be stubborn, following our own hearts against God. Own your own stubbornness before God, rather than blaming others or pleading helplessness; the honest owning of our own sin, our own stubbornness, is the beginning of turning from it, as long as we hide behind others we will not turn.

Lord, you told Jeremiah that when the people asked why disaster had come, what their sin was, he was to answer plainly: your fathers forsook me, and you have done worse, each following the stubbornness of his own evil heart. You named not merely their fathers' sin, but their own personal stubbornness, not letting them hide behind their fathers or plead innocence. Show me that naming, which I can need. I can blame my troubles, or my sins, on others, on my upbringing, my circumstances, those who came before me; or plead a kind of helplessness. But you pointed the people to their own stubbornness, each following his own evil heart. When I consider my own sin, keep me from hiding behind others or blaming my circumstances; help me be willing to own my own stubbornness, my own following of my own heart, rather than shifting the blame. The people walked in the stubbornness of their own evil hearts; and I too can be stubborn, following my own heart against you. Help me own my own stubbornness before you, Lord, rather than blaming others or pleading helplessness; for the honest owning of my own sin is the beginning of turning from it. Help me own my sin, and turn from it.