Day 193.
Jeremiah writes about the condition of Judah that leads to their exile. God has blessed them and yet they have not responded in faith to Him. They have followed the ways of the nations surrounding them and given credit to false gods rather than the God who rescued them and gave them the land. This is not to say that they did not also worship God. They did that too. But they did not live out a true faith in God. Their worship was a mere following of ritual, rather than a true worship of the heart. Thus there was no fruit of righteousness and exile is coming; judgment is coming. The sme scene happens in the gospels when Jesus passes by e fig tree and finds no fruit though it is the season for figs. He curses it and it withers instantly to the amazement of his disciples. He explains by telling them that they too can tell this mountain to be lifted up and thrown into the sea and God will do it. He is speaking of the mountain of Jerusalem and the reason for the mountain cast down is the same as the fig tree. Israel is not faithful to God from the heart. They are sticklers for outward law keeping but not inward.
When I would gather them, declares the Lord,
there are no grapes on the vine,
nor figs on the fig tree;
even the leaves are withered,
and what I gave them has passed away from them.” (Jeremiah 8:13 ESV)
McCheyne’s Bible Reading Plan: Jos 16-17, Ps 148, Jer 8, Mt 22
