Jeremiah 3-4

“Return, faithless people,” declares the Lord, “for I am your husband. I will choose you—one from a town and two from a clan—and bring you to Zion” (3:14). Through the prophet Jeremiah, the Lord called Judah to repent before it was too late: “Circumcise your hearts, you people of Judah” (4:4). Their “sister” kingdom Israel (northern Israel) had already been conquered by the Assyrians (3:8), but instead of heeding the warning, Judah followed in idolatry. Jeremiah wept as he contemplated Judah’s coming disaster (4:19).

“Break up your unplowed ground and do not sow among thorns” (4:3). Jeremiah proclaimed that real repentance means tenderizing our hard hearts and refusing to cultivate the things bringing thorns and pain into our lives.