“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” (II Chronicles 7:14)
But what sins must God’s people turn from? What have we done that we must humble ourselves and pray and seek God’s face? Let’s take a look at “my people” from the book of Jeremiah. Are any of these sins a problem among Christians in America today? Are any of them a problem in our own lives? In my life?
Jeremiah
Chapter 2
Jeremiah 2:11
“Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods?
but my people
have changed their glory for that which doth not profit.”
Jeremiah 2:13
“For
my people
have committed two evils;
they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and
hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.”
Jeremiah 2:31b,32
“Wherefore say
my people,
We are lords; we will come no more unto thee? Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? yet
my people
have forgotten me days without number.”
Chapter 4
Jeremiah 4:11b-14
“A dry wind of the high places in the wilderness toward the daughter of
my people,
not to fan, nor to cleanse, 12 Even a full wind from those places shall come unto me:
now also will I give sentence against them... Woe unto us! for we are spoiled. 14O… wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee?”
Jeremiah 4:22
“My people
is foolish,
they have not known me;
they are sottish children, and
they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.”
Sottish – doltish, very foolish, drunken (Webster’s 1913 unabridged dictionary)
Chapter 5
Jeremiah 5:26-29
“Among
my people
are found wicked men : they lay wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men. 27As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and waxen rich. 28They are waxen fat, they shine: yea, they overpass the deeds of the wicked: they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, yet they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge.
29Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?”
Jeremiah 5:31
“The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and
my people
love to have it so: and
what will ye do in the end thereof?”
Turn Again to the Lord