Jeremiah 3-5

“Return, O faithless sons; I will heal your faithlessness” (3:22). Israel’s northern kingdom had already fallen to the Assyrians because of their idolatry, and now Jeremiah was warning the southern kingdom of Judah that their rebellion would bring the same result (4:6). The Israelites continued to use religious language and rituals, but they were enamored with idols (5:2). God longed to forgive and heal them (5:7), and Jeremiah called them to repentance while weeping over the disaster he saw coming (4:19).

“Wash your heart from evil, that you may be saved” (4:14). The right phrases and rituals can’t save us, but when we repent at the heart level, Jesus forgives us.