The Lord sends Jeremiah running through Jerusalem to find one righteous man so the city may be pardoned—and finds none. The foe gathers from the north and Jeremiah’s vision unmakes creation itself over a people wise to do evil. The one Just Man is found at last outside the walls, and for His sake the city is spared.
In Jeremiah 3:1–4:4, the Lord does the legally impossible: He calls back the wife the Law itself would bar from return. Yet mercy overrules statute — “Return, backsliding Israel,” He says, “I am merciful.” The one condition He names is not penance or probation but honest confession: “Only acknowledge your iniquity.” The same road the prodigal walked home runs through Jeremiah 3, and the same Father runs to meet us.
“For My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewn themselves cisterns — broken cisterns that can hold no water.” (Jer. 2:13)
A new Sunday Bible study series begins in Jeremiah. Chapter 1 opens with the prophet’s call, the LORD’s promise that “I am with you to deliver you,” and the twin visions of the almond branch and the boiling pot.
