Bible Truth #6 - Jeremiah 13:15-23

Jeremiah 13:15-23

15  Hear and pay attention, do not be arrogant, for the Lord has spoken.
16  Give glory to the Lord your God before he brings the darkness, before your feet stumble on the darkening hills. You hope for light, but he will turn it to thick darkness and change it to deep gloom.
17  But if you do not listen, I will weep in secret because of your pride; my eyes will weep bitterly, overflowing with tears, because the Lord's flock will be taken captive.
18  Say to the king and to the queen mother, "Come down from your thrones, for your glorious crowns will fall from your heads."
19  The cities in the Negev will be shut up, and there will be no one to open them. All Judah will be carried into exile, carried completely away.
20  Lift up your eyes and see those who are coming from the north. Where is the flock that was entrusted to you, the sheep of which you boasted?
21  What will you say when the Lord sets over you those you cultivated as your special allies? Will not pain grip you like that of a woman in labor?
22  And if you ask yourself, "Why has this happened to me?"-- it is because of your many sins that your skirts have been torn off and your body mistreated.
23  Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Neither can you do good who are accustomed to doing evil.

I included the verses preceding 23 for context but I want to focus on verse 23.

...Neither CAN you do good who are accustomed to doing evil. The children of Israel were UNABLE to do, they could NOT do, good!!! These children of Israel were lost, they were dead in their sins, they were living completely natural in their sinful nature. I know some will look at the preceding verses and point out that they had a choice but chose not to listen. To that I say I AGREE! The question is WHY they didn’t listen. God answered that in verse 23! God tells us in verse 23 WHY they didn’t pay attention, WHY they didn’t give Glory to the LORD their God, WHY they didn’t listen, WHY they didn’t repent, BECAUSE THEY WERE UNABLE! Just as an Ethiopian CAN’T change his skin, so the Jews could NOT listen. Just as a Leopard can’t change its spots, the Jews did not have the ability to do good. They did NOT have the ability to believe or repent.

So also the New Testament in many places says over and over that the lost are unable to come to Christ or God. Yes, God calls on them over and over to believe and repent but they choose not to believe (accept). I agree! The question again is WHY? They choose not to believe because of the sinful nature of man. The message of the cross is foolishness to them that are perishing (1 Corinthians 1:18). Man is dead in his trespasses and sins and can do nothing pleasing to God (Romans 8:8) which includes believing (accepting) Jesus as Savior and Lord. They can’t do it, they’re unable.

That is why God chose some, and at a point in their lives, saved (converted) them, gave them belief (Philippians 1:29), making them a believer (John 6:29). If He hadn’t done so, no man would be saved and ALL would be in Hell. Praise God for His mercy and grace!