Jeremiah 3:25 “We lie down in our shame, and our confusion covereth us: for we have sinned against the LORD our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God.”
Jeremiah was the on-scene prophet who gave us a first-hand report of Judah’s and Jerusalem’s sin. Their sin was very great, for they had turned from God to idols, they were seeking to glorify themselves and not God, they were motivated by the greed and lust for carnal wealth, immorality was commonplace as they sought to gratify themselves carnally, right and wrong was judged according to carnal desire instead of the Word of God, the authorities abused those who sought to remain faithful to God, and the leaders utterly rejected the Word of God and warnings that God sent to them. It seems that their sin had become socially accepted; for, “we have sinned against the LORD our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God”. Yet, “the LORD”, with abundant grace and kindness, told them “If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the LORD, return unto me: and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not remove.” (Jeremiah 4:1). Well, they did not “return unto” “the LORD” and they were removed to bondage in Babylon. Many years earlier, Isaiah bemoaned the growing ungodliness of Judah when he exclaimed, “How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.” (Isaiah 1:21)! Now their nation was on the very brink of catastrophic failure and Jeremiah declared, “our confusion covereth us”; that is, our sin “covereth us” like a wretchedly filthy blanket. Their sin is called “confusion” because their behavior was entirely contrary to the Word of God; they were confused because they substituted carnal lust for the Word of God. Therefore, many lost their lives, the rest lost their freedom, and were made slavish servants of other nations. Paul warns us to not follow in their path to destruction: “Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. 13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.” (Romans 8:12-13) and “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.” (Colossians 2:8). Thus, we are strongly exhorted to, “… be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” (I Corinthians 15:58)!