Chapter 715 of 1163

JEREMIAH 3

The word backsliding is used seven times in this chapter. Judah was gradually sliding away from the Lord and ignoring His loving pleas. What is backsliding like?

Backsliding is like harlotry. The nation was “married” to Jehovah at Sinai when God gave her His covenant. But Judah became an unfaithful wife whose love was growing cold (Jer. 2:2) and whose “lovers” were many. God could “divorce” His defiled wife; but if He did, she could not return to Him (Deut. 24:1–4). So, instead of divorcing her, God warned her (vv. 3, 6–10). However, she would not listen. He begged her to return, for returning is the only remedy for backsliding; but she refused.

Backsliding is like sickness (22). It begins with a secret “infection” of sin, which leads to loss of spiritual appetite, gradual decline and, if not attended to, death. God heals our backsliding if we honestly accept His diagnosis and humbly return to Him.

Backsliding

Backsliding is an Old Testament word used only by Isaiah (57:17), Jeremiah, and Hosea (11:7; 14:4). It means “disloyalty,” “faithlessness.” Most Christians do not jump into sin and get away from God’s will. They gradually decline spiritually, then find themselves in trouble and wonder how it happened. They leave their first love (Rev. 2:4) and start living for the flesh and not the Spirit (Gal. 3:1–3). That is why our Lord admonished us to watch and pray (Matt. 26:41). When we least expect it, the germ of sin can enter the system.

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