Pure....

Jeremiah 2:20-25 "Long ago you broke off your yoke
and tore off your bonds;
you said, 'I will not serve you!'
Indeed, on every high hill
and under every spreading tree
you lay down as a prostitute.
[21] I had planted you like a choice vine
of sound and reliable stock.
How then did you turn against me
into a corrupt, wild vine?
[22] Although you wash yourself with soda
and use an abundance of soap,
the stain of your guilt is still before me,"
declares the Sovereign Lord.
[23] "How can you say, 'I am not defiled;
I have not run after the Baals'?
See how you behaved in the valley;
consider what you have done.
You are a swift she-camel
running here and there,
[24] a wild donkey accustomed to the desert,
sniffing the wind in her craving—
in her heat who can restrain her?
Any males that pursue her need not tire themselves;
at mating time they will find her.
[25] Do not run until your feet are bare
and your throat is dry.
But you said, 'It's no use!
I love foreign gods,
and I must go after them.'


There are few things in creation which should be as intimate as sexual intimacy, few things which we should hold as sacred as the trust that develops between a husband and wife as they come closer and closer to each other. It was this bond of closeness, trust, intimacy and security that God had offered his people. Therefore it is with some sympathy that we can appreciate his sense of betrayal at how the Jews have responded to this offer. The image is graphic, of a wanton people seeking gratification at any price.

So we need to maintain our fidelity in worship of God. We cannot trust in idols or seek gratification from other ‘gods’. We have the chance to get this close to the creator of the universe, to sense some of his deepest thoughts and feel some of his yearnings for all mankind – but it requires purity, devotion and faithfulness from us. We must be as committed to him as we hope to be to the spouses we hope to have now or in the future….