4 “You shall say to them, Thus says the LORD:
When men fall, do they not rise again?
If one turns away, does he not return?
5 Why then has this people turned away
in perpetual backsliding?
They hold fast to deceit;
they refuse to return.
6 I have paid attention and listened,
but they have not spoken rightly;
no man relents of his evil,
saying, ‘What have I done?’
Everyone turns to his own course,
like a horse plunging headlong into battle.
7 Even the stork in the heavens
knows her times,
and the turtledove, swallow, and crane
keep the time of their coming,
but my people know not
the rules of the LORD.
Even the Animals Know and Obey God
Jeremiah was sent to the nation of Israel to remind them of how they have broken their covenant with God. In the above passage he uses the animal kingdom to make his point. The nation is foolishly running into sin like a horse that runs into battle. The horse only knows to run. They enjoy running. But they are “plunging headlong into battle.” The horse is obeying his instincts to run. He doesn’t consider the fact that spears, arrows and swords are ready to destroy him.
Jeremiah then changes the way he uses animals and explains to the nation that even the turtledove, the swallow and the crane (although we are not sure if this is the exact animal the Hebrew word describes), obey God’s planted instincts in them. The point he is making is that the nature of the horse is to run, but the horse is being controlled by a man who wants to use the horse for their own battle. The swallow, bird and crane have been programmed by God to do what they do.
Jeremiah wants the nation to know that God wants to change the hearts of the nation so that they don’t rush off headlong into sin, but will follow the course God set for them. When we allow the Spirit of God to direct us we will avoid the tragedy of the battle of sin and, instead, find safety as we migrate to where God wants us for the seasons of life He brings to us. We need to be Spirit driven and not flesh driven.
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