Jeremiah 8:4-7

4 “Say to them, ‘This is what the LORD says:
“‘When people fall down, do they not get up?
When someone turns away, do they not return?
5 Why then have these people turned away?
Why does Jerusalem always turn away?
They cling to deceit;
they refuse to return.
6 I have listened attentively,
but they do not say what is right.
None of them repent of their wickedness,
saying, “What have I done?”
Each pursues their own course
like a horse charging into battle.
7 Even the stork in the sky
knows her appointed seasons,
and the dove, the swift and the thrush
observe the time of their migration.
But my people do not know
the requirements of the LORD. Jr8:4-7

In a time of religious pluralism where I was duped into looking for a faith that would work me; This passage is humbling. God installs within His people this instinctive return to Him similar to a boomerang in concept. In verse 7 it appears that the migratory birds are more faithfulness to the Lord's requirements of them then His own people Judah.

Within this passage God offers some reasons why returning to sin seems more likely than returning to God. "they cling to deceit, they refuse to return" v5. This shows the sin nature of mankind as preferable over the spiritual one where God is ruler. In the process of "clinging" Judah has shown to God that they refuse to return to Him.

Change in people is hard. With the help of the Lord, change is attainable. The second major point of contesting is "I have listened attentively, but they do not say what is right. None of them repent of their wickedness, saying, “What have I done?” Each pursues their own course. v6" God here is holding them accountable for their words as He pays close attention to their speech. God reveals to me that Judah was unable to take conviction/temptation and turn it into a conversation with God to bring about change. Instead there is a "passing of the buck", as if Judah had nothing to repent before God, as if their speech was correct, Withing the people of Judah there grew a sense of shamelessness.

I too have lived without shame for the sins in my life. I believed that if I was to love myself fully I had to love my sins. So I stopped trying to fight sin and gave in for about 10 years. If it weren't for the atonement in the shed blood of Jesus I would not have assurance of forgiveness. I would have been under the wrath of God similar to the Judah in this passage. Now, in the confidence of the Holy Spirit's indwelling I invite the Lord's corrections and return to Him every morning in prayer, worship and Scripture. Still though this passage is very relevant for this time and place in American society.